The Comanches - Lords of the Plains

BEING COMANCHE: A Social History of an American Indian Community
by Morris W. Foster. Condition: NEW 1996 University of Arizona Press Trade Paperback, 3rd printing. Content: Winner of the American Society for Ethnohistory's Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Prize. This fine study revels in detailed fashion that the modern Comanche are more than simply theh sum of their relations with Euroamericans. At each turn in the historical process, the Comanches have found ways to go on being Comanche, making new economic arrangements, and innovating means for publicly expressing that unique identity. [A short time ago the Comanche Nation had more college grads per capita than any other U.S. tribe. In 2009 I don't know if that is still true.] Questions welcome [2 copies available]
$ 16.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

BUCKSKIN & BUFFALO: The Artistry of the Plains Indians
by Colin F. Taylor. Beautiful color photos plus B&W era photos. Condition: Gently pre-read, IF at all, 1998 Vega-Salamander Books (UK) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first prnting. Content: Reviewer: "This book eatures excellent color photos, both full-size and detail, of dozens of circa 19th century Plains Indian works of leather, including shirts, leggings, robes, and other practical artwork. Beadwork, quillwork adn paint adorn these works of buffalo deer, elk, antelope and bighorn sheep hides, and the author selected some astoundingly lovely pieces. The text that accompanies each one goes into the source, the components, and the cultural significance of both the objects themselves and their adornment, as well as interesting bits of information about certain details, such as a particular type of bead or feather used, or the importance of the piece in its culture. The tribal origins of each entry are also discussed, including cases where the author disagreed with the museum or collection that held the piece, and details explaining why (ie, this detail resembles this tribe instead of that tribe). Overall, it is a really nicely done work. However, one question is left unasked. We've seen the pretty artwork and have learned its immense importance. Now can we please return these to the people to whom they are so very important?" Questions encouraged. [1 copy available]
$ 12.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping. International shipping available.

THE COMANCHE INDIANS (Junior Library of American Indians series)
by Martin J. Mooney. Color photo section plus B&W era photos and artwork reproductions. Condition: NEW Chelsea House hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), first printing. Price marked out top loose end page. Covered with blank bookplate. Content: This book covers the history, culture, food, wars, etc. of the Comancheria. Ages 9 - 12. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 6.00 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE COMANCHES: A History 1706 - 1875 (Studies in the Anthropology of North America)
by Thomas W. Kavanagh. B&W maps and charts illustrate. Condition: NEW 1999 Bison Books Trade Paperback, first printing. 586 pages. Content: This is the first in-depth historical study, Comanche social and political groups. Using the ethnohistorical method, Thomas W. Kavanagh traces the changes and continuities in Comanche politics from their earliest interactions with Europeans to their settlement in present-day Oklahoma. Focus on the various Comanche tribes and their own traditions - Yamparikas, Jupes, Korsotekas. Quahadas, Penatekas, Tenewas, and Nokonis. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 12.55 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THE COMANCHES: A History 1706 - 1875 (Studies in the Anthropology of North America)
by Thomas W. Kavanagh. B&W maps and charts illustrate. Condition: NEW 1999 Bison Books Trade Paperback, first printing. 586 pages. Content: This is the first in-depth historical study, Comanche social and political groups. Using the ethnohistorical method, Thomas W. Kavanagh traces the changes and continuities in Comanche politics from their earliest interactions with Europeans to their settlement in present-day Oklahoma. Focus on the various Comanche tribes and their own traditions - Yamparikas, Jupes, Korsotekas. Quahadas, Penatekas, Tenewas, and Nokonis. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 12.55 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

COMANCHES IN THE NEW WEST 1895 - 1908 (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture)
by Stanley Noyes with Daniel J. Gelo. Foreword by Larry McMurtry. B&W era photos by Alice Snearly and Lon Kelley. Condition: UNREAD, but sure not perfect, 1999 Univ. of Texas hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition. Problem: during shipping (it appears) the DJ and book front spines received a serious "dent" - medium size. The DJ has been "repaired" but nothing can be done about the book board. The interior is clean & tight. Content: Novelist Larry McMurtry once received a photograph showing a demonstration of the then-new kerosene lamp to a mixed crowd of cowboys, soldiers, and Indians. To him, this image captured the transition from the Old West to the New West and led him to purchase the collection of glass plate negatives from which this print came. Sensing that the collection contained a fascinating record of cultural change and survival, McMurtry loaned it to the University of Texas Press for investigation. With the assistance of Comanche expert Daniel J. Gelo and others, Stanley Noyes has identified the photographers, subjects, and settings of these thirty-two photographs. Most appear to be the work of pioneer woman photographer Alice Snearly and her brother-in-law Lon Kelley, who worked in the heart of Comanche territory on the Texas-Oklahoma border. These images preserve the "interim" generation of Comanches, including Quanah Parker and two of his wives, who endured reservation life and forced moves to individual allotments of farm and ranch land. Yet the photos show not a defeated but a resilient people who have held on to many of the old ways while adopting enough of Anglo culture to survive. Noyes's historical introduction provides context for the photos, which he also describes in detailed captions. A few images of Anglo settlers and towns complete the picture of life in Indian Territory at this moment of change. [1 copy available]
$ 10.00 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

INDIANS OF THE HIGH PLAINS: From the Prehistoric Period to the Coming of Europeans
by George E. Hyde. B&W era photo section. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1986 Univ. of Oklahoma Press Trade Paperback, 6th printing. Problem: Front cover: Vertical and diagonal creases with hinge crease (shelf wear). Interior clean and very tight. Content: This synthesis of the Indian history of a large and important geographic area for the period from 1300 to 1800 explores the whole of the High Plains from Canada to Texas and northern Mexico, recounting the struggle for power and territory that involved Athapascan, CAddoan, Shoshonean, Kiowan, Alkonkian, and Sioun speaking tribes. Excellent. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

KIOWA, APACHE & COMANCHE MILITARY SOCIETIES: Enduring Veterans, 1800 to the Present
by William C. Meadows. B&W era photo. Condition: NEW 2002 UT Press large trade paperback, first paperback printing. Tiny edge wear. Content: For many Plains Indians, being a warrior and veteran has long been the traditional pathway to male honor and status. Men and boys formed military societies to celebrate victories in war, to perform community service, and to prepare young men for their role as warriors and hunters. By preserving cultural forms contained in song, dance, ritual, language, kinship, economics, naming, and other semireligious ceremonies, these societies have played an important role in maintaining Plains Indian culture from the pre-reservation era until today. In this book, Meadows presents an in-depth ethnohistorical survey of Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche military societies, drawn from extensive interviews with tribal elders and military society members, unpublished archival sources, and linguistic data. He examines their structure, functions, rituals, and martial symbols, showing how they fit within larger tribal organizations. And he explores how military societies, like powwows, have become a distinct public format for cultural and ethnic continuity. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 21.49 + $ 3.88 media shipping.

THE LEGEND OF THE INDIAN PAINTBRUSH
Retold and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. Condition: NEW 1988 Paperstar softcover (10.0 x 8.0 x 0.2, apx 30 pages), 12th printing. As always, de Paola's illustrations are a delight. Content: Little Gopher was smaller than the other young Indian boys of his Plains tribe, and although he tried hard, he could not do what the others did. The tribe's wise shaman assures him, however, that he has a different gift. As he grows up it is revealed to him in a vision that he will paint pictures of the glories of his tribe, that his own greatest work will someday be ``a picture that is as pure as the colors in the evening sky.'' As he grows older he does indeed paint the great deeds, the hunts, the visions of his tribe. But making paints to match the colors of the evening sky eludes him. One night, a voice directs him to a special vantage point where he finds brushes filled with wonderful colors. He creates at last his masterwork, and the next day the brushes have rooted and become the brilliant flowers we now call Indian Paintbrush. Wonderful old Texas Native American legend. [1 copy available]
$ 4.75 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

QUANAH PARKER [Revised] (War Chiefs Series)
by Bill Dugan. Jim Carson cover art. Condition: NEW 2000 HarperPaperbacks MMPB, revised edition, third printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: After winning the Mexican War, white Texans turned their attention to expanding control over the vast lands of west Texas. To dominate this huge and forbidding land, they had to subdue everything, man and beast, that called it home--most notably the Comanche people. With their independence threatended, the Comanche saw their way of life vanishing. But they would claim many lives. Only one chief had both the courage and the wisodm to know that war, no matter how valiantly fought, would end in defeat and humiliation. Quanah Parker, the son of a Comanche chief and a white female captive [Cynthia Ann Parker], rose to lead his people--not into abject slavery, but into proud coexistence with an unfolding history that was unstoppable. Impeccably researched, rich with real-life characters and period detail, this powerful historical novel vividly recounts the decline and fall of the Comanche people and their extraordinary leader, Quanah Parker, from the battlefield to the reservation. [1 copy available]
$ 5.55 + shipping.

QUANAH PARKER: Great Chief of the Comanches: [Biogaphical Novel]
by Catherine Troxell Gonzalez. Great B&W illustrations by Mark Mitchell. Condition: Gently pre-read 1987 Eakin Press (Austin) hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), first edition. Interior very good, but problem is the cover - tag removals top front cover and pale one bottom front cover. Edge wear top and bottom spine from being placed on shelves too short for book. Content: Quanah Parker, the son of a Comanche chief and a white woman (Cynthia Ann Parker), became a great chief who valiantly led his people in an attempt to save their homeland. He was the symbol of the Comanches, a man first feared then respected by the people he fought. This book is told from Quanah Parker's point of view - first person narrative - and covers all of the important events in his life. It's a very good book. Grade School Kids. [1 copy available]
$ 15.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

QUANAH PARKER: Warrior for Freedom, Ambassador for Peace (A Great Episodes Book) [Biographical Novel]
by Len Hilts. Wendell Minor cover illustration. Condition: UNREAD 1988 Odyssey Trade Paperback, first printing. Light edgewear-shelfwear. Interior clean and tight. Content: Quanah Parker, the son of a Comanche chief and a white woman (Cynthia Ann Parker), became a great chief who valiantly led his people in an attempt to save their homeland. He was the symbol of the Comanches, a man first feared then respected by the people he fought. Reviewer: "Hilts gives us a story-form report of the key events in the life of Quanah Parker. Parker led his people from war to peace in a settlement of ongoing disputes with Texas and the United States, successfully transitioning from the traditonal plains migratory living to settled farming and business, becoming an able advocate for his people against the further cultural and geographic hegemony of the US in. Parker became the first Native American to invest in a railroad, being one of the founder owners of the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway." Young Adults. [1 copy available]
$ 5.59 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

THREE YEARS AMONG THE COMANCHES: The Narrative of Nelson Lee, the Texas Ranger
by Nelson Lee. Introduction by Walter Prescott Webb. Foreword by Gary Clayton Anderson. Condition: Gently pre-read, IF at all, 1991 Univ. of Oklahoma Press Trade Paperback, no printing given. This is my book which I bought new and never read, however, there is what appears to be a spine crease - which I believe to be a binding error. Content: Nelson Lee was a native of New York. He was a sailor for several adventurous years before going to Texas to join the Rangers. He served under Captain Cameron and Jack Hays fighting Indians and bandits and with the Rangers in the Mexican War. In 1855 he started toward California with a herd of horses, but was surprised and captured by the Comanches; for three years he was slave to three different Comanche chiefs. The tale still makes exciting reading. Lee's story was first published in 1859. The first half of the book deals with his time with the Texas Rangers and the second half deals with his Comanche captivity. Excellent history; excellent read. [1 copy available]
$ 9.59 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THREE YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS AND MEXICANS (The 1846 Edition, Unabridged)
by Thomas James. Intro by A.P. Nasatir. Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait cover painting. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1984 Bison Trade Paperback, first pritning. Problems: top front cover corner has tag removal marks, light shelf wear hinge crease with light edge wear. Content: Thomas James was in the right place at the right time for adventure. He grew up near St. Louis, and in 1809, at the age of 27, joined the fur-trading expeditoin headed by Manuel Lisa to the headwaters of the Missouri River. Later, in 1821, he crossed the Great Plains on an expediton to Santa Fe and claimed to have been the first white man ever to trade among the Comanche Indians. James - a tall, intelligent, outspoken, and sometimes cantankerous frontiersman - and his companions faced all manner of obstacles on these expeditions: starvation, rattlesnakes, harsh terrain, unfriendly Indians. Though Comanches robbed him of some $12,000 worth of goods, and he was continually on the verge of bankruptcy as a result, James always spoke more warmly about Indians than white men. James' book of lively reminiscences is one of the most fascinating firsthand records of early experiences on the far western frontier. It is invaluable for the information it offers about persons elsewhere slighted or ignored. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.00 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE WHITE MAN'S ROAD (Southwest Life and Letters) [Spur and Wrangler Awards - Historical Fiction]
by Benjamin Capps. Afterword by James Ward Lee. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1989 SMU Press large Trade Paperback, no printing given. Edgewear with short "repaired" tear bottom hinge. Light rubbings along hinge. Interior clean & tight. Content: Set on the Fort Sill Indian Reservation around the turn of the century, this book tells the story of a magnificient horse raid, planned by young Joe Cowbone in a valiant effort to reclaim the glory days of his tribe. Joe's struggle to achieve a sense of dignity within the confines of reservation life is at the heart of this engrossing novel. [1 copy available]
$ 8.55 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

A WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE [Historical Fiction Hardcover]
by Benjamin Capps. Cover art by Robert Abbett. Condition: Gently pre-read, IF at all, 1966 Duell hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), second printing (March 1966). The DJ has some tanning to the edges and is price-clipped. There is a very small "chip" top DJ edge at spine with a larger one bottom back DJ edge. The DJ spine is darkly tanned. The loose end page indicates it was a gift to a favorite teacher and is signed by her students. Interior clean & tight. Content: This story of the Texas frontier dramatizes the capture by a Comanche band of a ten-year-old white girl and her five-year-old sister from the upper reaches of the Brazos River a decade before the Civil War. Although the story closely follows some of Cynthia Ann Parker's life, it is not an historical biography of her. It is original in treating Comanches as few Indians have ever been treated in fiction, neither as noble svages, nor as brutes, but as human beings who adapted themselves to a hard existence in a harsh land. Never great in numbers the Comanches dominated for a hundred and fifty years a south-plains area as large as the European lands of France or Spain, and for over a hundred years they did indeed block their expansion They were great nomads who have been called the greatest horsemen of all time, and it has been estimated that they killed more white invaders for their numbers than any other Indians. Here we see them in the last days of their glory. There is one torture scene that may not be appropriate for youngsters. [1 copy available]
$ 7.39 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

A WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE [Historical Fiction Paperback]
by Benjamin Capps. Neat raised cover art by Glenn Stock. Condition: UNREAD 1990 Univ of New Mexico Press (Zia) Trade Paperback, third printing. Tiny edge wear. Content: This story of the Texas frontier dramatizes the capture by a Comanche band of a ten-year-old white girl and her five-year-old sister from the upper reaches of the Brazos River a decade before the Civil War. Although the story closely follows some of Cynthia Ann Parker's life, it is not an historical biography of her. It is original in treating Comanches as few Indians have ever been treated in fiction, neither as noble svages, nor as brutes, but as human beings who adapted themselves to a hard existence in a harsh land. Never great in numbers the Comanches dominated for a hundred and fifty years a south-plains area as large as the European lands of France or Spain, and for over a hundred years they did indeed block their expansion They were great nomads who have been called the greatest horsemen of all time, and it has been estimated that they killed more white invaders for their numbers than any other Indians. Here we see them in the last days of their glory. There is one torture scene that may not be appropriate for youngsters. [1 copy available]
$ 5.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

NATIVE AMERICAN PONY BOOKPLATES
art by Deviney. Condition: NEW package of 12 bookplates made by pacaritambo books. The peel-off label stock is heavier than most bookplate materials and is matte and not glossy. They are as perfect as possible, and we feel the subject matter is much different than you can get at a big store. 3.0 wide x 4.00 high. Content: Prancing Indian Pony decked out in feathers with his portrait above. We can personalize your bookplate (the font is Enviro D) - just email us the name. Any questions, click here to email us.
$ 4.00 + $ 2.85 first class shipping. International shipping available.