The Story of Jim Ned:                                             

Who is Jim Ned?

Jim Ned was a Delaware Indian Chief who served as an interpreter, guide and scout on the Texas frontier during the middle 1800s.
He helped Texas President Sam Houston bring peace between the Indians and new settlers at the Council of Tehuacana Creek in
May, 1844. He helped defend Texas against Mexico in 1846 with Captain Samuel Highsmith. He accompanied U.S. Army Captain
Randolph Marcy on several expeditions throughout Texas as a skillful, intelligent and respected scout. He explored the Red River
to its source, and helped to establish a line of military posts on the Texas frontier.

However, for every good deed that he did, he also gained a reputation as “one of the most expert, daring, and successful horse
thieves among the Southwestern tribes.” He regularly encroached on white settlements, working against the treaties he had
helped broker. He was especially skilled at stealing horses. He would then hide them and offer to help his victims find the
horses again for a reasonable fee. Jim Ned briefly left Texas for the Union army during the Civil War, but abandoned his post
to resume stealing horses in Kansas.

It is reported Jim Ned returned to his namesake creek in South Taylor County and lived in a tent. Early settlers remember talking
to him, and that he was quite old at that time. Today, the Valley created by Jim Ned Creek is a fertile and prosperous area.