frontier times – Page 6 – Texas History Notebook

Mow-way (Shaking Hand or Hand Shaker)

This individual was a Comanche leader of the Kotsoteka branch or band of the tribe. He is thought to have been born about 1826 and he died in 1886. He was known to have been a warrior and participated in some of the earliest treaties between the tribe and the Confederate government in 1861. The Confederate negotiations were led by Albert Pike (1809 – 1891) who had been appointed in March of 1861 to serve as Indian Commissioner by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to attempt to draw up agreements with the tribes west of the Arkansas River. Pike was trained as an attorney and in the past had represented other tribes in negotiations with the United States government. In the summer of 1861, Pike worked on treaties with the Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Osage, Senaca and Shawnee. In August, 1861 he met with representatives of four bands of the Comanche tribe and Mow-way was a representative of the Kotsoteka. The agreement with the Comanche tribe seems to have been that they would give up their captives and receive compensation and confine themselves to agreed areas. Pike went on to serve in the Confederate Army. He eventually resigned his command after a disagreement over leadership decisions and did not serve to the end of the Civil War.

Corwin F. and Lide Doan

The Vernon Daily Record issue of June 1, 1929 carried the headline “Death Claims C. F. Doan, One of the First Settlers in County.” Doan was one of the first people of European descent to make his residence in Wilbarger County in North Texas and is usually credited (sometimes with his uncle) for being the founder of the old trading post at the nearby Red River crossing into Oklahoma that became known as Doan’s Crossing. Doan had taken a fall a few days earlier and suffered a fractured left hip bone and passed away on the previous Friday, May 31. Funeral services for the Texas pioneer were slated for the following Sunday, June 2, at the First Methodist Church of Vernon with interment to follow at Eastview Memorial Park, a few miles out of town.

Ten Bears, Comanche Leader

The Comanche and Kiowa tribes influenced much of the history of north Texas and the southwest. Some leaders such as Quanah Parker are likely somewhat more familiar, but there were several from both tribes who were influential for long periods of time.

Jim McIntyre & Jim Courtright

As unlikely as it might seem, the Saturday, May 16, 1885 edition of the Stratfordshire (England) Sentinel Daily and Weekly carried an article with the title “A Pair of American Desperadoes” about the search for two criminals, Jim Courtright and Jim McIntyre, the latter of whom had just been apprehended.

Sarah E. Putman Mitchell, Former Captive

Sarah Elizabeth Putman Mitchell was one of the four children of Mitchell A. Putman (1794 – 1887) and Rebecca Hall Putman (1802 – 1846) who were taken captive by the Comanche on December 9, 1838 along with Matilda Lockhart. Sarah was born to the couple in May, 1832 while they were living in Benton, Alabama.