The last chief of the Comanches and the fall of an empire - Dustin Tahmahkera

翻译人员: Joyce He 校对人员: Rong Han

Late one night in 1871, a group of riders descended on a sleeping army camp.

1871 年的一个深夜， 一群骑兵突袭了沉睡中的军营。

In minutes they stirred the camp into a panic,

不一会儿，他们就把 军营搅得乱作一团，

stole about 70 horses, and disappeared.

偷走了约 70 匹马后， 很快便消失得无影无踪。

Led by a young chief named Quanah Parker,

这场偷袭由名为夸纳·帕克 （Quanah Parker）的年轻酋长领导。

the raid was the latest in a long series of altercations

而在此之前，

努穆穆人，或科曼奇人 组成的土著部落

along the Texas frontier between the indigenous people

known as the Numunu, or Comanches,

和被派去为白人定居者 抢占科曼奇土地的美国军队之间

and the United States forces sent to steal Comanche lands

已经在德克萨斯边界发生过

for white settlers.

一系列的冲突。

Though the conflict was decades old,

这类冲突已经持续了数十年之久，

U.S. Colonel Ranald MacKenzie led the latest iteration.

而最近的一轮是由美军上校兰纳德·麦肯齐 （Ranald MacKenzie）发起并领导的。

From summer to winter, he tracked Quanah.

春去秋来，他始终没有停止 追寻夸纳的踪迹，

But Quanah was also tracking him,

但同时夸纳也在追踪着他。

and each time the colonel drew near his targets,

每当上校靠近了他的目标时，

they disappeared without a trace into the vast plains.

科曼奇人却已在广袤的平原上 消失无踪了。

The Comanches had controlled this territory for nearly 200 years,

科曼奇人统治这块土地 已经快 200 年了，

hunting buffalo and moving whole villages around the plains.

他们靠捕猎水牛为生， 整个部落在平原上四处迁徙。

They suppressed Spanish and Mexican attacks from the south,

他们镇压了来自南边的 西班牙人和墨西哥人的袭击，

attempts to settle the land by the United States from the east,

阻挡了来自东边， 试图定居在这块土地上的美国人，

and numerous other indigenous peoples’ bids for power.

还有众多争当老大的土著部落。

The Comanche Empire was not one unified group under central control,

科曼奇帝国并不是 受一个中央管辖的统一的组织，

but rather a number of bands, each with its own leaders.

而是由很多帮派构成， 每个帮派有各自的领导。

What all of these bands had in common was their prowess as riders—

这些帮派的共同点是骑艺超群——

every man, woman, and child was adept on horseback.

每个男人、女人和孩童 都是马背上的能手。

Their combat skills on horseback

他们在马背上的格斗技能

far surpassed those of both other indigenous peoples and colonists,

远超其他土著部落和殖民者，

allowing them to control an enormous area with relatively few people—

这使得他们能以很少的人口 控制很广阔的区域——

probably about 40,000 at their peak

他们的族群规模最大时 达到了四万人，

and only about 4-5,000 by the time

但当夸纳·帕克和 兰纳德·麦肯齐兵戈相见时，

Quanah Parker and Ranald Mackenzie faced off.

只有约四五千的人口。

Born around 1848, Quanah was the eldest child of Peta Nocona,

夸纳大约出生在 1848 年， 是家中的长子，

他的父亲佩塔·诺科纳（Peta Nocona） 是诺克尼部落的首领，

a leader of the Nokoni band, and Cynthia Ann Parker,

母亲是被科曼奇人绑架 并同化的白人殖民者

a kidnapped white settler who assimilated with the Comanches

and took the name Naduah.

辛西娅·安·帕克（Cynthia Ann Parker）, 后改名为纳度阿（Naduah）。

When Quanah was a preteen,

当夸纳还是个孩子时，

U.S. forces ambushed his village, capturing his mother and sister.

美军伏击了他的村庄， 抓走了他的母亲和妹妹。

Quanah and his younger brother sought refuge with a different Comanche band,

夸纳和他弟弟后来在名为 夸哈达（Quahada）的另一个科曼奇部落

the Quahada.

寻得了庇护。

In the years that followed, Quanah proved himself as a warrior and leader.

随后几年间，夸纳证明了 自己的勇猛与领导才能。

In his early twenties, he and a young woman named Weakeah eloped,

二十出头时，他和一个叫 维可（Weakeah ）的年轻女人私奔了，

enraging her powerful father and several other leaders.

此举激怒了维可有权有势的父亲 和很多部落领袖。

They stayed on the run for a year,

他们逃亡了一年，

attracting followers and establishing Quanah as a paraibo, or chief,

期间吸引了很多追随者，他们拥立 夸纳作为 paraibo， 即酋长，

at an exceptionally young age.

而那时夸纳还相当年轻。

Under his leadership the Quahada band was able to elude the U.S. military

在他的领导下， 夸哈答部落得以避开美军，

and continue their way of life.

并继续他们特有的生活方式。

But in the early 1870s, the East Coast market for buffalo hides became lucrative,

但在 19 世纪 70 年代初的东海岸， 水牛皮变成了暴利行业，

and hunters slaughtered millions of buffalo in just a few years.

狩猎者在短短几年间 宰杀了数百万只水牛。

Meanwhile, U.S. forces led a surprise attack,

与此同时，美军出其不意 发起了一次进攻，

killing nearly all the Quahada band’s 1,400 horses and stealing the rest.

几乎把夸哈答部落的 1400 匹马 杀得精光，并偷走了剩下的马。

Though he had vowed to never surrender, Quanah knew that without bison or horses,

尽管曾发誓永不投降， 但夸纳明白，失去了野牛和马，

the Comanches faced certain starvation in winter.

科曼奇人在冬季将面临饥荒。

So in 1875 Quanah and the Quahada band

于是在 1875 年， 夸纳带着夸哈答部落

moved to the Fort Sill reservation in Oklahoma.

搬到了俄克拉荷马的西尔堡居留地。

As hunter-gatherers, they could not transition easily

作为游猎采集部族， 他们很难轻松的

to an agricultural way of life on the reservation.

过渡到以农业为主的生活方式。

The U.S. government had promised rations and supplies,

美国政府保证 向他们定量提供补给，

but what they provided was wildly insufficient.

但还远远不够所需。

Quanah, meanwhile, was suddenly in a weak political position:

与此同时，夸纳也立刻 陷入了一种弱势的政治境地：

he had no wealth or power compared to others

与其他在居留地 待得时间更长的人相比

who had been on the reservation longer.

他既不富有，也无权力。

Still, he saw an opportunity.

但是，他发现了一个机会。

The reservation included ample grasslands—

居留地有充足的草场——

useless to the Comanches but perfect for cattle ranchers to graze their herds.

对科曼奇人无用，但对牧牛人来说 却很适合用来放牧。

He began a profitable arrangement leasing the land to cattle ranchers,

他最先悄悄的与牧牛人签订了 出租草场的协定

quietly at first.

以牟利。

Eventually, he negotiated leasing rights with the U.S. government,

后来，他与美国政府 商定了出租草场的权利，

which ensured a steady source of income for the Comanches on the reservation.

这保证了卡曼奇人 在居留地有稳定的收入来源。

As Quanah’s status on the reservation

随着夸纳在居留地的地位

and recognition from government officials grew,

和政府官员对他的认可逐渐上升，

he secured better rations,

他争取到了更多的补给，

advocated for the construction of schools and houses,

提倡修建学校与住房，

and became one of three tribal judges on the reservation court.

并成为了居留地 三位部落审判者中的一位。

Tired of speaking with multiple leaders,

美国政府厌倦了 与多位部落领导者协商，

the U.S. government wanted to appoint one chief of all Comanches—

决定指派一个领导整个 科曼奇部落的酋长——

a role that hadn’t existed outside the reservation.

这个职位在居留地外还从未存在过。

Still, many Comanches supported Quanah for this role,

很多科曼奇人支持 由夸纳来担任此职，

just as several older leaders had supported him

正如几位年长的首领曾支持

to lead them against the U.S. armed forces.

由他来领导他们对抗美军。

Even Quanah’s former adversary, Ranald MacKenzie,

甚至连夸纳从前的对手， 兰纳德·麦肯齐，

advocated for his appointment.

也支持任命他。

Quanah acted in Hollywood movies and befriended American politicians,

夸纳曾出演过好莱坞电影， 和美国政客交好，

riding in Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration parade.

还在西奥多·罗斯福的 就职游行中骑马带队。

Still, he never cut his long braids

但是，他从未剪掉他的长辫子，

and advocated for the Native American Church and the use of peyote.

而且支持建立美国土著人自己的教堂， 并大力推广佩奥特仙人掌的使用。

He began to go by Quanah Parker, adopting his mother’s surname,

他开始使用母亲的姓氏， 称自己为夸纳·帕克，

and tried to track down his mother and sister,

并试图寻找他的母亲和妹妹，

eventually learning they had both died shortly after their capture.

却发现她们在被抓后不久就丧生了。

Quanah adapted again and again— to different worlds, different roles,

夸纳持续不断的适应着 不同的世界，不同的角色，

and circumstances that would seem insurmountable to most.

以及被大多数人认为 无法克服的困境。

Though he wasn’t without critics, after Quanah’s passing,

尽管他也被一些评论家所批评， 但是在他去世后，

Comanches began using the term “chairman”

科曼奇人改用 “主席” 一词

to designate the top elected official in the tribe,

来称呼部落中 被选出的最高官员，

recognizing him as the last chief of the Comanches

将夸纳尊为科曼奇部落的 最后一位酋长，

and a model of cultural survival and adaptation.

他是文化传承和适应生存的典范。

In that spirit, today’s Comanche Nation looks towards the future,

追随着他的精神， 现在的科曼奇国展望着未来，

with over 16,000 enrolled citizens and countless descendants.

目前拥有着超过 1600 名 注册的公民和数不清的子孙后代。