"Exceedingly interesting." - A History of Texas Baptists, 1923
"She grew up an Indian, forgot her own race and tongue, married a chief and became the mother of another chief, Quanah." - Pearson's Magazine, 1909
"According to the Shields version Cynthia Ann starved herself to death out of longing for her Comanche husband, by whom she had sons, Pecos and Quanah Parker, the latter the last of the great Comanche chiefs." -Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, July 7, 1974
The stories of those who have escaped from captivity among the Indians in the Wild West are full of harrowing interest. However, of equal interest are the rare stories of those captives who did not wish to escape but were forcibly rescued. One such story is that of Cynthia Ann Parker, mother of famous Comanche Chief Quanah Parker.
In 1860, Comanches led by Chief Peta Nocona conducted numerous raids on various Texas settlements, culminating in the brutal violence. Texas Ranger Captain and future governor Lawrence S. Ross responded to these raids by attacking a Comanche camp on Pease River.
Caught fleeing the destroyed Comanche camp was a woman with blue eyes who could not speak English and did not remember her birth name or details of her life prior to joining the Comanche.
She proved to be Cynthia Ann Parker, taken prisoner by Comanches at the fall of Parker's Fort 24 years before. She had married a young Comanche chief named Peta Nocona, and had two boys and a baby girl.
One of her sons, Quanah Parker, became one of the greatest Comanche chiefs of all time.
In 1886, James T. DeShields published the book "Cynthia Ann Parker: The Story of Her Capture," which recounts events he had masterfully pieced together from narratives furnished Ross, various Parker relatives, together with most of the numerous partial accounts of the fall of Parker's Fort and subsequent relative events.
In describing Parker's return to her family, DeShields writes:
"But as savage-like and dark of complexion as she was, Cynthia Ann was still dear to her overjoyed uncle, and was welcomed home by relatives with all the joyous transports with which the prodigal son was hailed upon his miserable return to the parental roof. As thorough an Indian in manner and looks as if she had been so born, she sought every opportunity to escape, and had to be closely watched...."
About the author
James Thomas DeShields was born May 03, 1861, in Louisiana, and died February 08, 1948. He was a Texas historian and author of historical works including:
• Border Wars of Texas
• Two months in the camp of Big Bear
• They Sat in High Places: The Presidents and Governors of Texas
• The Fall of Parker's Fort
• The Fergusons, "Jim and Ma"
