Old West Book Review: Comanche Jack Stilwell
Comanche Jack Stilwell, Clint E. Chambers and Paul H. Carlson, University of Oklahoma Press, $24.95, Paperback, Non-fiction, 288 Pages, 2 Maps, 26 Illustrations, Notes, Index, Bibliography.
When Arizona history buffs hear the name “Stilwell,” we immediately think of Frank Stilwell, killed by Wyatt Earp at the Tucson, Arizona train station in 1882. However, Frank had an older brother “Comanche Jack Stilwell” who led a far more productive and adventuresome life than his younger brother, but not in Arizona.
This book delves into the life and times of Jack Stilwell, beginning with his family history and looking into Jack’s running away from home in Kansas when he was thirteen years old. Unhappy about the separation of his parents due to his father’s infidelity, young Jack decided to head West with a freight outfit lumbering along the Santa Fe Trail. A family story says he went to the local water well where he met a group of lusty men with wagons filled with goods, and the boy signed on.
Thus began years of adventures first as a freighter crisscrossing the vast prairies, learning to speak Spanish as well as several Indian languages, including Comanche, earning him the nickname “Comanche” Jack. He eventually found work as a civilian scout for the U.S. Cavalry.
The Battle of Beecher Island comes up frequently in Stilwell’s biography. This event took place in September 1868 in northeastern Colorado. The fight lasted nine days between Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho warriors against soldiers of the Ninth Cavalry. During fierce fighting, Major Forsyth requested that Stilwell try to make the ninety-mile run for help to the closest army fort. On foot, draped in blankets, living on raw horse meat, Jack somehow got through enemy lines and is forever remembered as the hero of the Battle of Beecher Island.
Stilwell met Custer and scouted for him, was a friend of Buffalo Bill Cody, and knew many other famous westerners including Quanah Parker and Frederick Remington. Everyone seemed to like him, speaking and writing favorably about his willingness and good disposition. When his health began to fail he quit scouting and became a cowboy for several years.
In 1882 his younger brother Frank, who lived near Tombstone, Arizona was shot and killed by Wyatt Earp. Jack came to Arizona only long enough to settle his brother’s estate before returning home. With his health deteriorating badly, but still determined, he studied law, became a sheriff, and eventually a judge. Late in life he married a woman half his age.
His health continued to fail, and after a long series of painful issues related to his many years of hard outdoor living, he died February 17, 1903, probably of Bright’s disease. Today he lies buried at Old Trail Town, on the west side of Cody, Wyoming, and is remembered as a true Old West frontiersman.
This book goes into great detail about this man’s personal history, and is a fitting tribute to Comanche Jack Stilwell, “army scout and plainsman.”
Publisher’s Notes. The reviewer, Phyllis Morreale-de la Garza is the author of numerous books about the Old West, including Death For Dinner, the Benders of (Old) Kansas, Silk Label Books, P.O. Box 399, Unionville, New York, 10988. Ph. (845) 726-3434. www.silklabelbooks.com
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
