Unusually tall and strong by Comanche standards, Quanah was an extroverted natural leader with outstanding skills in horsemanship, strategy, and negotiation.

The eldest son of Cynthia Ann and Peta Nocona, Quanah Parker became a feared war chief in his own right. After that point Cynthia Ann lost the will to live and eventually died of influenza complicated by starvation.

Young Prairie Flower died in 1684 of influenza and pneumonia. She was treated as a freak and an oddity by the people around her, and had no desire whatsoever to integrate with ordinary American people. Her sons, Quanah and Grassnut, escaped.ĭespite trying to escape and rejoin the Comanche people repeatedly, Cynthia Ann Parker was held for the rest of her life in captivity, as the property of her uncle Isaac Parker. The youngest, a daughter named Prairie Flower, was with her when she was recaptured by the US Army. She took to her new life with a good will, becoming fluent in the Comanche language and forgetting the English she learned earlier in life.Īs an adult, Cynthia Ann Parker married a Comanche war chief by the name of Peta Nocona. From age 9, she was raised as a beloved captive, essentially adopted by the Comanche. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.Ī member of a prominent pioneer family, Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped during a Comanche raid in which several of her relatives were brutally killed. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Empire of a summer moon