The last Indian Raid in Frio Canyon

The last Indian raid in Frio Canyon occurred on April 19, 1882. Kate Mc Lauren and Allen Lease were killed. John and Kate Mc Lauren lived about seven miles outside of Leakey. Allen was staying with the Mc Laurens.

Mr. Mc Lauren left early that morning. Mrs. Mc Lauren took Allen and three of her children to work in the garden. The Mc Lauren’s oldest daughter was staying with another family while going to school. Mrs. Mc Lauren heard noise up at the house and sent Allen to go check on the house. She thought the animals might have gotten into the house. At this time the animals were left to wander the farm. They were not kept in pens.

On his way up to the house, Allen ran into a group of Indians in the yard. He started to run back and warn the others, but was shot before he got back to the family. Mrs. Mc Lauren heard the shot, stood up and was shot. Carrying the baby and trying to get away, she was shot several times more. The Indians went back to the house ransacked it and took what they wanted.

What happens next varies depending on who tells the story. Some say Mrs. Mc Lauren’s six-year-old daughter, Maud, went up to the house while the Indians were still in the house to get a pillow for her mother. Others say Mrs. Mc Lauren sent Maud to get a pillow after the group of Indians left. After Mrs. Mc Lauren had her pillow Maud was sent to find help. Maud found Mr. George Fisher. She told him what happened.

Mr. Fisher took Maud to a neighbor's house and went to round up enough people to find the Indians responsible. Other neighbors went to found Mrs. Mc Lauren. On the way they ran into Mr. Mc Lauren. Together, they found Mrs. Mc Lauren and the other children. Mrs. Mc Lauren was still alive, though she only lived a few minutes after Mr. Mc Lauren arrived. One of the neighbors went to look for Allen. He was found near the house. Allen lay there for quite awhile before he was found. In that time, the hogs got to him and parts of his face were gone.

The group Mr. Fisher gathered met at the Mc Lauren house and left to find the Indians. These men found the Indians they believed responsible in Mexico. They ambushed the camp and five Indians were killed. One Indian woman was captured and taken back to town.

(Wagons Ho, A History Of Real County)

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