DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, the Texas Hill Country in the mid-1800s was a place where two worlds were colliding — pioneer immigrants pushin' permanent settlements into land where Native Americans had long moved freely, huntin' and gatherin' without restraint. That tension produced a lot of encounters.
Some tense. Some deadly. And on January 27, 1866, right near this spot on Hondo Creek, one of those encounters played out in a way that people in Medina County would not soon forget.
Three young men left their homes near D'Hanis. Three young men — and I want you to hold their ages in your mind, because that matters. August Rothe, nineteen years old.
George Miller, sixteen. And Hubert Weynand, just twelve years old. Twelve.
They set out to recover stray livestock, which wasn't a Sunday adventure — it was serious work for area farmers and ranchers. They made camp on Hondo Creek and started what folks then called a cow hunt. Two days passed.
Then came the morning of the third day. Rothe and Weynand were heading back toward camp when something wrong appeared on the horizon. George Miller — running.
Coming straight at them, hard. And behind Miller, eight Indians in pursuit. Now here's where the seconds start to matter.
Rothe and Miller could not get their horses untied in time. No horseback escape. So both of them ran — ran for their lives, up a hill.
Weynand, the twelve-year-old, managed to get on horseback and broke away in a different direction. Three boys. Three fates, all different.
August Rothe made it. The marker calls it a heroic escape, and I'm not going to argue with that word. George Miller did not make it.
A scouting party found his body later — mutilated — but the attackers were never apprehended. And Hubert Weynand, twelve years old, was captured. He was never seen nor heard from again.
Not ever. Contemporary author A.J. Sowell recorded these events in his book, Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest Texas, making sure this moment on Hondo Creek didn't disappear into the silence of unmarked history.
Three boys rode out on a cow hunt. One came home. That's the story this creek remembers.
What the marker says
During the mid-1800s the Texas Hill Country was the site of many hostile encounters, some deadly, between pioneer immigrants whose permanent settlements ran counter to area Native Americans accustomed to unrestrained hunting and gathering. One such encounter occurred near this site on January 27, 1866. Three young men from the area, August Rothe, age 19, George Miller, age 16, and Hubert Weynand, age 12, left their homes near D'Hanis to recover stray livestock, an important task for area farmers and ranchers. They set up camp on Hondo Creek and began the "cow hunt." On the morning of the third day Rothe and Weynand were returning to camp when suddenly Miller appeared running toward them with eight Indians in pursuit. Unable to untie their horses in time to escape on horseback, both Rothe and Miller ran for their lives up a hill; Weynand attempted his escape on horseback. The encounter resulted in Miller's death, Weynand's capture, and Rothe's heroic escape. Weynand was never seen nor heard from again. A scouting party later found Miller's mutilated body but were unable to apprehend the attackers. Contemporary author A.J. Sowell wrote of these events in his book, "Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest Texas." 1994