The last Chief of the Comanche, his tribe roamed over the area where Pampa stands. He was never captured by the Army, but decided to surrender and lead his tribe into the white man's culture, only when he saw that there was no alternative. The last tribe in the Staked Plains to come into the reservation.
The name Comanche emerged from the Ute word "komantcia" meaning "anyone who wants to fight me all the time." 1700's
The following is an excerpt from the book Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief, by Claire Wilson, Chelsea House Publishers, New York and Philadelphia, 1992, Page 15-16.
"A large and powerfully built chief led the bunch on a coalblack racing pony. Leaning forward on his mane, his heels nervously working in the animal's side, with six-shooter poised in air, he seemed the incarnation of savage, brutal joy. His face was smeared with war paint, which gave his features a satanic look. A large, cruel mouth added to his ferocious appearance. A full-length warbonnet of eagle's feathers spread out as he rode, descending from his forehead and back to his pony's tail, almost sweeping the ground. Large brass hoops were in his ears. He was naked to the waist, wearing simply leggings, moccasins, and a breechclout. A necklace of bear's claws hung about his neck. His scalp lock [a special braid worn by many plains warriors] was carefully braided with otter fur and tied with bright red flannel."
The following excerpt comes from the book "Ride the Wind", subtitle: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker and the Last Days of the Comanche, by Lucia St. Clair Robson, Ballantine Books, New York, 1982, Page 580-585.
This was the way he was described just before attacking Adobe Walls.
"If his mother could have seen her son and his pony, she would have been startled. Painted for war, they looked like Wanderer and Night. Naduah would have had to come much closer to notice that Quanah's face was fuller than his father's. His eyes were deep gray rather than black. And the lids drooped over them, giving him a sleepy, sensual look that was accented by his broad cheekbones and wide, full mouth. From the front he looked like a warrior of the People. But in profile his nose sloped like his mother's rather than arching like his father's.
"His upper body was bare. Beaver oil glistened on the muscles of his back and shoulders and chest. The elborate tassels on the ends of his red breechclout reached below his knees when he stood. The wide edges of his leggings and the tops of his moccasins were crusted with intricate beading. Two tiny stuffed birds dangled from his pierced ears. His thick braids were wrapped in silky otter fur. An eagle feather hung from his scalplock."
For more information about the Comanche tribe, check out the following pages:
The Commanche Nation of Oklahoma
About the Comanche Tribe
The following page has links to all the Comanche pages on the Internet.
Comanche Home Page
Books About Quanah Parker
This Week in American Indian History
