The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-02-06

ouANAH.


the Canadian river. His father. Chief
Petacona, had been killed in battle
| With tie government troops on Decep-
her Is, 1860. In the same fight his
mother Issid. to, have been originally
a captive. frontier cir. named Cynthia
Parkerl was captured. Their friends
were slain, or Imprisoned. The. boy
was thus left at twelve utterly alone
In the, world, without family, without
a penny's worth OF property, without
prospects. It was a start in life hope
less enough to crush many spirits.
But Quanah was the sort OF man to
overcome obstacles, not by smashing
through them, but by crawling around
them.
A comanehe's Love Affair."
He made friends with other camp
boys, whom he induced to share their
| food with him and to give him their
castoff blankets. Little by little he man
| aged to gain strong influence over
these lads, until, poor as he was, they
recognized him as their leader. Then,
in early manhood, he fell In love with
Weckeah, daughter of his tribal chief,
Yellow Bear. The girl readily return
ed the tall, handsome pauper's atfec.
ton. But among. Indians matrlmony
/ is also a matter Of money. A penni-
less lever cannot hope to wed the
daughter Of a chief For chiefs
daughters are worth many ponies or
blankets or firearms to their fathers:
For time the young. Comanche's
secret love affair drifted along tameiy
enough. Then came EkHoaknp, q
wealthy chief, who offered Yellow
Bear ten ponies for Weckeah's hand
in marriage to one OF his sons. While
Yellow Bear was debating the offer
Quanah heard of It, He had but one
scraggy pony TO his name. But he
! hurried to all his friends and man
aged TO borrow nine more. He hast
ened in triumph with these to Yellow
Bears tepee, rehearsing his proposal
! as he went. But on his arrival he
| found Ekitoakup had raised the offer
10 twenty ponies. And Yellow Bear
had accepted.
1t was a moment either for despair
or for quick action. Quanah chose
the latter. lie rallied twenty.one OF
the young men OF the tribe who were
devoted friends, of his. That night,
escorted by these t%cntyrone youths,
he and Weckeah eloped. They knew
that Comanche law demands a death
penalty for such an act, and that
Ekitoakup would follow hot on their
trail TO enforce that penalty. So they
rode day aud night as fast as they
could urge their wiry ponies, and did
not cease their flight until they were
safe in the mountain Businesses Of
Scurry County, Tex.
There Quanah and his stolen bride
began their welded life, AS they
were still penniless, Quanah led his
twenty-one Young braves upon a Sc
rics OF horse stealing raids into the
grass country. So rich did the little
band become at this occupation that
other Indians joined them. The
braves returned by stealth to their old
homes and bore to the camp brides Of
their cwn. Soon Quanah was chief Of
a tribe several hundred strong Ekl-
toakup heard Of his whereabouts, but
when he found Him so powerful the
old chief wisely consented to aban-
don his plan OF vengeance in return
for the payment Of twenty ponies (the
original dover price of Weckeah).
'Quanah readily gave him the ponies,
remarking as he did so, Il know a
ranch whence can steal twenty more
before tomorrow"
Now that he was no more an out
law, Quanah returned to the Conan
ches. lie made himself chief Of the
| tribe In whose village house he had
lived as beggar. There, from a
stronghold I'm the Wichita mountains,
he reigned over the Indians for miles
about and grew daily richer and more
powerful incidentally. he married
four more wives Seeing the folly Of
wasting his roweF-in useless warfare,
Quanah surrendered to Gen. Mckenzie
In 1876 and became powerful citi-
zen OF what was later Oklahoma He
persuaded the government TO give his
tribe good farming lands.
Quanah proudly called himself the
friend Of Theodore Roosevelt
(whom he accompanied once on wolf
hunt, and he often went TO Washing.
ton OH diplomatic errands for his peo-
/ ple. He once even gravely requested
that he be sent 10 the United States
senate when Oklahoma should become
state. To white settlers he called
himself by the semi.civilzcd name OF
"Quanah Parker" He also desired to
be known as "the father Of the red
man and the brother Of the white
man" He built twoslory man.
sion" for himself and named 1t the
! Comanche White House" Thence he
ruled his people wisely and kept them
at peace.
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