[1] Santa Anna was a member of the Penateka division of the Comanche tribe in the same area as the war chiefs Buffalo Hump and Yellow Wolf.
Santa Anna, "a large, fine-looking man with an affable and lively countenance," rose to prominence in the years following the Texas Revolution.
Santa Anna advocated armed and bitter resistance to the white invasion of the Comancheria and gained prominence in San Antonio in 1840.
[1] Though tracing his direct involvement with any sort of precision is today impossible, Santa Anna probably took part in the raids on Linnville and Victoria in 1840, and may have been present at the Battle of Plum Creek.
In the latter part of 1845, though, he was convinced to attend treaty negotiations conducted by United States officials, where he was first exposed to the true numbers and weaponry of the Whites.
[Old Owl] the political chief, was a small, old man who in his dirty cotton jacket looked undistinguished, and only his diplomatic crafty face marked him.
With his long, straight black hair hanging down, he sat there with the earnest (to the European almost apathetic) expression of countenance of the North American savage.