The first written impression of the Comanche was recorded by a Spanish observer, in the year 1750. He said, “As there is no organization or authority amongst these Indians [Comanche], they give full rein to their barbarity, the deity of their adoration being atrocity and the effusion of blood, and their first law being and abundance of women to increase their progeny.” So, it can obviously be deduced from the above quote that the Comanche peoples were warlike. In fact, they were. The Comanche were some of the most notable marksmen, horsemen, and later riflemen of the American west. Their raiding parties traveled as far north as southern Canada, and as far south as Central America. They were the most feared of all Native Americans in Texas and Oklahoma. But, according to their Indian agent in 1885: “[Comanches] from being the most cunning, bloodthirsty and warlike of all the Plains Indians, have become the most tractable and are making greater strides toward civilization that any tribe of ‘blanket’ Indians to my knowledge. They are obedient, truthful, and honest.” There is no doubt that to any outsider, getting on the wrong side of a Comanche warrior was probably the last thing you would do, but in their home and social life, the Comanche were peaceful, just like any of the “more civilized” blanket Native American cultures of the Eastern United States.

In the beginning, the Comanche were actually part of another tribe, the Eastern Shoshoni. There initial range was along the upper reaches of the Platte River in eastern Wyoming. The first groups of Comanche separated from the Shoshoni following the Spanish contact and the introduction of the horse into the Great Plains, in about the early 1700’s. The main groups of Comanche migrated south into eastern Colorado and western Kansas; between the Platte and Arkansas Rivers. Not long after this initial migration, groups began to establish themselves on the edge of the Llano Estacado, which extended from Western Oklahoma across North Texas, and into New Mexico.

As stated above, the Comanche only became the Comanche after acquiring the horse. So, horsemanship was probably the one biggest element in all of Comanche culture. Comanches not only mastered the horse, but also the trade of the horse. They alone supplied the California Gold rushers with a mean of getting them and their supplies to California, but they also greatly increased the horse trade of the Great Plains area.

Unfortunately, most historical record of the Comanches was recorded by the Spanish. Due to the fact that in the 1800’s and early 1900’s most of America thought of the Spanish as enemies, and the anti-Spanish bias was extended the Comanche. Some of the bias, however, can be backed with fact. The Texans dealt with many a disaster tied to the Comanche, and writers can sometimes find it hard to portray the Comanches as victims. Also, some anthropologists are culturally blinded by the fact that the Comanche society lacked the general elaborate ceremony and rituals that most other cultures had at this time.

The horse was the most important part of the nomadic Comanche’s life. They used it for hunting, battle, and a way of life. No one really knows about when the first horse was introduced to the Comanche, but it was obviously, after the Spanish introduced the species into North America. The horse was so important to the Comanche lifestyle; it even played a part in their separation from the Shoshone, the move out of the mountains and onto the plains, and the eventual division of the Comanche tribe into smaller bands. The horse culture was not brought in to Native America by the Spanish themselves. The horses came in wild and the culture that centered on the animal was brought on by the Native Americans themselves. The Spanish has no influence (except introduction) on the dependence of the horse of the Native American community.

The horse of choice for the Comanches was the Spanish Mustang. It was smaller than most of the larger horses of Europe, only about fourteen hands. (A hand is about four inches, measured from the leg of the horse to below the neck). The Spanish Mustang was probably the first wild horse in the west, on the account that the conquistador did not like the smaller, scragglier appearance of the animal. Native America, however found the Spanish Mustang to survive better in the harsher, drier climate of the American South and Midwest. Some historians compare the first horses to bighorn sheep or the mountain goat of the Northern Rockies and Cascades.

At first, both Apache and Comanche lead raids on Spanish encampments to obtain horses. Later, Comanche started to actually breed their own horses, the first and only Native American tribe to do so. The thievery of Spain’s horses was a catalyst in the Pueblo Revolt of 1612. The Pueblo nations themselves did not adapt the spread of horse culture. The only Pueblo people to make extensive use of the horse were the slaves that Spain enslaved prior to the Revolt.

Once the initial Great Plains and Southwest tribes adapted to horse culture, the culture spread like wildfire. By the early 1700’s tribes along the eastern edge of the Canadian Rockies used the horse. With the English landing in Jamestown in the early 1600’s, and them introducing more breeds of horses into North America, horse culture spread even faster. Historians say that by 1750, horses and the use of them had passed through many Native tribes, and their reach extended as far up as Central Canada.

Like most things, one thing went to another. With the horse now apart of daily lives for Great Plains tribes, the culture shifted once again. Hunting big game such as elk, deer, and buffalo, tribes of the Great Plains had no reason to conform to a non-nomadic lifestyle. Instead, the buffalo replaced the need for sustained agriculture and a permanent village-like settlement. The buffalo provided everything from food, shelter, clothing, weapons, tools, and even drink (some tribes drank the blood).

Comanche Indian Tribe continued...