Empire of the Summer Moon

Quanah and his brother, Peanuts, were twelve and ten-years-old, respectively, at the Battle of Pease River. They escaped, and even though they were so young, a twelve-year-old Comanche was still very tough and competent at survival, which Quanah, as the eldest, displayed by tracking down the rest of the tribe while evading Goodnight and his troops.

Quanah was born in 1848 near the Wichita Mountains. He led a privileged life by Comanche standards since he was the son of a powerful war chief, Peta Nocona. He learned early on to hunt, ride, and become an adept archer. When he reached puberty he went on a vision quest. The bear became his puha. However, following Nocona’s death and the capture/return of his mother to the U.S., Quanah’s life changed drastically. He became an orphan, and because of his white blood, he wasn’t treated very well by others.

Nevertheless, Quanah became a full-fledged warrior at the age of fifteen. He was taller and stronger than the average Comanche, who, as a people, were relatively short. When he became an adult, Quanah was six feet tall. Because white men killed his father, Quanah developed an intense hatred for them. In 1868, he took part in a raid into Mexico.