Different Bands of Comanches and Their Probable Location and Population: Manuscript
Collection
Identifier: MSS-4147
Scope and Contents
The collection contains the nine-page manuscript by Lieutenant J. S. Stewart (CSA), describing the various bands of Comanches, indicating the tribe numbers and probable locations, inhabiting mainly Arkansas and Texas. The document most likely was written with a view to recruiting the Indians to the Confederate cause. There is also Stewart's handwritten copy of Albert Pike's 1861(?) treaty with the Comanches.
Dates
- circa 1861
Creator
- Stewart, J. S. (Author, Person)
Biographical / Historical
The Comanche broke away from the Shoshone shortly after they acquired horses from the Pueblo Indians in 1680, which allowed them to become more mobile in the search of better hunting grounds. In their drive southward to find more horses the Comanche may have been the first of the Plains Indians to incorporate the horse so completely into their culture.
Once they broke away from the Shoshone, the Comanche migrated south through present-day Arkansas, Texas, and New Mexico. Their population increased significantly because of the plentiful supply of buffalo and their practice of adopting women and children taken captive from rival groups. However, the Comanche was never a single tribal unit; there were almost a dozen autonomous groups, sharing the same language and culture.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the herds of the Comanche were large enough to allow them to supply horses to the French and American traders and settlers. They also sold them to miners passing through Comanche territory on their way to the California gold fields and mines. However, they did earn a reputation as horse thieves by stealing horses from other tribes and settlers, and once they expanded into cattle rustling, their pilfering of Spanish and American settlers, frequently led to war.
Once they broke away from the Shoshone, the Comanche migrated south through present-day Arkansas, Texas, and New Mexico. Their population increased significantly because of the plentiful supply of buffalo and their practice of adopting women and children taken captive from rival groups. However, the Comanche was never a single tribal unit; there were almost a dozen autonomous groups, sharing the same language and culture.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the herds of the Comanche were large enough to allow them to supply horses to the French and American traders and settlers. They also sold them to miners passing through Comanche territory on their way to the California gold fields and mines. However, they did earn a reputation as horse thieves by stealing horses from other tribes and settlers, and once they expanded into cattle rustling, their pilfering of Spanish and American settlers, frequently led to war.
Extent
0.01 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
Manuscript by Lieutenant J. S. Stewart (CSA), describing the various bands of Comanches, indicating the tribe numbers and probable locations in Arkansas and Texas.
Provenance
Purchased from Hughes Books, 2015
General
To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.
Processed by
Martha Bace, 2015
- Title
- Guide to the Different Bands of Comanches and Their Probable Location and Population: Manuscript
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- August 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository