About this Website

In the past two plus decades, researchers have sought online information on the Lipan Apache people, in particular on a Lipan Apache chief, Cuelgas de Castro and Mackenzie's Raid of the Kickapoo in Remolino. This website attempts to post or link to documents which help in these efforts.

Minor, Nancy M., 2009

Report: An Examination of the Oral History of Daniel Castro Romero, Jr.

Abstract: This report seeks to examine the oral history of Daniel Castro Romero, Jr. from an historical perspective, using comparative analysis to determine whether the claims made in Mr. Romero’s oral history are supported or contradicted by historical documents. This report also seeks to examine the use of Mr. Romero’s oral history as a source by such scholars as Enrique Maestas, Jacqueline Fear-Segal and Thomas A. Britten.
     In an analysis of 55 claims made by Mr. Romero, the author finds only 11 (or 20%) are supported by the historical record. Four claims are unsupported in that either the historical record itself is contradictory or there is just not enough data to determine a particular issue one way or another. The balance of the claims made by Mr. Romero- 40 claims or 73%- are soundly contradicted by the historical record. Unfortunately, several scholars have accepted his claims at face value and scholarly knowledge about the Lipan Apaches has suffered as a result.
     The source of the oral history used in this report is The Castro Family History of the Lipan Apache Band of Texas, written and copyrighted by Mr. Romero in 1999 and placed in Sophienburg Archives, New Braunfels, Texas (Catalogue #R1167.001). Since Mr. Romero placed his family’s oral history in the Sophienburg Archives without restriction, it is open to examination by scholars and by the general public.

 

For PDF of Entire Report CLICK here: Minor 2009 Report

Sobota, Maj. Scott M., 2014

Monograph: Ranald S. Mackenzie and the Fourth Calvalry Cross-Border Raid on the Mexican Kickapoo Indians near Remolino, Coahuila (Mexico), 17-21 May 1873

Abstract: The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 forever changed the way in which the United States of America approached the question of border security. President George W. Bush almost immediately reiterated a historically famous political reaction to secure the United States border with Mexico, believing the southwest border to be an easy entry point for radical terrorists looking to do harm upon the United States. Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, after they took office, also faced menacing border security challenges, and focused hard on securing the border with Mexico. The contention was that United States national security was in jeopardy and that cross-border military force was an option to restore order along the Rio Grande. President Ulysses S. Grant used the same justification to defend the bloody attack on the Mexican Kickapoo Indians in May 1873, by the Fourth Cavalry, under the command of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie.
     Since the Mexican government was both unwilling and incapable of stopping the Kickapoo Indians from conducting attacks in U.S. territory, the Fourth U.S. Cavalry cross-border raid that destroyed the Kickapoo camp near Remolino, Coahuila (Mexico), was a necessary undertaking to restore security along the Rio Grande in Texas.

For PDF of Entire Report CLICK here: S.M. Sobota 2014

Bollaert, William, 1850

Article: Observations on the Indian Tribes in Texas

Abstract: William Bollaert, born in England, was a writer, chemist, geographer, and ethnologist. He dedicated his life to worldwide travel, writing, and publishing about history, ethnology, science, and his travel. In 1842, Bollaert was invited to visit the Republic of Texas by a friend. During this visit to Texas, between February 1842 and July 1844, Bollaert reported back to the British Admiralty in a very detailed journal.
     In this article, Bollaert writes of his observations of the American Indians in Texas. On page 276 to 277, he reports on the Lipan Apache. Bollaert states that the Lipans are considered “the most intelligent and the best of all the Indian tribes in Texas” and that “brave and generous.” Of importance, Bollaert reports on the death of Lipan Chief Cuelgas de Castro in Houston. Although he does not give a specific date for de Castro’s death, Bollaert only passed through Houston twice, in 1842 when first entering Texas and 1844 when departing from Texas. Since there is at least one account of Cuelgas alive in 1842, some scholars such as Nancy M. Minor speculate that Cuelgas died in 1844, rather than 1842.

For PDF of Entire Report CLICK here: Bollaert Article