How did a Comanche Indian acquire such a keen interest in Jews?
Yeagley: Jews and Indians have one obvious thing in common. We both know what it means to face genocide. In 1867, General William Tecumseh Sherman said of the Indians, “the more we can kill this year, the less will have to be killed the next war. For the more I see of these Indians the more convinced am I that they have all to be killed or maintained as a species of paupers.” Such sentiments were widespread in the late 19th century. Frontier journalist L. Frank Baum – best known as the author of the 1900 classic The Wizard of Oz — commented in 1890, “the best safety of the frontier settlements will be secured by the total annihilation of the few remaining Indians.” The terror of those years is still fresh for Indians. The fear of extinction runs deep in our souls. Jews are the only other people in the world whose experience enables them to appreciate this kind of fear. I think many Indians are curious about Jews for that reason. I had a better opportunity than most Indians to satisfy
