Search

Wolf, Hoffman and Others

Michael has a BA in History & American Studies and an MSc in American History from the University of Edinburgh. He comes from a proud military family and has spent most of his career as an educator in the Middle East and Asia. His passion is travel, and he seizes any opportunity to share his experiences in the most immersive way possible, whether at sea or on the land.

Medina County, Texas
Mills County, Texas

    Wolf was an employee of Hoffman, who ranched at the mouth of the Little Seco in Medina County. One morning during March of 1860 while cow-hunting on the Sabinal River, about eight miles north of the present city of Sabinal, they were charged by approximately eight Indians, and both killed.

    Seco Smith and others followed the Indian trail, and soon found a murdered Mexican previously employed by Ross Kennedy. The trail then led to the Sabinal River. Here an Indian warrior painted for war, hung from a live oak tree. On the ground lay his bow and arrows, shield, rope, etc. The tree disclosed that a fierce fight had been fought. About two hundred yards away, some one discovered two objects lying on the ground. It was the bodies of Alexander Hoffman, age thirty-eight, and Sebascon Wolf, age twenty. The Texans continued to follow the Indian trail, for about ten miles farther. Here they met a group of citizens from Uvalde County, who stated they had already given the Indians a surprise while butchering beef. The Indians scattered like a covy of quail. The citizens of Uvalde recovered their stolen horses.

    The Indians were often known to do freakish things, and the hanging of this warrior to the tree by his neck, was certainly one of them.

    The Vital Statistics disclose that Vincent Rilhanz and Nichol Ingman were also murdered by Indians in Medina County during the same month.

    Ref.: J.C. Ware, who was living on the Sabinal at the time.

The above story is from the book, The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph Carroll McConnell.

Join the discussion

Further reading

Recent Comments