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The Comanche called themselves: Numunuh, meaning "The People" or Nemene, meaning "Our People" |
| The
Comanches were part of the southern groups of Eastern
Shoshoni that lived near the Platte River in eastern
Wyoming. They are linguistically related to the Shoshone,
Ute and Paiute. They once lived in the Rocky Mountains
near the Shoshone, but migrated to the plains to hunt
buffalo. Though they became nomadic Plains Indians, they still maintained good relations with the Shoshone. Beginning in the 1740s they began crossing the Arkansas River and established themselves on margins of the Llano Estacado which extended from western Oklahoma across the Texas Panhandle into New Mexico. At the time of their first separation from the Shoshoni, the Comanches probably numbered about 10,000. This increased dramatically as they migrated south and were joined later by additional groups of Eastern Shoshoni. They also added to their population by incorporating large numbers of women and children prisoners. Estimates for 1790 run as high as 20.000. but there was never an accurate count until the 1870s. Although the 1849 census of Indian tribes also gave this figure, it was, at best, a guess. Epidemics during the following two years had dropped this estimate to 12,000. There were less than 8,000 Comanches in 1870. |
