The Big Thicket, C. S. A.

In early Texas, a paradise for settlers liking solitude. During the Civil War, became notorious as hunt of army deserters or men avoiding conscript officers and living off the country.

The thicket was so hard to penetrate that it was the despair of commanding officers. Soldiers who remained loyal were somewhat demoralized by seeing that men camping in the Big Thicket were safe from punishment for desertion. On at least two occasions, however, the men were discovered, once a fire was set in a circle around them, and smoked them out. A later camp was located by a veteran hunter whose pack of bear dogs brought out the deserters.

Before they were hunted out, the deserters found thicket life good. They feasted on game and wild honey. Their wives, living nearby, would visit the men occasionally. Except when conscript officers were in the locality, the wives would visit caches established by the men and remove meat, hides or honey to be marketed for the support of the family. These people felt justified in deserting. Many were foreign-born and had sworn allegiance to the U. S. only 5 to 10 years earlier. Confused by the onset of war, they had fled from their homes.