JUDGE GABRIEL N. MARTIN -- AN
EPISODE OF INDIAN WARFARE IN
EARLY DAYS -- EXPLOIT OF AN
OLD NEGRO

Shortly after the Burkham settlement in 1814, formerly referred to, Claiborn Wright settled in Pecan Point on the north side of Red River in 1816. Jourdan J. Ward, with his three sons, John J., James J., and Jourdan J., Jr., crossed Red River and settled on the banks of a lake, and that lake has ever since been known by the name of "Ward's Lake". The site of that old settlement was afterwards the Watson or Schrader farm, and is known now as Riverview. Quite a few of the descendants of James J. Ward are still living in Red River County.

By way of giving an insight into some of the experiences of these early settlers, here let me relate an incident of Indian warfare of the early day, in which that notable early settler, Judge Gabriel N. Martin, was killed. The Judge had settled on what was afterwards known as the Gaffney farm on Red River, which is now owned by James Clark, Jr. He was of a bold and venturesome nature, fond of hunting; and on one occasion,