Sometime around 1850, in a Comanche Tipi in a place called Laguna Sabinas (Cedar Lake), Quanah Parker was Born. He was the son of Peta Nocona ( He who travels alone and returns), Chief of the Noconi (Wanderer) band of Comanches, and Cynthia Ann Parker, her Comanche name was Naudah (Someone Found) , a white captive taken from Parkers Fort Tx in 1836.

Quanah's Grandfather was none other than the fearless Iron Jacket who was famous for wearing a Spanish Coat of Mail into battle and it was believed by the Comanche that he possessed such strong medicine that he had the power to blow approaching missles away with his breath.

Iron Jacket was killed in a great battle on May 12, 1858 on the southern bank of the Canadian River by a combined force of Texas Rangers & Tonkawa Warriors who surprised and attacked two Comanche Villages that resulted in Seventy Six Comanches being murdered by the Texas Rangers and their Tonkawa Allies.

Quanah after many great war honors became the Chief or Paraiboo of the Quohada band of Comanches. During the time of his youth the Comanches were at war with the United States Army, and Mexico.

When Quanah was yet still a young warrior his mother Naudah was re-captured by white soldiers and Tonkawa braves acting as scouts against the Comanche, with the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers. She was taken from a small war party camp, with her infant daughter Totsiyaa (Prairie Flower). She was forced to leave her family, husband Peta Nocona and her two sons, Quanah and Pecos. This was about 1860, she was returned to her uncle Isaac Parker and his family.

Naudah made numerous attempts to escape to return to her people, even once almost escaping on back of a mule, she was then locked in her bedroom to prevent further attempts on escape. At one point was tied down upon her arrival at her uncles home. In 1864 her daughter Totsiyaa became ill, and died. Overcome with grief, and the loss of her family, Cynthia died of a broken heart, she would take no food or water.

Quanah and his father Nocona searched all over the frontier to find Naudah to no avail, she had been taken at least 400 miles from where she was captured, a few short years later Peta Nocona died from an old war wound obtained at the Battle of Plum Creek.

It is believed that the location of where he died is near the Canadian River though the white man has written that he was killed at the Battle of Mule Creek, which is a tributary of the Pease River. Quanah refuted this error and wrote years later that his father Nocona lived for several years after the battle, and that the man killed at the Mule Creek war camp was a sub-chief of the Noconi named Nobah.

The grief of loosing his wife and child took it's toll on Nocona, it is said after they were taken, he lost his war like fervor and that he cried many tears.

During the Civil War the Comanche pushed back the Texas frontier over 100 miles to where they thought it should be. As time passed more and more people started invading Comancheria, this is the name given to the land where the Comanche prospered.

Over 250,000 square miles of land, this included parts of Colorado, New Mexico,Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. It is said in the height of their power they ranged all the way from 1000 miles inside the Mexico border, and north as far as Saskatchewan. This indeed earned them the name The Lords of the Plains.

Buffalo hunters appeared on the Plains, slaughtering untold millions of buffalo, as a way to stop the indian from living free, as the buffalo were the sustance of the plains tribes. The Comanches did not take this lightly, and therefore the war known as The Buffalo War or Red River War had begun.

Buffalo hunters became the targets of raids. To the Comanche, the senseless killing of buffalo for just their hides was considered as an abomination, and sought to kill all the buffalo hunters they could find.

The Comanche, Kiowa & Cheyenne with their allies soon attacked a place known to both Indians and Traders known as Adobe Walls. This place had seen several battles including a previous battle in 1864 between Kit Carson and the Southern Plains Tribes which convinced Kit Carson to never again come to Texas and fight the Comanche & the Kiowa Indians. This battle has jokingly been referred to as being "Carson's Last Stand."

During this war many tribes made alliances with each other to stop the slaughter and regain the land. Many tribes came together to fight a common enemy, even those tribes that had long been waring with each other. The Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho were among those who participated in combined raids all over the Plains in an effort to stop the invasion to the land, and the slaughter of the buffalo. It is said within a 10 year period in the late 1800's that over 15 million buffalo were killed, bringing the number to roughly about 1500.

Quanah emerged from this as a great war chief, in which many tribes and great leaders gave him respect, and charge over their warriors, he was a capable and trustworthy leader, and most any warrior would have been proud to go to war with him.

The Kwahada Comanche waged a war in the plains unlike any war the U.S. had ever seen. Three U.S. Calvary units and the Texas Rangers were ordered to subdue the Comanche to no avail. These brave warriors fought with unprecedented skill and ability, they proved themselves time and time again in battle to be far superior in war than their enemies. Even with repeating weapons, and cannons and massive more manpower, the Comanche could not be defeated. In one instance alone during a heated battle the kill ratio measured was 3 Comanche to 600 soldiers. The Comanche style of warfare is studied by military heads all over the globe. This is a tribute to the strength of the Comanche People.

On September 28, 1874 General Mackenzie with his Tonkawa scouts attacked a sleeping Comanche village in Palo Duro Canyon. In an attempt to further cripple the Comanches he massacred women and children, burned their lodges, and captured the horses of the people. The order was given by Mackenzie to shoot all the horses that his Tonkawa scouts did not keep for themselves. There was about 1,500 ponies, and the greatest slaughter of horses ever recorded, took place in a place that is sacred to the Comanche People known as Palo Duro Canyon.

The bones of the horses were piled up, and remained there for over 50 years. General Mackenzie reported back to his superiors that only 4 or 5 Comanche had been killed, but one of his own captains sent in a conflicting report that there were Comanche women and children dead all over the bottom of the canyon. This massacre did great damage to the Comanche, as their horses, winter supply of food, and lodges were all destroyed. Some of the dead were pillaged and thier heads cut off and sent to Washington for future scientific study. In all, 5 villages were destroyed including those of visiting Cheyenne & Kiowa.

Between the fall of 1874 and spring of 1875 the U.S. Army under the leadership of Generals Miles, Buell, Davidson and Mackenzie tried to capture the Quohada, and as a result of this campaign no less than 16 battles were fought between the Quohada Comanche and the Army. After being humiliated by Quanah and the Quohada, the Army left the plains and went back to the forts for further orders from the government. In all of these battles the army failed to capture and subdue the Comanche, Quanah and the Kwahada were still free.

Quanah realized that there was no other choice but to go to the reservation, after he had heard word from General Mackenzie who was in charge of the 4th Calvary, that all Comanche that did not submit to the reservation would be exterminated, this is no embelishment on words, this was an official order issued. This was most likely due to the fact that the Comanche were not beaten in war, there was only one other choice for the Army, and that was Genocide.


In June 1875 Quanah chose to lead the last free Comanche people to the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Indian Reservation. The land stolen, the wildlife disappearing because of white encroachment on the lands, and continual warfare with the U.S. Army, were factors in his decision to take the people to Oklahoma. Women, Elders, and Children were of great concern to him as they were non-combatants in these wars. The Quohada were the last free indians on the southern plains.

Upon arrival at the reservation the people were locked in an icehouse, that had no roof, and were fed by soldiers throwing raw meat over the walls to the people. They were fed like lions trapped in a cage.

From the time that Quanah arrived on the reservation, he fought fervently as he did for peace for his people as he did as a war chief. Unfortunatly out of the 3 million acres promised to the Comanche, the tribe retained less than 10 percent of the treaty agreement.

The US Government in their never ceasing agenda to obtain the lands once belonging to the Indian People began a legal process to deprive the Indians of all their lands. This was not unique to the Comanche, but nearly all tribes were affected as a result of policies made with other tribes.

As time passed on the reservation, Quanah not only as chief of the Comanches, became a sheriff, and a tribal court judge. He was well liked and befriended by President Teddy Roosevelt and the President would often times go hunting with Quanah.

Quanah made several trips to Washington DC to parly for the peoples land, but the government decided to open the reservation to settlers, and many tribes were affected by this Great Land Rush, as it has become known.


In 1884, less than a decade after Quanah's final battle with the white man, the town of Quanah Texas was named after him. Quanah gave the town his blessing with these words:

"It is well, you have done a good thing in honor of a man who has tried to do right both to the people of his tribe and to his pale faced friends. May God bless the town of Quanah. May the sun shine and the rain fall upon the fields and the granaries be filled. May the lightning and the tempest shun the homes of her people, and may they increase and dwell forever. God bless Quanah.
Subetu Ma! I have spoken."


Quanah also had a railroad named after him called the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway. It ran from Quanah to Floydada Texas north of Canyon Blanco. It ran right through the land that the Quohada and the military had fought on in numerous battles.

After a difficult search for his mother and her people, it was told to him that the grave of his mother had been found. On December 4, 1910 Quanah reburied his mothers remains at Post Oak Cemetery on Comanche Land. At her funeral he said:

"Forty years ago my mother died. She captured by Comanches, nine years old. Love indian and free life so well no want to go back to white folks. All same people anyway God say. I love my mother, I like white people. Got great heart."

Quanah had seven wives and twenty five children, there are many people who are widespread that are decendants of Quanah Parker. He has many relations on both sides of his heritage. Comanche and White. Quanah was truly a great man, warrior, chief, peacemaker. All these things can be said of Quanah Parker.


Quanah Parker died in 1911, as a result, there has been no recognized chief of the Comanches since Quanah. It was decided that in honor of Chief Quanah that from that time forward the Comanches would use the title of Chairman for their leaders. This is the reason Quanah Parker is known as The Last Chief of the Comanche.