It's
hard to find anyone, young or old, who is not familiar with the term Six Flags
Over Texas.
Most would say it is the big tourist attraction in the Metroplex.
Few can name the actual flags or countries that have claimed ownership of Texas
since the beginning, which is the real reason for the existence of the term.
Few
historians acknowledge another dominating owner of much of Texas for more than
150 years, the Comanche Indian tribes.
The name comes from "Komantieia,"
a Ute Indian word meaning enemy. The Comanche tribe call themselves "Nermernal,"
which means human beings.
Comancheria, the name given to the area ruled
by the Comanche in 1850, includes approximately one-half of Texas, more than one-half
of New Mexico, about two-thirds of Colorado and one-third of the southern part
of Kansas.
Their rule lasted almost 150 years as no matter who you were,
civilian or military, or how big a stick you carried, when you entered Comancheria,
you literally put your life and the lives of those with you into Comanche hands.
In more than five centuries of American history, about 572 Indian tribes have
been recorded. Devastated by hunger, drought, harsh winters and epidemics, the
tribes were hard-pressed to hold an average population. Continually merging, changing
names, winning and losing in combat, and trying to survive disease made it difficult
for historians to keep track of and record accurate statistics and names.
The
Comanche is believed to have originated from a Northern Shoshone tribe living
in the Casper, Wyo., area where harsh winters drove them south in search of warmth
and buffalo.
Comanche
culture was built around the use of horses
for all reasons. Over time they learned that approximately 100 members was the
best sustainable group and split the tribes into 12 groups originally for that
purpose. Eventually they grew to 4,000 members in their heyday.
Many stories
and theories have been written about how the Indians acquired horses.
The most practical theory, backed up in Spanish archives, stated horses became
plentiful when Don Juan Onate brought 300 mares and colts to the Santa Fe area
in New Mexico in 1598.
Spanish domination of horse ownership ended abruptly
in 1690 with the Pueblo Indian Revolt. The entire surviving Spanish population
fled south for their lives, leaving herds of sheep, cattle and horses
behind.
From that moment on horses
became the wealth of Indian tribes. Once the Indian obtained the horse, they became
a force to be reckoned with throughout the southwestern United States and its
territories.
The end of Comancheria came only when Col. Ranald Mackenzie
trapped the main force of Comanches in winter camp in Palo Duro Canyon, capturing
approximately 1,500 head of horses.
About 365 head were given to the Indian
scouts who first located the tribes, leaving approximately 1,000 head to be slaughtered,
thus ending the reign of Comanche domination.
Thanks to Carl Williamson
of Miami, Texas,
for much of the research for this article.
© Delbert Trew
"It's All Trew" August
11, 2009 Column
E-mail: trewblue@centramedia.net.
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