DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm going to tell you this one the way the official marker tells it — and friend, it earns every word. Out here in Scurry County, there's a place by a creek where a grove of mesquite and wild chinaberry trees still keeps its silence. On October 7th, 1849, Captain R.
B. Marcy's expedition made camp right there, in the middle of blazing what would become the famous Marcy Trail. That evening, the biggest danger anybody could report was quail and wild turkeys.
That's it. Just birds. The next day, tragedy struck.
Lieutenant Montgomery Pike Harrison — born in 1826, and carrying a name that could stop a room — left camp alone to scout a ravine. Now, you need to understand who this young man was. His grandfather was President William Henry Harrison.
His younger brother would one day become President Benjamin Harrison. He carried that bloodline out into the West Texas wilderness, and he did not come back. When dark fell and Harrison still hadn't returned, the company fired a Howitzer to signal him.
A Howitzer. The sound of that cannon rolling out across the plains and getting no answer back — you think about that a moment. Searchers went out the next day and pieced together what had happened.
Harrison, a man known to be always friendly to the Indians, had stopped and smoked with two men, believed to be Kiowas. That friendliness, that trust — it didn't protect him. He was disarmed, taken one mile south, and then shot with his own rifle.
The men scalped and stripped the body and threw it into a ravine on Canyon Creek. They were pursued, but never captured. Marcy later reported that when his men heard the news, many hid their faces to conceal their tears.
Hardened frontier soldiers, and they hid their faces. The company packed Harrison's body in charcoal, built a coffin from a wagon bed, and carried him all the way to Fort Smith for burial. And yet — the trail kept going.
Despite everything that happened here, Marcy's Trail became a major wagon road. Gold seekers bound for California rolled over this ground. Troops and supplies pushed across the West Texas frontier along this same path.
A young lieutenant lost out here in a ravine, his comrades' tears hidden behind rough hands — and the trail went on. That's the West Texas frontier for you. It didn't wait, and it didn't look away.
What the marker says
At a grove of mesquite and wild chinaberry trees by a creek near here, Capt. R. B. Marcy's expedition camped Oct. 7, 1849, while blazing the famous Marcy Trail. They saw nothing deadlier than quail and wild turkeys in the area, but the next day, tragedy struck. Lt. Montgomery Pike Harrison (1826-1849)--grandson of President Wm. Henry Harrison and older brother of later President Benjamin Harrison--left camp alone to scout a ravine. When he did not return by dark, the company fired a Howitzer to signal him, but received no answer. Searchers the next day found signs that Harrison, always friendly to the Indians, had stopped and smoked with two Indians, believed to be Kiowas. He was disarmed, however, taken one mile south and then shot with his own rifle. The Indians scalped and stripped the body and threw it into a ravine on Canyon Creek. They were pursued, but never captured. Marcy later reported that when his men heard of Harrison's death, many hid their faces "to conceal their tears." The body was packed in charcoal and taken in a coffin made from a wagon bed to Ft. Smith for burial. Despite this tragedy, Marcy's Trail became a major wagon road, taking gold seekers to California and troops and supplies across the West Texas frontier. (1967)