The Capitol Boycott

The current Capitol in Austin has stood for more than 130 years and has seen its share of controversies, including one before it was officially opened. The construction of the Capitol sparked a boycott and a national conversation on the use of contract labor. 

The Texas Capitol under construction, c. 1887. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, PICA 18008.

How to Build a Capitol with No Money
In the late 1800s, Texas was out growing its Capitol, but had little ready cash. When the 1876 Constitution was written, an article was included that set aside 3 million acres in the Texas Panhandle to be used to fund the new Capitol. However, it lay unused until a fire destroyed the Capitol in 1881. At that point, the legislature found some investors, calling themselves the Capitol Syndicate, who agreed to take the land in trade for constructing the Capitol. By 1885, the Capitol Syndicate realized that the land was not nearly as profitable as they had hoped and they needed a way to bring down the cost of construction. The legislature agreed to let them use convict labor from Texas prisons.

Black Convict Laborers shaping granite near the Marble Falls quarry, c. 1885. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, PICA 06358 [source]

Black Convict Labor
The 1880s were well into the Jim Crow era in Texas. One of the hallmarks of the Jim Crow era were laws that disproportionately punished African Americans and a justice system that did not really care if African Americans brought before the court were innocent or guilty. This led to a large population of incarcerated African American men, and it was these men that were leased to the Capitol Syndicate for work on the new capitol. Much of the South was using convict labor to replace the enslaved labor that had been used prior to the Civil War, sometimes with African Americans forced to work the same plantations they had formerly been enslaved at. The Capitol syndicate paid $0.65 per day per convict to the state to cover room and board. These men were used as stone cutters for the limestone and granite and constructed the railroad to take the granite to the building site. The local mason’s union was not happy.

A group of the Scottish Stonemasons brought to Texas to break the boycott, c. 1886. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, C00194 [source]

The Boycott
The masons in Texas decided to boycott the Capitol building project. They felt that the use of unskilled convict labor denigrated their profession and depressed their wages. A notice circulated in Austin saying “Granite cutters of America, show this Great-I-Am, Gus Wilkie, and his Chicago syndicate, that free men will not submit to the introduction of slavery into our trade under the guise of contract convict labor, and that you will not teach convicts our trade to enrich these schemers, who care for nothing but the almighty dollar, and now seek to degrade our trade to fill their own pockets.” The masons refused to work on the Capitol unless they stopped using convict labor to quarry the stone. The subcontractor, Gus Wilkie, refused. However, the project still needed skilled masons. Wilkie sent George Berry to Scotland and to recruit stonemasons to bring back to Texas. The local masons caught wind of this and jumped into action. A law had been passed in 1885 forbidding bringing in immigrants to perform contract labor and Wilkie was about to break it. They sent union representatives to meet Berry in New York and he was brought before US District Attorney, who questioned him about the 86 men and could find no proof of wrong doing and release him. Meanwhile, the union representatives talked with the workers and found that each had a contract from Berry, in clear violation of law. Many of these workers refused to continue with the project and helped to provide the proof the US District Attorney needed. However, another boat of 62 men were on their way from Scotland, headed for Galveston. Union representatives were sent to meet the men in New York and Galveston, but the Scottish masons were unloaded in Virginia, then sent the rest of the way to Austin by rail. In July 1886, the US District Attorney filed charges against Gus Wilkie and the members of the Capitol syndicate, but, while the case wound its way through the courts, the work on the capitol continued apace, with the Scottish masons overseeing the African American convict laborers.

Continuing the Fight
It took several years for the lawsuit to finally bear fruit, and it wasn’t necessarily the fruit the masons had wanted. Only Gus Wilkie was charged for the illegal strike breakers, and he was fined $1,000 per worker – for a total of $64,000. Wilkie appealed the decision to President Harrison and, despite the pleas of the union, Harrison reduced the fine to $8,000. The US National Union exacted their own payment, requiring Wilkie to pay them $500 before they would allow union masons to work on any project he was involved in, while the International Union required $500 to remove his name from blacklisting. But during that time, the case sparked a national debate on contract labor. Meanwhile, convict labor is still widely used in Texas, though opponents continue to lobby strongly against its use, or, if it is used, for a fair wage and good working conditions for the workers.

Oliver Loving

Oliver Loving. [source]

Farmer to Rancher
Oliver Loving was born in Kentucky in 1912. He grew up there, married Susan Morgan, and worked his farm. In 1943, he picked the family up to move to the Republic of Texas. There he was granted three parcels of land totaling a little over 600 acres, which he began to farm. Loving and his wife eventually had nine children and Loving began hauling freight and running a store to help make ends meets. By 1857, Loving owned more than 1,000 acres of land, which he used to run cattle. With so many cattle ranches in Texas, it was more profitable to drive the cattle out of state and Loving sent his son, William, up the Shawnee trail in 1857, with Loving himself driving the cattle in subsequent years.

The Cattle Trails of the West. The Goodnight-Loving trail is highlighted in red.

New Trails
In 1860, Loving drove his cattle to Denver, Colorado, where an influx of miners had increased the need for beef. Loving stayed in Colorado for the winter, but the Civil War broke out and Union authorities prevented him from leaving for Confederate territory. However, Kit Carson spoke on his behalf and Loving was allowed to return to Texas. There, the Confederate army contracted with him to provide beef cattle for the troops and Loving spent the war years driving cattle across the Confederacy. After the war ended, cattle prices in Texas plummeted. On top of that, the Confederacy owed Loving over $100,000, which he couldn’t recoup. In an effort to make money from his diminished herd, Loving hit on the idea of taking his cattle to the Native Reservations in New Mexico. Loving joined his herd with that of Charles Goodnight and the two men and their ranch hands began the long drive in June of 1866. The trail followed the former path of the Butterfield Overland Mail coaches before turning north at the Pecos River. Others had followed this path, but it was Loving and Goodnight who made it famous and gave it its name: the Goodnight-Loving Trail. The two men were able to sell much of their cattle to the US Army at the Bosque Redondo Reservation, but Loving continued with the remainder of the herd to Colorado while Goodnight returned to Texas with the $12,000 dollars they’d earned to buy more cattle. The drive was so successful, Loving and Goodnight decided to take the same trail the next year. It would be Loving’s last drive.

A Legendary Death
In the summer of 1867, Loving and Goodnight set out for New Mexico once more. The weather on the route was terrible and Loving pushed ahead with Bill Wilson, a scout, to start the deal with the army. Despite knowing the dangers, Loving traveled during the day through the Comanchería. As they reached the Pecos River, the Comanche attacked and Loving was wounded. Loving sent Wilson back to Goodnight and the herd while he continued on. With the help of some Mexican traders, he managed to arrive at Fort Sumner, but quickly fell ill with gangrene. Goodnight arrived at the Fort before Loving died and promised him that he would bury Loving in Texas soil. Goodnight had to finish driving the cattle to Colorado, so Loving was temporarily buried at Fort Sumner. Goodnight retrieved his body on the way back and Loving was reinterred in Weatherford, Texas on March 4, 1868. Larry McMurtry would later borrow Loving’s death for his novel Lonesome Dove.

The 1867 Settlement and the Bell Family

https://www.coastmonthly.com/2017/01/keeping-story-alive/

Thomas Britton, working with a horse. Thomas was considered one of the best cowboys on the Butler Ranch. [source]

The 1867 Settlement
After the Civil War ended and Juneteenth brought the official end of slavery in Texas, many newly freed African Americans began founding their own communities. Near Houston, George Washington Butler had enslaved many men and women to work on his cattle ranch. During the war, they drove cattle throughout the Confederacy to feed the Confederate troops. After emancipation, many stayed on the ranch as paid employees, driving cattle on the Chisholm trail and taking part of their pay in cattle. In 1867, several families that had worked on the ranch established their own town in what is today Texas City. The Brittons, Bells, Caldwells, and Hobgoods used their wages from the ranch to purchase land that had been set aside by Judge William Jones for freedman who had local businessmen who could vouch for their character. The community was known variously throughout the years as the 1867 Settlement, Our Settlement, Campbellville (after the resident pastor), Highland City (after a nearby railroad station), Highland Station, and Highlands, though it is now mostly remembered simply as Settlement.

Calvin and Katie Bell. [source]

The Bells
Some of the earliest residents of the Settlement were Calvin and Katie Bell. Katie, whose birth name was Eunistine Johnston, was a German immigrant who had worked at the Butler Ranch, where she met and married Calvin Bell. The couple moved to the Settlement in 1874 where they continued to ranch. Calvin registered his own cattle brand in 1878, a U, an example of which is now in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Katie was the Settlement’s first school teacher, a post that led to an incredible 88% literacy rate in the community. In 1893, a court case was brought against the Bells that their marriage was unlawful, since Calvin was African American and Katie was white. Calvin was acquitted on the grounds that he may not have realized that Katie was white, while Katie was sentenced to 2 years in prison. The couple lived together for a little while after Katie was released from prison, but fear of reprisal led Calvin to move to another house nearby, though there is evidence that he did not entirely abandon Katie. The Bells had 7 children, many of whom stayed in the community and worked to improve it.

The Frank Bell, Sr. and Flavilla Bell Home. [source]

Growth, Decline, and Revival
The Settlement saw a lot of property damage from the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, but continued to grow as African Americans displaced by the hurricane moved further inland. Employment shifted from farming and ranching to the oil industry and factory work growing out of nearby Houston, though rodeos continued to be part of the community’s way of life. Frank Bell, Jr. donated land for a community park in 1948, by which time the community had begun to sprawl into nearby La Marque. In the 1950s and 60s, the community began to shrink. Surrounding towns had grown up to the boundaries of the Settlement and Texas City annexed the community in 1953. The area schools were desegregated in the 1960s and the Settlement’s all-black school was closed, leading many young people to leave the Settlement. Over the years, almost all of the original buildings have been torn down. The only one left is the Bell house, built by Calvin and Katie’s son Frank Bell, Sr. The community has begun to rally around the house and the history it represents. In 2010, the 1867 Settlement was listed on the National Register of Historic Districts and markers have been placed throughout the community. Efforts are still underway, but the hope is to turn the Bell house into a community museum, telling the story of the early black cowboys and their families who carved a place for themselves. 

The Women’s Airforce Service Pilots

WASPs Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner and Blanche Osborn in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress. These four female pilots leaving their ship at the four engine school at Lockbourne are members of a group of WASPS who have been trained to ferry the B-17 Flying Fortresses. (U.S. Air Force photo) [source]

Jacqueline Cochran, c. 1943. [source]

Formation
As the United States geared up for World War II after Pearl Harbor, it became clear that there were not enough military pilots to serve both home and abroad. Two women sprang into action to address this need. Nancy Harkness Love and Jacqueline Cochran both began lobbying for using women pilots in the war effort in 1941, but it would take a while for the lack of male pilots to be felt and overcome the prejudice against female pilots. In the summer of 1942, Love began recruiting women under the direction of the American Army Air Force and they were commissioned in September as the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron to ferry airplanes from factories to flight schools across the country. Meanwhile, Jacqueline Cochran had returned from setting up a similar group in Britain and was put in charge of the Women’s Flying Training Detachment in November of the same year under the Army Air Force commander, General Arnold. The first class of WFTDs started training at the Houston Municipal Airport before more permanent quarters were found for them in Sweetwater, Texas at the Avenger Airfield. Both groups continued to operate until August 1943 when they were merged to form the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots under Jacqueline Cochran.

WASP trainees, c. 1943. [source]

Training and Duties
At Avenger Field, the women were subject to military order, but were still considered civilians. They had to pay for their room and board and had no benefits if they were ill. The women were required to already have some flying experience, but also received addition training. They gained about 210 hours of flight time, spread between several of the most used military aircraft, and 285 hours of classroom instruction over seven months. Male pilots would often come visit the training grounds and Avenger Field was eventually limited to emergency landings only to prevent them from disrupting the women’s training, though that didn’t stop men from planning emergency landings to get a chance to spend time with the women. The planes were not designed for the women’s smaller frames and the WASPs would often carry extra parachutes to be used as booster seats. Despite this, these women often ferried some of the largest aircraft, including B-17 bombers. As they proved themselves as pilots, they were tapped to drag targets for live ammunition target practice, helped with flight training, and tested damaged aircraft. The WASPs were often the first to fly a plane off the line or after it had been repaired, jobs which required numerous emergency landings. Altogether, 1,074 women graduated from the program at Avenger Field, 38 of whom would die in the line of duty. Jacqueline Cochran refused to accept black women as WASPs – she was afraid their presence would jeopardize the program – but two Chinese women were accepted, one of whom, Hazel Ying Lee, died in a plane crash. Altogether, the WASPs ferried more than 12,000 planes and flew 60 million miles between 1942 and the end of the abrupt end of the program in December 1944.

President Barack Obama signs S.614 in the Oval Office July 1. The bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal to Women Airforce Service Pilots. The WASP program was established during World War II, and from 1942 to 1943, more than a thousand women joined, flying sixty million miles of non-combat military missions. Of the women who received their wings as Women Airforce Service Pilots, approximately 300 are living today. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza) [source]

Delayed Recognition
The WASPs were never officially considered part of the military. In 1944, General Arnold supported a bill in congress to make the WASPs part of the regular military, but it failed. As the war wound down in Europe and more male pilots returned, the WASPs were considered superfluous and the program was terminated. The women were left in whatever city they happened to be in with no resources. The other WASPs would take up collections to help them get home. Since they weren’t considered veterans, they also had no access to veteran’s benefits, such as health care or education. Most of the women continued on with their lives, keeping in touch and forming reunion groups as the women aged, but not talking too much about their service. Then, in 1976, the Air Force released a statement they were accepting women to be pilots and it would be the first time women had flown for the Air Force. The WASPs were furious at the erasure of their history. After persistent lobbying, Congress granted the women veteran status in 1977. The women began speaking more about their service and built an archive at Texas Women’s University. Today, Dr. Katherine Sharp Landdeck of Texas Women’s University is one of the experts on the WASPs and has done a lot to bring their story into the public eye. She was interviewed a few years ago on the Stuff You Missed in History podcast [Part 1, Part 2], and has a book forthcoming in 2020, The Women with Silver Wings, which has already been optioned as a film. In 2010, the WASPs received the Congressional Gold Medal, though by that time, only about 300 of the WASPs were still alive. And the fight for their legacy continues. In 2018, the Texas Board of Education included the WASPs on a list of figures to remove from Texas history books in an effort to “streamline” curriculum, though the motion failed after public outcry.

Martín and Patricia de León

Martín de León, c. 1920. [source]

Martín and Patricia
Martín de León was born to a wealthy family in what is now Tamaulipas  in 1765. Though his family usually educated their children in Europe, Martín decided not to go. Instead, he became a merchant and then joined the army. Because he was born in New Spain, he couldn’t rise above the rank of Captain. In 1795, he married Patricia de la Garza, the daughter of the Commandant of the Eastern Internal Provinces, a woman 10 years his junior. The couple settled in Tamaulipas and began ranching.

Ranching and Resistance
In 1805, Martín took a trip north to several cities in Tejas and decided to move the family ranch up to the area north of present day Corpus Christi on the Aransas River. The cattle were branded with the de León brand, EJ for Espirtu de Jesus. The brand was registered in 1807, the first cattle brand in Texas. Martín quickly became interested in creating a colony in the area, but his repeated requests were denied by the Spanish government, which questioned his loyalty, with good reason, as it turned out. The De León family sided with the Republicans during the Mexican War for Independence. The family spent most of the war in San Antonio, but returned to their ranch in 1816, as hostilities on the frontier died down. In 1823, Martín purchased cattle in New Orleans and drove then to Texas, adding them to the 5,000 head of cattle the family already owned.

Empresario
Martín had not given up on his idea of establishing a colony in Texas. In 1824, he petitioned the provincial government for permission to settle 41 families on and found a town on the Guadalupe River. His contract was approved, and since he was a Mexican citizen, he had almost no restrictions and several benefits, including exempting his colonists from taxes and duties for seven years. Patricia contributed $9,800, as well as cows, mules and horses that she had inherited from her father. The De León family arrived at the town site late in 1824 along with a few other families, and the rest joined them the following spring. The town was called Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria and the colony was named Guadalupe Victoria, after the first president of Mexico. Each family received a plot in town, a league – 4,228 acres- of grazing land and a labor – 177 acres – of arable land. While Martín set up the land, Patricia focused on the culture. She founded a school and a church, donating funds as well as furniture and other items. Though their house was rough, with dirt floors, Patricia brought beautiful furnishings from Mexico. The De León colony was the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas, though it also included American and Irish families. Because the borders of the De León colony were undefined, they came into frequent conflict with surrounding colonies, especially the DeWitt colony. In 1829, Martín got permission to bring 150 more families and expand the colony, which brought more conflict with the DeWitt colony. However, in 1831, DeWitt’s grant expired and the De León colony was able to expand into the vacant land. By 1833, when Martín died in a Cholera epidemic, the colony had given out more than 100 titles, making the De León family the only empresarios in Texas other than Stephen F. Austin to fulfill their grant.

St. Mary’s Church in Victoria. Built on the De León homestead, donated by Patricia de León. [source]

Revolution and Heartache
Even without their patriarch, the De León family were ardent supporters of the Texas Revolution. Two son-in-laws served in the Texas army and much of the rest of the family contributed horses, mules, and supplies. Because of their support, the family was targeted by General Urrea when he occupied the area and two of Patricia’s sons, Fernando and Silvestre, were arrested. Despite their support, the time after the Texas Revolution was not an easy one for Tejanos. The youngest De León son was murdered by cattle rustlers and the family was forced to flee to Louisiana. They later moved to Tamaulipas, Patricia’s childhood home and Patricia sold some of the family’s land to help make ends meet. In 1844, Patricia returned to Victoria, only to find her fine furnishings spread among the newcomers. Despite the lack of welcome, Patricia spent the rest of her life in Victoria devoted to the community, particularly the church. When she died, Patricia donated her homestead to the Catholic Church. Today, St. Mary’s Church stands on the site. 

William “Gooseneck Bill” McDonald

William McDonald from
History and Directory of Fort Worth, 1907 . [source]

Education
William Madison McDonald was born in College Mound, Texas in 1866 to newly freed parents. He worked for and studied law under a white family friend, Z. T. Adams while still in high school. When he graduated in 1884, Adams and some other family friends helped him attend Roger Williams University in Tennessee. He returned to Texas to become principal of the African American High School in Forney.

Politics
McDonald was involved in Republican politics and gained statewide prominence when he was elected to the Republican State Executive Committee in 1892. McDonald quickly became the leader of the “Black and Tan” faction, in which African Americans and supportive whites shared power. During this time, Dallas journalist, William Greene Sterett nicknamed McDonald “Gooseneck Bill,” a name he would carry for the rest of his public life. McDonald ran for chairman of the executive committee in 1898, but was defeated by another African American, Henry Clay Ferguson. Unfortunately infighting between the two men and their followers led to a decline in the power of African Americans in the Texas Republican Party and eventually the “Lily-White” faction took control. However, McDonald and other black Republicans continued to fight for power in the party.

The New Grand and Masonic Temple, which housed several of William McDonald’s business ventures. [source]

Business
Though he remained active in politics, McDonald turned his attention to business, at which he was wildly successful. McDonald was a member of the African American section of the Masons and was elected as Right Worshipful Grand Secretary in 1899, a major leadership position he would hold for the next 47 years. In 1906, he moved to Fort Worth to manage the Fraternal Bank and Trust Company, which had been founded by the Masons. McDonald grew the bank into a cornerstone of the African American community in Fort Worth, providing loans to African American entrepreneurs to encourage the growth of their businesses. Under McDonald’s management, the bank survived the Great Depression. In 2008, The Dallas Morning News reported that McDonald was “probably Texas’ first black millionaire.” McDonald also built the Jim Hotel, known as a venue for blues and jazz artists. Some of the greatest musicians of the era played there, including Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Billie Holiday.

Legacy
As he grew older, McDonald drifted away from the Republican party, more often voting and campaigning for candidates independently. He continued to contribute to local fraternal organizations. Though the buildings that housed his businesses have been torn down, his name remains part of the landscape of Fort Worth as a YMCA branch. McDonald passed away in 1950, after a full life of community and business, politics and activism.

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar [source]

Georgia
Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was born in Georgia in 1798. He grew up on a cotton plantation and was a voracious reader. Though he was accepted to Princeton College, he chose not to attend. Instead he went into business, first as a merchant, then running a newspaper, but was unsuccessful at both. In 1823, he became secretary to Georgia Governor George Troup, his first foray into politics.

Tragedy
Lamar married Tabitha Jordan in 1826, but his wife’s health was poor and he soon resigned his post with Governor Troup to take care of her. Lamar reentered politics in 1829, running for state senator, but after his wife’s death in 1830, he declined to run for reelection. Instead, he turned to travel and writing, publishing some of his best known poems. After time had softened his grief, Lamar turned his attention to studying law and passed the bar in 1833. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1832 and 1834, but his brother’s suicide in 1834 set him wandering once again.

Texas
Lamar followed James Fannin, Jr., an old friend, to Texas in 1835. Lamar threw himself wholeheartedly into the Texas Revolution, writing poems supporting the cause. He had to return to Georgia to settle his affairs, but quickly returned in 1836 after the news of the Alamo and the massacre at Goliad to join the Texas army. On April 20, 1836, he was involved in a skirmish with the Mexican Army where he distinguished himself and was promoted to Colonel and given command of the cavalry. After the Battle of San Jacinto, Lamar was a vocal supporter of executing Santa Anna. He was briefly put in command of the entire Texas Army, but the men did not accept him and he quickly retired. Lamar ran for President in the first election for the Republic of Texas, but lost to Houston and became his Vice President. In 1838, with Houston ineligible and the other two candidates having committed suicide, Lamar won the Presidency almost unanimously.

President
Lamar succeeded Sam Houston as President of the Republic of Texas in 1838. Houston reportedly gave a three hour “Farewell Address,” after which Lamar was indisposed and his aide read his inaugural remarks. Lamar was a bit of a mixed bag as a president. He moved the capital to its present location in Austin (largely to get it out of Houston), and set aside land to fund higher education in Texas, what would become UT and A&M. However, he was also determined to drive the Cherokee and Comanche out of Texas, believing they needed to be exterminated to allow for white settlement. This led to several battles and massacres. Lamar also drastically drove up Texas’s debt, up to $7 million, one of the factors leading to Texas’s eventual annexation by the US. Houston was reelected in 1943, and attempted to undo much of what Lamar had done, including moving the capital back to Houston, which led to the very short Archives War. The same year, Lamar’s daughter, back in Georgia, died at only 16.

Post Presidency
Lamar retired for while to his plantation in Richmond, where he began writing poetry again. Lamar passionately defended slavery and eventually advocated for Texas’s annexation to the US because he thought it would preserve slavery in the US. He served in the US army during the Mexican-American War and as a state legislator for the first few years of Texas statehood. He remarried in 1851 to Henrietta Maffitt, and the couple had a daughter shortly thereafter. In 1857, Lamar published a poetry collection and, later that year, President Polk appointed Lamar as ambassador to Nicaragua, then simultaneously to Costa Rica. Lamar served in Managua for almost two years, before returning to Texas due to his failing health. He died in December of 1859.

Jovita Idár

Teaching Frustrated
Jovita Idár had a lifelong drive to improve life for the less fortunate. Born in 1885 in Laredo, she attended school and obtained her teacher’s certificate at age 18. Idár taught for a few years, but soon became frustrated by the terrible conditions in her school and her inability to do anything about them. She resigned and went to join her brothers in writing for their father’s newspaper, La Crónica.

Jovita Idár. [source]

La Crónica
La Crónica was a Spanish language newspaper that focused on news and issues important to Mexican Texans. It reported on inequalities in education and economic conditions between Hispanic and Anglo Texans, as well as violence, including lynching, toward Tejanos. In 1911, the paper organized a conference, El Congreso Mexicanista, that brought together Mexican Americans to discuss what was happening. Idár joined many other women at the conference, who attended as both speakers and participants. The conference resulted in La Liga Femenil Mexicanista, which worked to get education for poor children, with Idár as its first president and “Por la Raza, Para la Raza” [By the Race, For the Race] as its motto. The conference also created a network of Hispanic women ready to fight for suffrage. Idár would publish her first of many articles on women’s suffrage that same year. The paper was also vocal in its support of the ongoing Mexican Revolution.

Leonor Villegas de Magnón and Aracelito Garcia with flag of La Cruz Blanca – Front. 1914. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. University of Houston Digital Library. Web. July 30, 2019. [source]

La Cruz Blanca
In 1913, the Mexican Revolution came to Laredo’s doorstep with a battle in Nuevo Laredo. Idár joined her friend Leonor Villegas de Magnon in crossing the border to nurse and assist wounded soldiers. Magnon took the experience and created La Cruz Blanca, an organization similar to the Red Cross. Idár joined the organization and spent some of 1914 traveling across Northern Mexico to assist the wounded, but returned to Laredo later that year. While Magnon continued working with La Cruz Blanca, opening her home to the wounded and eventually being awarded a medal by the Mexican government, Idár returned to Laredo to fight for Mexican American and Women’s rights on a different front.

Jovita Idar (center) with colleagues in El Progreso’s print shop, 1914. (Georgia State University Library Archives for Research on Women and Gender) [source]

Newspapers
Back in Laredo, Idár joined the staff of El Progreso, and reported on the lynching of Mexican Americans in Texans, leading some to compare her to Ida B. Wells. As part of her reporting, she exposed the violence practiced by the Texas Rangers and protested President Wilson sending troops to the US-Mexico border. Wilson sent the Rangers to shut the paper down, but Idár stood in the doorway and refused to let them in. The victory was short lived, however, since the Rangers came back and shut the paper down later. Idár returned to La Cronica and, after her father died in 1914, she ran the paper.

Married Life
Idár married Bartolo Juarez in 1917 and retired a bit from public life. The couple moved to San Antonio, where Idár continued to be involved with Mexican American life. She served as a translator at the local hospitals and established a free kindergarten. She got more involved in the Democratic Party and continued to work with newspapers, serving as an editor for the Methodist Church’s publication, El Heraldo Cristiano. Idár passed away in 1946, having helped to create the transnational identity of la Raza.

The Battle of Dove Creek

The Kickapoo
By the 1860s, the Kickapoo, who had originated in present day Illinois, were settled in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Uncomfortable with the ongoing American Civil War, several groups of the Kickapoo decided to go to Mexico, where they had been offered land in return for defending the area. Late in 1864, three groups of Kickapoo started south from Kansas. Among them was No-ko-aht, who would later recount what happened on that journey.

Confederate Mistakes
In December of 1864, a Confederate scouting party found an abandoned Kickapoo campsite about 20 miles southwest of present-day San Angelo. The state militia and a unit of Confederate regulars were dispatched to deal with what were assumed to be hostile Indians. Lack of communication plagued the Confederates from the beginning of the operation. The militia was delayed and the Confederate regulars set out without them. The regulars found the Native camp on Dove Creek, though they erroneously assumed them to be Kiowa or Comanche. When the militia arrived on January 8^th, the regulars had already begun plans to attack. The militia, though exhausted from the forced march, was quickly incorporated into the plan. The attack was carried out despite seeing no signs of hostility from the village. Unfortunately for the Confederates, the Kickapoo had carefully selected their campsite and held a good defensive position on the high ground.

Battle
Though the Kickapoo were peaceful towards the Texans, they were well prepared to defend themselves and an estimated 400 to 600 Kickapoo easily repelled the not quite 500 Confederates. The Confederates split into several sections, with one capturing the Kickapoo horses and another two attacking the camp from opposite sides. The battle raged for most of the day. The Kickapoo were able to repulse every attack on their camp, though not without casualties, including women and children. After nightfall, the Kickapoo recaptured some of their horses from the Confederates and the Confederates retreated from the battlefield. After spending several freezing days in their camp, the Confederates would retreat back east.

Indiens Kikapoos, Présentés á S.M. Maximilien 1^t. | Indios Kikapoos, Presentados á S.M. Maximiliano 1^o. 1865. | Indian Kikapoos, Presented to H.M. Maximilien 1. Propiedad del editores.| Lit Decaen y Debray, editores, México, Portal del Coliseo Viejo. | A group of Kickapoo and runaway slaves being presented at the court of the Austrian Archduke Emperor of Mexico Maximilian. [source]

Aftermath
The Confederates reported 22 dead and 19 wounded and estimated that the Kickapoo had suffered over one hundred casualties, though the Kickapoo themselves reported 12 dead in the fight and 2 who later died from wounds. Brig. Gen. McAdoo later investigated what had happened, and his report was scathing.

“The evidences seemed abundant to all with whom I have conversed that they were civilized Indians and there was nothing discovered that led to the belief that they were unfriendly, further than the simple fact that they were Indians traveling upon the soil of Texas without any notice being given to the civil or military authorities of the country…A brief conversation was had between the two commanders, after which, without any council of war, without any distribution of orders…without any communication with the Indians or inquiry as to what tribe or party they belonged to, without any knowledge of their strength or position, the command ‘forward’ was given, and a pell-mell charge was made for three miles…No fire was made by the Indians until after they were fired upon…An Indian went out from the encampment with two children…unarmed, with his hands raised, and told Captain Fosset that they were friendly Indians. Fosset told the Indian he recognized no friendly Indians in Texas… and thereupon ordered him shot, which was done. He also, it is said, ordered the children shot, but the men interposed and they were taken as prisoners.”
You can read the whole report in the War of the Rebellion records, vol 48, Part 1, pages 26-30.

The Kickapoo continued on their way to Mexico, unable to even stop and bury their dead. They later sent a message to the Texas army repeating their friendly intentions and suggesting that the men who attacked them were lawless and not authorized by the government. McAdoo worried that, without an explanation to the Kickapoo by the government and a treaty with them, they would “return to avenge their losses in the attack.” McAdoo proved correct. The unprovoked attack at Dove Creek had enraged the Kickapoo and would lead to years of raids on Texas settlers. An expedition by the 4^th US Calvary in 1873 to punish the Kickapoo would more or less bring an end to the raids. Many of the Kickapoo returned to the US after the Civil War was over. Some returned to Kansas while others settled in Oklahoma. Today, the Kickapoo are one of only three federally recognized tribes in Texas. They have a small reservation on the border with Mexico just outside Eagle Pass, in addition to those in Kansas and Oklahoma.

William Physick Zuber

Last Surviving Veteran of the Army of San Jacinto

William Physick Zuber by Jerkins, 1910. Photograph by me.

Fighting for Independence
William Zuber immigrated to Texas with his family in 1830. When the Texas Revolution broke out in 1835, he joined up, despite being only 15 years old. Zuber, as the youngest person at the battle, was detailed to the rear guard during the Battle of San Jacinto. His service earned him a land grant of 640 acres, which he settled on in Grimes County. He married Louisa Liles and the couple had six children. Zuber continued to serve in the army off and on, including fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Despite being self-educated, Zuber taught at rural schools for many years.

Leaving a Legacy
Later in his life, he began writing and publishing on Texas history. He did biographical sketches of fellow veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto and profiles of battles of the Texas Revolution. Zuber was a charter member of the Texas State Historical Association and his writings appeared in their publications. He wrote several pieces of memoir which were later collected and published under the title My Eighty Years in Texas. Zuber moved to Austin in 1906 and began a job as a guide for the Senate. He would tell visitors stories of his life and of the many famous Texans he had known. He is honored with a portrait in the Senate Chamber and is considered the Texas State Capitol’s first tour guide. Zuber died in 1913, the last surviving veteran of the Army of San Jacinto.