The Buffalo Hunters' War was the last significant armed conflict between Comanche warriors and Anglo-American buffalo hunters on the Texas Llano Estacado.
Key Facts
- Year of main conflict
- 1877
- Comanche warriors involved
- Approximately 170 warriors
- Hunters in pursuit party
- 45 hunters
- Battle date
- March 18, 1877
- Reported native casualties
- 35 dead, 22 wounded
- Hunter casualties
- 4 wounded, 1 died from wounds
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In December 1876, approximately 170 Comanche warriors and their families under Quohadi chief Black Horse left Indian Territory and moved onto the Llano Estacado of Texas. By February 1877, they and Apache allies had begun attacking buffalo hunters' camps in the Red River country of the Texas Panhandle, killing or wounding several hunters and stealing horses, including from the camp of Pat Garrett.
Forty-five hunters led by Hank Campbell, Jim Smith, and Joe Freed, guided by Jose Tafoya, departed Rath City in pursuit. They tracked the Comanche and Apache to their camp in Thompson's Canyon, present-day Yellow House Canyon near Lubbock, Texas, and attacked on March 18, 1877. The hunters were repulsed and the natives, including the wounded white captive Herman Lehmann, successfully escaped.
The hunters suffered five casualties including one fatality, while military reports later estimated 35 native dead and 22 wounded. The engagement effectively ended organized Comanche resistance to buffalo hunters on the southern plains and marked the close of armed conflict between these groups on the Texas Llano Estacado.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Hank Campbell, Jim Smith, Joe Freed.
Side B
1 belligerent
Black Horse (Tu-ukumah).