2-Comanche Texans - Institute of Texan Cultures

2-Comanche Texans
Arrival in Texas
The Comanches were a tribal branch of
the Shoshones, who lived in the Rocky
Mountains. In the 1600s they moved eastward into Wyoming and Nebraska, where
they first used horses. By the end of the 17th
century, they were riding the Great Plains
warring on other tribes. The Sioux and
Cheyennes pushed them toward Texas onto
the southern plains, where the Comanches
then fought the Apaches and Spaniards. The
Comanches arrived on the West Texas plains
around the 1720s. By the late 1700s, they
were shoving out the Jumano and Apache
tribes in Texas.
Life on the Plains
The Comanches owned more horses than
other tribes. They controlled the breeding
grounds of the mustangs, or wild horses.
They were probably the greatest horsemen in
history except for the Mongolian horsemen
of Asia.
For a hundred years, the Comanches terrorized and raided other tribes and settlers
as they followed the buffalo herds onto the
southern plains known as the Comancherfa
or "land of the Comanches." They were called
"Lords of the Southern Plains" until 1870.
The Comanches were not only great horsemen
but also great horse trainers. After capturing
wild mustangs, they broke them for riding.
They then traded the horses to other tribes
for furs, guns, gunpowder, and other needed
items. Wanting more and more horses, they
became horse thieves and were very much
feared by others. In raids they took captives
Four Comanche men pose for a studio portrait.
Why is their hair so long?
to replace warriors lost in battle and because
the tribe had so few babies. Often they traded
their captives to other tribes.
The Comanches lived in 12 subgroups called
bands. The Penatekas, or "honeyeater" band,
moved into the Hill Country north of San
Antonio in the 1740s. The Quahadis, or "antelope" band, followed them into the area.
Making peace with the settlers was impossible because each Comanche band made decisions only for their own group. Texas officials
tried to make a peace treaty at the Council
House in San Antonio in 1840, but it was
a disaster. Mter negotiators murdered ten
Comanche head men in the Council House
battle, all peace efforts failed until the signing of the Treaty of Medicine Lodge 20 years
later in 1867. With the treaty, about 1,000
Comanches moved to a reservation in the
Indian Territory, which became Oklahoma.
Other Comanche bands did not surrender
and go to the reservation until the mid-1880s.
On the reservation the Comanches did not
want to be farmers; they were hunters. By the
1890s most of the Comanches were leasing
cattle-grazing rights on their reservation land
to white ranchers.
Comanche Cultural Folkways
Until the 1890s, buffaloes supplied the basic
needs of the Comanches-food, homes, and
clothing. While generally using the bow and
arrow to hunt, Comanches also used 14-foot
lances. Buffalo hides were used as coverings
for their tipis, which could be moved by travoises pulled by horses as the people followed
the herds.
Proper tanning of the hides was important.
Mter a hide dried for a few days, the women
scraped the hair off with sharp rocks. Then
the other side of the hide was rubbed with
animal brains to soften it. Depending on use,
the hides might be decorated with paint or
beadwork. The tough hide was used for soles
on moccasins, and grease from the buffalo
was applied to make the moccasins waterproof The heel fringe, called dusters, erased
the tracks of the wearer.
Buffalo meat was dried to make jerky and
pemmican. Pemmican was made with meat,
nuts, and bone meal and stuck together with
buffalo grease. Comanches traded pemmican
for pumpkin seeds, honey, and tobacco.
The Comanche population declined from
20,000 between 1790 and 1849 to a low on
the reservation of 1,500 in 1920. Comanche
tribal membership has increased during the
20th century; most Comanches now live in
Lawton, Oklahoma.
Amazing Comanche Leaders
Penateka War Chief Buffalo Hump, (?1870) led the Great Raid of 1840. As revenge
against the white people for all the killings
in the Council House battle, the Comanches
raided and burned the towns of Victoria
and Linnville. Then they moved on to fight
the Texans in the battle of Plum Creek near
Lockhart.
In 1849 Buffalo Hump signed a treaty with
the government and led his band to the
Brazos River Reservation. Ten years later
he settled his remaining followers near Fort
Cobb in Indian Territory. He died there in
1870.
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Quanah Parker (c. 1845-1911) was the last
chief of the Quahadi Comanches and a great
leader. His was the last Comanche band to
enter the reservation. Quanah was the son of
Chief Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker,
an Anglo girl captured during the 1836 raid
on Parker's Fort, Texas. When the Texas
Rangers killed Quanah's father, his mother
was recaptured and returned to her white
family. Quanah joined the Quahadis band.
Mter years of fighting the U.s. Cavalry and
finally facing defeat, he moved his group onto
the reservation.
Quanah worked to unite the various Comanche bands living on the reservation. This had
never been done before, and for the next 25
years he provided leadership to his people.
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