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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
COMANCHE WAR TRAIL ARTIFACTSPre-Historic & Indian Era Relics
from theCrossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
By Doyle Phillips and Many Contributors
The Big Spring in the late 1800s.The building is the pumphouse of the Texas & Pacific Railroad.
Published by Doyle Phillips/FotoGraficaAP 251 Guanajuato, Guanajuato CP 36000
MéxicoPhone: 473 732 1638
Email: [email protected]
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Introduction
The lands around present-day Howard County, Texas were visited by NorthAmerica’s most ancient people. Countless stone artifacts from prehistoric times(Paleolithic) have been found all over the countryside: dart or projectile points,drills, awls, scrapers, metates, manos and hammerstones—and a few unidenti-fied objects. Ancient campsites are located almost everywhere, marked by charredrock burned from repeated use at campfires.
Clovis Culture dates to about 10,000 B.C. (12,000 years ago) and is namedfor discoveries at Clovis, New Mexico. Perhaps the second oldest humans are theFolsoms, named for Folsom, New Mexico. The third is named for the projectilepoints found at a massive animal kill site near Plainview, Texas. Probably con-temporaneous with the Plainviews was the Midland peoples of what is now Mid-land, Texas. All relied on killing big and dangerous game. In those times therewas plenty of water and grassland in the region so that nomadic hunters wouldnaturally cover this area on their perpetual forays for food. Keep in mind thatlarger animals created trails and ‘roads’ that made them easy to follow from wa-tering hole to watering hole.
Eventually paleoindians were replaced by the American Indian, and there isabundant lithic evidence of many diverse cultures having come to the HowardCounty region far back in time. In a single cottonfield I have found identifiableprojectile points ranging from a Midland of 12,000 years to a ‘late’ point of about400 A.D. (The farmer who had worked this section of land over thirty yearscollected countless different point types from the field, which seems to have oncebeen the edge of an ancient lake.)
Some of the cultures were, almost certainly, semi-permanent residents of thearea because of the abundance of water and game. But predominantly the peoplewere seasonal visitors. The Lipan Apaches may have been the Indians most usu-ally dominant until the Horse Comanches began taking over about the 1600s. Onearly maps of Texas the region is labeled “Droves of Wild horses and Cattle” andwith the names of Indian tribes. Eventually the maps began showing the LlanoEstacado. The explorer Josiah Gregg’s map of 1844 is the first I’ve found showinga “Chihuahua Road” running right through the coordinates of the Howard Countyarea. (Dr. Henry Connelly’s caravan route, 1839.)
For a fine overview of the Comanche War Trail history and mystique see“Terror in the Night “ by Mike Cox, Texas Highways, August 1997.
The artifacts in this book are the result of three different ‘roundups’ heldduring 1999. Collectors from the area brought their finds to the Gem and MineralShow and to the library at Howard College. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of ob-jects were cataloged; only a few of them are shown in this book.
In 1849 the famous Captain Randolph B. Marcy passed this way on his expe-dition from Santa Fe to El Paso to Missouri and named the ‘big spring of theColorado’. He wrote that he had followed a ‘beautiful road’ to arrive at the spring.He noted that the entire landscape was covered in Indian artifacts, and the In-dian guide knew the place well, his brother having been killed in a fight withother Indians at the spring.
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Captain Marcy noted:This appears to have been a favorite resort for the Comanches, as there are
remains of lodges in every direction; indeed, our Comanche guide tells us thathe has often been here before, and that there was a battle fought here someyears since between the Pawnees and Comanches, in which his brother waskilled. He also informs me that there is a good wagon route from here to the RioPecos, Striking it some seventy miles lower down that where we crossed, keepingentirely to the south of the Llano Estacado, and crossing the head branches ofthe Colorado.
There is a Comanche trail leading over this route, and it would, undoubt-edly, be the best between this point and Chihuahua, as it is nearer than theone we have traveled, with no sand upon it and an abundance of water.
I think by taking the trail at this place (the big spring) and keeping the crestof the Llano Estacado on the right, one would have no difficulty in gettingthrough to the plains at the Chihuahua crossing.****This book could not have been produced without the interest and point identifica-
tion experience of Mark Collier (Big Spring). Richard Rose (Midland) an authority onpaleopoints worked with us at all three roundups. A good time was had by all at theseevents, which were solely for historical recording, not for trading or evaluation. Manycollectors took the time to bring in their finds. Unfortunately, there are thousands moreobjects in private collections that people failed to bring in. I can only hope that in someway they will document their artifacts; our culture and history require us to be stew-ards of the past.
Doyle Phillips, EditorBig Spring, Texas 25 January 2000
Table of Contents
Projectile Points In alphabetical order by Type Name............... Page 5 Other lithic artifacts begin on Page 44
Scrapers, Knives, etc ............................................................... Page 54
Unidentified Objects ................................................................ Page 59
Mystery Artifact: The Howard County Cannon Discovery .......... Page 62
Maps ....................................................................................... Page 71
Bibliography and Sources ........................................................ Page 72
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Notes about Identifications and Types
Names of the artifacts in this book are generally agreed on by academic researchers;a large number of publications are available for your further investigation. Many ofthe type names pertain to the locales in which the artifact was found, such as theTexas river area called the Pedernales, a specific townsite such as Clovis (NewMexico), counties and people.
Shapes and sizes within a type may vary to a maddening degree. Also the chert(flint) may come from different regions and, consequently, colorings will sometimesvary within a designation.
Trading among the Indians (and probably the pre-Indians) included flints; so it isnot too unusual to find a Central Texas point made of material from West Texas. Nor isit surprising to find points here that come from many other places because of the exten-sive trade in finished projectile points and, after a fight, Indians were known to scav-enge the battlefield salvaging arrows, spears and lances. It would have been convenientif these artifacts had stayed in their native areas exclusively.
Doyle Phillips Editor
30 miles
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Projectile PointsAll items are shown at actual size unless otherwise indicated. The medium-
to-large size points were used for lances, spears and atlatls. In general, the small-to-tiny points were arrow tips.
The proportion of types in this catalog does not scientifically indicate that atype predominated in this region. For example there are many Pedernales shownbut that does not necessarily mean that there were not as many or even moreAndices brought in for cataloging. My unscientific impression from looking at allthese artifacts indicates that western, southern and central Texas are the mainsource of types found in the big spring region.
For projectile point identification, material sources and flaking techniquesplease refer to the bibliography in back of this book. It is a fascinating study. Asa designer I have been awed by the craftsmanship—and the artistry—of theseancient people. Much is lost by printing them in only black-and-white. If youneed to see any of the points in color please contact me at the addresses noted onPage 1. --D.P.
Abasolo 5,000 - 2,500B.C.
Translucent material likefrosted glass; beautifullycrafted in a difficultstone.The dark mark is a plowhit.
Denton Collection
Winterbauer/TorresCollection
Escanuela Collection
tion
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Almagre 2,500 - 1,000 B.C.
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Andice 8,000 - 6,000 B.C.
Dawes Collection
Agate Basin 9,000 - 8,000 B.C.
Shortes Collection
In this idealized and well-organized Comanche Village the men and boysin the foregroundare taking it easywith their gamesand horses andpowwow. Thewomen enjoy lifedoing all the work,like hide-scrapingand preparing thevictuals; in thebackground choicecuts of meat maybe seen on dryingracks.
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Angostura 7,000 - 6,000 B.C.
Simer Collection
Enderle Collection
Collier Collection
Axtell (?) 2,500 B.C. - 200 A.D.
Griffin Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Beaver Lake?8,000 - 1,000 B.C.
If this is a Beaver Lake it trav-eled a long way from its knownterritory in Tennessee, Ken-tucky and Alabama
Conner Collection
Bell 6,000 - 3,500 B.C.
Damron Collection
Denton Collection
Portrait of the Comanche ChiefBow & Quiver
by George Catlain, 1832
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Bonham 800 - 1,600 A.D.
Simer Collection
Winterbauer/Torres Collec-tion
Allen Collection
Bulbar Stemmed1,000 - 1,500 A.D.
Enderle Collection
Griffin Collection
ApacheWarrior
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Wegner Collection
Conner Collection
Reid Collection
Bulverde 3,000 - 1000 B.C.
Collier Collection
Cathey Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Variant Bulverde? Simer Collection
Phillips Collection
Caracara 600 - 1,500 A.D.
Winterbauer/Torres Collec-tion
Carrollton2,500 - 1,000 B.C.
Denton Collection
Denton Collection
Kiowa War Club
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Castroville 4,000 - 1,000 B.C.
Made of multi-coloredAlibates flint
Wilson Collection
Wegner Collection
Clovis 10,000 - 8,000 B.C.
Magnificent design, craftsmanshipof a multi-colored material
Enderle Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Conner Collection
Cathey Collection
Conejo 2,000 - 300 B.C.
Denton Collection
Denton Collection
Cuney 1,300 - 1,650 A.D.
Enderle Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Enderle Collection
Dalton 8,500 - 7,900 B.C.
Winterbauer/Torres Collec-tion
Darl 1,000 B.C. - 500 A.D.
Baird Collection
Damron Collection
Damron Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Denton Collection
Escanuela Collection
Early Stemmed6,000 - 2,500 B.C.
Corner Notched
Reid Collection
The Indian bow, whether small orlarge, was a powerful weapon. Cabezade Vaca, a soldier familiar with thecapabilities of European weaponry,was nevertheless repeatedly im-pressed by the Indian arrow’s pen-etrating power (c. 1527).
In 1849 Captain Randolph B.Marcy wrote: As we were about toslaughter an ox, one of the Indiansrequested to use his bow for that pur-
pose, and approached towithin about twentyyards of the animals,strained his bow tothe full extent, and letfly an arrow, which
buried itself in thevitals of the ox,passing through;breaking two ribsin its course. It isthus that they killthebuffalo...which
these Indians (who are called theupper Comanches, or “buffalo eaters”)mainly depend for a subsistence.
Captain Marcynamed the BigSpring (1849)
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Ensor 850 B.C. - 150 A.D.
Collier Collection
Early Triangular 3,800 - 3,000 B.C.
Craft Collection
Phillips Collection
Ellis 1,000 B.C. - 1,000 A.D.
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Exceptionally fine wine andcream coloring
Castle Collection
Winterbauer /Torres Collection
Shanks Collection
Fairland 1,000 B.C. - 500 A.D.
Wegner Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Fresno 600 - 1,800 A.D. (?)
Cathey Collection
Allen Collection
This elaborated point is indeeda Fresno type.
Shanks Collection
Conner Collection
Folsom 9,000 - 7,000 B.C.
Thin, delicate and translucentumber coloring
Webb Collection
Allen Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Frio 1,000 B.C. - 500 A.D.
Collier Collection
Newton Collection
Gary 2,000 B.C. - 500 A.D.
Conner Collection
Escanuela Collection
Garza 14 - 635 A.D.
Simer Collection
Collier Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Griffin Collection
Hoxie (related to Darl)5,000 - 2,500 B.C.
Worthy Collection
Guerrero 1,700 - 1,800 A.D.
Enderle Collection
Harrell 1,100 - 1,500 A.D.
Collier Collection
Hell Gap (?) 8,000 - 7,500 B.C.
Griffin Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Shanks Collection
Shanks Collection
Kinney 1,500 - 1000 A.D.
Rose Collection
Lerma (?) 6,500 - 2,000 B.C.
Cathey Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Collier Collection
Collier Collection
Grigg Collection
Livermore 800 - 1,400 A.D.
Rose Collection
Lott 1,3500 - 1,500 A.D.
Collier Collection
Marcos 1,000 - 500 B.C.
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Reid Collection
Baird Collection
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Marshall 2,000 - 300 B.C.
Worthy Collection
Grigg Collection
ComancheWarrior
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Worthy Collection
Shanks Collection
Unusually large
Denton Collection
KiowaBrave
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Maud 1,250 - 1,650 A.D.
Collier Collection
Metal Point After 1500 A.D.?
With an embossed Christian cross;found at the big spring
Rose Collection
Martindale 4,000 - 2,500 B.C.
Collier Collection
A chronicler of the Coronado Expedition (Winship, 1896: 527-528) de-scribed these prehorse plainsmen as people who follow the cows [buffaloes],hunting them and tanning the skins to take to the settlements in the winter tosell.... They travel like the Arabs, with their tents and troops of dogs loadedwith poles and having Moorish packsaddles with girths. When the load getsdisarranged, the dogs howl, calling someone to fix them right. These people eatraw flesh and drink blood. They do not eat human flesh. They are a kind peopleand not cruel. They are faithful friends. They are able to make themselves verywell understood by means of signs. They dry the flesh [of the buffalo] in thesun, cutting it thin like a leaf, and when dry they grind it like meal to keep it andmake a sort of sea [sic] soup [mush] of it to eat. A handful thrown into a potswells up so as to increase very much. They season it with fat, which theyalways try to secure when they kill a cow. They empty a large gut and fill it withblood, and carry this around the neck to drink when they are thirsty. When theyopen the belly of a cow they squeeze out the chewed grass and drink the juicethat remains behind, because they say that this contains the essence of thestomach. They cut the hide open at the back and pull it off at the joints, using aflint as large as a finger, tied in a little stick with as much ease as if workingwith a good iron tool. They give it an edge with their own teeth. The quicknesswith which they do this is something worth seeing and noting.
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Meserve 7,500 - 6,000 B.C.
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Midland 9,000 - 5,000 B.C.
Saxton Collection
Saxton Collection
Phillips Collection
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Montell3,000 B.C. - 1,000 A.D.
Collier Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Moran 700 - 1,200 B.C.
Collier Collection
Motley 1400 - 300 B.C.
Wegner Collection
Collier Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Winterbauer/Torres Collection
Denton Collection
Morrill 6,000 - 1,000 B.C.
Allen Collection
Nolan 4,000 BC. - 2,500 B.C.
Reid Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Collier Collection
Phillips Collection
Conner Collection
Worthy Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Reid Collection
Daniels Collection
Shanks Collection
Rose Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Collier Collection
Allen Collection
Palmillas 1,500 - 500 B.C.
Shanks Collection
Pandale 4,000 - 2,700 B.C.
Daniels Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Pedernales 4,000 B.C. - 1,000 A.D.
Conner Collection
Conner Collection
Daniels Collection
Pace Collection
Apache Warrior
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Phillips Collection
Donnelly Collection
Perdiz 900 - 1,560 A.D.
Simer Collection
Almost clear agate
Collier Collection
Cathey Collection
Worthy Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
A life-time collec-tion from ruralHoward County,typical of probablyhundreds of oth-ers.
Allred Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Shanks Collection
Shanks Collection
Daniels Collection
Plainview 9,000 - 6,000 B.C.
Conner Collection
Conner Collection
Apache Woman
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
The “bigspring”markedon both1810and1839
This1844map,thoughflawedandvague,clearlyshowsone ofthe earlyroadsthroughthe re-
Route ofCara-vansFrom
Route ofCara-
Page 36 and 37 are shown separately under the Comanche War TrailArifacts tab on the website.
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
The “bigspring”markedon both1810and1839
This1844map,thoughflawedandvague,clearlyshowsone ofthe earlyroads
Route ofCara-vansFrom
Route ofCara
Page 36 and 37 are shown separately under the Comanche War TrailArifacts tab on the website.
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
San Patrice (or Paisano)8,000 - 4,000 B.C.
Cathey Collection
San Saba 3,000 - 2,000 B.C.
Reid Collection
Reid Collection
Sabinal 1,100 - 1,250 A.D.
Rose Collection
Rockwall 700 - 1,400 A.D.
Reid Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Exceptional color
Conner Collection
Shumla 1,000 - 200 B.C.
Phillips Collection
Talco 1,200 - 1,600 A.D.
Simer Collection
Tortugas 3,000 - 2,000 B.C.
Daniels Collection
Portrait of Man-&-Chief,Pawnee
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Trinity 2,000 - 1,000 B.C.
Denton Collection
Uvalde 4,000 - 1,000 B.C.
Escanuela Collection
Toyah 1,400 - 1,650 A.D.
Collier Collection
Denton Collection
Denton Collection
Travis (?) 2,800 - 2,000 B.C.
Lamb Collection
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Comanche War Trail Artifacts From the Crossing Point of Olden Texas Trails
Enderle Collection
Baird Collection
Conner Collection
Reid Collection
Denton Collection