Places: the Commanche Trail

Anyone looking over the vast plains of western North America, particularly the canyon lands of the Southwest, might think them a trackless wilderness.  To a practiced Native eye, however, there were trails all over these lands, used by tribes for a variety of purposes.  While Whites insisted on calling this trails war paths, much as they did on the eastern frontier, the paths served other purposes including allowing war parties easy access to and from enemies.  Tribes traded, allied and communicated with one another.  Some tribes were nomadic, following buffalo or other game to seasonal hunting grounds.  Access to water was always a critical problem.  Trails were a vital means of access in the wilderness.

The Comanche Trail, Comanche Trace or Comanche War Trail was, in fact, a network of trails used by the Comanche during raids, seasonal hunting and trading.  The primary trail picked up at two crossings of the Rio Grande River, Boquillas and Presidio, joined at what is now Fort Stockton, and later branched into two main paths over the staked plains.  One branch led to the vicinity of what is now Lubbock and on toward Littlefield.  The other fork ran to what is now Plainview, before the two routes rejoined at Muleshoe.  Other portions of the trail headed across what is now Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas.  Portions further south through Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango to Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi.  Another portion ran into Mexico from Big Springs to Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. 

Once early Settlers became more familiar with the area, they would notice that portions of the Comanche trail were well-traveled and the beaten pathway could extend as wide as a mile.  A portion of the trail winds through Big Bend National Park, taking in some of the mot rugged country along with U.S.-Mexico border.  As with many Native trails, Whites found the route a convenient place to build a road.  U.S. Hwy 385 traces part of the Comanche Trail today.

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