The Life of Comanche Warriors

The Comanche Tribe is a tribe that is mentioned many history books and lessons. Sometimes great detail is not given on the lives of these great warriors. The Comanche was a well-known tribe that had dominance over a large portion of the US land. The Comanche warriors were feared by both settlers and other Native American tribes. They claimed much of the upper portion of Texas as their land. They called this land Comancheria. Comancheria was tightly guarded by its many distinguished warriors.

Other Native American tribes did not interfere with the dealings of Comancheria, as they were busy protecting their land from its dominance. They called the Comanche, "the Lords of the South Plains." They were very famous for their many military endeavors and raids in which they attacked the Pueblo to the West; the tribes to the East; the Spanish settlers; the Mexicans and the Anglo-settlers. They were a feared tribe.

One major invasion by the Comanche was the raid of the Parker's Fort. This Invasion took place in May 1836. The Parkers were an Anglo-settler family that had no fear of the Comanche people. They built their settlement very close to the Buffalo Range that the Comanche tribe claimed as their own.

Eventually, the Comanche became disgusted with this outright disrespect. They raided the Parker settlement. They killed 5 settlers; abducted 5 settlers and injured 3 settlers. Cynthia Ann Parker was one of the settlers abducted during the raid.

The main way for men to achieve success in the Comanche way of life was to become an accomplished warrior. Through war; you gain the respect of your tribe. To gain distinction you must be considered both brave and generous. You must be willing to fight and die in battle.

Only a warrior has the ability to move up in Comanche society. Many Native American tribes were like this. Men were required to make bold and blazon displays of their courage and bravery. This was the life that Quanah was born into. He accepted it and excelled in it. He was a natural leader.

He learned to ride horses with amazing skill and agility. This was a requirement for a Comanche warrior. A Comanche warrior had to be a master of the horse.

For the Comanche; horses were one of the most important tools a warrior had in battle. Without extreme horse riding skill and agility; the Comanche would not be nearly as effective. The Comanche warrior was so adept at riding horses that he didn't use a bridle at all. He would simply use his legs and knees to communicate with the animal.

The Comanche valued horses as loved companions and friends as well as tools for mobility and agility in battle. The horses were known by all enemies of the Comanche to be very well-trained and effective animals.

Comanche warriors also considered dreams and mystical visions to be important elements to take into consideration when it came to battle and leadership. Psychic encounters were held in high regard. Comanche warriors always prepared for battle in the way that their visions told them to prepare.

Eventually though; their psychic visions did not help them in battle against two heavily armed groups of English people during the Red River War; 1874-1875. The first group was a group of buffalo hunters. These hunters were very skilled marksmen who had many strong weapons at their disposal because they were buffalo hunters. The Comanche were trying to protect their buffalo from the buffalo hunters because during this time; the buffalo were the Comanche's mainstay.

The second group of armed Anglo people were military men led by General McKenzie in the, "Red River War."

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche