The Great Comanche War Trail

The Great Comanche War Trail. . The Comanche War Trail: Every September since the late 18th century, around the full moon or "Comanche Moon," the Great Comanche War Trail, which came directly through the town where you stand today, brought huge numbers of Comanches on a north-south path up to a mile wide. It began in the Southern Plains, crossing the Pecos River at Horsehead Crossing, on to Comanche Springs, then southbound into Mexico. In some areas, the wide, deeply rutted trail is visible today., A map of West Texas made by J.H. Young in 1857 shows such a trail. The lower portion had two prongs, one crossing the Rio Grande about the vicinity of Boquillas and the other at Presidio. The two converged at Comanche Springs, near the site of Fort Stockton. From this point the trail extended north to cross the Pecos at or near Horsehead Crossing and continued northeasterly across the sand hills to the Comanche's permanent homes on the plains.,

"There was no way to hide or cover the great trail itself. It was worn deep by the tracks of countless travelers - man and beast - and whitened by the bones of animals. It was a great chalk line on the map of West Texas from the Llano Estacado to the Rio Grande."

S.D. Myres: PS, FL, Many Indian tribes inhabited the trans-pecos area of Texas including the Apache, Kiowa and Kickapoo. However, the Comanche displaced these tribes when they moved into the area by way of the Comanche War Trail. The silhouettes seen here represent a Comanche hunting party approaching Comanche Springs. The artist for all of the silhouettes at the Fort Stockton Visitor Center is Brian Norwood of Jal, New Mexico.