Comanches: The History of A People is one of Texas historian T.R. Ferenbach’s greatest hits and I enjoyed it thoroughly, as much for its Texas and U.S. Army history as for the tale of the destruction of the murderous, wholly unlovable Comanches.
The book was written in 1974, so it’s free of Hollyweird indian mumbo jumbo, as well as the hand-wringing, multicultural, everything’s-relative claptrap. By the late 1860s, with their ultimate demise plain to see, Comanche chiefs began lying about their nomadic guerrilla-warfare culture which had, for hundreds of years, been raiding, stealing, kidnapping and enslaving women and children, torturing some for pleasure, raping most, and mutilating all.
"The story of the People is a brutal story," Ferenbach writes, "and its judgements must be brutal." No one but their victims ever understood them, especially not the patronizing Quakers whom Washington put in charge of trying to pacify them. The 4th U.S. Cavalry did it best, by using their own tactics to massacre the men and take the women and children captive to the reservations. Ferenbach is sensitive to the pathos of their end. But, by then, the Comanches had slain so many thousands of noncombants, most of them white and black Texans and peasant Mexicans, that few who knew their handiwork would mourn.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
Have you ever read any Zane Grey?
His characters don’t like the Commanche very much. He has more than one saying something like, “I don’t mind most Indians, but I hate them Commanche”.
I tried his “Riders of the Purple Sage” but couldn’t finish it. We have some purple sage growing at the rancho so I could identify with the title, anyhow.
Best I can tell, the Comanche weren’t unique in their torturing, murdering ways (see Apache, Kiowa, etc.), but because they were horse Indians and could ride for a thousand miles in a few days on a raid, their “fame” was spread a lot wider than most.
I bet there are some people today saying “we don’t condone but we understand”. Ain’t it so?
I haven’t met any who do that for the Comanche, but for other, previously warlike tribes, yep.
Riders of the Purple Sage was one of his worst books. I think I read it when I was into him, but I never re-read it.
Fighting Caravans was one of his best, and that’s one of the ones that mentions Comanche.
As to your comment on other Indian tribes, yes.
I don’t usually read Westerns, but I’ll look into Caravans. Elmer Kelton is the favorite in Texas. I enjoyed his “The Time It Never Rained” about the big 1950s drought.
Well, I think the Comin-atchees deserve a better fanfare than just a bunch of rapists and murderers. I am in Oklahoma and just met a lady down in Medicine Park, awhile back whose last name was Fischer. She looked close to fullblood Comanche to me. She was descended from some German-American captives taken down your way in the 1800’s – Fredricksburg, I believe. My point is that not all captives ever wanted to come back to white society, and chose to stay with the Indians. That being said, most tribes did fight, did raid, scalp etc. There’s just alot more to Indians than simple John-Wayneish stereotypes. As to the slave issue, that is a white concept that never applied to Indian tribes. Some day, maybe one of these so called experts on Indians will come up here and talk to some Elders that still know the old ways. For anyone wanting to truly understand Plains Indians and warfare, I suggest George Bent’s letters.
Thanks for stopping by. I never heard of George Bent, but I’ll scout around for his letters.
I disagree with you on the Comanche past, however. The evidence against what you say is ample, and not even a tiny fraction of it is of the “John Wayneish” variety. It agrees, however, on the captives, as you say, not wanting to come back. Depended on the age they were taken and their gender. The women knew they would not be welcome after being raped, even if they weren’t mutilated like many were. The males, if taken young enough, must have enjoyed the dominant male status, the riding and hunting. Any who didn’t likely wouldn’t have survived.
I’m sure no Comanche descendant is anything like their ancestors. I don’t envy them trying to relate to their ancestors, but some of mine were slave holders so I can sympathize with the problem.