Part of our in-depth series exploring the forts of Comancheria
October 1866; Brownwood, Texas: About 16 miles southwest along the road from Comanche to San Saba, Texas, ranchers Larkin Stone, Frank Brown, John Roach, and another man were attacked by about 30 Comanches. Firing hotly, they knocked several Indians from their ponies, then made their escape. Brown got away with a facial wound, but Roach was hit thrice. Nevertheless, he rode far enough away to escape before dropping from his mule. The three others made it to a settlement and spread the alarm.
James Cunningham and his son David raised a number of settlers to take up the chase. Near the attack site they found Roach, still alive. The trail led them northwest into Brown County, and soon they discovered a fresh grave, which held the body of a recently shot Comanche. The posse, which included about 40 men with a few bloodhounds, rode through the night into the hills near Gap Creek. There they discovered a sleeping Comanche camp and surrounded it.
At first light they charged the Indians with a Texas yell. Five warriors died in the first fire, and their scalps were soon hanging from the Texans' belts. Eighteen-year-old Freeman Clark's revolver misfired and a Comanche shot him in the ribs. A bullet shattered Larkin Stone's pistol grip in his hand. When the Indians mounted up and fled, the Texans chased them for several miles before losing them.
All told, the Texans lost one man and one was wounded. They killed and scalped seven Comanches and wounded four.
From: Encyclopedia of Indian Wars by Gregory F. Michno