Part of our in-depth series exploring the forts of Comancheria
29 June 1878; Big Spring, Texas: The Comanche Black Horse took 25 warriors from Fort Sill and rode into Texas. Unable to find any buffalo, the Indians stole several colts from a ranch south of Big Spring and ate them. Seven Texas Rangers from Company B, Frontier Battalion, under Capt. Junius "June" Peake, spotted them in a clump of cedar trees near the headwaters of the North Fork of the Concho River.
The Rangers attacked, but they were outnumbered and fell back. They lost two of their pack mules but captured the Indians' mounts. Two Rangers were wounded.
After dark, the Comanches evacuated their position on foot. Though without supplies, blankets, and ammunition, the Rangers followed the Indians' trail at daybreak. The Comanches hid in a nearby buffalo wallow and turned the captured mules out to graze. When the Texans went to reclaim them, the warriors rose up and fired, killing one Ranger, W.G. Anglin, and wounding another man.
The Comanches made it back to Fort Sill, but six of their men had been killed or wounded. The Rangers suffered one killed and three wounded. This was the last Comanche raid into Texas.