Episode 36 The Comanche strong warriors with fine horses
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Episode 36 – The Comanche – strong warriors with fine horses.
Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. I’m your host Hank Wilson and this is Episode 36 – The Comanche – strong warriors with fine horses
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Last time I spoke about the 3 main groups of peoples, the Caddo, Karankawa, and the Jumano who were living in Texas when the Spanish first came into Texas. They did their best to adjust and live with the Spanish but unfortunately they were not prepared to deal with the diseases and frankly the violence they were often met with. There are 3 other groups who more people are probably familiar with due to tv and the movies. They are the Comanche, the Kiowa, and the Apache. All three played a significant role in the early history of Texas and all 3 were involved in conflict with the newcomers, both Spanish and Anglo. Now a word, a quick word about the use of the word tribe when it comes to talking about these groups of peoples. We often substitute “tribe” for “people,” but tribe is probably one of the most inexact-nonspecific terms that we can use. I try to avoid it because not all of the natives of Texas spoke the same language, had the same customs, shared the same clans, or saw themselves as separate and distinct from their neighbors. The Indians of Texas often remade themselves and did so with people who had different languages, customs, and families. So I will do my best to refer to the people by the name they currently use, occasionally using the word tribes or clans or peoples and if anyone knows of more appropriate words, please let me know.
In this episode I want to talk about the Comanche. Most folks are familiar with them due to shows such as Lonesome Dove, Last of the Comanche, Comanche Station, the Comancheros, and the Searchers. Historically accurate? Yeah, not so much, except for their depiction of the Comanche as being master horsemen. They were indeed known to many as some of the finest horsemen ever seen. But who were they?
Initially, the Comanche lived in the Northern Great Plains and were a branch of the Northern Shoshones. They, like most of the clans at that time travelled by foot and were hunters and gatherers. It appears that sometime in the late 17th century, (i.e. mid to late 1600s) they acquired horses. Once that happened, the game changed and so did their lives.
But what caused the Comanche to migrate from their ancestral homelands? As I mentioned, the Comanche acquired horses and once they achieved mobility they were able to leave their traditional mountain home range and then moved onto the plains of eastern Colorado and western Kansas. As with the majority of hunter-gatherer peoples they followed the food. They also learned that if they travelled south they would be able to gather the wild mustangs who roamed the southwest. When this was coupled with a warm climate and buffalo moving made even more sense.
Once they began their move, they also began to trade with the Wichita who lived around the Red River. This gave them access to French goods, including firearms. Even though they had arms and were excellent horsemen, they were also under pressure from the Blackfoot and Crow people in their north and east. As a result of their migration, a large swatch of the South Plains, much of North Central and West Texas became Comanche country.
Interestingly, they only became known as Comanches, which came from the Ute word Kamantcia, which means enemy. The literal meaning is ‘one who like to fight me all the time.’ The Spanish refined it to Comanche, but they called themselves, Nermernuh or ‘the people’. There was no one single body of people, instead they lived in numerous groups or bands. The bands changed based on their members needs and goals. While 13 major Comanche bands have been identified during this time period, there were most likely many more that were left out. Five major bands play the most important rolls in Comanche history.
The group furthest south were the Penateka, AKA ‘Honey Eaters’. They controlled an areas from the Edwards Plateau (where I live) to the headwaters of Central Texas Rivers. This area encompasses Austin, and the Texas Hill Country and as a result, they played a very prominent role in Texas history.
Residing in an area North of Penateka country were the Nokoni, AKA “Those Who Turn Back.” The Nokonis roamed from around Cross Timbers region in North Texas to the mountains of New Mexico. This is a very narrow strip of land and fairly distant from the main settler populations of Texas and as a result the Nokonis didn’t interact too much with the settlers. There were two smaller bands, the Tanima (“Liver-Eaters”) and the Tenawa (“Those Who Stay Downstream”), that actually shared the range of the Nokonis. Historians often refer to these three divisions collectively as Middle Comanches. Going North and reaching into what is now western Oklahoma were the Kotsotekas, or “Buffalo-Eaters.” They often made camp along the Canadian River. The Canadian starts in Colorado, passes through New Mexico, the Panhandle of Texas, and Oklahoma. It is a tributary of the Arkansas river and is the longest tributary of the Arkansas. The band that lived the furthest north was the Yamparikas, AKA “Yap-Eaters,” a name which came from their having derived from their eating a potato looking root that they called the Yap. The fifth major band was the Quahadis (“Antelopes”), and they travelled and controlled the high plains of the Llano Estacado.
As long as they were free the Comanches remained a nomadic people. They subsisted primarily on Buffalo, which in addition to food, gave them food, clothing, and shelter. They would supplement their diet with wild roots, fruits, and nuts. They also ate produce which they obtained by trade with neighboring agricultural tribes, principally the Wichita and Caddo groups to the east and the Pueblo tribes to the west.
Due to how the American school system teaches history, mostly from the viewpoint of the Anglos, many people grew up thinking the Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas and others were true savages with no social structure. That is patently false.
The Comanche political organization had a strong Democratic principle. Each tribal division had both civil or peace chiefs and war chiefs, but traditionally the head civil chief was most influential. The leaders gained their authority by displaying special abilities or prowess. They stayed in power only as long as they were able to keep the confidence of band members. Leaders were chosen by the consent of band members. All decisions that affect the group were made by a council of chiefs presided over by the head civil chief. Even though the council would and could make a decision, individuals were not bound to accept council decisions. Comanche society gave each individual a great deal of freedom and that freedom was a contributing factor in the complicated relations the Comanche would have with Europeans.
In 1706 Spanish officials in New Mexico noted how there were numerous Comanches on the northeastern frontier of the province. The Comanches, moving south, came into contact and conflict with tribes that were already on the South Plains. One of these groups were the Apaches, and they had been the dominant force in the region for years. The arrival of the Comanche forced the Apaches to move south and as a result they became mortal enemies. The first historically documented evidence of Comanches in Texas took place in 1743. A small band, most likely only a scouting party, showed up at the Spanish settlement of San Antonio. They were looking for their enemies, the Lipan Apaches.
Although no hostilities took place at this time, it became obvious that the Comanches believed that the Spanish and Apaches were allies. It took another fifteen years passed before the Spanish truly understood the significance and size of the Comanche presence. Took place In 1758 when a force of almost 2,000 Comanches and some of the tribes that were allied with them attacked a Spanish mission. The mission had been built for the Apaches on the San Saba River near present Menard, runis of which are still there, but viewing is limited.
Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission was sacked and burned, and eight of its inhabitants, including two priests, were killed. The next year, the Spanish sent out an expedition led by Col. Diego Ortiz Parrilla to punish the Comanche. They were defeated by the Comanches and their allies in a daylong battle on the Red River near the site of present Spanish Fort.
Now that were two of the conflicts that the Comanche took part in, and in a future episode I’ll discuss more of their encounters with the settlers. The Comanche did not go quietly, and they gained the utmost respect from all of their enemies. Next time, I’ll explore the life of the Apache.
Subscribe to the podcast, I try to keep posting new episodes, sometimes though life gets in the way and there’s a gap between. But hey and remember if you want more information on Texas History, visit the Texas State Historical Association. I also have three audiobooks on the Hidden History of Texas one which deals with the 1500s to about 1820, one 1820s to 1830s, and the latest release the 1830 to 1836, the Texas revolution period. You can find the books pretty much wherever you download or listen to audiobooks. Just do a search for the Hidden History of Texas by Hank Wilson and they’ll pop right up. Links to all the stores are on my publishers website https://ashbynavis.com or at my website https://arctx.org
Thanks for listening y’all