Sul Ross: A Hell
of a Goy?
In December 1860, a small force of Texas Rangers, led by
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, and federal troops descended on a small Comanche
hunting camp near Mule Creek in Northwest Texas, slaughtering women and
children, yet subsequently refashioning it into a fierce battle against a
superior Indian war party in which the valor of the Anglos broke the hegemony
of the Comanche nation in the region. Cynthia Ann Parker was ‘rescued’ from the
camp, 25 years after being taken from her family in the Fort Parker massacre.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross would later manipulate the facts and
render outright fabrications in an effort to further his political career, a
career which landed him the 19th governorship of Texas and later the
Presidency of Texas A&M University, then known as AMC.
One might argue that the good he did in his later career
justified the deplorable methods he employed to get elected, but this argument
certainly begs the question.
So what is the answer? Perhaps by tending to the education
of others, and single-handedly saving what now is one of the premier
Universities in the state of Texas, he has vouchsafed his entitlement to the
benefit of the doubt.
But then again, maybe not.
Resources
Primary
“Ben Dragoo Tells of the Capture of Cynthia Ann Parker.” Frontier
Times 1, no. 3 (December 1923): 25-27.
http://frontiertimesmagazine.blogspot.com/2013/04/frontier-times-magazine-vol-1-no_5711.html
Ben Dragoo was one of the Rangers present at the Pease River
battle, and although he was shown to have fabricated much of his original
account, he was later willing to admit to it, and this alone makes his story an
invaluable resource to someone who’s trying to ferret out the truth.
“More about the Capture of the Woman Prisoner”, San
Antonio Express, Feb 23rd, 1908
This is a rare snippet of Ross’s report to Sam Houston,
which was supposedly lost in the early 20th century. Technically I
could only find this as an indirect source (cited by others; I never handled
the original), so it’s questionable if it really ‘counts’ or belongs here, but
what I found, coupled with the fact that it’s not even supposed to still be
available, was too compelling to overlook.
Hiram B. Rogers, “Recollections of Ranger H.B. Rogers of
the Capture of Cynthia Ann Parker,” August 1928, Dolph Briscoe Center for
American History, UT Austin
Hiram B. Rogers is a fascinating figure, and was one of the
only men to take responsibility for the tragedy at Pease River. This resource
is filed with “Recollections of B. F. Gholson”, as told to J. A. Rickard in the
Dolph Briscoe Center at UT, and I can’t recommend a visit there highly enough,
no matter what you’re researching. Make sure to contact them beforehand and
verify that the material is on hand, they store much of it offsite, and it
takes about a week for them to get something in when you request it.
Secondary
Araminta McClellan Taulman, “The Capture of Cynthia Ann
Parker”, Frontier Times 6, no. 8 (May 1929)
Interesting letter submitted by a member of the Parker
family in response to Ben Dragoo’s account of the Pease River debacle.
Benner, Judith Ann , Sul Ross, Soldier, Statesman,
Educator, College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 1983.
http://books.google.com/books/about/Sul_Ross.html?id=5dJUAQAACAAJ
Compelling biography of Sul Ross, but rather biased; reads more
like fan mail in some parts than a dispassionate historical record, but worth
reading nonetheless.
DeShields, James T. Cynthia Ann Parker, 1886.
Reprint, Chama Press, 1991. http://archive.org/stream/cynthiaannparker00desh/cynthiaannparker00desh_djvu.txt
This is purely an advertisement for the political campaign
of Ross. Historically worthless, unless you’re approaching it with skepticism.
Dobie, J. Frank. In the Shadow of History. Texas
Folklore Society No. XV. Southern Methodist University Press, 1939.
http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38858/m1/
Great resource with a lot of interesting stories about a
variety of subjects … fair warning if you’re working with a deadline: you will
get distracted by all the folklore and history!
Shelton, Perry Wayne. Personal Civil War Letters of
General Lawrence Sullivan Ross with Other Letters. Austin: Shelly and
Richard Morrison, 1994.
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009628847
Who doesn’t like reading letters from the Civil War? This is
more of a primary source, but in any event is well worth perusing. Ross’s
accounts, as was the norm at the time, are lucid and compelling.
Paul I. Wellman, : “Cynthia Ann Parker”, Chronicles of
Oklahoma 12, no. 2 (June 1932)
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v012/v012p163.html
Inaccurate in many respects, nonetheless contains many accurate details.