On New Year’s Day in 1870, ten-year-old Adolph Korn was kidnapped by an Apache raiding party. Traded to Comaches, he thrived in the rough, nomadic existence, quickly becoming one of the tribe’s fiercest warriors. Forcibly returned to his parents after three years, Korn never adjusted to life in white society. He spent his last years in a cave, all but forgotten by his family.
That is, until Scott Zesch stumbled over his own great-great-great uncle’s grave. Determined to understand how such a “good boy” could have become Indianized so completely, Zesch travels across the west, digging through archives, speaking with Comanche elders, and tracking eight other child captives from the region with hauntingly similar experiences. With a historians rigor and a novelists eye, Zesch paints a vivid portrait of life on the Texas frontier, offering a rare account of captivity.
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Teutonic Comanches I was pleasantly surprised at how good this book is. Author Zesch has turned out what should become a minor classic of Texas and Western history.”Captured” is about the experiences of nine White children captured by Comanches and Apaches from 1865 to 1871. The children lived among the Indians for up to 12 years. Several of them were members of the large German-speaking community which settled in the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio.As the author wryly notes the only career path for Comanche men was “warrior” and the author details many of the brutal battles between Comanche and Texan. There are massacres and atrocities and gore galore here, but also a bit of humor and humanity. White children captives were often treated kindly and adopted into the tribe. Despite being eyewitnesses to the murder of their families, several of the male captives profiled by Zesch came to prefer the wild and free life of a Comanche warrior to that of a Texas sodbuster. Most notably, Herman Lehmann was one of the last few Comanche holdouts to surrender to the Whites in 1878 and he was a willing and enthusiastic participant in many battles against White soldiers and raids on White communities. Zesch also details the inability of the freed captives to readjust to life as Whites. Most became alienated drifters and a few later rejoined the defeated Comanches on reservations in Oklahoma. Many also lived to ripe old ages.There are many volumes of stories about Whites being taken captive by and living among the Indians. This is the best I have read. The author delves into reasons why so many White captives came to prefer living among Indians rather than returning to their own culture.Smallchief
Fascinating and bittersweet history This book tells the story of some ordinary children who had extraordinary experiences, and the immediacy and directness of the author’s writing makes their long-ago world come alive. The premise of the book, searching for the facts to flesh out the story of a long-forgotten relative, grows into something larger and more emotionally-ridden than simple history. This book is fascinating and you won’t want to put it down once you start – not the usual thing for a non-fiction account. I was left with a lot to think about at the end of the book, about the way society handled things 100 years ago, the effects of their exeriences on these children… and I also wondered how I or anyone I know would have reacted in these circumstances, circumstances which still come up at some place in the world today every day.
My Echo of Other 5 Star Reviews! I usually like to “put in my two cents” with an Amazon review when there aren’t any other reviews or when I disagree strongly with the other reviews. Why just “echo” what other people are saying, I figure? But, this book is so well-written and fascinatin’ that I gotta write somethin’. This is one of those few books that you’ll remember and think about for a long time to come.I “read” this book using “Books on Tape” audio CD. (You can get this book on ONE Mp3 CD—very convenient to listen while you’re in your car or waiting in line someplace)I liked the book so much I just ordered my own hardcopy! Also, I ordered some of the “source books” mentioned in the narrative. Maybe I’ll review those when I read ‘em. As a result of reading this book, maybe sometime in the future I’ll travel to “the hill country” of Texas and Fort Sill, Oklahoma to take a look see myself at where some of the events took place. This book is a “DaVinci Code” for people who love history and who appreciate a good story! Enjoy! Email:boland7214@aol.