Texas Originals

Buffalo Hump

c. 1800–c. 1870

Penateka Comanche war chief Po-cha-na-quar-hip—who was better known to history by the name Buffalo Hump—was born on the Edwards Plateau near the end of the eighteenth century. He gained notoriety among white settlers in 1840 after government troops massacred thirty-five Comanche men, women, and children during peace talks at the San Antonio Council House.

A formidable warrior, Buffalo Hump sought revenge for the killings, raiding white settlements in Victoria and Linnville. His raiding party was finally stopped by Texas Rangers at the Battle of Plum Creek near Lockhart, but Buffalo Hump and most of his men escaped.

Buffalo Hump was also a skilled negotiator. In 1844, he met with Sam Houston, then president of the Republic of Texas. The Comanches and their allies agreed to stop raiding settlements if the Texans would stay off the Edwards Plateau. But the Texas Senate refused to recognize the Comanches’ boundary. After Texas joined the United States, Buffalo Hump signed a peace treaty with the federal government, thereafter confining most of his raiding to Mexico.

Eventually, facing an unending flood of white settlers, Buffalo Hump ceased raiding and led the Penateka in the difficult transition to reservation life. He lived until around 1870, spending his final years near Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, where he turned to farming in an effort to convince his people to live peacefully.

For More about Buffalo Hump

The approximate location of the Battle of Plum Creek is marked by the Texas State Historical Commission with Marker Number 9783, on Route 183 in Lockhart’s Lions Park. The fight was a running battle that took place over several miles between Comanche Flats and Kelley Springs, with additional skirmishes elsewhere in the area.  

The Texas Indian Papers at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission contains documents recounting early Comanche-settler relations, including the initial 1836 Treaty Between Texas Commissioners and the Cherokee Indians.

Selected Bibliography

Richardson, Rupert Norval, and Kenneth R. Jacobs. The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement. Austin: Eakin Press, 1996.

Schilz, Jodye Lynn Dickson. "Buffalo Hump." Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed January 25, 2022.

Schilz, Jodye Lynn Dickson and Thomas F Schilz. Buffalo Hump and the Penateka Comanches. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1989. 

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Comanche Feats of Horsemanship by George Catlin, 1834-1835. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison Jr.