173 Empty Shells

​By Linda Kirkpatrick

The time of the Texas Indian Wars would go down in history as a rugged and dangerous time. It took brave and determined people to come here and scratch out a life. On October 13, 1864 one of the most famous skirmishes between the Indians and the settlers occurred.  This battle was the Elm Creek Raid of Young County, Texas. Many lives were lost and many lives were changed forever. It has been written that the John Wayne movie, “The Searchers” was written around this incident. Even though the movie was filmed in Monument Valley, the story line is set in Texas. With all the errors in filming and settings, the movie depicted the time and a story very similar to the real incident at Elm Creek.
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Some film critics think that the novel “The Searchers” was inspired by the kidnapping of Cynthia Ann Parker. Cynthia Ann was only nine years old on the day of her capture. She spent over 25 years as a captive before she was retrieved, against her will, by Texas Rangers on the Pease River. However, the notes that were made in the writing of the “Searchers” indicate that the story leans more towards the story surrounding the Britt Johnson incident. ​

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