our past: FRONTIER TALES
The
Raiders
of July
While settlers celebrate
Fourth of July 1869,
painted marauders
plunder and kill across
the county
BY MEL W RHODES
AUGUST 2016 PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
O
n Mary’s Creek Mrs. William R. Rider and her
11-year-old daughter Annie gazed in wonder at the
beauty of a rainbow cast by the sun gleaming through the
last of the rainclouds drifting out of the area. The tranquil
prairie seemed pristine, peaceful, a harmonious symphony
of nature — evidence of God’s greatness. Picking up her
Bible Mrs. Rider read to Annie the story of the rainbow
and its significance — a promise from God.
Having finished her reading the thoughtful mother
again raised her eyes to the prairie where she noticed
something was wrong, dreadfully wrong. It took a few
moments for her mind to register just what had changed.
Then all became clear: 11 Indians chased from Tarrant
County moved along the ridge line in an ominous parade,
one on the heels of the other. Annie bolted from the house
84
toward the Indians for a better view, seemingly unaware
of the danger posed by the feathered strangers. Four of
the riders peeled off and galloped toward the house soon
reaching the creek in front of the Rider home. They threatened Annie with their bows and arrows, their baleful faces
screwed up beneath slopped on war paint. The young girl
fled inside the house where she and her mother gasped at
the horror etched into each other’s faces. They looked at
the gun on the wall then back at each other. Neither knew
how the thing worked. Worst of all, Mr. Rider had traveled
north to look in on his cattle on the Wichita River. They
were on their own.
Mother and daughter cast their eyes about the place,
trying to decide what to do, how best to escape the
unspeakable, finally deciding to climb up to the loft and