the edge of the prairie and pointing out a clump of blackjack trees standing on the prairie to themselves, he directed Crockett to go just north of those trees and thence on west until he crossed two creeks near Clarksville and one creek two or three miles west, and thence on west until he struck a round prairie surrounded by skirts of timber, thence to a house, very easily seen from the edge of that prairie, which was the home of Capt. Becknall.

Mrs. Isabella Gordon, formerly Clark, hearing of Crockett's passing into Texas from a man by the name of Britton[*], had her horse saddled and went out two or three miles northeast of Clarksville to the corner of Russell Latimer's field where Britton had seen and talked to David Crockett. And she, having taken Miss Jane Latimer, daughter of James Latimer, afterwards Mrs. David K. Jamison, upon the horse behind her, struck the trail of David Crockett and by following the trodden grass trailed him to the home of Capt. Becknall.

Now, at this time there had been reported to the white settlement through this part of Texas that a band of Comanche Indians had come through this part of Texas for the purpose of killing and stealing among the white settlers. James Clark, the husband of Mrs. Isabella Clark, had raised a company of men with all the guns and ammunition they could secure, and had gone out to drive these savages back from the settlement.

Mrs. Clark, together with Capt. Becknall, prevailed upon Mr. Crockett and his men to turn south down the Choctaw trail and strike the

[* Likely William Brinton, Texas Land Title Abstracts 43, 45, 46 of Red River County and muster roll of Capt. William Becknell, Aug 31, 1836 (Thomas Jefferson Green Papers (1801-1863), Southern Historical Collection, Univ. of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill, NC, Collection M-289, Microfilm 1-4485 (1973). Also "Britian" on p.15]