It’s back to the Caudills, but not the
modern ones that I have been reading. Now I am returning to the 1996 nominee
list with a book that’s setting is more than a century prior to that. This
novel is a fictional account from the life of Cynthia Ann Parker. Cynthia Ann
was captured by Comanche warriors when she was nine-years-old along with some
of her siblings and relatives. Other members of her family including her father
and grandfather were killed and scalped. She might have been a witness. 24
years later, Texas Rangers rescued her from the Comanche and returned her to an
uncle and his family. This book covers the period when the Parkers try to
restore Cynthia Ann to the ways of the white people.
I simply cannot fathom the tragedy of
being ripped away from your family and your world not just once, but twice in a
lifetime. In the 24 years that Cynthia Ann lives with the Comanche, she begins
as a slave, but soon becomes a beloved daughter. She proves her worth as a
strong laborer. She can prepare and build a tipi as well if not better than the
other Comanche women. She is given to be the first wife of a much respected
Comanche Chief. They have three children together.
While the Comanche warriors are away on
a raid, the Texas Raiders storm in on a raid of their own. They take Cynthia
Ann and her toddler, Topsannah, knowing that Cynthia Ann is a white woman. They
believe they are doing a good deed and rescuing her. Before she is returned to
her family, Cynthia Ann and her daughter are given over to the white women at
the Fort to clean them, dress them and make them presentable as civilized
people. All of their Comanche belongings are destroyed save Cynthia Ann’s
buffalo robe, but they refuse to give it back.
Everything Cynthia Ann is put through is
considered for her own good. The Texans are trying to take the savage out of
her and restore her to her European American roots. But from day one, all
Cynthia Ann considers is the hope of escaping the white men and returning to
her Comanche family. She mourns her husband and two sons. She refuses to
assimilate much to the chagrin of her family. It is only with the promise that
she will be allowed to visit her Comanche family that she attempts to appease
the Parkers by relearning the English language and learning the duties of a
white woman. But when the Civil War breaks out, that promise is broken.
Cynthia Ann has many enemies and only
two supporters. Many believe that her brain is far too “addled” by the Comanche
to ever be a proper Christian woman again. Cynthia Ann does not understand the
white people’s ways. They make as little sense to her as her Comanche ways make
sense to them. They are always acting at cross purposes despite the fact that
everyone thinks they are trying their hardest to achieve the desired result.
One of her supporters is her father’s brother who is thrilled to have recovered
his niece. The other is a fictionalized cousin, Lucy.
The book is told in two voices. One is
Cynthia Ann’s and the other is Lucy’s. In this way you gain the perspective of
both sides. Lucy represents a sympathetic viewer. She has the empathy needed to
be able to see both sides of the story. She is perhaps the only person who
truly wants what is best for Cynthia Ann and her daughter. Unfortunately, she
is also uncertain of what that would be.
This is a true story without a happy
ending. Unless you consider the fact that Cynthia Ann’s first born son goes on
to become the last chief of the Comanche, Quanah Parker. She would have been
enormously proud. Fans of the Dear
America, My America, My Name is America and Royal Diaries series will enjoy this
book as well.
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