Chief Quanah Parker

There are many great stories out there about Chief Quanah Parker, but we'll bet you haven't heard the one about "pink hair" ! Ruby Cole (Archer), a long-time area resident, tells about the time she met Quanah Parker as a young girl. As the story goes, the Cole family had travelled by wagon to Quanah to stock up on supplies, and Ruby had a few pennies "burning a hole" in the pocket of her apron. While her mother and father were taking care of business Ruby got permission to buy a few peices of penny candy. With that, she skipped off to the candy counter to choose her treats. (For our younger readers, money was usually so tight that a trip to the penny candy counter was considered a rare treat by most kids.) She chose a handful of treats and walked out to the boardwalk (sidwalk) to await her parents.

As she stood outside the general store, she heard a little commotion and looked up to see the great Chief Quanah Parker riding through downtown, surrounded by his entourage of fierce-looking braves. Ruby stared at this awesome sight, her feet seemingly glued in place but with eyes eventually averted. Quanah Parker glanced over at the little girl standing outside the store and turned his horse to approach her. When the Chief dismounted in front of her, Ruby's only thought was that she was surely about to be scalped ! What she could not know is that the great chief had never seen red hair & freckles on a young girl before, and was seemingly fascinated with her appearance. As the townfolk looked on, not knowing quite what to expect, Quanah Parker gently reached down and patted the trembling Ruby on the head. "Pretty pink hair!", he exclaimed. With that, the most famous Native American of the day got right back on his horse and proceeded on his way through town.