Quanah Wins a Bride (And a Giveaway!) –by Sherry Shindelar

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Quanah Wins a Bride

Cynthia Ann Parker

Quanah Parker, the son of a Comanche war chief and Cynthia Ann Parker (the most famous captive of the 19th century) fell in love with a young Comanche maiden named Weckeah, but his prospects were dim. Weckeah returned his affection, but her father, Old Bear, didn’t favor Quanah. Quanah only owned one horse, and he was an orphan (His mother had been recaptured by the whites and died of a broken heart. His war chief father had died, as well—when and how he died is disputed. But by the time Quanah reached adulthood, he had no family connections), and he was half-white. Horses were the currency of choice amongst the Comanche, and Quanah’s rival for the young lady’s hand was the son of a prominent chief, Eckitoacup. The chief’s son, Tannap, offered ten horses.

But Quanah had a gift for leadership and persuasion. He convinced his friends to give him some of their horses. However, when he led the ten horses to Weckeah’s teepee with expectations of triumph, he discovered that his rival had upped his offer to twenty horses.

Not one to accept defeat, Quanah asked Weckeah if she would elope with him. In Comanche culture, this was a last resort when a parent would not approve a marriage, but it was risky. It brought dishonor to the bride’s family, and a young man could only hope to make amends through many horses, something Quanah didn’t have. With his rival being the son of a powerful chief, it was more likely that Weckeah’s father would send a war party after Quanah.

Quanah had a plan. He convinced twenty-one young warriors to accompany him and his bride. They rode hard and fast for hours, and then traveled by night, dividing into smaller groups to elude pursuers, reuniting in west Texas at the North Concho River. This would be their new home. From there, they did what Comanches had been doing for centuries in Texas: raid and steal horses.

For over a year, they lived along the river and prospered. Some of the braves traveled back to the tribe’s main encampment to retrieve their wives and sweethearts, convincing other warriors to join in the adventures of riding with Quanah.

At last, Eckitoacup determined to make the upstart, rebel pay for his audacious disregard for tribal hierarchy and customs. He gathered a war party and headed south to attack Quanah’s camp. But he was taken aback by the hundreds of Quanah’s warriors who rode out to confront him in battle. The old chief decided it’d be better to negotiate instead of fight. For the price of nineteen ponies, Quanah was allowed to return to the main tribe with his men and his bride in peace and was awarded the honor of becoming the new war chief.


The heroine in Wichita Path Sacrifice, one of the novellas in Freed by the Frontier, is inspired by the real life experiences of Quanah’s mother, Cynthia Ann Parker, and to a lesser extent, Cynthia’s cousin Rachel Plummer, who were both Comanche captives.

GIVEAWAY!

I love to hear from my readers. For a chance at a signed print copy of Freed by the Frontier, tell me, what is a situation in your life that was a very difficult time, but the Lord worked it out for the good?

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she isn’t busy writing, she is an English professor, working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is a multi-award-winning writer. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty-one years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Visit Sherry’s website here: http://www.sherryshindelar.com

37 thoughts on “Quanah Wins a Bride (And a Giveaway!) –by Sherry Shindelar”

  1. Going through an illness, which took a while for a correct diagnosis and treatment plan, but I’ve been in remission for years.

  2. Thanks for telling us about these, I’ll definitely read them. I’ve read the book ‘Ride the Wind’ about Cynthia Parker several times, really an interesting story.

    • I love the book Ride the Wind! I read that in the late ’90’s, and it broke my heart. My sorrow for Cynthia Ann is what inspired me more than twenty years to research her life and write a story inspired by her life.

  3. I was kicked out the house when I was 17. Lived in a car for months and then found out I was pregnant. I took the high road and asked return to the house where I had my son and raised him on my own before marriage. I didn’t sherk my responsibilities and give him away. I raised him. I learned to never give up. Things work out

      • Thank you. Its been a amazing journey in my life. Hugs and Thank you for sharing this. Thank you for picking me as your winner.

  4. Currently in a difficult time – FIL passed and only hubs and younger sister and I were taking care of him – now those not involved with his care have taken over and being bullies to the 3 of us regarding his trust! Prayers appreciated!

    • That sounds very unfair. I’m sorry for your loss, and I’ll remember you in my prayers. My MIL passed recently, and my husband was her main caregiver. I know how difficult family situations can be sometime.

  5. Hello Miss Shindelar,

    I have heard of Quannah Parker but did not know the full extent of his story until now. Thank you for telling us and the real historical pictures that were provided did give me an insight into how two worlds can indeed come together and how leadership from a man who did not have much but proved his worth by doing something risky to win the love of a woman and it worked.

    As a non Native, I always have been respectfully intrigued by real stories of indigenous peoples who lived in this country long before, fought for their freedom that is still happening to this day. I fully respect Indigenous history with every day new archaeological discoveries, extraordinary change, etc. that still continues to fascinate the world.

    I went through a difficult mental health crisis last year. Thankfully I went for a check in, was medically diagnosed with anxiety and am pulling through every day since then. I have my ups and downs like everyone else and that is normal. I do not let it define me but rather knowing that I have strength to keep living and not let darkness override my capacity to see the good in this world.

    I would love to enter the giveaway because as someone who reads a lot, the giveaway book is is right up my alley because of the stories within the book itself. I have always wanted to read more Indigenous historical novels but could never find enough Indigenous stories due to lack of publishing but thankfully that is changing now with Indigenous authors releasing books of all generes and it makes me proud that Indigenous stories are being told with grit, and showing the globe that Ingenious stories, no matter where they come from or what language is spoken, Ingenious voices deserves the chance to tell their stories to the world.

    Thank you so much Miss Shindelar for this incredible insight into Quannah Parker and I hope that Indigenous history continues for future generations.

    • I love both fiction and non-fiction indigenous stories. I also like to read 19th century captive narratives. Every book in my Lone Star Redemption series has an indigenous aspect. I work to portray the Comanche with the upmost respect.

      Thank you for sharing about your challange. It’s excellent that you’re not allowing it to define you. That’s the kind of fortitude that I try to install in my heroines:)

  6. I love these kind of posts. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. I was born 2 months early. Back then (68 yrs) not only didn’t they know what to do with a premie, but they didn’t expect one to live. Well my mother had other ideas, LOL. When I was 13 all the hormones started to change and I had my first epileptic seizure. I was taken to Loma Linda, CA and that is what they determined it was. Well, when we got home, mom told my three brothers/one sister and dad what was found. She also told them what to do if they were around when I had a seizure. God was so with my family and with me. I learned what to look for if a seizure was coming and what to do quickly so I wouldn’t hurt myself or others. I learned how to deal with it. When I was in high school, I wanted to be “normal”. LOL being normal is so over rated. LOL. So for two days I didn’t take my medicine. Anyway I had 5 grandmal seizures in 4 hours. Brutal. I was dehydrated and wound up in the hospital. I soon accepted my condition and learned to live with it. I had trouble thanking God for allowing me to have this condition. I got married to a wonderful man, we had a healthy boy and a healthy girl. I learned in our church that there were so many hurting women. I had learned that one of my spiritual gifts was shepherding. I found another lady in church and she showed me the ways of what it means to be one of Gods Shepards. Oh Wow. I than slowly became one for many hurting women over the years. And it is all only through Gods grace that I can help Him and help myself at the same time. I am now 68 and truly love our Lord and Saviour for what He has done for me an others I know.

    • Lori, thank you for sharing your beautiful story! It’s exciting to hear about the Lord’s work in your life. I saw an Instagram reel this morning talking about when God called David to be a king, he didn’t give him a crown right away, but a Goliath, and when he called Joseph, he gave him a prison…

  8. A difficult situation was when I lost my husband. I still struggle, but God is with me daily during all the struggles of life.

    • Sometimes when we’re going through a difficult situation it can take a while, maybe even years before we can see how He will work it out for the good. Thank you for commenting.

  12. My health has been an issue in my life for almost 50 years. More recently, I got a very serious eye infection that cause more scar tissue and took most of my eyesight in the left eye. Meanwhile, my right eye decided that it didn’t want to do all the work and so I needed a cornea transplant. I could gain vision back to a point or have no vision at all. Well, my surgery was 3 weeks ago and all I really could see was hands waving right in front of the eye. One week after at my check, I could see 20/200! I was so scared I was going to be blind way before I was ready.

  13. Currently I’m in a difficult time. My husband has Parkinson’s dementia, a 14 yr grandson had an operation to remove a brain tumor in which the dr could only remove 85% of it (the 15% is in the brain matter which is multiplying.) He needs another procedure done called a proton radiation which will be 5 days a week for 6 weeks to attempt to stop the growth. My BIL just died. He had cancer, but died of kidney failure in a matter of about 6 weeks. I can only grow in the Lord as he brings our family through this time.

    • I’m so sorry to hear all that you and your family are going through. I pray that the Lord will bless and strengthen you, and carry you and your family through these trials.

  14. Currently I am in a difficult situation being a caregiver for both parents especially mom who is totally immobile and just recently went into hospice so she could stay at home with dad and I and the good no matter how hard it is the Lord is teaching me patience

  15. I had a head injury many years ago which resulted in short-term memory loss. This has become such a blessing because I can never remember when someone has insulted or been rude to me. Therefore I never carry a grudge.

  17. My kidneys were failing in 2021 and rapidly went down to about 5% function when I had Covid with double pneumonia and gallbladder attacks every day. I was very sick, and got put on dialysis for about 13 months. At that point, I was able to get a transplant. Through it all, we were feeling at peace because God was guiding us through it. We have since been able to share with so many people about the God sightings along the way. It has been an amazing journey.

  18. When I was a young girl, our home burned down. While it was a difficult time. we did learn who truly cared. We also were blessed with an even nicer home eventually.

  19. A difficult time for me was when my two year old son was diagnosed with cancer. We had to go to St. Jude, where he had surgery, radiation, and chemo. They trained me to “flush his line” for the chemo every day. It was a tremendous responsibility, caring for him through it and caring for my 6 other children. I had lots of help! And God blessed us all through it. He’s completely well now – 31 years old with a sweet family of his own. God is merciful!

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