During the winter and spring of 1860 E.L. Deaton had his horses stolen near Stephenville five times, probably by Comanches. Killed in these raids were three working oxen and about 30 head of grown hogs. Deaton remarked that the Indians used whistles to keep track of each other during night raids. That same winter, Gid Foreman, while visiting friends in Cora (on the line between Erath and Comanches counties) said several times that he felt like he was going to die soon. On his way home he was killed by Comanches. Also in the winter of 1860, the families of E.L. Deaton, Tom Frost, and Tom Groggin were gathered in Deaton’s log cabin while Indian’s stole their horses. Hearing the activity the men ran outside, unable to see anything. While standing there they heard a thumping sound from the barn behind them – the next morning they found arrows in the the barn wall.

Holmes, Floyd J. Indian Fights on the Texas Frontier: A True Account of the Last Exciting Encounters with Redskins in Hamilton, Comanche, Brown, Erath and Adjoining Counties, As Recording by E.L. Deaton. Fort Worth: Pioneer Publishing Co., 1927.