﻿—--- Welcome back to Bad Things in
History, where you are our favorite viewer. Life in Texas was difficult during the 1800s.
Settlers poured into lands that were already occupied by various Native American
tribes. The result was deadly conflict. Sometimes children who survived these battles were
kidnapped and adopted by the local tribes. Today we’re going to tell you the story of a
woman who was taken as a child and then raised by the tribe that captured her.
—---- Fort Parker Massacre
Cynthia Ann Parker was born in 1825 in Crawford County, Illinois. She lived
there for the first several years of her life. But around 1833, her grandfather was
given land in North Texas. He decided to move the entire family to the new territory.
The Parker family’s new home was not a safe place. The Comanche were among several native tribes that
occupied land in New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. They did not like having
white settlers living within their territory. The Parkers knew this. They began building
their homes near what is today the town of Groesbeck. Each family had its own cabin,
as well as land to use for growing food. But in the center of the community was a large
structure called Fort Parker. If the settlers were under attack,
the plan was to find safety and shelter behind the walls of the fort.
Unfortunately, the Parker family’s arrival in Texas was poorly timed. On March 6th, 1836,
the Battle of the Alamo happened. When the Mexican Army was victorious, this gave hope
to the Comanche and other Native American tribes. They thought the time was right to attack.
On May 19th, 1836, the Parker family was shocked as up to six hundred Native American
warriors appeared. The attacking party consisted of Comanche as well as several other tribes. The
settlers attempted to negotiate, but the native warriors were not listening.
Before the doors of the fort could be closed, they rushed in and began killing the men.
Several women and children ran for the woods. At least five people were killed. Two women and
three children were kidnapped. Cynthia Parker was among those taken by the Comanche.
Over the next several years, most of the captives would be released in return for a suitable ransom.
But Cynthia would not be among them. She would learn to live as a Comanche.
Living With The Enemy When Cynthia was taken from Fort Parker,
she was about nine. At first, her life among the Comanche was not pleasant. She
was treated as a slave. She endured physical abuse and was forced to work long hours.
A family within the community took pity on Cynthia and adopted her. They raised her as
their daughter and helped her adapt to a new way of life. As she grew into a young woman,
Cynthia became fully Comanche.
In 1840, when she was around fifteen years old, she married the chief of the tribe Peta Nocona. He
was one of the warriors who attacked Fort Parker. Despite this, Peta and Cynthia grew to love each
other. Among the Comanche, it was customary for a chief to take several wives. But Peta refused
to have any wife other than Cynthia. During their time together, the couple had
three children. The oldest son was named Quanah and would one day become the leader
of the Comanche. They had another son, as well as a daughter named Topsanna.
Cynthia had all but forgotten her original family. But they never stopped trying to find her.
During the years she was assimilating into Comanche society, Cynthia’s uncle never gave
up looking for her. He petitioned the governor of Texas, Sam Houston, for help several times.
Houston provided men to help retrieve the Parker children. Several of them were found,
but Cynthia was never located. Although the Parker family couldn’t
find her, she was encountered by other people on a few occasions.
On April 29th, 1846, Cynthia was with a Comanche trading party along the Canadian River.
Attempts were made to negotiate her release, but the tribal leaders wouldn’t discuss it.
A year later, she encountered government officials along the
Washita River. They tried to get her to return to Texas,
but Cynthia refused. She loved her husband and wanted to remain with her family.
She wouldn’t be able to stay with the Comanche forever.
Battle Of Pease River
The Texas Rangers was a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire state. It was
created in 1823. Eventually, the agency started handling tasks that would typically be the
responsibility of the United States Army. Texas was too large for the Army to patrol
effectively. So the Texas Rangers did what they could to protect the territory.
In early 1860 Peta Nocona led his Comanche warriors on raids throughout Parker County.
In an ironic twist, the county was named after Cynthia’s family.
When he was finished raiding, Peta returned to one of his favorite
hideouts. But his actions put pressure on the Texas government to do something.
Governor Sam Houston ordered the leader of the Rangers, Captain Sul Ross,
to stop the Comanche raids. Early on December 18th, 1860, the Rangers descended on the Comanche
settlement where Cynthia and Peta lived. As Texas Rangers poured into the settlement
they saw a woman and a man trying to escape. Captain Sul Ross claimed they shot the man and
captured the Indian woman. They would soon discover that the Indian woman was Cynthia
Parker. And Captain Ross would claim the man he killed was Peta Nocona.
When the Rangers captured Cynthia, she was holding her infant daughter Topsanna. In broken English,
she told the Rangers her name. Captain Ross knew about the massacre at Fort Parker,
which had happened years earlier. And he also realized that his current captive
was a member of the Parker family. Ross contacted Cynthia’s uncle, Colonel Isaac
Parker, and told him his niece had been found. She was taken to Isacc’s home near Birdville and
remained there for some time. Cynthia’s story spread quickly,
giving hope to other families who had lost children during Native American attacks. In
1861 the Texas State Legislature gave Cynthia land and a pension to ensure that she could
care for herself and her daughter. Unfortunately, Cynthia could never adjust
to her new life. She wanted to return to the Comanche and made several attempts to escape.
The Parker family always stopped her. She never returned to the tribe that raised her.
In 1863 Cynthia heard that her youngest son had died of smallpox. Then in 1864, her daughter
Topsanna passed away from influenza. Cynthia never recovered from her grief.
She survived for a few more years, but one day she decided to stop eating or drinking. In March 1871,
her life finally came to an end. Although Cynthia was dead, her story wasn’t
over yet. Her son Quanah was still alive, and he never left the Comanche.
The Last Chief
Quanah Parker was born around 1852 somewhere in Oklahoma.
He was a teenager when the Texas Rangers captured Cynthia. Years later, Quanah would claim that Sul
Ross didn’t kill Peta Nocona. Quanah said his father lived for four more years until 1864
when an illness claimed his life. About a year after his father died,
Quanah joined other Comanche warriors on their raids. He gained a reputation for being a fierce
and fearless warrior. By 1867, most of the Comanche had been moved to reservations. But
Quanah was now a war chief, and his band of warriors refused to surrender.
The United States Army tried for years to locate Quanah, but they could never find him. Meanwhile,
he would emerge without warning, attacking and killing hunters and merchants all over Texas. The
hunters were killing animals the Comanche needed for food, so they were his primary targets.
The situation finally escalated in 1874. A medicine man named Isa-tai'i claimed
he could make himself and his followers invincible. He and Quanah gathered 250
warriors. Then on June 27th, 1874, they attacked a hunting outpost in the Texas panhandle.
More specifically, Quanah and his warriors attacked. Isa-tai'i
watched from a hill nearly a mile away. The hunters had long-range hunting rifles. They
hid behind barricades and shot the Comanche at a distance, killing several of them. The attack
was a failure, and Quanah was wounded. The warriors were clearly not invincible.
Later that night, Isa-tai'i was severely beaten for failing to protect them.
As news of the battle spread, it ignited a new round of violence. A month later, another band
of Comanche attacked the Texas Rangers. President Ulysses S. Grant told the United
States Army to subdue the natives by any means necessary. General Philip Sheridan ordered several
columns of cavalry to descend into Texas and push the Native Americans to the Red River.
Over twenty engagements occurred during what became known as the Red River War.
Casualties were usually not high during these encounters, but the Army made it a point to kill
all the horses and buffalo. Since Native Americans traveled with women and children, they couldn’t
continue fighting without access to food. The war finally ended when Quanah and
his followers surrendered at Fort Sill in June 1875.
The Comanche were through fighting. But Quanah’s story wasn’t finished yet.
The Final Years The Comanche had never been united under a single
leader. Typically they existed as several smaller tribes, each with its own war chief. But after
Quanah surrendered, the United States government appointed him as the leader of all Comanche.
One of the first things Quanah did as leader was convince his people to settle on a reservation
in southwest Oklahoma. He tried to teach the Comanche how to live a more sedentary life.
Samuel Burk Burnett was a rancher who established the ‘6666’ ranch. Today it is
known in popular culture for its appearances on the television show “Yellowstone.” But in 1881,
Burnett was just getting started. He established a ranch headquarters near Wichita Falls, Texas
which brought him into contact with Quanah. Soon after Samuel Burnett established his ranch,
a drought killed much of the grass in Texas. Quanah and the Comanche were concerned because
it seemed like ranchers might be allowed to access the reservation. However, a friendship
would emerge between Quanah and Burnett, which would help avoid further acts of violence.
Burnett and several other ranchers negotiated a lease for access to the
reservation land in Oklahoma. In return, they had to pay the Comanche.
Quanah also became a rancher and purchased his own cattle. In 1890 he asked the United
States government for help financing a new home's construction. Quanah said he needed
a residence better suited to his status among the Comanche. The government refused. However,
Samuel Burnett funded the construction himself. The building became known as the Star House.
The reason why is that Quanah had several stars painted on the roof.
Over the years, Quanah would host several famous guests at his home. Among them was
Theodore Roosevelt. In 1905 Quanah even attended the President’s inauguration.
Quanah was also responsible for helping lead the Native American Church Movement. It is a religious
tradition that combines several Native American beliefs with aspects of Christianity. It also
involves the use of peyote, a hallucinogen. Quanah explained the difference between
his religion and Christianity: The White Man goes into his church house and
talks about Jesus, but the Indian goes into his tipi and talks to Jesus.
Quanah even acted in several silent films. His last appearance was in “The
Bank Robber” in 1908. As his life neared its end,
Quanah’s thoughts turned to his mother and sister. In 1910 the bodies of Cynthia and
Topsanna were moved to the Comanche reservation. Samuel Burnett helped Quanah by paying for new
granite headstones to mark the graves. Quanah Parker passed away in 1911. He was
buried next to his mother and sister. The inscription on his tombstone reads:
Resting Here Until Day Breaks And Shadows Fall and Darkness
Disappears is Quanah Parker Last Chief of the Comanches
Born 1852 Died Feb. 23, 1911
After his death, Quanah was criticized by some Comanche for selling out to the
white man. Others praised him for leading his people through a difficult time.
Today, both Cynthia and Quanah are celebrated. The Quanah Parker Society in Cache, Oklahoma,
holds an annual reunion where they recount the stories of his life.
The city of Crowell, Texas, holds an annual event to honor the memory of Cynthia Parker.
There are also several roads and towns throughout Texas named after members
of the Parker family. —--------------------
Was the Parker family right in trying to save Cynthia from a life with the Comanche? Or would
it have been better to leave her alone? And was her son Quanah a hero or
a traitor to his people? In the comments below, let us know
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Thank you for watching Bad Things In History. —--------------------