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197

Plains Indian Saddle Attributed to Kwahadi Comanche Chief Quanah Parker (c. 1845-1911)

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:12,000.00 USD Estimated At:25,000.00 - 50,000.00 USD
Plains Indian Saddle Attributed to Kwahadi Comanche Chief Quanah Parker (c. 1845-1911)
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Rawhide-covered wooden tree in the Plains Indian style with iron bands on the asymmetrical fore and aft cantles, likely a captured and modified Ringgold Pattern Dragoon saddle. Leather stirrup straps with Mexican-style silver decorations. Wooden stirrups with brass tacks and carved geometric patterns. Underside has been painted "QUANAH PARKER SADDLE/A QUAHADI COMANCHE CHIEF. HE SURRENDERED TO COL. RANALD S. MACKENZIE AND/U.S. ARMY ON JUNE 2, 1875. HE GAVE THIS SADDLE TO COL. MACKENZIE AND/STATED HE WOULD NEVER RIDE OR FIGHT AGAINST THE GREAT WHITE/FATHER AGAIN." Also marked in another section "JAMES M. HAYWORTH/INTERPRETER INDIAN AGENT/KCA RESERVATION,/IND.TERR. JUNE 15,/1875". To attempt to convey the historical importance and the gravity of the events in the adventurous life of Quanah Parker in the space allotted for this item would be an exercise in futility. Born to captured Anglo-American Cynthia Ann Parker and Kwahadi Chief Peta Nocona, Quanah (Comanche, Kwana; "smell", "odor") straddled the line between the world of the Plans Indian and the White Anglo-American. He grew up as a Comanche under the tutelage of Iron Jacket and Horseback, and took part in campaigns against both White settlers and US Army troops. He earned a reputation as a fierce and determined warrior. Parker became a trusted military leader among the Comanche, and led them in several battles, including the Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874, and throughout the Red River War that same year. After years of fighting and pressure from the loss of both horses and buffalo, essential resources to the Plains Indians, Parker took the opportunity for peaceful surrender and formally approached Colonel Ranald Mackenzie for removal onto a reservation. The Comanches were moved to the Kiowa/Arapaho/Comanche (KAC) Reservation in what is now Southwest Oklahoma. Finding success in ranching and investing, he became a leading statesman and spokesperson for his people, and was a cornerstone founder of what would become the Native American Church. James Hayworth (1831-1885), served as Indian Agent for the Kiowa and Comanche at Fort Sill from 1873-1878. A Quaker, Hayworth attempted to deal with the Indians as fairly as he could, even ordering the removal of the guards that constantly watched them as a gesture of goodwill. His strategy of common decency paid off, and his trust  was repaid in kind; he earned the confidence of several influential leaders, including Kicking Bird of the Kiowa. **Fine condition overall. Some oxidation to metal parts and shrinking of rawhide from age. A genuine plains saddle attributed to one of the most influential American Indians in modern history.** $25,000-$50,000
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