24
Comanche Chief Ketemoczy, at the place where now stands the town of Mason, and held the first council with him where now the store of Mr. Doole is located, I believe. Ketemoczy promised to gather, within a few days, the head chiefs at the San Saba to hear my propositions for a treaty of peace, and showed us the nearest road to the river. When I had been in council for a number of days, with large bands of well-drilled and armed Comanches, and their chiefs, at the San Saba (at the place which is now known as the Camp Colorado crossing), Major Neighbors came on as the bearer of a dispatch from Governor Henderson, dissuading from entering the colony, as the Indians were reported to be on the war path; at the same time recommending the Major as an expert in treating with the Indians—if I would not return. The Major had been Indian agent for the Lipans under the Republic of Texas.
I engaged him for the remainder of the trip, dismissed most of my company with the wagons, keeping only about seven men, agreed with the Indians that at the next full moon the peace council with all the head chiefs of the western bands of Comanches should be held at the lower San Saba, and used the time remaining till full moon for an exploration of the lands on that fabulous San Saba river, Spanish Fort, Brady Creek, and surrounding places. At full moon we were at the agreed spot on the lower San Saba, about 25 miles above its mouth into Colorado river, made a treaty with the head chiefs Buffalo Hump, Santa Anna and Mopechucope, and their people, for all the western bands of Comanches, promised them $3000 worth of presents, for which consideration they on their part promised and agreed not to disturb our surveyors in their work, nor to do any harm to our colonists. Dr. Roemer, the geologist, whom I had invited to stay with us as our guest at New Braunfels during his sojourn in Texas, came
