One fall I was on the Big Wichita, where the city of Wichita Falls now stands, or a little below that point branding a lot of the prettiest calves you ever laid eyes on. I had sent my outfit over to Hearn's Creek, in Montague Co., but having overworked myself, and feeling a little sick, I decided to stay in camp for a day or so and rest up. Only myself and the cook were left in the camp, all the rest of the men having gone, and they had taken with them a stockman named McBoren who had brought his family to the frontier, and built a little cabin about a mile from our camp, though not in sight of it. His family consisting of his wife and four little children were at the cabin by themselves that day About ten o'clock in the morning my cook returned with a bucket of water from a pool about fifty yards away, and said if I would go down there I could kill a duck for dinner. I immed iatel y took my gun and went down to the place he had indicated, shot a duck and returned to camp. Just as I got hack to the fire I saw one of saddle horses, which was picketed about 200 ya rds away, look up the creek in a frightened manner. I at once, called to the cook to get his gun quick and come with me to see the cause of the horses fright. We started but six Indians suddenly appeared between ourselves and the horses, and a running fight ensued in which we succeeded in keeping them from the ranch, but lost the horses. As we ran the Indians off, it occurred to me that there might be more of them in the rear who had probably attacked the McBoren family and murdered them all, so I said, "Lets run over to McBoren's and see if they need any help. We were afoot but we ran as hard as we could until we came in sight of the cabin. Everything was shut tight, and not a living thing appeared. We slacked our pace and were fearful all were killed and scalped and not one left to tell the tale but when we were within forty yards of the cabin the door opened and Mrs. McBoren appeared, dressed in a suit of her husband's, rifle in hand, and said "Mr. Hearn I am much obliged to you for coming, but we arc all safe and sound; don't kill yourself running.'' This noble woman, rifle in hand, had stood off the Indians for over an hour, before the firing of my gun at the duck had brought them upon us. They thought she was a man and were afraid to charge the cabin. In 1866 my father and myself were on the upper Red River buying beef cattle.

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