A book review of the Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

A book review of the Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

Man is capable of going to great lengths to preserve his heritage and provide for his family and this has always been the cause of war in the world. Two nations and their quest to take control of their destinies through any means possible is what the Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, a non-fiction book addresses about the war that took place between the native Indian tribe and the American government. The book gives an account of the forty-year battle of the Comanche against the Whiteman to take control of the Great Plains and Texas (Anonymous, 2010).

Gwynne gives an account of the brutal struggle for the control of the Great Plains even before the Little Bighorn battle ever took place where the Federal Government and General George Custer were trounced by the Indians. The Comanche tribe is described as being the greatest light cavalry to ever dominate the plains. They terrified their adversaries as they could shoot lots of arrows hanging on the side of galloping horses (Anonymous, 2010).

The story begins on the Parker’s Clan Fort attack by Kiowa and Comanche tribes that resulted in the capture of nine-year-old Cynthia Parker. In order to protect their territory, the Comanche used brutal tactics that were meant to repel encroachers on their territory. The transformation of the tribe from foot walkers to astonishing mobility from riding wild horses made them master buffalo hunting skills that were transferred to martial skills making them dazzling cavalrymen (Anonymous, 2010).

In the year 1860, Cynthia Ann was recaptured and her husband, the Indian chief, killed. Assimilation of Cynthia into white culture failed as she constantly refused the attempts and was kept against her will. Her son Quanah, who had escaped the raid on their village, grew and became the most-feared leader of a subset Comanche tribe, the Quahadi. However, the development of the colt revolver and high powered rifle gave the Texans an edge over the Comanche as they could fire several shots without reloading. Also John Coffee Hays taught his cavalry horsemanship to fight at par with the Indians (Anonymous, 2010).

The determination by settlers to exterminate the Indians and the development of guns continued to push the Indians away from their territories (Anonymous, 2010). The biggest blow to the Comanche tribe was the buffalo hunters who eliminated Comanche’s source of food and clothing by hunting the buffalo almost to extinction. This led to the eventual surrender of Quanah, him taking on the life of the Whiteman and conducted cattle business with white ranchers. Quanah living in the footsteps of the Whiteman contradicts his mother’s refusal to fit in the world she had been taken from when she was a child (Anonymous, 2010).

Quanah was later given the title of Principle Chief of the Comanche and engaged in extensive lobbying congress for fair treatment of Native Americans. He even was invited by Teddy Roosevelt for diner in his home in Oklahoma. Quanah became friends with white ranchers with whom he conducted business with them, was a member of a local school board, owned a car, a big house and even featured in several western movies (Anonymous, 2010).

Quanah transformation from an enemy of the state to being the most influential Native American of his time reveals his boundless optimism in America. Before his death he offered a recap of his life’s transformation to being a law abiding citizen who payed his taxes.

References

Anonymous, (2010).Books and arts: The battle for Texas; The Tale of the Comanches. (2010, Jun 19). The Economist, 395, 85-85. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/504739743?accountid=45049; http://search.epnet.com?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/ProQ%3Aabiglobal&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Economist&rft.atitle=Books+And+Arts%3A+The+battle+for+Texas%3B+The+tale+of+the+Comanches&rft.au=Anonymous&rft.aulast=Anonymous&rft.aufirst=&rft.date=2010-06-19&rft.volume=395&rft.issue=8687&rft.spage=85&rft.isbn=&rft.btitle=&rft.title=The+Economist&rft.issn=00130613