Josiah P. Wilbarger
Encyclopedia
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
by Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
Indians.
Early life
He was born in, according to some sources, Bourbon County, KentuckyBourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...
, but other sources say that he was born in Rockingham County, Virginia
Rockingham County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 67,725 people, 25,355 households, and 18,889 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile . There were 27,328 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, and moved to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
in 1818. Wilbarger moved to Pike County, Missouri
Pike County, Missouri
As of the census of 2010, there were 18,516 people, 6,451 households, and 4,476 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 7,493 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...
, in 1823 and married Margaret Barker in September 1827. They left for Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
soon after the wedding, arriving at Matagorda
Matagorda, Texas
Matagorda is an unincorporated community in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. It had a population of approximately 710 in 2000. Matagorda is at the end of State Highway 60 and beginning of Farm to Market Road 2031, which runs over the Intracoastal Waterway and south to the Gulf of Mexico...
on December 26. Wilbarger was a teacher at Matagorda for a year before moving to La Grange
La Grange, Texas
La Grange is a city in Fayette County, Texas, near the Colorado River. The population was 4,478 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimated population was 4,645. But a 2010 census estimated that the city had a population of 4,923...
, where he taught and did surveying until he settled in Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
's colony in a bend of the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
10 miles above the site of present Bastrop, Texas
Bastrop, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 5340 people in Bastrop, organized into 2034 households and 1336 families. The population density is 734.8 people per square mile . There are 2,239 housing units at an average density of 308.1 per square mile...
.
The scalping
In August 1833, Wilbarger was a member of a surveying party of four that was attacked by ComancheComanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
about four miles east of the site of present Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Two of the men were killed and scalped by the Native Americans. The other two managed to flee. Wilbarger was scalped and the Indian left him for dead, but he was still living when he was found the next day by Reuben Hornsby
Reuben Hornsby
Reuben Hornsby was an early Texas pioneer and surveyor for Stephen F. Austin. He was one of the first settlers in Travis County, living just east of Austin along the Colorado River in the area known as Hornsby Bend. He was the great-grandfather of baseball Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby.-External...
and taken to the Hornsby home for treatment. Wilbarger managed to survive by crawling into a nearby stream to wash his wounds. According to legend, Wilbarger was thought to have been killed, but later that night Hornsby's wife saw Wilbarger in a dream sitting under a tree. She gave her husband a description of the tree and he was found there the next day. Wilbarger never completely recovered from his wound although he lived for 11 more years. He died at his home near Bastrop in 1845 after an accident in which he struck his head on a low support beam inside of his cotton gin. His exposed skull eventually became diseased, causing him to die.
Wilbarger County, Texas
Wilbarger County, Texas
*Harrold *Odell *Oklaunion *Vernon-Notable natives and residents:*Jack English Hightower, Memphis, Texas, native; former member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature, and former U.S...
is named in honor of Josiah Wilbarger and his brother, Mathias Wilbarger. Wilbarger Creek in Travis County is also named for him.
External links
- Read Josiah P. Wilbarger's entry in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas hosted by the Portal to Texas History.