Hornius Emeritus
2,500+ Posts
So I was reading the Narrative of Robert Hancock Hunter this evening and I came upon the following story that, to me, defines the essence of true Texas womanhood.
A little background: Robert Hancock Hunter fought in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 alongside Sam Houston and all of the rest of the Texians. The following event took place on April 16th, 1836, five days before the battle.
It seems that Houston's army had borrowed a team of oxen from Mrs. Pamela Mann. The oxen were needed to move Houston's artillery. In order to get them from her, Houston had promised her that he was moving his army towards Nacogdoches, where her oxen would be safe.
The army came to a fork in the road. North lead to Nacogdoches, and safety, south lead to Harrisburg ... and a fight. Houston said "to the right (Harrisburg), boys."
This did not please Mrs. Mann. I will now let Hunter's narrative take over, in his own singular spelling and grammar:
"She rode up [to] the general & said, general you tole me a dam lie, you said [you] was going on the Nacogdoches road. Sir, I want my oxen."
"Well, Mrs. Mann [ General Houston replied], we cant spare them. We cant git our cannon a long without them."
"I dont care a dam for your cannon [Mrs. Mann responded], I want my oxen."
With that, she whipped out her Bowie knife, cut the oxen from the traces, and lead them away.
The rugged frontiersmen watched this performance in stunned awe.
"No body said a word," Hunter went on. "She jumpt on her horse with whip in hand and away she went in a lope with her oxen."
Conrad Rohrer, the army's wagon master, protested to Houston that he could not move the artillery without the oxen and said he was going after Mrs. Mann to retrieve them. Houston advised him not to do it, saying that this particular Texian woman would not let them go without a fight. "Dam her fighting" Rohrer answered and away he went.
Rohrer sheepishly returned to camp a few hours later, his shirt in tatters. "Where are the oxen?" the men asked. "She would not let me have them," Rohrer meekly replied.
"What happened to your shirt?" they asked.
"She needed it for baby rags."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
By the way, Hancock lived to be 89 years old, dying in 1902. Here is a picture of him with his grandchildren:
And here is the link to his narrative:
The Link
A little background: Robert Hancock Hunter fought in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 alongside Sam Houston and all of the rest of the Texians. The following event took place on April 16th, 1836, five days before the battle.
It seems that Houston's army had borrowed a team of oxen from Mrs. Pamela Mann. The oxen were needed to move Houston's artillery. In order to get them from her, Houston had promised her that he was moving his army towards Nacogdoches, where her oxen would be safe.
The army came to a fork in the road. North lead to Nacogdoches, and safety, south lead to Harrisburg ... and a fight. Houston said "to the right (Harrisburg), boys."
This did not please Mrs. Mann. I will now let Hunter's narrative take over, in his own singular spelling and grammar:
"She rode up [to] the general & said, general you tole me a dam lie, you said [you] was going on the Nacogdoches road. Sir, I want my oxen."
"Well, Mrs. Mann [ General Houston replied], we cant spare them. We cant git our cannon a long without them."
"I dont care a dam for your cannon [Mrs. Mann responded], I want my oxen."
With that, she whipped out her Bowie knife, cut the oxen from the traces, and lead them away.
The rugged frontiersmen watched this performance in stunned awe.
"No body said a word," Hunter went on. "She jumpt on her horse with whip in hand and away she went in a lope with her oxen."
Conrad Rohrer, the army's wagon master, protested to Houston that he could not move the artillery without the oxen and said he was going after Mrs. Mann to retrieve them. Houston advised him not to do it, saying that this particular Texian woman would not let them go without a fight. "Dam her fighting" Rohrer answered and away he went.
Rohrer sheepishly returned to camp a few hours later, his shirt in tatters. "Where are the oxen?" the men asked. "She would not let me have them," Rohrer meekly replied.
"What happened to your shirt?" they asked.
"She needed it for baby rags."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
By the way, Hancock lived to be 89 years old, dying in 1902. Here is a picture of him with his grandchildren:
And here is the link to his narrative:
The Link
