Herman Lehmann
Herman Lehmann lived with two American Indian tribes in his years of captivity, first the Apache who captured him, and later the Comanche after killing an Apache in an act of vengeance. Born in Texas, Herman was about eleven years old when he and his younger brother were captured by an Apache raiding party. While they were taking their prisoners back to their village, the Apache convinced young Herman that the remainder of his family had been killed in the raid.
With his family dead Herman had little reason to escape, and remained with the Apache for the next six years, known to the Apache as White Boy. During this time he participates in several battles against American troops and Texas Rangers, as well as raids on settlements to capture livestock, horses, and hostages. In 1876 his mentor and chieftain was killed by an Apache medicine man and Herman, after killing the medicine man, fled to avoid the vengeance of other Apache warriors.
For somewhere between a year and a year and a half, Herman lived alone in the wilderness before aligning himself with a roving band of Comanche. The suspicious Comanche at first marked Herman for torture and killing before he managed to explain his history, which was confirmed by other members of the group.
Herman was with the Comanche when their chieftain, Quanah Parker, agreed with the US Government that the tribe would be relocated to the Fort Sill Kiowa-Comanche Reservation. At first refusing to go, Herman eventually settled there with Quanah Parker’s family, and was there when he was identified by the US Army and returned to his surviving family in 1878. He was initially unhappy living with his family and white civilization, refusing to sleep except on a floor or outdoors, and hesitant to tell of his experiences with both tribes.
He considered himself to be an Indian, saying, “I was an Indian, and I did not like them because they were palefaces,” in reference to his mother and family. Eventually he wrote and later issued a second edition of an autobiography which was entitled Nine Years Among the Indians. He died in 1932.