True Stories Rivaling Fiction Again

On a cruise around the internet I stumbled on the cover for a comic from the 1970s:

At first I saw the blond girl, on a horse...under the title White Comanche. (Sigh) Then I read the yellow blurb on the bottom, and thought: "True story?"

And again I felt let down by my history classes over the years. But I figured there'd be information for me elsewhere if it were true.

I had never heard about Cynthia Ann Parker before. As I [[rabbit hole cliche]], I was mesmerized by the links here, by the raw Aericanism of it all.

Cynthia Ann Parker was 8 or 9 years old when she was abducted during an attack on Fort Parker, about 40 miles east of Waco today. She was one of five people abducted, and over the course of a few years, the other four were returned for ransom.

She was adopted by a family in the Nokoni tribe, a part of what white folk called the Comanche Nation. Her name became Naura, which meant "was found." In the 25 years she lived there she fully assimilated, even marrying a chief. It is said that his love for her was so great that he refused to take other brides, as was the custom.

They had three kids, her and Peta Nocona, Chief of the Nokoni, but she was forcibly separated from them when she was recaptured by the US military. She had to assimilate FOR A SECOND TIME.

She was kidnapped twice; once as a kid, and once away from her kids. Twice she had to assimilate into an unknown society.

Their oldest child was Quanah Parker. He was a leader during the Red River War and was one of the final voices to negotiate surrender. The federal government appointed him as Chief of the entire Comanche Nation, and he spent time advocating for his people, as well as other tribal organizations across the southwest. After he died in 1911, the title of his role was changed from Chief to Chairman, which is why he's known as the "Last Chief of the Comanche."

Pretty crazy, right? Little girl abducted, becomes part of the tribe, abducted again, her son becomes the primary emissary for the Native Americans in the American southwest.

That's a pretty cool movie right there...maybe a little long...maybe a prestige show on Peacock. 

That's what I was thinking. What a weird American story. You can see the Dances With Wolves inspirations, it seems. I guess John Wayne's classic The Searchers is also about this story.

But wait, wait, wait...

Quanah Parker, the last name taken from his mom, Cynthia Ann Parker, the White Comanche from the comic. She had been a little girl when she was abducted from...Fort Parker, 40 miles east of Waco.

WAIT: A little girl with the same last name as the Fort was abducted, and then...nobody ever came to buy her safety? Like we need more evidence that this world is hard. But, like, what the hell's going on there?

Fort Parker was named for John Parker. Things go bonkers around here. John Parker was many things in life. He was the paternal grandfather to Cynthia Ann Parker. He was a soldier for the Continental Army during the Revolution.

Born in 1758 in Baltimore County, John Parker came from a large family. They moved from Maryland to Virginia when he was a boy, and he grew up scouting the Kentucky and Illinois territories as a pioneer with Daniel Boone. When war broke out with the British, he fought as a Patriot on the western theater. 

He was rewarded for his service with land grants in the Illinois territories, soon to be admitted as a state, and there he started his own family. His first---of eleven---was born in 1781, and became a religious leader in his own right.

So, now some new names enter the story. Stephen F. Austin shows up. This story is wild! Stephen F. Austin is seen as the Father of Texas, in that he is the main guy bringing Anglo-Americans into the Mexican state of Texas.

[Sidenote: America, man! Okay: Mexico got its independence from Spain in 1821. Their state of Texas was dangerous country on account of the natives. Moses Austin, born in 1761 Connecticut, and later lead magnate living in Missouri, strikes up a deal for a land grant with the new Mexican President. The prez was all about it: let some white folks be a buffer between them and the natives. Moses dies before he could see it through, but he urged his boy, Stephen F., to keep up the work.

That's just what he did. He lead people from Missouri into northern Mexico to colonize it. Once it was settled, they eventually demanded autonomy, and won some level sovereignty. What I didn't know: Stephen F. Austin lobbied in Mexico City for their white colonists to be able to keep their slaves. Mexico had abolished slavery by 1829 (mostly), and this was a major issue for Austin.]

Anyway, to get back to it, Stephen F. Austin heavily recruited John Parker to become on of his Texan colonists, Texians and they called themselves. Eventually he agreed, and moved with large segments of his family in Illinois to the new Fort Parker in central Texas. He negotiated with one of the local tribes for mutual safety and benefit, but other Comanches weren't going to honor a thing they weren't consulted on. That leads us to the Fort Parker raid.

During that raid John Parker was killed. Many of his children and grand children were either killed or taken. Most brought back. 

Not Cynthia.

So...

This guy's great-grandfather fought in the Continental Army:

How much more American could we make this story? This connects the American Revolution with Old West. I'm sure this can't be the only link.

Anyway, it sure looks like John Parker killed lots of natives in his life. With the raids during the Revolution---the western front was mainly British and native allied groups---and later raids against the Cherokee while living in Georgia, his total was probably high. Maybe this is the key to whatever American is: the beginning of a story can change so much before it ends. 

So, what, is Apple+ biting yet? Multiple seasons or eight feature length stories?