Carne Muerto, or Tehcap (1860s), was a war chief of the Quahadi band of the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

Indians.Handbook of Texas, ''TSHA''.
/ref> He rose to fame first as a son of

Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: Places * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, US * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas, US * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, US Ships * San ...

, and used that status to survive capture by

John "Rip" Ford John Salmon Ford (May 26, 1815 – November 3, 1897), also known as "Rip" Ford, was an American military officer and politician. He served as a member of the Republic of Texas Congress and the Texas Senate. He was also the mayor of Brownsville a ...

and his Texas Rangers. In 1850, Carne Muerto escaped U.S. Army custody, then became known as a ferocious war chief late in the 1850s for his relentless raiding of Euro-American settlements.Rip Ford's Texas. University of Texas Press. 1963.

Early life

Born in about 1832 to Comanche War Chief

and one of his wives, Carne Muerto (translated from Comanche and Spanish as "Death Meat"; the more logical name in Spanish would be "Carne Muerta", which means "Dead Meat"), as he was known in Texas, and on the

Comancheria The Comancheria (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land'; Spanish: ''Comanchería''), also known as the Comancherian Empire, was a historic region covering modern New Mexico, West Texas, and nearby areas that was occupied by the Comanch ...

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grew up as part of the Penateka band of the Comanches. The Penateka, in the days of

Old Owl Old Owl (Comanche language, Comanche, ''Mupitsukupʉ'') (c. late 1780s – 1849) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians. Early life Nothing is known of his youth or early y ...

Buffalo Hump Buffalo Hump ( Comanche ''Potsʉnakwahipʉ'' "Erection That Won't Go Down" euphemized to "Buffalo Bull's Back" ) (born c. 1800 — died post 1861 / ante 1867) was a War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanches. He came to prominence after ...

, Yellow Wolf, and Santa Anna, up to the Great Raid, were the most numerous of the Comanche, but they had borne the brunt of the fighting, and disease finished what war had started.The Comanches: Lords of the Southern Plains. University of Oklahoma Press. 1952. During the

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic of 1848–49, most of its remaining members died, and the band split up. His father dead, Carne Muerto and his mother went to live with the Quahadi band of the Comanche Indians

Capture by John "Rip" Ford

In June 1850, reported to be 18 years of age, Carne Muerto was captured by a Texas Rangers detachment led by

. According to the Rangers, Carne Muerto told the Rangers at once he was the son of Santa Anna, still a very well-known and respected peace chief who had once been a war chief second only to

, and that if he was well treated the Rangers would be rewarded. (Carne Muerto prudently did not tell the Rangers that his father was dead, which he had to know, as he reportedly was there.) Ford, no lover of any Comanche, but believing Santa Anna was alive, and knowing well what he had once done in the border wars, was aware of the potential for disaster if Santa Anna's son was mistreated or killed while in captivity. Reportedly treated with kindness, the young warrior was held by the Rangers, and then by the Army, for almost a year before he escaped. When Carne Muerto, a prisoner at Fort McIntosh, was moved to Fort Merrill in January 1851, Ranger Andrew Walker was put in charge of the patrol to guard the prisoner. Though that patrol ended up fighting more Comanche, Walker was under orders to make sure Carne Muerto came to no harm. Both the Rangers and the Army felt that because Carne Muerto was the son of a famous War Chief, he could potentially be traded for white captives among the Comanche under the best scenario, and in the worst case, would at least serve to show that captives should be treated humanely. Ford emphasized to the Army that should harm come to a famous Chief's son, the Comanche would take a terrible vengeance on settlers (which is why Ford insisted that Rangers remain part of Carne Muerto's guards, even while in military custody). Reportedly his mother came to Fort Merrill to plead for his release. Shortly thereafter, he escaped and rejoined the Quahadi.

Later years

Carne Muerto became a war chief among the Quahadi in the mid-1850s and led repeated raids against white settlements. He was a noted leader in the resistance against white settlement of the

. He disappears from history in the early 1860s, after the

Battle of Little Robe Creek The Battle of Little Robe Creek, also known as the Battle of Antelope Hills and the Battle of the South Canadian, took place on May 12, 1858. It was a series of three distinct encounters that took place on a single day, between the Comanches, w ...

Footnotes

References

*''Frontier Blood: the Saga of the Parker Family'', by Jo Ann Powell Exley *''Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief'', by William T. Hagan *''Rip Ford's Texas'' by John Salmon Ford *''The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker'', by Bill Neeley *''The Comanches: The Destruction of a People'', Theodore Reed Fehrenbach, (2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carne Muerto 1830s births 1860s deaths Chiefs of the Comanche Native American people of the Indian Wars 19th-century people from Texas Native American tribal government officials in Indian Territory Comanche campaign