Scull returns to Austin and later becomes a general with the Union army. Call and McCrae find Scull going insane in a pit, but the rescue is soon enough to allow Scull to mostly recover. Meanwhile, Ahumado has been bitten by a brown recluse spider, and goes South to die. Realizing they will not be able to even gather the cattle, let alone persuade King to sell them, Call and McCrae set out to try to rescue Scull on their own terms, leaving the rest of their troop behind. The Rangers go to Lonesome Dove in search of cattleman Captain King. Governor Pease sends the Rangers out once again, to collect the cattle and exchange the herd for Scull. Ahumado sends word to Austin that he will return Scull for a ransom of one thousand cattle. Scull handles the cage so well that Ahumado has him taken down, and has his henchman Goyeto cut off his eyelids. Pearl and Long Bill are unable to recover emotionally, and Long Bill hangs himself. The Rangers turn back to Austin as soon as they hear of the raid there. Maggie, having been prepared by Call, hides under a smokehouse, thus escaping the Comanches' notice. They burn much of Austin, killing Clara's parents and ravaging fellow Ranger Long Bill Coleman's wife, Pearl.

While they are on this mission, Comanche chief Buffalo Hump leads his nation on the warpath. Prompted by Scull's insistent and promiscuous wife Inez, Governor Pease sends Call and McCrae out in charge of another typically small Ranger troop to rescue Captain Scull. Call learns that his lover, the reluctant whore Maggie Tilton, is pregnant with his child. Having returned to Austin, McCrae learns that his beloved Clara Forsythe intends to marry his rival, horse trader Bob Allen (though she is not married yet, as Scull's wife had led McCrae to believe). Scull is soon captured by Ahumado, and placed in a cage, where he is supposed to die slowly. Scull finds the unconscious Kicking Wolf being dragged by the horse, and cuts the Comanche's bonds, which allows Kicking Wolf to survive and return to his tribe. Ahumado intends to impose a slow death on Three Birds, but Three Birds throws himself off a cliff. Ahumado ties Kicking Wolf up to be dragged away by a horse, and takes Kicking Wolf's companion, Three Birds, prisoner. Scull, promoting McCrae and Call to Captains and instructing them to lead the Ranger troop back to Austin, sets off on foot after Kicking Wolf, accompanied only by the Kickapoo tracker Famous Shoes. This bold Indian steals Hector, Scull's famous horse, and takes it to the Sierra Perdida to give to the notorious Mexican bandit Ahumado, feared for the horrible tortures that he inflicts upon his victims. Texas Governor Elisha Pease sends a small troop of Texas Rangers, under the leadership of Captain Inish Scull, to the Llano Estacado in pursuit of the celebrated Comanche horse thief, Kicking Wolf. At times the dialog is contemporary and comic-bookish, but the content rings true.In this bridge novel between McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk and Lonesome Dove, Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae are in their middle years, still serving as respected Texas Rangers. The humanity of Native Americans and of settlers and soldiers is a recurring theme as Quanah negotiates the swiftly-changing currents of life in the 19th century. Artist and author Jackson provides a panoramic background to this epic tale with his grasp of historical fact and legend. The facts of Quanah’s life are ably illustrated, and the panels make quick reading. His vision quest brings him the lucky totem of the white buffalo. Like Charles Stuart, Quanah survives in exile. The story is his, as he loses his parents and is taken in by the ruthless Quohada band who rule the Staked Plains.

She gives birth to Quanah, who grows up to be a skilled horseman and hunter. The true story of Cynthia’s evolution into “Naduah” and her marriage to the warrior Peta Nacuna shows that a person’s inner being can endure, adapt and thrive in a different environment. Comanches are the fiercest tribe to attack white settlers, but among themselves they are affectionate, humorous, and protective of their culture. They raise the blond, blue-eyed girl as one of their own. The picture narrative begins in 1836, when Comanches capture Cynthia Ann Parker in Texas.

Comanche moon