Comanche

ko-man'che, a tribe of American Indians belonging to the Shoshone or Snake family. When first known to the whites they were living in eastern Colorado, where they had already obtained horses of Spanish stock from the southwest, and had become expert and daring riders. They were driven southward by the Sioux into the region lying between Santa Fe and Mexico. They were armed with the bow and arrow. Later the Comanches obtained firearms from the whites. They lived largely on the chase of the buffalo, from the skin of which the squaws constructed their wigwams. There were at one time at least 20,000 of the tribe, perhaps more, as the number of warriors was estimated at 5,000. The Spaniards had a knack of making peace with most Indian tribes; but they were at constant enmity with the Comanches, who bore down upon their settlements along the Mexican borders in many a raid, killing the adults and carrying away the children for adoption. About 1816 smallpox played havoc with the tribe. When the railroads reached their country the Comanches became a perfect scourge and gave the United States troops much trouble. A small remnant, perhaps 1,500 in all, is now located on a reservation in Oklahoma. See Indian; Apache; Miles