Carole Sikes Artist / Writer in Austin, Texas

WHAT DO YOU KNOW about the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas? There are many large ranches in Texas. Arguably the most well-known is the King Ranch. Today it is more than Longhorns and their Santa Gertrudis brand of cattle. It is a corporation with many diverse holdings. Of the three enormous South Texas ranches to be established in the Wild Horse Desert, the Anderson Ranch was the first. In 1852, James H. Durst bought La Barreta, a deserted Mexican land grant. Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy bought their ranchland a year later in the same area. Durst died in 1858 and six years later his widow and two children moved to the more civilized town of Austin leaving the ranch with unscrupulous lawyers in charge. ______________________________________________________________________________ John B. Armstrong came from Tennessee to Austin, Texas. He met and married Mollie Durst, daughter of the late James Durst. Armstrong’s best man was Robert Kleberg, married to Alice King. This would be the fir...

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT Antonia’s leap off Mt. Bonnell? Note: Don’t miss Michael Barnes’ Think Texas columns every Tuesday in the Austin Statesman. He recommends a book by Noah Smithwick, The Revolution of a State. Barnes claims that Smithwick is the best story teller about the period 1830-1860; the “Old 300”was Stephen f. Austin’s first colony. __________________________________________________________________ Now, I have two tales to tell. (1) A frequently told legend and (2) A personal story about the descendant of a former president of Mexico. __________________________________________________________________ 1. The Legend: Mt. Bonnell is a favorite tourist site and a fine place to picnic while viewing Lake Austin. It was well known by the central Texas tribes of Indians as well as early settlers. Antonia was a Spanish maiden living in an early San Antonio mission. A Comanche chief kidnaped the beautiful Antonia. Her fian...