There was some pretty brutal scenes of the Karankawas slaughtering men and women, and then some good old classic cowboys vs. indians ensued. Santa Anna is depicted as brutal and as a terrible villain, as are many of his soldiers. But there are also Mexicans fighting on the side of the Texans as well.
I also liked how the Commanches were depicted. Not savage killers like the Karankawas, but damn scary to face in a fight.
The Texas are not demonized, but all the main characters are noble or at least likable in some way. I even like Brendon Fraser’s character. He plays a bad a** Texas Ranger who was kidnapped as a baby by Indians and raised as one of them. He’s not a historical character, but the characters that are historical are all great as well.
Not sure if the Karankawas (’Kronks’) were maneaters, but I remember stories of the Tonkawa eating defeated Comanche.
I can see why Mexico might want to put Texicans between themselves and some of these tribes, particularly Comanche. They were bad news. (But apparently tasty.)