Life on the frontier.

A couple of people have asked me about Indian kidnappings, and life on the unsettled frontier in general.

Of course, I don't mean to demonize the Indians who were only protecting their families, homes, and land. But the story is almost always told from the European perspective.

I came across these notes in my Romo Famiy files that I had forgotten about. They are oral traditions written down as best remembered.

Isidoro was the grandson of Isidoro Palos, who family history claims came from Palos, Spain circa 1820 as a student. Isidoro the first was involved in student unrest (participated in the Mexican revolution against Spain), and was jailed. Legend has it that he was in leg irons and only escaped when an Indian woman smuggled a knife in, and he cut off his own heel.

Mama Tencha says that Isidoro's dad's family (Blas), raised a young man who was Mexican but had been taken by Indians when the boy was a very young boy. This young man later returned to civilization and taught Isidoro many things about plants and wild life, having learned these things from the Indians. Isidoro used to tell Mama that when he was a boy, his young man took him to the forest or wilderness and proceeded to make Isidoro first smell a plant that caused a severe nosebleed, and then making him smell another plant that stopped the bleeding instantly.

Isidoro used to tell Mom stories about his youth, when they would bring cotton to the gins in San Antonio, Tx from Mexico. At that time, they still had to come in wagon trains because of Indian attacks.

Note: I assume they are refering to Apaches in Coahuila.