[Music] one minute the fields were clear and the next moment more Indians than I dreamed possible were in front of the fort this is what Rachel Parker plumber witnessed the morning that she was taken captive by a commanche raid in a horrifying attack her home was destroyed and many of her family was killed it felt like hundreds of mounted Warriors came out of nowhere and without warning today we're going to take a look at what it was like to experience a kamanche raid welcome to dates and dead guys the kamanche have a well-deserved reputation for being one of the most brutal and terrifying of the western tribes their territory commandaria included the entire Southern Plains an inhospitable territory that they had taken by force as Nomads the Mastery of the horse was essential to their power and something new in their history it was developed as the result of the introduction and Escape of Spanish horses in the 16th and 17th centuries the commanche were unmatched in their abilities and were were legendary as Warriors and Raiders by the end of the 1700s they had run their Rivals like the Apache off of the Plains and only managed tense treaties with the Spanish prior to Mexican Independence but into the 1800s American westward expansion was leading to clashes between settlers and the kamanche it was inevitable Manifest Destiny demanded the United States conquer the whole continent from east to west but gold in California made it so that early inhabitants could largely skip over kameria a giant chunk in the middle of the West Was left alone which was good for a while if the scarce nature of the planes didn't kill you the inhabitant would have the promise of land and flourishing Farms Drw in Settlers by the thousands it was inevitable that the nearby kamanche would take notice of these new easy targets certain tribes could be bought intimidated or tricked but the commanche were not the type to negotiate the previous 200 years had seen their culture experience constant expansion through brutal Warfare it's important to understand that with each passing generation this lifestyle became more and more of who they were and as Raiders they were the best the introduction to the Spanish at Sans Saba the century prior serves as a good example tricked by the Apache the Spanish built a mission in precidio in the 1750s the Apache had told the Spanish that they wanted to be christianized the Spanish built a compound for that purpose but it soon became clear that the Apache had other intentions they had insisted that the fort be built in what is now Central Texas near modern day mayard kamanche territory the Apache had been fighting and losing to the commande for decades they had hoped to start a war between two of their enemies and in March of 1758 they got it with the arrival of the spring grass in the morning of the 16th the soldiers in the prido woke up to hear War whoops of 2,000 mounted commanche Warriors outside their walls initially the Comm she pretended to be peaceful but it was clear that they had other plans in mind TR farach wrote in his excellent book commanches a history of a people what the Spanish saw when they peered over the walls quote the Savages were a breathtaking barbaric spectacle PLS of mar Indians in the full panoply of war the long lines of riders wore fantastic headdresses of plumes deer aners and bison horns their faces were painted red and black the color of death endot qu seeing the fortifications the commanche turned their attention away from the prido into the priest in the mission not far from the fort outmatched the Spanish commanders watched helplessly as the commanche slaughtered eight in the mission and burned to the ground as they looted it as a show of strength they hung out for a few days outside the walls of the Presidio before killing the Spanish cattle and having made their point leaving this was the European introduction to the kamanche now in the 1800 unds if these settlers wanted to make this their home this was the reality they faced the dangers were extreme one minute you could be completely safe within your home and the next the Wolves R your doorstep accounts of settlers from the early 1800s through the 1870s paint a picture what it was like to live on the frontier of kameria the commanche were brilliant Raiders so much so that their strategy even became famous when war parties were put together they would Gather in small groups or sometimes like in the case of sans saaba they would travel with up to hundreds of Warriors their Master of the horse made them able to cover hundreds of miles in a time that most thought would be impossible but raiding often came with a season the best time for raids was when the spring grass had grown this way when the Comanche traveled their horses would have plenty to forge raids are Swift attacks the goals are to gain supplies and valuables sometimes captives but when you leave you don't want to be followed so if they thought it would rain they would hold off their attack mud would reveal their tracks the commanche liked to move in secret at night something other tribes like the Apache had taboos about so they would wait for a full moon to help light their way the ability to travel at night made their approach and Escape easier it didn't take long for the settlers to learn that when the grass was grown and the moon was full they were in danger these conditions to this day are sometimes referred to as the commanche moon as settle continue to move into Texas confrontations became more and more common records are hard to come by but there are some estimates that suggest that in some years as many as 200 settlers may have been killed that number may be high but the true number is definitely more than what's recorded and when settlers got a chance to Lobby politicians and Generals on the conditions it became an issue that was hard to ignore Nelson Lee a cattle driver who was captured by the commanche In 1855 rode of one of these raids his part party of 19 men was attacked just after 1:00 a. m. to enact Terror in those caught off guard the commanche would scream and War whoop as they rode into Camp they would be fully painted their faces often a demonic black when Lee a woke to the sounds and Chaos that was already in full swing he was immediately lassoed and tackled to the ground before being taken captive in the darkness he could only hear the screams of the victims but in the morning he reported what he saw quote the scene was cold and heart- rang they had cut and hacked the poor cold bodies in the most brutal manner some had their arms and hands chopped off others were disen bowed and still others had their tongues drawn out and sharp sticks thrust through them all the dead were scalped and the scalps still fresh were dangling from the Savage's belts end quote attempts made at reprisal against the kamanche were often met with disappointment stories of men who went after them on the high plains generally didn't end well the command you were known to run off the horses of people in their territory leaving them stranded when without effective means of transportation without even a fight they would die of exposure and dehydration they were lucky those captured met worse Fates Nelson Lee mentioned ceremonies including the torture of victims in his experience he was one of four captives tied to a pole the kamanche tribe watched as Warriors danced around slicing at two of the captured men with stone knives they scalped them as their friends watched before putting them out of their misery with an axe to the Head the true Mark of Bravery in a man was how he dealt with pain the kamanche were often eager to test the character of The Condemned in another example the kamanche demonstrated their Twisted creativity when they captured a buffalo Hunter Herman Layman a white settler who had been adopted by the tribe as a child wrote Of The Experience quote he was almost scared to death and fell on his knees to beg for his life the chief had him stripped and then made him put on an Indian's gar and a War Bonnet was tied to his head so securely that he could not get it off then the Indians made signs to him to run back to his white friends he understood the signs and fit out but when the white men saw him coming they thought he was an Indian and shot him full of holes he fell before he reached his friends end quote but maybe the best example of what a kamanche raid was like was from the most famous One the Parker Ford massacre in 1836 this raid became the most famous for a few reasons and we'll get to them but I'm going to tell the story Through The Eyes of one of the survivors Rachel Parker plumber in 1836 Rachel was 17 she's been described as very pretty with long red hair she was married and she already had a child none of which was unusual for the time The Parkers herself and her husband Luther as well as several other families had moved to Texas in the Years prior like many settlers they looked for land and opportunity they were granted a plot off the Navasota River in present day Limestone County this was Far Beyond most white civilization even on the frontier it was well known that this was in the raing zone for the kamanche but most of the Local Natives had signed peace trees with Texas it was felt that with a fort they would be safe so they built one it was massive several acres in size the Parker Fort was completely enclosed with 12T walls it had only two entrances a large gate in the front and a small one in the back there were several cabins inside and two block houses for Lookouts the fort was meant to be a formidable barrier most of the inhabitants of the fort were relatives to the Parker family but others had farms nearby and planed to use the fort for protection far from the high plains they hadn't expected what was coming in May of 1836 not without warning the kamanche traveled light and fast under the full moon raiding through the territory they arrived at the Parker doorstep on the morning of the 19th that morning was like any other for the inhabitants before 9:00 a.
m. several of the men including Rachel's father husband and brother went out to tend to the fields on their Farm it was warm and peaceful Rachel completed some chores and played with her 18-month-old son but around 10:00 a. m.
