History

Stories About Amistad

The Devils River Power Plants
The Central Power and Light Company constructed three hydro-electric power plants in the late 1920s and early 1930s along the Devils River. As well as furthering the economic development of Val Verde County, these significant structures were the source of the largest electrical loop in Southwest Texas.
more on Devils River Power Plants

Southern Transcontinental Railroad
Construction of the Southern Transcontinental Railroad was a team effort between the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway Company the second of which already had an existing railway system in Texas.

Railroad Tunnels and Stations

The second U.S. transcontinental railway system had several stops located in and around the area now known as Amistad National Recreation Area. Southern Pacific also built two tunnels in the canyon cliffs. These tunnels are still partially visible from the lake.  The Southern Pacific station between the Pecos River crossing and Flanders Station was called Painted Cave Station. The station began operation in 1883 and closed after the opening of the Pecos High Bridge. In 1892, Simon Shaw, Sr. was the section foreman at Painted Caves and Travis Brown, Sr. was the telegraph operator (La Hacienda 1976:117).

Today, nothing remains of Painted Cave Station. What had survived into the 20th century was covered up by the waters of Amistad Reservoir. The nearby rock shelter with prehistoric Indian paintings that were the station's namesake is now known as Parida Cave. The site is operated by the Park Service as an interpretive site for visitors to Amistad National Recreation Area.

The Shumla Station was used by the Southern Pacific from 1883 to 1893. In 1893, the Shumla cut-off, just east of the town, was completed to the new Pecos River High Bridge, eliminating the treacherous decent of the Rio Grande Valley to the crossing of the Pecos at its mouth.

The remains of Shumla Station are located about 8 miles west of the Pecos River adjacent to the modern tracks which parallel U.S. Highway 90. There are several old limestone block buildings within the highway right-of-way in this area but they were not part of the Shumla Station. These buildings were built after WWII by Parkie Wade's father who owned and operated them as a gas station, store, and small motel until the early 1970s. The old Shumla Station is located about 100 yards northwest of the limestone buildings and situated on the north side of the modern Southern Pacific track. Several large trees denote the former location of Shumla Station. The actual Shumla Station depot was moved by Mr. Bill Zuberbueler Sr. using a sled and wagon to a location about 1/2 mile to the south. Today, the old Shumla Station depot is located adjacent to a sheep shearing pen and is used as a barn.

Flanders Station was located at a mile marker 433, as measured in miles from Houston. The old station was situated on the west side of Seminole Canyon roughly 1/4 mile north of U.S. Highway 90. The historic artifacts scattered in the vicinity of where Flanders Station once stood have been designated as site 41VV415.

In the 1920's, Pat Sullivan leased land from Patty Moorehead Wilkins for ranching on the Rio Grande. The lease was along the Rio Grande from the mouth of the Pecos River to Seminole Canyon on the east and to the Pecos River High Bridge on the north. During the summers, when children were not in school in Comstock, the Sullivans (and frequently their neighbors, the Holcombs and Moores) would spend extended periods on the ranch. "The historic old depot was used for the kitchen and dining area and a separate building served as the sleeping quarters" (Kathleen Sullivan Grigsby 1976:155).

The old depot and associated buildings stood at their original location until the mid-1920s when Mrs. Fate Moorehead Bell moved the depot building on skids and by wagon to a new location about 1/2 mile south of its original location. The land�and the building were leased to and eventually homesteaded by Perry Brotherton. The land and the original Flanders�Station�are now part of Seminole Canyon State Historic Park.

The Southern Transcontinental Railroad

At the end of the Civil War, 90% of all railroad tracks in the United States lay east of the Mississippi River. As a result, President Lincoln signed into law the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862 (Briggs 1974:7). On January 1, 1863, ground was broken at Sacramento, California for the building of the first transcontinental railroad; the Central Pacific from Sacramento and the Union Pacific from Omaha Nebraska (Elliot 1928:2). On May 8, 1869, these two rail lines were joined with a gold spike at Promontory Point, Utah creating the first transcontinental railroad.

The driving force of the "Big Four" (Potter Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins) that made the first transcontinental railroad a reality was also responsible for the completion of the southern transcontinental line in 1883 (Elliot 1928:3) which passed through today's Amistad Reservoir basin. Several miles of old grades, foundations for trestles and spans, and railroad tunnels are�visible to�today's visitors to Amistad National Recreation Area. Many of these historic features however, are located on private property within 100 feet of the park's current boundary.

Railroads came into existence in Texas in 1851 with the formation of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (Patterson 1980:8). Several earlier attempts to construct lines had failed due to lack of support by the government of the Republic of Texas (Elliot 1928:30). In time, the Texas Legislature would later approve giving railroad companies 16 sections of land per mile of completed track as an incentive (Comstock Study Group 1976:22).

In 1870, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway was purchased by Thomas Pierce and Associates who changed its name to the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway Company (GH&SA). The GH&SA completed a line from Houston to San Antonio in 1877 and gained additional charter rights to extend its lines to the Rio Grande (Labadie 1987:10). Pierce however, lacked the financial resources to continue the line to the Rio Grande. Meanwhile, because they had ample finances, the Southern Pacific was trying to obtain a charter to construct lines in Texas. By late 1877, Pierce's charter and Huntington's finances produced an agreement which would allow Southern Pacific to lay track in Texas (Briggs 1974:13).

Survey work for the proposed railroad route in the vicinity of the Pecos River was well under way by the summer of 1880. Captain Hood was in charge of the Southern Pacific survey and of engineering crews working between the mouth of the Devils River and the mouth of the Pecos at the Rio Grande. Hood and his survey crews were equipped with five boats and several dozen horses. Their job was to select, survey, and prepare construction estimates for each foot of the route between the two rivers (San Antonio Weekly Express, August 26, 1880). M. J. Ripps was a member of one of the 1880-1881 survey crews and wrote (Hunter 1925:125) of his experience:

"From there on we did not see any more Indians until we came to Eagle's Nest [near present-day Langtry, Texas], on the Rio Grande. We were camped some 350 feet above the level of the river bed, and were cutting out a trail wide enough for a burro to pass with a cask, or small barrel on either side, to transport water from the river. We had stopped for the noon hour when we noticed nine Indians, seven bucks and two squaws. They had evidently descended to the river bottom some miles above and were winding their way to a point directly in front of us, where they could get water. They were coming in single file, some 10 feet apart, and were in full war paint, the Indian in the rear being the guard. The eight went to water to satisfy their thirst, while one stood guard. Then the guard went to drink while one of the squaws stood guard, and she spied us, as we could tell from her gestures. When she gave the alarm they took to their horses and disappeared up the river. As we were not looking for trouble, we did not fire at them, but doubled our guards to protect against an attack."

"Our next camp was at Painted Cave [present-day Parida Cave]. One night we sent our mules and horses out to grass with two guards in charge. Indians crept up and tried to scare the animals. One of the guards, finding something was not right, gave the alarm, and the fireworks started. We fired some 30-40 shots, and one of the guards claimed he got an Indian. This Painted Cave is worth a trip to see. It is a big opening under a protruding boulder, large enough for 14 men to ride into on horseback at one time. Its inner walls are decorated with Indian paintings of wild animals, lions, tigers, buffaloes, etc., and all the sign language on the walls, some of which we would not understand if they were played on a phonograph."

In 1881, Huntington's Southern Pacific, the Western Division, began work eastward from El Paso while Pierce's GH&SA, known as the Sunset or Eastern Division, started westward from San Antonio with plans to meet Southern Pacific crews somewhere near the Pecos River (Elliot 1922:21-22). The route was surveyed about two years before actual construction began. From San Antonio to Del Rio, the survey crew generally followed the San Antonio-El Paso road which had been in use by military and commercial freight haulers since the early 1850s. From Del Rio to Fort Davis, the route roughly paralleled Bullis' 1875 military road which crossed the Pecos River near its junction with the Rio Grande. Construction of the line from San Antonio to El Paso was conducted under the administrative auspices of the GH&SA and the Southern Development Company (a company set up by Huntington's Southern Pacific). Each of these divisions had its own management, utilized different construction procedures, and relied on different sources of supply.

People

The People Behind the Railroads
Construction of the Southern Transcontinental Railroad was split into two divisions. The western half was constructed by Southern Pacific, while the eastern half was constructed by the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway Company.
 

Lt. John L. Bullis
John L. Bullis served the majority of his career in Southwest Texas after the Civil War. Between 1873 and 1881, Bullis served commanded the Seminole scouts. During this time he lead them in a number of famous encounters against bands of Apache and Comanche Indians.

 

Seminole Scouts
The Seminole Negro Indian Scouts earned four Congressional Medals of Honor defending the frontier against hostile Apaches and Comanches, and never lost a man in combat.

Ancient People of the Lower Pecos
People have come here for more than 10,000 years to enjoy and fish in the waters of the Pecos, Devils, and Rio Grande.

Seminole Scouts

Seminole Canyon gets its name from the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts, garrisoned at Fort Clark in Brackettville. The scouts protected the West Texas frontier from marauding Apache and Comanche Indians between 1872 and 1914. In 26 missions resulting in 12 battles, no Seminole Negro Indian Scout was ever wounded or killed in combat, and 4 scouts earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. This canyon contains a watering hole and campsite that they often used when on patrols, giving the canyon its name today. Today the Army�s elite Special Forces use the crossed arrows insignia of the Indian Scouts. The most famous engagement of the Seminole Scouts happened on April 25, 1875 near where Highway 90 now crosses the Pecos. Lieutenant John L. Bullis and 3 of his scouts had tracked a group of 25 to 30 Indians for 4 days, catching up to them as they crossed the Pecos River with a herd of about 75 horses. The scouts dismounted and crept undetected to positions within 75 yards of them. Bullis identified the Indians as Comanches and attacked, killing 3 and wounding a fourth. After being pinned down for 45 minutes, the Comanches sized up the scouts� locations and numbers, flanked them, and counter-attacked. Bullis ordered a retreat, and the scouts returned to their horses and withdrew. They soon realized that Bullis was not with them; his horse had spooked before he could mount it, and the Comanches were now closing on him. The scouts returned to rescue him, braving heavy gunfire at considerable risk to their lives. As Trooper Pompey Factor and Trumpeter Isaac Payne provided cover fire, Sergeant John Ward rode to where Bullis was trapped and pulled him up onto the back of his horse, saving his life. Soldiers Ward, Factor, and Payne were each awarded the nation�s highest commendation for valor in combat, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Lt. John L. Bullis

Property raids and territory disputes were a fact of everyday life in the borderlands of post-Civil War Texas, but the federal government was determined to put a stop to. Five years of upheaval had resulted in a loss of land along the southern border and frequent attacks on settlers. To combat these problems, military forts sprang up throughout Texas in the decade following the Civil War and armed U.S troops made regular patrols. One of the most well-known of the patrolling groups was the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts out of Fort Clark, Brackettville, Texas. Remembered for their toughness and skill as trackers, it is their courage that has brought them the most recognition. And nowhere would those traits be more in evidence than during the Pecos River skirmish of April 25, 1875.

On that spring morning Lieutenant John L. Bullis, along with Seminole Scouts Sergeant John Ward, Private Pompey Factor, and Trumpeter Isaac Payne had been in hot pursuit of a band of Comanche or Apache raiders for just over a week. Though originally riding with Company A of the 25th Infantry the four men had separated from the larger group a few days earlier and headed west alone. On horseback, armed only with Spencer carbines and dwindling supplies, Bullis and his men would track the raiders for the next three days and cover more than 170 miles before finally picking up fresh trail markings about three miles east of present-day Seminole Springs. They followed the trail northwest towards Eagle Nest Crossing until they came to the Pecos River. Crouched high in the canyon above the raiding party, Bullis and the Scouts took stock of the situation. The raiders had already begun herding the horses across to the west bank by the time the group arrived and Bullis must have known that his window of opportunity was closing. If he didn't act soon, the horses would be lost. The Scouts counted seventy-five horses and between twenty-five to thirty raiders; there were just four of them. The events of the next hour would not only bring commendation to the Seminole Scouts and Bullis, it would cement their reputations in the lore of the west.

Lieutenant John Lapham Bullis, a Quaker from New York State, was granted command of the Seminole Scouts in 1873. A career military man, he had first enlisted with the 126th New York Voluntary Infantry in 1862 just as the Civil War was ramping up. Captured first during the battle of Harpers Ferry and then at Gettysburg, he was briefly held at Libby Prison before serving out the remaining years of the war fighting around Richmond, Virginia. Mustered out of the army in 1866, the one time Captain spent a year working on the Mississippi before accepting a commission as Lieutenant with the 41st Infantry, now stationed in coastal Texas. When the army began downsizing in 1869 Bullis accepted a transfer to the newly established 24th U.S Infantry, one of two African-American infantry units.

The U.S. Government had first authorized the official formation of black cavalry and infantry troops in 1866, though black soldiers had fought during the Civil War in the years prior. By 1870 the military, aware of the growing necessity to protect the western frontier, began recruiting Seminole Maroons to act as scouts. The new recruits would be used primarily as reconnaissance and patrol forces and would not engage in any major skirmishes. But by 1873, with the U.S./Mexico border situation worsening and the Seminole Scouts proving themselves as excellent trackers and guides, a call went out for a commanding officer for the troop. Thirty-two year old John L. Bullis accepted the offer.In an era when many men would have, and did, shun appointments with “colored” soldiers for more “prestigious” positions Bullis had a history of serving with African-American military units. Besides the 24th he had been commissioned in the 118th Infantry as a Captain and served with them during the final years of the Civil War. The eight years that Bullis spent as commander of the Seminole Scouts were to be landmark years in their history. During that period his men would fight in twenty-six battles, be awarded three Congressional Medals of Honor and, almost impossibly, not a single man would be killed or seriously injured. That record is all the more impressive when considering the odds they faced that April morning of 1875, high up in the canyons above the Pecos River.

On that day Bullis and the three scouts, Ward, Factor and Payne, despite being greatly outnumbered, decided to attack. Under cover of an uprooted bush the group crawled down the canyon to within seventy-five yards of the large raiding party. The men spread out, took up defensive positions, and then opened fire with their Spencer carbines. For about forty-five minutes Bullis and the Scouts were successful in holding their positions and almost succeeded in dispersing the herd. But slowly, their luck began to turn. Before too long the Comanche raiders were able to pinpoint their attacker’s positions; realizing that the attack force consisted of only four men they opened fire with their Winchester rifles. Outgunned, and in serious danger of being outflanked and cut off from their horses, Bullis and his men retreated back up the canyon. The three Scouts were able to mount up and ride out but Bullis’ horse spooked and he was left on the ground. What happened next is the stuff of legends. Sergeant John Ward, already on his way to safety, realized that Bullis was in trouble and turned his horse around. Isaac Payne and Pompey Factor followed suit. With Payne and Factor firing as quickly as they could to provide some cover, Ward headed straight for Bullis. The Lieutenant was able to leap onto the back of Wards horse and all four men rode out of the canyon under a hail of bullets. The raiders did not follow. For their bravery in saving Lieutenant Bullis’ life Sergeant John Ward, Private Pompey Factor and Trumpeter Isaac Payne were each awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Bullis, nicknamed “The Whirlwind” by his men, would serve with the Seminole Scouts until 1882. Though only eight of his forty-two years in the military were spent with the Scouts it is this period for which he is best remembered. Long after his service with them was over Bullis would receive brevet citations for his bravery fighting alongside Colonel Randal S. Mackenzie at Remolino, for his actions at the Pecos, and for his part in the Red River War of 1874. He would remain an admirer of the Seminole Scouts long after his tenure as commander was over, advocating to secure the land and rights that had been promised to them.