My Comanche Grandfather and the Apaches

There were several different bands of Apache:  the Mescalero, the Western Apache, and the Chiricahua.  The Chiricahua was split into several tribes: The Warm Springs Chiricahua (Chihene), the Western (Bedonkohe), the Central Chokonei), and the Southern (Nednai).  All of these were loosely allied and wore similar clothing.  Buckskin was the traditional clothing along with calf-high moccasins.

These would protect against the sharp thorns of cactus and Devil's Claw - they're also beautiful!

Only adults wore these.  In fact, children wore nothing unless the weather turned bad.

In a single day, Apache could travel farther and faster than any other Native American.  Walking was their life because they weren't farmers and so had to continually move to find food. 

They spoke Athapaskan which is the language spoken by Native Americans of northwestern Canada and Alaska.  That's kinda odd, because, if you trace the Apache's migration you find them coming from the Great Plains region, forced from there by Comanche Indians.


Because they migrated to the region of the continent that they did, they are said to be the first to discover the horses left behind by the earliest of Spanish explorers.  They grew to be phenomenal horsemen. 

My grandfather (1891 - 1972), born in Chillicothe, Texas, was part Comanche.  Chillicothe is just about 18 miles from Quanah - named after the Comanche, Quanah Parker.  Just like Cochise had his stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains, Quanah had his home in the Medicine Mounds between Chillicothe and Quanah.

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