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Holy smoke! Smithwick’s memoirs are worthy of their own thread.

1837-38 he’s actually living with a Penateka Comanche band as a sort of liaison for the new Republic. Accompanying them occasionally into Bastrop to shop.

He’s living with a prominent Chief and Medicine man he calls “Muguara”. In 1838 he accompanies five prominent Comanches including Muguara to go visit then-President Houston for a treaty.

He returns to Weber’s Prairie (south of Bastrop) and the following year takes part in Ranger Captain John L. Moore’s failed winter assault on a big Comanche camp on the San Saba.

I don’t recall Smithwick mentions the name but this was the camp of one “Mukwooru”. Mukwooru is gonna die in the 1840 Council House Fight.

Mukwooru had likewise travelled meet Houston with a contingent of prominent Comanches in 1838 for a treaty negotiation. Dollars to donuts Muguara and Mookwooru were the same guy.

Mookwooru had two prominent nephews, Yellow Wolf and Buffalo Hump. Yellow Wolf would go on to be Jack Hays’ principal opponent in those two opening revolver engagements with Comanches along the Guadalupe River in 1844.

Buffalo Hump would loom prominent in Texas history when he led the 1,000 man 1840 Great Comanche Raid in reprisal for the Council House Fight.

Smithwick doesn’t mention him by name, but Buffalo Hump was in that 1838 delegation that met with Houston. Which means that him and Smithwick woulda been on at least speaking terms. Possibly Smithwick was familiar with Yellow Wolf too.

While I’m dropping names, I’m gonna point out that the Lipan Apaches Castro and his son Flacco, who guided both the 1839 and 1840 Moore expeditions against the Comanche and who later prominently fought alongside Jack Hays rangers, in their free time would hang around Smithwick’s forge/gunshop at Weber’s Prairie, gifting Smithwick with an infant-sized beaded pair of moccasins when Smithwick’s wife had a baby.

Small world. More to come.