The Tonkawa Indians originally lived in central Texas
along streams and rivers. They were buffalo hunters and gatherers living
in buffalo hide tipis in a maternally related kinship unit. They used
dogs to transport belongings. Several groups formed one band. They were
not one tribe but several.
In 1718, Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) was
built. Four days later, Presidio San Antonio de Bexar and Villa de Bexar
were established. From 1720 to 1731, four more missions were built in
this area. Three of these missions, from east Texas, were moved to and
renamed in San Antonio. The largest number of Indians in these missions
were Coahuiltecans. It is reported that these Indians were easy to missionize
because they had led a hand to mouth existence.
The mission Indians were the muscle of the mission. They
farmed, wove cloth, learned carpentry, smithing, and many other skills.
They also learned about the Christian religion. The animals were kept
and cared for by the Indians at mission ranches that were up to 30 miles
away from their mission. The mission ranch for the Alamo is thought to
have been located in northern Bexar County. The Indians were often without
Spanish overseers at the mission ranches, which were built like small
mission fortresses since they had to defend against attack. The Indians
cared for cattle, sheep, goats, and horses which were allowed to roam
the open range. In "New Spain" it was against the law for Indians to ride
horses, but the law was overlooked in Spanish Texas so that the "Indian
vaquero" could tend the animals.
Around A.D. 1600, marked the beginning of the end of native
cultures in Texas. The reduction in Indian population resulted from European
introduced diseases and wars with intruding Indian groups for available
resources. In 1739, an epidemic swept through the San Antonio Missions,
killing many Indians and scaring away many others. Mission life killed
or changed the Indians from within. After secularization of the missions
in 1794, the few remaining Indians received some properties and the remaining
mission possessions. Indians became pawns as immigrants into the area
competed for land. The conquering Anglo culture became dominant and wanted
the Indians either civilized or destroyed. The original Indian groups
encountered during contact were gone, either dead, absorbed into the population
or relocated. The Indian way of life as it had been for thousands of years
had ended in Texas.
Change had not be uncommon during the prehistoric past,
but the change had been slow, as exemplified by the introduction of new
technologies, such as the bow and arrow, agriculture, or pottery. The
changes that occurred during the Historic period in Texas, were by any
comparisons, swift and had destroyed the fabric of native Indian Texas
forever. Indian songs would no longer be heard, their campsites would
no longer be seen, their stories would no longer be passed from one generation
to another. The native Texas Indians' way of life had been extinguished
forever!
Bullets
circa 1865; The slug on top appears to have suffered an impact thus deforming
the bullet. 
