Posted on: Llano County Queries Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Tx/Llano?read=242 Surname: Arnold, Olney, Hammonds, Skinner, Yarborough, Shults, Schultz, Casner, Brown, Davis, Whitlock, Scott, Maxwell ------------------------- An October 11, 1931 Sunday Magazine Section of Houston Post Dispatch published an article entitled "Hamilton Dam to Bury" by Bess Whitehead Scott was made available by the Clayton Library in Houston, Texas. The article and photos were taken during the 1931 Arnold Reunion. The article below tell of a Battle at Packsaddle Mountain in 1859. Does anyone know of an 1859 Packsaddle Mountain Battle between 18 Indians and 8 white settlers, where an Indian Chief was killed? I am aware of the August 4, 1873 Packsaddle Mountain and searching to see if there is any documentation on the Arnold oral family history of William K. Arnold being in the 1859 Battle. The family members have seen the Sophie Shults and William K. Arnold's Family Bible, but have not seen or know the where abouts of the Chiefs leather jacket mentioned in the article. The magazine article read as follow; In the days when the hardy Texas pioneer finished his day's work with the setting sun and dared to make a light at night; when days light invariably revealed the print of moccasin feet around his home; when the head of the family felled trees to build his house with his rifle always within reach, Bill Arnold and his wife with one small child migrated from Tennessee and settled in the frontier country of Llano county. Solid oak logs were cut and hewn by Arnold with which to build the walls of his home. Solid oak also served for his ceiling and floors. The rafters were cut from native cedar. All were hewn with crude implements, but with immeasurable pride by the hardy frontiersman. Chimney by Hand Lime rock was burned in the kiln and used for mixing mortar in the erection of the house. The chimney, a masterpiece of masonry, was made from stones chiseled by hand to fit with minute precision. A smoke house was built, staunch and strong, to hold the winter supplies of meat and groceries, and a corral was sturdily built where the horses were kept saddled under lock and key, day and night, in readiness against Indian raids. Today the fine old house of oak and its marvelously built of rock stands in fairly good repair after 80 years of constant use, and the smokehouse and corral are in good state of preservation. But the state of Texas has rung the death knell of the old home, and with a few months the buildings and homesite will be under 37 feet of water. For the unique old Arnold home is directly in the acreage to be flooded. The primary purpose of the reunion was to witness the removal of the graves of their loved ones, who rested many years in the family grave yard. Attend the reunion were many grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the sisters, numbering 141 in all. Among these were Mr. And Mrs. Lloyd W. Davis of Galena Park and their three children. These seven sisters, two of whom have celebrated their golden wedding anniversaries, are Mrs. J. T. Olney (Lizzie), who is 80 years old; Mrs. O. W. Hammonds (Belle); Mrs. W. S. Skinner (Judith), Mrs. Vickie Yarborough (Vickie), and Mrs. J. D. Schultz (Becky), all of whom are in their 70's and Mrs. E. W. Casner (Alice) and Mrs. J. W. Brown (Nina) who are in their 60's. The son of Sam Houston Arnold, now living in Cordell, Oklahoma, to preserve the family name. Another daughter Mrs. H. D. Davis, (Ida Lee) died at the age of 44, leaving five children. The seven sisters were born, reared, wooed, won, and married under the roof of the old oak home. The wedding ceremony of each one of the sisters was performed by Uncle Ike Maxwell, a pioneer who helped Bill Arnold build his home in the wilderness, and who still lives in the neighborhood. Full of Memories These are the sisters who last August entered for the first time since childhood, the neighborhood school house where they learned reading, writing, and "rithmetic." Where their brother many years ago became a Mason; where one of the sisters was converted during an old camp meeting. The sisters remembered playing under the great pecan trees as children. Strenuous days of Indian raids were recalled. One of William Arnold's daughter told how her father was made leader of the neighborhood after the raid of 1859 in which the Whitlock family, friends and neighbors of the Arnolds, were massacred and burned by the redskins. Another remembered that one child was spared and taken captive and was reported only a short time ago to be with an Indian band in Arizona, unable and unwilling to leave the only people she ever knew. Another sister recounted the strenuous days of the final battle with the Indians by the little Llano County band fought on Pack-saddle mountain by eight white men and 18 Indians. Today hundreds of arrows lie along the mountain sides, mute evidence of the victory Bill Arnold and his neighbors won, making the community safe for their loved ones and generations to come. For the Indian chief was killed and his men fled never to return. The chief's leather jacket remains in the possession of the Arnold family, a treasured evidence of the pioneer's marksmanship. Other treasures of the heirlooms are the family Bible, rare pieces of china and silver, and a valuable cupboard.