They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. This is cutting-edge history, drawing not only on original research in extensive primary documents but also on theoretical perspeĮmpire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American Historyįinalist for the Pulitzer Prize In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all. In clear language and detail, Betty considers a number of aspects of Comanche life - pastoralism, migration and nomadism, economics and trade, and warfare - and how these developed along kinship lines. This account analyzes the formation of clans, the hierarchy in family and generational relationships, and ancestor worship and related religious ceremonies. He details the kinship patterns that underlay all social organization and behavior among the Comanches and uses these insights to explain the way Comanches lived and interacted with Europeans. In Comanche Society, Gerald Betty develops an exciting perspective on the driving force of Comanche life: kinship. More recent studies of the Comanches have focused on adaptation and persistence in Comanche lifestyles and on their political organization and language-based alliances. Once called the Lords of the Plains, the Comanches were long portrayed as marauding raiders who capitalized on the Spanish introduction of horses to raise their people out of primitive poverty through bison hunting and fierce warfare.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |