Quanah Parker

Havin’ grown up in SW Oklahoma, I have a great deal of respect for Comanche people.

Once a year (late June I believe) there’s a Parker Family reunion/Pow-Wow in Cache (about 30 miles away) and the public is always invited. We went and were told the followin’ story about Quanah by one of his grand-daughter’s husband’s, as he was showin’ us around.

We were told Quanah had seven wives. One day he was walkin’ down the streets of Cache, Ok (Quanah died in 1912 I believe, and he was last at war with the U.S. government in 1875, the last American Indian band (his Qahadis) to roam free on the Southern Plains). He lived the last half of his life mostly in what is now Cache, Oklahoma.

One day while walkin’ down the streets of Cache, a preacher saw him and said to him, “Ya know you are gonna have to give up all but one of your wives.”

Quanah didn’t look disturbed at all by hearin’ this, but he did think hard a few seconds before respondin’ to the Preacher.

Fin’ly, Quanah said, “Good idea, Preacher. Tell ya what. You go over to my house, and tell all but one of the wives that they’re gonna have to go.”

Well, none of the wives left as a result . . . and the preacher never brought that topic up to him again.

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