"Rebecca Morris (Mrs. Asa Langford) when a girl was milking the cows in the cow pen across the branch from the Morris home. The cow pen was surrounded by a pole fence with bars on the side next to the house; the cow she was milking snorted - Rebecca looked up and saw Indians climbing over the fence. She threw down the milk bucket, ran to the opposite side of the fence and climbed over the fence. The Indians ran around the fence and chased her to the branch but they stopped at the trees."

"Rebecca and John Morris, ages 12 and 10, children of Dave Morris the first settler at Center City gathered pecans on Bennett Creek and delivered them to Lampasas to help supply food for the family in an ox wagon. The oxen were named Jerry and Tobe; Jerry would run if a person jumped from the wagon on his side.

One day in the fall of 1854 Rebecca and John started to Lampasas with a load of pecans. They heard a gang of Indians coming behind them as they came near the creek crossing. They jumped out of the wagon on old Jerry's side and the oxen began running while the children ran down into the dry bed of the creek, fell down into the leaves covering themselves; there they lay scarcely breathing fearing detection by the Indians as the gang passed near them crunching the gravel. The Indians ran after the wagon. The oxen stopped; the Indians cut open the sack of pecans and traveled on through the area."

The following article was written by B.F. Gholson of Evant, Texas. The John Morris referred to was a brother of Dave Morris, Jr., who was he father of Sam and Henry Morris, who now reside in Goldthwaite.

"John Morris and his brother, W. M. Morris, sold their small stock of cattle to James Burleson, a regular driver, who employed them as trail hands to assist in driving his herd to Fort Sumner, at which place he paid them for their cattle and their wages also, giving them currency for the whole amount, except one check for $600 on some bank in Chicago. Accompanied by several of the cow hands, the Morris brothers started on their return home, coming in by way of the Concho, Jim Ned and Pecan Bayou, where their companions began to leave them and take nearest routes to their homes, and a few came as far as where Brownwood now stands.

The Morris brothers had a wagon and three horses, and were armed with six-shooters only. When the two reached four miles northeast of the Williams ranch, Bill Morris, who was on horseback, saw several deer some distance away and went forward to kill some of the game.

He had not gone far when he discovered a large party of Indians, some of them coming toward him, others headed for the wagon. He immediately returned to the wagon to assist his brother, John, who had climbed out of the wagon, and the fight opened.

The Indians captured Bill's horse and shot one of the others with an arrow, causing the team to run away, leaving the boys afoot.

The brothers knew the country well and decided to go to a certain bluff on Brown's creek, and several times they had to drive the Indians from behind trees along the way. It was a running fight and was kept so until they reached on open prairie, when John was weakening from four wounds. They finally crossed the prairie spot and reached a grove and John sank down. He told Bill he could go no further and urged him to run and try to escape.

They had killed and wounded a number of Indians, and for the time the savages had checked up. This gave Bill an opportunity to slip away, so leaving his wounded brother, he made his way to the Williams ranch, or rather the Fowler ranch as it was then known, where he secured help and returned to assist his brother as quickly as possible. But the relief party arrived too late. The Indians were gone. John was dead and scalped and his body mutilated.

The news of the killing reached Langford Cove that day and John Morris' father requested me to go to the Langford graveyard and prepare a grave for his son, which I did, but they decided to bury him at the Williams ranch. Thus the grave which I prepared stands open even unto this day.

As soon as John was buried, Bill came home and then went on by the Cove. He came by my house and stayed all night. About ten nights after the killing had taken place the Indians stole thirteen horses from our place before going on.

Bill and I followed the trail next day, and we found a horse which Bill had shot during the fight a few days before. We brought him in and learned that he belonged to Henry Ford, and had been stolen a few days before the fight.

Twenty-six Indians engaged in this fight and seven were either killed or wounded. The wagon was plundered and the check that I have mentioned and all the money carried away, except a few dollars Bill had in his pockets. The Indians were pursued but were not overtaken."

Footnote: February 16, 1955

Many of the Citizens of that day including Thomas Hawkins, Colonel J. S. Casbeer, and John Knight of the then thriving town of possibly a thousand population 'have passed over the river' as have other pioneers such as Asa Langford, Dave Morris, Sr. and Dick Jenkins.

Henry Morris of Goldthwaite is the grandson, and Mrs. Florence Geeslin is the grand daughter of Dave Morris, Sr.

Across the creek, south of Center City on the Lampasas road, Dave Morris lived.

Andy Morris and family lived on North Bennett Creek of Center City.