Grey Foot

Herman Asenap (Grey Foot) was a respected tribal leader. He was a skilled interpreter for the Post Oak Mission and the U.S. Indian Service. He shared that his father was a Mexican captive who was believed taken as a young child in the mid-1860's. Herman's mother was a full blood Kwahada Comanche named Tahchockah who was born around 1858.

Similar in a way to the history of Herman Asenap's father, the remarkable Comanche elder Herkeyah (Carrying Her Sunshade) was captured as a young girl in old Mexico. She had also lived an incredible and fascinating life as a Comanche captive and Comanche woman.

With regard to Herkeyah's memory of an intense encounter between Herman's mother Tahchockah and the Tonkawas, she recounted that his mother was running away from several Tonkawa scouts who were in high pursuit of her. In the tail of her horse, Tahchockah effectively tied a knot and drove her horse into the water. As the Tonkawas were closing in, she held strongly onto the tail and made her way safely across the flooded creek. The encounter is very much indicative of the strength and character of Comanche women.

Amazing picture entitled "Two Comanche Women and a small child" by George Addison, ca. 1890-1895. Photograph courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri.