Texas: the rise, progress, and prospects of the Republic of Texas, Vol.1 Page: 400 of 432
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346
TEXAS.
[BOOK II.
their part, against an enemy. Nor are they a people
enamoured of war, when there is any prospect
of opposition; their depredations are always committed
upon the defenceless. Even a single American
armed with the rifle has been known to keep
large parties of them at bay; their principle being,
that it is better to suffer a dozen enemies to escape,
than to run the risk of losing a single Comanche.
They hold it to be much more honourable to murder
a man in his sleep, than to take him in open
combat; and bravery they regard as an inferior
quality to deceptive cunning. They will, therefore,
use every wile to throw the unwary traveller
off his guard, by declarations of friendship, that he
may be butchered without endangering the lives of
any of their tribe.
They seldom destroy the lives of women or children,
whom the Indians of the United States are
hardly ever known to spare; but they capture and
enslave them, incorporating them- with the nation,
and guarding them so closely that they rarely have
an opportunity of escape. They have made many
treaties with the Mexicans, all of which have been
violated, and not unfrequently within twenty-four
hours after signature; so that the remark-," As
faithless as a Comanche treaty," has become a Mexican
adage.
The Comanche " nation" is perhaps the most
perfect democracy on the face of the globe; all
public affairs are managed by primary assemblies,
and the people have a right to displace a chief, and
elect his successor, at pleasure. Male children are
even privileged to rebel against their parents, who
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Kennedy, William. Texas: the rise, progress, and prospects of the Republic of Texas, Vol.1, book, January 1, 1841; London. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2389/m1/400/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.