From the book "Pioneer History of Wise County"

Brave Fight of Frank Coonis

 

This incident occurred before 1870, because Benjamin Frank Cunnius (Coonis) is not in the 1870 Wise County, Texas census, but his wife, Ellen is listed with their child, Louisa, age 1. Also living with them is William Cunnius, age 17, Blk, relationship unknown.

 

 

One day during the period when the Indians had been very active, Frank Coonis left his father-in-law's home near Greenwood , and started to Hickory Plains, where he had been informed a white citizen had recaptured some stolen horses from the Indians. Coonis and his father-in-law had lost some horses the day before and he made the trip to Hickory Plains, thinking possibly some of the recaptured horses belonged to him.

 

Next morning he had not returned and the neighbors grew suspicious, wagging their heads over Coonis' probable fate. Wm Weatherby, Sr., Ishmael Copeland, Jim Cooly, and ________ Montgomery started in search.

 

Along the route the buzzards circled over the carcasses of horses killed by Indians on a recent raid through the country. Arriving in the vicinity of the old Keep ranch house, which had been empty for two years, Weatherby was moved to ride by and look in at the windows. His attention had been attracted to the buzzards slowly wheeling about the house.

 

Here he encountered a gruesome sight. Lying with his head resting on his coat was Coonis, with a great ugly wound in his neck and blood spattered about the floor. The window casings showed bloody imprints of hands as did also the parts of the neck about the death wound, indicating that changing holds of the casing and neck alternately with his hands, Coonis had fought the Indians a courageous fight from the window. The shells in the chambers of his two pistols were all fired, with the exception of one, which was snapped. Evidently he had bravely defended himself, but with what damage to the Indians no one knew.

 

Weatherby crawled upon the corncrib and signaled to his companions to come and assist in the disposition of their dead neighbor's body.  

There is a second article published in “ History and Reminiscences of Denton County ( Texas ) ” by Ed F. Bates relating to the “Indian Troubles” in Wise Co., TX and mentions Frank Cunnius.

 

The Indians encountered a man by the name of Frank Cunnius and ran him to the old keep-house in the upper edge of Denton County ; before he reached the house they wounded him in the neck. Though wounded and bleeding as he was, he fought the Indians away from the house, but died before his friends found him. Two miles farther northwest the Indians killed Severe Fortenberry and went on west driving a very large herd of horses.

 

About three or four miles below Forestburg the white men overtook them and captured most of the horses, returning them to their owners. Following this raid there were several others made in the same region, but I am sure a more gifted pen will write of them.

 

In 1870 a band of about forty Indians came down through the timbers of West Fork of the Trinity and crossed over to the head of Morris Branch and camped for the day in the upper grove of timber of that branch. During the day Nick Dawson rode out to look for some of his horses and seeing the Indian’s horses grazing about this grove supposed them to be cowmens and rode down to inquire of his horses. When he was very close the Indians discovered him and mounted their horses and gave chase, after running him for three miles they overtook and killed him.

 

This was near the close of the Indian troubles. The last raid was made on August 23-24, 1874 , when the Indians came down by Decatur and swept north along the line of Denton and Wise counties, going out the divide between Denton and Catlets Creek, carrying about 135 head of horses. About eight miles northwest from Decatur just after sunrise on the morning of the 24th , they came to the home of Mr. Huff and there being no men at home they killed Mrs. Huff and her two daughters. The mother was killed under the floor where she tried to hide and one of the girls was killed in the yard just in front of the door. The other girl was killed nineteen yards northeast of the house. The mother and the girl that was killed in front of the door were both scalped but the other one was not.