A LEGEND CREATES A NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
The historic military fort in Fort Davis has a legend about an Indian woman who was left behind during an attack on the fort by Apache Indians. She was sort of ad- opted by a military family and given the name Emtime ily. Over she fell in love with a young officer. But the officer had his own girl friend and didn’t pay any attention to Emitually ly. Eventually she ended up going back with the Indians.
When the Apaches were planning another attack on the fort, so goes the legend, Emto ily went the Fort to warn the young officer and the family that had cared for her. As she neared the fort, a guard saw this Indian girl, so goes the legend, and asked for the password. She didn’t know what it was so he shot her.
Larry Francell, historian and former county judge in Fort Davis, has spent years researching the legend and came up with some startling information about Indian Emily.
“Fort Davis was never directly attacked by Indians,” he says. “I think I have proved conclusively there was no Indian Emily.”
Larry says the legend began when Carl Raht mentioned it in his 1919 book ROMANCE OF THE DAVIS MUNTAINS AND BIG BEND COUNTRY. At one time there was a café in Fort Davis named Indian Emily. Years ago the fort had a historical marker on a grave where legend says Indian Emily was buried. It was quite a tourist attraction and visitors drove out to see it. In the sixties, some researchers did some digging only to reveal the gravesite was empty.
Larry has written a book titled HOW INDIAN EMILY SAVED FORT DAVIS.
“What is interesting is how the fort became a National Historic Site. Our representative at the time was JT Rutherford. He was a friend to both Lyndon Johnson and John Kennedy. Congressman Rutherford was head of the National Parks Committee in the House of Representatives. He was in Fort Davis for the fort’s centennial celebration since Fort Davis was part of his constituency. He believed in the legend of Indian Emily and told about it on the floor of Congress.
“There is a file at Fort Davis that shows how John Kennedy, when he was President, wanted Cape Cod made a national seashore. The California delegation wanted Point Reyes to be a national seashore. So Rutherford, being in sort of the driver’s seat, brokered a deal where he got California to support the east coast and the east coast to support the west coast and made both of those entities national seashores. In doing so he just kind of put little old Fort Davis underneath and made it a National Historic Site.”
Larry says the legend served its purpose.
“I don’t necessarily want the legged to go away. I want people to understand that the legend had an important role in saving Fort Davis.”