Comanche Nation Elder Council Visit to Austin, 2017

The Comanche Nation Tribal Complex is based near Lawton, OK; their Elder Council makes trips to locations their ancestors used to call home as a way to reconnect with their past. A reconnecting with Austin was long overdue, so April 26th 2017 30+ members of the Elder Council traveled to Austin, and I had the honor of hosting that visit.

Our day started with a welcoming by Austin’s Mayor, Steve Adler, at City Hall.  A short news piece is available on the City of Austin’s ATXN City View on YouTube (starts at 04:19)

Following the meeting the with Mayor Adler, we headed for nearby Treaty Oak, the last surviving member of the Council Oaks, a grove of oaks that are said to have served as a sacred meeting place for Comanche. Treaty Oak is estimated to be about 500 years old. Legend (likely just that) holds that Stephen F. Austin signed the first boundary agreement between the Indians and the settlers under these trees.

Much of Comanche history in Texas centers around the Colorado River so next we had some fun cruising Lady Bird Lake on Capital Cruises. David Burnet, the 1st ad interim president of the Republic of Texas, lived among the Comanche for several years in 1817. Historian Mary Starr Barkley has speculated that Mirabeau Lamar may have first learned about the location that would later be Austin from Burnet through his travels with the Comanche camping at and crossing the Shoal Creek ford.

After our cruise, we loaded back on the travel bus and headed for Mount Bonnell, a historically documented Indian trail into Austin. Some history recalls Comanches watched the building of Austin from nearby hills west of town; perhaps from Mount Bonnell? Leading a core group to the top, we climbed a picnic table and gazed on Austin below. Definitely a high point of the trip (no pun intended).

We developed bus problems at the top of Mount Bonnell, but it lasted long enough to get us to our next destination, The Oasis on Lake Travis where the group received a special greeting and great lunch. If you aren’t aware, The Oasis sits next to Comanche Peak, the only peak in Travis County named after a Native American tribe. Nearby is "Defeat Hollow" named after an encounter between Joel A. Harris (my 3rd great grandfather), a settler on Hudson Bend, and Comanches. When asked “Who got defeated?”, I told them it was a tie which got a good laugh! Comanche Peak was approved for a THC state historical marker in 2021; marker is pending manufacture and installation.

The bus died at the Oasis, but the travel company had a replacement by the end of lunch and the next day the Elder Council traveled to Paint Rock, one of Texas’ premier rock art sites where I met the group for a wonderful tour by the Campbell family that has owned the property since the 1870s.

 

City Hall

Elder Council Executive Boards members meeting with Mayor Adler

 

A major part of the logistics of this trip was simply making sure we could park this thing!

Treaty Oak

Cruising the Colorado

Something I learned about a plant most probably take for granted which grows in abundance here in Central Texas: mountain laurel. Many of the Elders were collecting the red beans inside the pods of the mountain laurel. As it turns out these are known as "mescal beans" and have since prehistory played an important part in Native American culture and ritual. See e.g. Texas Beyond History, Mountain Laurel

Capital Cruises were wonderful. We contracted for a special one hour cruise on the M.V. Nighthawk double decker allowing the more adventuresome of the group to ride on top. A special thanks also to the Hyatt Regency that helped with the unloading and parking of our very large bus, all for free. Thanks so much.

 

Mount Bonnell

We parked the bus at the north end of Mt. Bonnell so that folks that didn't want to climb could still get a good view down the Colorado. But a group of brave souls wanted to go all the way to the top so we began the climb.

 

Once at the top of Mt. Bonnell we climbed the picnic table to take in the view of Austin below.

Video from Mount Bonnell ...

Oasis Restaurant by Comanche Peak

A big thanks to the Oasis Restaurant for their advanced arrangements to accommodate our group; unloading and parking the bus, and providing staff to take care of our group.

At Bonnell our bus became stuck in first gear; we were able to make it to the Oasis where preparations were made for swapping buses. By the end of our meal, our replacement bus was ready to go.

 

Paint Rock, Pictograph Site

The next day the Elder Council left Austin headed for Paint Rock where I met up with the group, along with anthropology friend Linda Pelon who organized this part of the tour. Paint Rock is one of Texas' premier pictograph sites. See Paint Rock Pictographs on the Texas Beyond History website.

While the Texas Beyond History website says evidence exists the site was in use as early as "Toyah period (ca. A.D. 1300 – 1650)", if the interpretation of some pictographs is correct -- pictographs showing atlatls -- the site could be much older. The bow and arrow which replaced the atlatl, was not introduced in North America until ca. 700 A.D.

One of the really interesting things about Paint Rock that has surfaced in recent years is it appears to have several pictographs that served as solar calendars. I've written a previous post on this; see Pictographs at Paint Rock May Act as Solar Calendar.

Texas Historical Commission Archeological Preservation plaque.

Tours of Paint Rock begin with an orientation by Kay Campbell. Yours truly there in the back.

Kay Campbell's excellent kickoff to our tour of the site on You Tube:

The day concluded with the Elder Council singing a song of thanks to Kay Campbell

Paint Rock Trail Map