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Chief Ten Bears
(1792-1873)
Warriors Citation
Ten Bears of the Yamparika band of Comanches spent an uneventful childhood on the Southern Plains. Although he was never considered
a great warrior, Ten Bears became noted among whites and Indians for his compelling speeches, adroit leadership, and poetic
language. Although he visited Washington, D.C., in 1863 as a Comanche leader, he failed to get any major concessions for his
people from the U.S. government.
Two years later, Ten Bears signed the 1865 treaty at the Little Arkansas River in Kansas, which created a reservation for
the Comanches in the southwestern area of Oklahoma.
Although he advocated peace, Ten Bears was always suspicious of the whites and resented their intrusions. At he 1867 Medicine
Lodge Conference, Ten Bears gave an eloquent speech during which he asserted that he disliked being put on a reservation and
"was born where there were no enclosures and where everything drew a free breath...I want to die there and not within walls."
The whites were in no mood for negotiation, however, and dictated that the Comanches give up most of their lands and freedom
for their small reservation. In 1872, Ten Bears revisited Washington along with Tosawi of the Peneteka Comanche band and leaders
from other tribes, but the hope that promises would be kept was futile. Despairing and spurned by his own people for his part
in negotiating unpopular treaties, Ten Bears died at Fort Sill. From: historical accounts & records
LINK TO BRAVEHORSE WARRIORS VOLUME TWO
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