Some years ago, there was a movie about the Lone Ranger, and in that story Tonto was portrayed as a Comanche — a choice that shows a misunderstanding of Texas and Comanche history. There is simply no realistic way a Comanche would have been a close friend and ally of a Texas Ranger. Texans and Comanches had been bitter enemies since the 1840, especially after the Council House Fight of 1840, and there was no going back from that.
The Texans were hostile toward most Native tribes in Texas, but there was one major exception: the Tonkawas. For that reason, the betrayal and removal of the Tonkawas is one of the saddest chapters in our past. A fair argument can be made that without the Tonkawas, there might never have been a Texas at all. Instead, the region might have become part of a powerful Comanchería, with Texans living as a subordinate population.
From the earliest days of Texas history, the Tonkawas became allies of the Texans. They fought alongside them, faced the same enemies, and over time became close friends — almost like brothers. The Tonkawas practiced ritual cannibalism, but the Texans didn’t care; they said, “Regardless of their war customs, they have always been true to us.”
After the Civil War, the Tonkawas were removed from Texas — but it was not the Texans who did it. Their removal happened during the Reconstruction occupation, carried out by officials who felt no loyalty to Texas or to the Tonkawas. In fact, if they had known how close the Tonkawas were to the Texans, they might have been even more determined to remove them, because at that time there was deep bitterness — even hatred — toward the South after Lincoln’s assassination. All Southerners were blamed for his death.
If they could have, those officials might have removed the Texans themselves and put them on reservations.
But if the decision had been left to Texans, I don’t believe they ever would have removed the Tonkawas. They would have made a place for them in Texas, because for some people, loyalty goes both ways. Several Texas Rangers wrote in their memoirs about how unjustly the Tonkawas were treated, and that if any Indian tribe deserved a permanent home in Texas, it was the Tonkawas.
The Texans were hostile toward most Native tribes in Texas, but there was one major exception: the Tonkawas. For that reason, the betrayal and removal of the Tonkawas is one of the saddest chapters in our past. A fair argument can be made that without the Tonkawas, there might never have been a Texas at all. Instead, the region might have become part of a powerful Comanchería, with Texans living as a subordinate population.
From the earliest days of Texas history, the Tonkawas became allies of the Texans. They fought alongside them, faced the same enemies, and over time became close friends — almost like brothers. The Tonkawas practiced ritual cannibalism, but the Texans didn’t care; they said, “Regardless of their war customs, they have always been true to us.”
After the Civil War, the Tonkawas were removed from Texas — but it was not the Texans who did it. Their removal happened during the Reconstruction occupation, carried out by officials who felt no loyalty to Texas or to the Tonkawas. In fact, if they had known how close the Tonkawas were to the Texans, they might have been even more determined to remove them, because at that time there was deep bitterness — even hatred — toward the South after Lincoln’s assassination. All Southerners were blamed for his death.
If they could have, those officials might have removed the Texans themselves and put them on reservations.
But if the decision had been left to Texans, I don’t believe they ever would have removed the Tonkawas. They would have made a place for them in Texas, because for some people, loyalty goes both ways. Several Texas Rangers wrote in their memoirs about how unjustly the Tonkawas were treated, and that if any Indian tribe deserved a permanent home in Texas, it was the Tonkawas.
