Carne Muerto He rose to fame first as a son of Santa Anna , and used that status to survive capture by John " Rip " Ford and his Texas Rangers . In 1850 he escaped Army custody , then became known as a ferocious war chief late in the 1850s for his relentless raiding of white settlements . Early life . Born in 1832 to Comanche War Chief Santa Anna and one of his wives , Carne Muerto ( translated from Comanche and Spanish as “ Death Meat ” ; the more logical name in Spanish would be " Carne Muerta " , which means " Dead Meat " ) , as he was known in Texas , and on the Comancheria , ) grew up as part of the Penateka band of the Comanches . The Penateka , in the days of Buffalo Hump , Old Owl , and Santa Anna , up to the Great Raid , were the most numerous of the Comanche . But they had borne the brunt of the fighting , and disease finished what war had started . During the cholera epidemic of 1848 - 9 , most of its remaining members died , and the band split up . His father dead , Carne Muerto and his mother went to live with the Quahadi band of the Comanche Indians . Capture by John " Rip " Ford . In June 1850 , reported to be 18 years of age , Carne Muerto was captured by a Texas Rangers detachment led by John " Rip " Ford . According to the Rangers , Carne Muerto told the Rangers at once he was the son of Santa Anna , still a very well known and respected Peace Chief who had once been a War Chief second only to Buffalo Hump , and that if he was well treated the Rangers would be rewarded . ( Carne Muerto prudently did not tell the Rangers that his father was dead , which he had to know , as he reportedly was there . ) Ford , no lover of any Comanche , but believing Santa Anna was alive , and knowing well what he had once done in the border wars , was aware of the potential for disaster if Santa Anna ' s son was mistreated or killed while in captivity . Reportedly treated with kindness , the young warrior was held by the Rangers , and then by the Army , for almost a year before he escaped . When Carne Muerto , a prisoner at Fort McIntosh , was moved to Fort Merrill in January 1851 , Ranger Andrew Walker was put in charge of the patrol to guard the prisoner . Though that patrol ended up fighting more Comanche , Walker was under orders to make sure Carne Muerto came to no harm . Both the Rangers and the Army felt that because Carne Muerto was the son of a famous War Chief , he could potentially be traded for white captives among the Comanche under the best scenario , and in the worst case , would at least serve to show that captives should be treated humanely . Ford emphasized to the Army that should harm come to a famous Chief ' s son , the Comanche would take a terrible vengeance on settlers ( which is why Ford insisted that Rangers remain part of Carne Muerto ' s guards , even while in military custody ) . Reportedly his mother came to Fort Merrill to plead for his release . Shortly thereafter , he escaped and rejoined the Quahadi . Later years . Carne Muerto became a War Chief among the Quahadi in the mid - 1850s , and led repeated raids against white settlements . He was a noted leader in the resistance against white settlement of the Comancheria . He disappears from history in the early 1860s , after the Battle of Little Robe Creek .