The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 152
546 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
as bases of warrior influence. The author seeks neither to con-
demn nor condone. He pictures the red man as he was, and
as he created a cultural problem.
The activities of these tribes were not confined to their usual
haunts. Sections of Nebraska in the north, and a large part of
northern Mexico suffered from their depredations. The most
feared and dreaded enemies of the inhabitants of Durango and
Chihuahua were the Comanches. So regular were their expedi-
tions that in the Comanche calendar the month of September
was known as the Mexico moon, as the other months were
designated as the buffalo moon, the young bear moon, the corn
moon, etc. Often war parties of the Kiowas joined the Co-
manches, and the Mexican states of San Luis, Zacatecas, Du-
rango, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon felt
the power of the raiders' might.
In all their raids the Indians tried to capture women and
children. Mexican women carried off from their homes by the
raiders became wives or servants of their captors; and the
boys, after a period of probation, were adopted into the tribe,
but usually in an humble position. The Indians were not un-
mindful of the advantage to the tribe in taking white captives,
particularly females. The whites would pay more than the im-
poverished Mexicans to ransom a captive. However, the Co-
manches and Kiowas learned that the Anglo-American was far
more formidable as an enemy than a mestizo or native Mexican
Indian. They also found that "Indianizing" Texas women was
far more difficult than they had at first supposed. Most cap-
tives in the course of time were ransomed by friends, relatives,
or the Federal Government for sums ranging from two hundred
to two thousand dollars. Trading in white captives became an
important source of revenue for some of the tribes. The solu-
tion of the problem of traffic in captives involved the stern
application of military measures by such men as General Sher-
man, General Miles, and others.
Professor Rister has drawn upon scores of documents in
separating history from legend, and the result is an account of
significance in providing a helpful background for a compre-
hensive view of Indian-settler relations. The print and general
format are excellent, and there is a satisfactory index.
OHLAND MORTON.
Edinburg Junior College.152
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941, periodical, 1941; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/160/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.