Legacy

Most Comanche warriors never set foot on a reservation or signed a treaty with the whites. The high regard in which they were held by the military leaders was evident in the fact that few of them went to prison and Quanah became the most influential chief in Indian Territory.

The fear and respect the war chiefs of other tribes held for Mackenzie's abilities were evidenced by the demoralizing effect his arrival had on the remaining renegades. His recent victory over the Comanche and other tribes of the Southern Plains was certainly on the mind of the Sioux. Red Cloud told him at the time of his surrender, "You were the one we were afraid of."

Mackenzie was later assigned to the frontier battles still raging in the Northwest before being stationed in Arizona and finally back in Texas. His wounds, exposure to the elements and the loneliness of command took its toll. He was reassigned to Texas and planned to marry the widow of his best friend and settle down on a little ranch in Boerne. Tragically, he lost his mind and was interned into a New York sanitarium for a few years before he died at the age of forty-eight. He was practically forgotten by all except his adjutant, R.G. Carter, who wrote, On the Border with Mackenzie, and struggled for the rest of his life promoting Mackenzie's reputation.

Crook appeared before Congress on several occasions to lobby for better conditions for the Indians and after taking command of the Fort Sill reservation in the mid 1870s, Mackenzie launched an angry protest concerning misdeeds of the prior administration.

According to Gen. Nelson Appleton Miles, the Indians were forced to rebel because they were starving while the Indian agents got fat on "Profits." Photo from the book, Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, by Jerry Keenan.

Lieutenant Pratt was ordered to transport the prisoners and assumed command of the Florida prison. Being the ranking officer, he was invited to the social events held by the prominent citizens of St. Augustine, many of whom traced their lineage back to Spanish nobility. Pratt delighted in bragging about his wild Indians and their great abilities in riding and fighting. Once he was asked if he thought these Indians could fight a Spanish bull. He gladly agreed to bring some Indians to the bull ring on Sunday.

Four of the Indians mounted on horseback and armed with knives, lances and bows and arrows entered the ring. At first the movements of the fighting bull confused the Indians. They had never seen this type of animal and weren't familiar with his behavior. Finally, White Horse rode up beside the charging bull and leaped on his back as it gored another Indian and his pony. He cut its spinal cord with his knife and brought it down, then he slit the bull open and pulled out his liver and held it high over his head, showing it to the startled crowd. He then downed the liver in several large bites vividly confirming the authenticity of Pratt's claims about his wild Indians. Pratt later established Carlisle Indian School, the famous institution that produced Jim Thorpe.

Lieutenant Pratt	White Horse

I've mentioned that there seemed to be a lot of pioneer something in the people out here and it's hard to find anybody anywhere that doesn't claim to be part Indian and/or has a distant relative that rode with the Rangers. Maybe the one thing everybody out here has in their blood is a little gamble. The Fort Griffin Echo noted in the 1870s:

Beginning with Jim Thorpe, the Plains have turned out, some would say been blessed with, a steady stream of wild warrior athletes that could have easily come from a gene mix of Quanah Parker, Big Foot Wallace and Ira Hayes.

Jim Thorpe	Wahoo McDaniel (click pic for Sports Illustrated article by Mike Shropshire.)	Bobby Morrow (click pic for Sports llustrated article by Mike Shropshire.)

Bobby Morrow won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics. Though hardly noticeable in photographs of the time, recent shots which appeared in Sports Illustrated of the sixty something Morrow bears a striking resemblance to Satanta.

It was also in the fifties that famous pro-wrestler Wahoo McDaniel began his athletic career in Midland playing baseball under the tutelage of his coach, former president, George Bush. He preceded Joe Don Looney as the premier wild man at the University of Oklahoma where he regularly beat fraternity relay teams in 20 mile sprints between Norman and Oklahoma City.

The population out here has contributed an extraordinary proportion of this nation's war casualties and Sul Ross' Texas A&M holds the distinction of contributing the most officers vanquished in battle. In these modern times, when the debate is whether dodge ball is a suitable sport for our youth, much more than our pioneer landmarks seem to be in jeopardy.

Much-decorated Kiowa, Master Sergeant Pascal C. Poolaw's widow kissing his flag. Photograph by Bill Dixon, Lawton Constitution.	America's most decorated soldier, Texan Audie Murphy, a real Hollywood hero.

Modern culture may glorify or caricature the Indian, but when it comes to considering the Comanches and Cross Timbers' past, it is instructive to turn to John Graves' Goodbye to a River.