Summer Reading

Summer seems to be the time for book swaps. I left "The other Mr. Darcy" on a friends desk yesterday for her to take to Folly Beach next week. My daughter received two books for her trip back home to Nashville. My sister mailed "Bel Ami" from Virginia to Charleston for a friend of mine to read. I received it back from her at lunch this week so I guess that will go on my stack. The issue I have is...no one wants to swap my current book with them when I'm done. Empire of the Summer Moon is the life of Quanah Parker and about the Comanche Nation. Do you hear crickets?

The first book to spark my interest on this subject was "Ride the Wind". It was given to my mom years ago from my Aunt Libby and mom passed it to me because of our mutual love of Indian stories. It is historical fiction about the life of Cynthia Ann Parker who was captured by the Comanches. She was raised by them and married Chief Peta Nocoma, they are Quanah's parents. Of course that book had a romantic edge to it where "Empire" is based on facts. It details the strengths of the Comanche nation, how the military dealt with them and the impact of the settlers to their land.

I do not profess to know everything about this subject, so as I'm learning as I'm reading. Some things that have impressed me so far are: How smart the Comanche were in battle, they were the first Indians to fight on horseback. A boy was given a horse by the time he was 4 or 5 years of age. He was expected to learn how to pick up objects at a full gallop, in order to rescue a fallen comrade when the time came. Their love of the land and family. What they would endure to protect it.

I know I am glossing over facts of how ruthless they were. This book covers all aspects of the Comanches, how they murdered, scalped, and mutilated their captives. You can almost compare the Comanche strategy and battles with the military of that time with our current battles for power. Cynthia Ann Parker did not want to return to the life she was born into. She grieved when she was recaptured. She was quoted as saying, "I'm going home" each time she tried to escape.

It's hard to pinpoint why this book intrigues me. The love of horses, nature or freedom may have a part in it. The fact that Quanah bridged a gap in history and lived to try and make things better for his people is amazing. How to put this delicately but the gall of the "white men" past and present to say "our way" or die. One thing I'm learning from this book is, to keep my prejudice at bay and the other thing I would love to learn is how to ride a horse hanging onto its side at a full gallop!