Buffalo Hump
by R E Moore
Buffalo Hump was war chief of the Penateka band of the Comanches. After the Council House fight of 1840 (See our Comanche page) he led the Comanches, mostly his band, to get revenge.
The Comanches came to the Council House at San Antonio to negotiate a peace treaty in 1840. They came under a white flag of truce as ambassadors. At the meeting the Texans made demands the Comanches could not meet. The Texans then pulled out guns and threatened to kill the Comanches if the demands were not met. The Comanches, who had come without guns because of the truce, fought back with knives. The Texans had concealed armed solders just outside the Council House. When the fight started the Comanche ambassadors and Chiefs tried to defend themselves with knives against solders armed with rifles. The windows and doors were thrown open and the solders outside shot into the room through them. Many Comanches were killed by the Texans. The Comanches were very angry that the Texans had not honored the truce and had killed their Chiefs and ambassadors.
Top get revenge Buffalo Hump led the Great Raid of 1840. On this raid the Comanches went all the way to the cities of Victoria and Linnville on the Texas coast. They raided and burned these towns and took whatever they wanted. Linnville was one of the largest ports in Texas at that time. On the way back the Comanches were attacked by Texas Rangers and militia at the battle of Plum Creek near Lockhart. The Texans say they won this battle, but this is questionable. The Indians got away with a lot of the stolen horses and loot.
Later, in peace negotiations, he met with Sam Houston and demanded the whites stay east of the Edwards Plateau. Of course they did not and more trouble ensued.
In 1846 Buffalo Hump signed a treaty with the US government at Council Springs. He led the Comanches to the Brazos river reservation in 1856. In 1859 he led the Comanches to the Oklahoma reservation at Ft. Cobb. He died there in 1870.
Copyright by R. Edward. Moore and Texarch Associates, 2000, all rights reserved. Graphics may not be used or reproduced without prior permission. Short parts of text may be quoted in school reports. Longer quotes require prior written permission.