The Comanche Indians

The Comanche Indians. . , Throughout the 1700s, the Comanche Indians continually thwarted the imperial efforts of the Spaniards, who moved north from Mexico in an attempt to claim the Great Plains. After horses entered Comanche culture, a company of Spanish infantry were no match for a band of mounted Comanche. By the time the Germans established Fredericksburg in 1846, the Comanche Indians were the undisputed rulers of the southern plains. Their territory was a vast sea of grass extending from central Texas north to Nebraska., Indians were regular visitors to Fort Martin Scott. In the spring, small bands could be found across Barons Creek setting up their buffalo hide lodges. Buffalos provided meat as well as shelter, for the Comanche built teepees and made clothing out of buffalo hides. From their spring and summer villages, Indians were able to trade with soldiers and townspeople., As Americans settled the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century, the Comanche way of life declined. Having had a glimpse of what the future held after visiting Washington, DC, Comanche chief Santa Anna helped maintain a peace settlement, along with other Comanche chiefs Old Owl and Buffalo Hump, with their new neighbors, John O. Meusebach and the immigrants in Fredericksburg.