DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to give it its due. May 1861. Comanche, Texas.
The moon was bright — what folks back then called the Bright Moon — and that silver light was exactly what somebody was counting on. Under that wide-open sky, raiders moved through town like a shadow on still water, and by the time anyone knew something was wrong, nearly every last horse in Comanche was gone. One of the boldest depredations in Texas history, and it happened quiet as a whisper.
Almost. See, they didn't count on the mule. One lone, ornery, magnificent mule — braying into the night like Gabriel's own trumpet — and just like that, the town was awake.
No horses to chase anybody on. No posse riding out into the dark. So what do you do?
You do what Texans do. You spend the rest of the night molding bullets. Every man, every boy, working by lamplight, getting ready for first light.
And when dawn finally broke over Comanche County, Captain James Cunningham rode out — well, rode out on whatever they had left — with seventeen boys and men behind him, and hounds running out front, noses to the ground. Thirty-six miles to the southwest, down in the country along Brown's Creek, they finally caught them. What followed was close fighting — the kind where there is no distance between you and the consequence of being there.
Nineteen Indian raiders were killed. Captain Cunningham himself took a wound, though the marker is careful to call it slight. That was the only casualty among the white men.
The marker puts it plainly: relentless pursuit of Indian raiders was key to a town's survival on the frontier. And Comanche survived. One braying mule, seventeen boys and men, and a captain who didn't quit at thirty-six miles.
That's the story the marker wants you to know.
What the marker says
One of boldest depredations in Texas history, made in May 1861, during the "Bright Moon". A braying mule wakened town after nearly all horses were stolen. Citizens spent rest of night molding bullets. Pursuit began at dawn, under command of Capt. James Cunningham, assisted by 17 boys and men, using hounds. Posse finally caught Indians on Brown's Creek (about 36 mi. SW), killing 19 in close fighting. White men's only casualty was a slight wound given to Capt. Cunningham. Relentless pursuit of Indian raiders was key to a town's survival on the frontier. (1969)