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The Tonkawa LbNA #44890

Owner:Boots Tex
Plant date:Dec 6, 2008
Location:
City:Stamford
County:Haskell
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: Walksfar
Last found:Sep 5, 2015
Status:FFFa
Last edited:Dec 6, 2008
The Tonkawas lived in central Texas, in the area we know as the Hill Country until they were driven out by the Comanche. They were mostly friendly with the Lipan Apaches and allied with them against the Comanches. They were also friendly, or at least tolerant, of the white settlers in early Texas. In 1854, the United States and the State of Texas established a reservation for the Tonkawas and other tribes on the Brazos river below Fort Belknap near present day Graham. Camp Cooper (commanded in 1856 by LTC Robert E. Lee) was built nearby. In May, 1858, Colonel John "Rip" Ford's Texas Rangers, ignoring minor legalities like a state-line, attacked a Comanche village on Little Robe Creek in the Indian Territory. Three months later his Caddo, Delaware, and Tonkawa scouts were expelled from Texas as undesirables. In 1859, Tonkawas scouted with the U.S. Army. However, following attacks by Anglo settlers on the reservation, the Tonkawas were relocated to the Wichita Reservation in the Indian Territory that same year. During the Civil War (October, 1862), a group of Comanche, Delaware, Shawnee, Caddo, Wichita and other tribes attacked the Tonkawa reservation in the Indian Territory, killing 300 (about half?) of the Tonkawans. The attack was probably a retaliation for the scouting done by the Tonkawa against these tribes. The Comanche were also said to detest the Tonkawa for the killing and eating of a brother of one of their chiefs. The survivors returned to Texas, where the Governor and the legislature donated a league of land and some supplies. They settled near Fort Griffin and worked for the U.S. Army again. In the early days of the Buffalo War of 1874-75, Tonkawa scouts killed Comanche warriors in the Staked Plains region of Texas. In September, 1875, Tonkawa scouts were awarded 100 Comanche horses by Colonel Ranald MacKenzie for their assistance in the battle at Palo Duro Canyon. Tonkawan scouting for the army ceased when the end of the Indian Wars caused Fort Griffin to be abandoned in 1881.

Directions:
This box is located in Haskell County just north of Stamford (Jones County), at the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Highway 277 and Highway 6. Find the large stone pictorial monument which commemorates the MacKenzie Trail and the role played by the Tonkawas in defeating the Commanches. Park on the side of the road and walk to the monument.
To the box:
Go left around the large evergreen bush to the back of the monument. Look inside the bush about 2 feet off the ground for the box.