The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-09-19

By ELMO SCOTT WATSON

BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON
A MEXICAN Indian day, which is
"a being celebrated on Sep
Al TENDER &c this year. is
T%W day for honoring the yir
tues and achievements of
the original inhabitants of
! this continent. In connec-
ton with that celebration
it is worthy of note that
an enduring monument has recently
been erected to one of the greatest
leaders of the red men and that plans
are under way for erecting a monu-
ment to the memory Of another.
Down near Cache, Okla, in the
shadow of the Wichita mountains
where he spent the last years of his
life, both red men and white gath
cred short time ago to unveil mon
ument to the memory Of Quanah Par
ker, chief of the Comanches. The mon
ument was made possible by congress,
which appropriated $1,000 for the pur-
pose some time ago, but this memorial
came into being through the efforts of
a patriotic woman, Mrs. Lena Banks
of Cache, Okla, for whom its compile
ton represented the paying of a debt
of gratitude.
Many years ago Mrs. Banks parents
liver mead Cache. One day her mother
fell i'll and lapsed into coma from
which her family feared she would not
recover. Chief Quanah, who was their
neighbor, came in while the mother
was i'll. Looking at her. he turned to
Mrs. Banks father and said: "All
right, judge, you wait. Me be back
pretty quick" Mounting his horse he
rode away, but returned within
short time with some native medicine
which he administered. Then he re-
manned by the white womans bedside
until the crisis had passed and her
recovery was assured.
Quanah died February %, 1911, and
was buried on a high knoll in an In
dian cemetery near Cache. Several
years ago Mrs. Banks visited the GEN.
etery and found that the Indian chiefs
grave was unmarked, although large
memorial had been placed over the
grave of Cynthia Ann Parker, his
mother, a short distance away. The
gratitude how the Indian had saved
her mothers life Immediately began
to WORK on the project of erecting a
memorial over his grave She enlisted
the aid of the Oklahoma senators and
congressman and after many vicissi-
tudes saw her ambition realized in the
monument which now marks Quanah
Parker'S grave. 31aE
The story Of this Indian leader is
one Of the most romantic in all Amer
lean history. Although he was great
war chief of one of the widest tribes
of the plains, Quanah was not full
blooded Indian. He was the son of an
The story goes back to the early thir-
ties when John Nathaniel Parker led
party of settlers into Comanche
county in Texas. Associated with him
were several brothers with their
wives, sons and married daughters.
For two years they lived in peace in
their new home. Then, one morning
Wncu noSl VI thC ACh NClC III IuC
field, about 600 Comanche warriors
swooped down upon their fort, de-
stroyed it, killed most of the colo
nists who remained and carried off a
number of women and children.
Among the captives were girl of
nine, Cynthia Ann Parker, and, her
six-year-old brother, John.
Subsequently most of the women
were ransomed. The boy fell into the
hands of the Kiowas and grew to
manhood among them, becoming one
of their most noted warriors. In one
of their raids he captured a Mexican
girl, fell in love with her, married her
and left the tribe, after the Civil war,
to become rancher in the staked
plains.
One day in 1860 Major l.. S. ("Sul')
Ross of the Texas forces attacked a
Comanche village at the head of the
Pease river. The Indians, taken by
surprise, scattered in all directions.
Among the captives was fair-haired,
blue-eyed sGnaw,~ who was weeping
and lamenting. She had with her an
infant girl. During the raid her two
small sons sud her husband had dis