Black Beaver
Encyclopedia
Black Beaver or Suck-tum-mah-kway (1806—1880) was a Delaware
trapper, scout, and interpreter who became a chief, and later a wealthy rancher in present-day Anadarko, Oklahoma
. He is credited with establishing the California and Chisholm trails. At the beginning of the American Civil War
, he guided hundreds of Union troops and a long wagon train to escape much larger Confederate forces, and over 500 miles of Indian Territory
to safety in Kansas. None of the party or their animals or wagons were lost.
, near St. Louis
, where many Lenape had migrated after the Revolutionary War from their traditional territory along the Delaware River
in the mid-Atlantic states. Black Beaver began trapping and trading beaver pelts as a teenager for the American Fur Company
of John Jacob Astor
.
When Captain Randolph B. Marcy
escorted the first 500 emigrants from Fort Smith
, Arkansas to Santa Fe
during the gold rush
days of 1849, he engaged Black Beaver as his guide. On the way back, Black Beaver, anxious to return home, took a shortcut across the prairie that reduced the two-month trip to two weeks. Thousands of future emigrants followed his California Trail west. After that he settled near Fort Arbuckle
, in south-central Oklahoma, becoming chief of a Lenape village called Beaverstown.
In his 1859 guide book The Prairie Traveler, Marcy wrote that Black Beaver
By 1860 Black Beaver was the wealthiest and most well-known Lenape in America. He had settled in present-day Caddo County, Oklahoma
and lived at Anadarko
, where the Lenape had been removed. In May 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War
, General William H. Emory
, stationed at Fort Arbuckle
, learned that 6,000 Confederate troops were advancing toward him from Texas and Arkansas. He gathered the soldiers from forts Washita, Cobb and Arbuckle near Minco, but to escape to Kansas across the open prairie he needed a guide.
Other Indian guides turned him down for fear of reprisal by the Confederates. Emory guaranteed Black Beaver the government would reimburse him for any losses, so he agreed to help. He scouted the approaching Confederate troops and provided information for Emory to capture their advance guard, who became the first prisoners captured during the Civil War. Black Beaver guided over 800 Union soldiers, their prisoners, and 200 teamsters managing 80 wagons and 600 horses and mules in a mile-long train across 500 miles of open prairie to safety at Fort Leavenworth
in eastern Kansas without the loss of a single man, horse or wagon.
The Confederate Army destroyed Black Beaver’s ranch and placed a bounty on his head; he stayed in Kansas for the rest of the war. His losses were never fully compensated by the United States government.
returned and converted part of the Native American path used by the Union Army into what became the Chisholm Trail
. They collected and herded thousands of stray Texas longhorn cattle by the Trail to railheads in Kansas, from where the cattle were shipped East, where beef sold for ten times the price in the West. Black Beaver resettled at Anadarko, where he built the first brick home in the area. He had 300 acres of fenced and cultivated land as well as cattle, hogs and horses.
. In addition, he was the first inductee in the American Indian Hall of Fame in Anadarko, Oklahoma
, which is located on part of his former ranch.
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
trapper, scout, and interpreter who became a chief, and later a wealthy rancher in present-day Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...
. He is credited with establishing the California and Chisholm trails. At the beginning of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he guided hundreds of Union troops and a long wagon train to escape much larger Confederate forces, and over 500 miles of Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
to safety in Kansas. None of the party or their animals or wagons were lost.
Trapper and guide
He was born in 1806 in present-day Belleville, IllinoisBelleville, Illinois
Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...
, near St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where many Lenape had migrated after the Revolutionary War from their traditional territory along the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
in the mid-Atlantic states. Black Beaver began trapping and trading beaver pelts as a teenager for the American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
of John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
.
Interpreter and scout
Black Beaver learned to speak fluent English, French, and Spanish, in addition to his native Lenape and about eight other American Indian languages; he used sign language to communicate with tribes whose language he did not know. His skills became invaluable to white settlers and military expeditions. He served the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition of 1834, and during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), led a unit of Indian volunteers as a captain in the U.S. Army.When Captain Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph Barnes Marcy was a career officer in the United States Army, achieving the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in 1881. Although beginning in 1861 his responsibilities were those of a brigadier general, the U.S...
escorted the first 500 emigrants from Fort Smith
Fort Smith
Fort Smith is the name of several locations:* Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada* Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States* Fort Smith National Historic Site, in Fort Smith, Arkansas...
, Arkansas to Santa Fe
Santa Fe
Santa Fe or Santa Fé may refer to:-Places:*Argentina**Santa Fe, Argentina, a city in Argentina**Santa Fe Province, a province of Argentina*Bolivia**Santa Fé , Bolivia...
during the gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
days of 1849, he engaged Black Beaver as his guide. On the way back, Black Beaver, anxious to return home, took a shortcut across the prairie that reduced the two-month trip to two weeks. Thousands of future emigrants followed his California Trail west. After that he settled near Fort Arbuckle
Fort Arbuckle
Not to be confused with Old Fort Arbuckle , a site in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.Fort Arbuckle was a United States military fort near Hoover, Oklahoma....
, in south-central Oklahoma, becoming chief of a Lenape village called Beaverstown.
In his 1859 guide book The Prairie Traveler, Marcy wrote that Black Beaver
“had visited nearly every point of interest within the limits of our unsettled territory. He had set his traps and spread his blanket upon the head waters of the Missouri and Columbia; and his wanderings had led him south to the Colorado and Gila, and thence to the shores of the Pacific in Southern California. His life had been that of a veritable cosmopolite, filled with scenes of intense and startling interest, bold and reckless adventure. He was with me two seasons in the capacity of guide, and I always found him perfectly reliable, brave, and competent. His reputation as a resolute, determined, and fearless warrior did not admit of question, yet I have never seen a man who wore his laurels with less vanity. The truth is my friend Beaver was one of those few heroes who never sounded his own trumpet; yet no one that knows him ever presumed to question his courage."
By 1860 Black Beaver was the wealthiest and most well-known Lenape in America. He had settled in present-day Caddo County, Oklahoma
Caddo County, Oklahoma
Caddo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 30,150. Its county seat is Anadarko. It is named after the Caddo tribe who were settled here on the 1870s...
and lived at Anadarko
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...
, where the Lenape had been removed. In May 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, General William H. Emory
William H. Emory
William Hemsley Emory was an United States Army officer and surveyor of Texas.-Early life and career:...
, stationed at Fort Arbuckle
Fort Arbuckle
Not to be confused with Old Fort Arbuckle , a site in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.Fort Arbuckle was a United States military fort near Hoover, Oklahoma....
, learned that 6,000 Confederate troops were advancing toward him from Texas and Arkansas. He gathered the soldiers from forts Washita, Cobb and Arbuckle near Minco, but to escape to Kansas across the open prairie he needed a guide.
Other Indian guides turned him down for fear of reprisal by the Confederates. Emory guaranteed Black Beaver the government would reimburse him for any losses, so he agreed to help. He scouted the approaching Confederate troops and provided information for Emory to capture their advance guard, who became the first prisoners captured during the Civil War. Black Beaver guided over 800 Union soldiers, their prisoners, and 200 teamsters managing 80 wagons and 600 horses and mules in a mile-long train across 500 miles of open prairie to safety at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
in eastern Kansas without the loss of a single man, horse or wagon.
The Confederate Army destroyed Black Beaver’s ranch and placed a bounty on his head; he stayed in Kansas for the rest of the war. His losses were never fully compensated by the United States government.
Rancher
After the war, Black Beaver and his friend Jesse ChisholmJesse Chisholm
Jesse Chisholm was an Indian trader, guide, and interpreter, born in the Hiwassee region of Tennessee, probably in 1805 or 1806. He is chiefly famous for being the namesake to the Chisholm Trail, which ranchers used to drive their cattle to eastern markets. Chisholm had built a number of trading...
returned and converted part of the Native American path used by the Union Army into what became the Chisholm Trail
Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The portion of the trail marked by Jesse Chisholm went from his southern trading post near the Red River, to his northern trading post near Kansas City, Kansas...
. They collected and herded thousands of stray Texas longhorn cattle by the Trail to railheads in Kansas, from where the cattle were shipped East, where beef sold for ten times the price in the West. Black Beaver resettled at Anadarko, where he built the first brick home in the area. He had 300 acres of fenced and cultivated land as well as cattle, hogs and horses.
Death and legacy
He died at his home on May 8, 1880, and was buried on his ranch. In 1976 his grave was moved to Fort Sill, but his former ranch site has been listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. In addition, he was the first inductee in the American Indian Hall of Fame in Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...
, which is located on part of his former ranch.
Further reading
- Carolyn Thomas Foreman, "Black Beaver," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 24 (August 1946).
- Grant Foreman, Advancing the Frontier, 1830-1860 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1933).
- Grant Foreman, Marcy and the Gold Seekers: The Journal of Captain R. B. Marcy, with an Account of the Gold Rush Over the Southern Route (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1939).
- Laurence M. Hauptman, Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995).