From the book. Texas Bad Girls, Hussies, Harlots and Horse Thieves by.
J Lee Butts, written in 2001 and published by the Republic of Texas. Publishers.
In 1823, an ambitious gristmill operator named William Rabb moved his entire family, children, grandchildren, and all the family from Jonesborough, an area now in Red River County, Texas, to a Spanish land grant site in present day Fayette County, Texas. Tough is the only word that comes to mind when describing such a trip. What people referred to as roads back then lacked a good many of our modern day conveniences. The muddy, rutted paths amounted to little more than a wide trail into the wilderness. It’s a pretty safe bet that Rabbs numerous grandchildren sat in the backs of their father’s wagons and wind. “Are we there yet”? About 10 million times before conclusion of the 300 mile jaunt. The one positive travel note to the whole excursion may have been that “rest areas” were pretty easy to find.
The amazing display of heroism and fortitude of these intrepid explorers ensured that Mr Rabb and his extensive family became an incredible part of Texas history known as the Old 300. This exclusive group made up the initial 297 Anglo American families brought south by Stephen F Austin. For Texans, inclusion in this band of is similar and historic importance to having possessed a first class ticket on the Mayflower
Such incredible feats of daring and tenacity and daring should never be minimized.
White settlers West of the Mississippi at that time were virtually non-existent, and the Native Americans of the area didn’t particularly care for what they deemed an invasion of sacred land. As a consequence, Comanche, Waco and Tanikawa Indians took turns robbing the hell out of the RAB’s family. Improved, especially troublesome for the household of his daughter Rachel Newman and her husband Joseph. The Indians stole horses, cows, corn, pigs, and anything else that wasn’t padlocked to a tree or nailed to a wall
Given the slightest opportunity war painted Comanche Braves took uncommon joy at using the new settlers
for bow and arrow practice. Seems that bullseye targets and hay bales were scarcer than bird poop in a cuckoo clock. One of their favorite tricks involved waiting until Dark, sneaking up on unsuspected cabin dwellers and shooting them through the cracks between the rough log walls. It took Texas pioneers a bit, but eventually it came to them that they couldn’t leave their candles lit after dark.
