One of His Most Notable Achievements: The Black Beaver/Col. W.H. Emory Trail

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by Kristine Schmucker. HCHM Curator

We continue with our focus on Historic Preservation and the people who established the trails, built the buildings, laid the railroad tracks and were pioneers in health care.

The Black Beaver/Col. W.H. Emory Trail

When asked to name a trail in Harvey County, most people immediately think of the Chisholm Trail. However, even the Chisholm Trail followed an older trail through Harvey County, the Black Beaver/Col. Emory Trail. The story behind the trail is part of  Kansas’ story at the very start of the Civil War. In 1861,  out of necessity a trail was created by two men, Black Beaver and Col. William Emory through the heart of what would become Harvey County.

Trail Blazers

Black Beaver: “Guide & Interpreter” 

Black Beaver, born in Belleville, Ill, 1806.

Black Beaver, the son of a Delaware chief known as Capt Patterson, was an experienced guide in 1861. Described as an unassuming man with a “roving disposition,” Black Beaver was frequently used as an interpreter and guide. In 1840,  Black Beaver served as a guide for an expedition organized by famed naturalist John Audubon. Throughout the 1830s, 40s and 50s, he worked for the American Fur Company as a scout and guide. He spoke eight Native American languages and was fluent in sign language in  addition to English, French, and Spanish.

One expedition led by Black Beaver as guide and interpreter included his friend Jesse Chisholm. The two men were guides for Col. Henry Dodge to the main village of the Wichita on North Fork of the Red River in the summer of 1834. During the Mexican/American war, “Captain Black Beaver” led a group of Indian scouts and American expeditionary forces.

Black Beaver was well respected and known for his truthfulness and honest dealings with everyone he met from military officers to the “wild Indians of the plains.”

Col. William H. Emory “Map Maker”

Called “Bold Emory” by his West Point 1831 graduating class, William H. Emory was born in Anne’s City, Maryland.  Although he was involved in the military in many ways, Col. Emory was best known for his mapmaking skills.  Early in his career, he surveyed harbors and the Delaware River. He was commissioned as a surveyor by the president to establish the Gadsden Purchase boundaries. By the start of the Civil War, due to his mapmaking skills with attention to detail and accuracy, Col. Emory was considered the authority of the trans-Mississippi west.

The Challenge – April 1861

In 1861, Col. William H. Emory was in a vulnerable position.  Tensions were high between southerners or secessionists and the Union north. Stationed at Fort Washita in Indian Territory, Emory, a Federal officer, was surrounded by secessionist states. In April 1861, he was forced to evacuate his troops after receiving reports of the advance of Confederate troops from Arkansas and Texas.  At Fort Cobb, Emory was able to move against a Confederate advance guard  under the leadership of William W. Averell. Emory was successful in part due to an advance warning from a Delaware scout, trader and rancher, Black Beaver. With the information provided by Black Beaver,  Emory was able to capture the first prisoners of the Civil War.

Following the battle, Col. Emory was responsible for “the largest concentration of federal troops in Indian Territory” which included:

“eleven companies, 750 fighting men, 150 women, children, teamsters and other non-combatants. . . about eighty wagons with about six hundred horses and mules.”

The challenge? To get to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas safely with his troops and the captured prisoners.  He needed to navigate through miles of open, uncharted prairie and territory occupied by Confederates and Indians.

Emory needed a knowledgeable guide. He turned to his friend, Black Beaver.

The Trail: “Without Map or Chart”

At the opening of the Civil War, Black Beaver, now in his 50s, was focused on ranching. However, Col.  Emory “appealed to Black Beaver as a guide in an effort to extricate . . . the garrisons.”  Black Beaver was reluctant to leave his successful farm with “considerable stock” a few miles from Ft Cobb. He feared without his presence, the farm would “fall into the hands of the enemy and be lost to him.” Emory promised “the government would fully recompense him for any losses.” So, he agreed.

Years later Black Beaver would note that

“one of his most notable achievements was that of piloting the garrisons of abandoned federal military posts in the Indian Territory out of the country to Fort Leavenworth, Ks at the outbreak of the Civil War.” 

They traveled over “300 miles, more than two thrids (sic) of which was a trackless wilderness, but Black Beaver was not at a loss.  . . .Without map or chart, straight as the crow flies, he laid his course and men still travel the route.” to Ft Leavenworth, Kansas.

Upon arriving at Leavenworth, Col. Emory noted everyone was in “good condition, not a man, an animal, an arm, or wagon . . .lost except two deserters.”

Black Beaver’s trail goes directly through present day Newton and Harvey County.

Where did the Trail go?

Ancient Native American Trails have been discovered all over the city of Newton. One runs just west of Main from 1st street to 10th street where it joins another trail leading to a spot near Sand Creek where several trails come together.  Other trails meet at a spot where the Ash Street Bridge is located today. Most of these trails remain unnamed or indicated on maps a “Indian Trail.”

The Black Beaver/Col. Emory Trail was a significant  north/south route through Sedgwick, Harvey and Marion Counties and pre-dates the Chisholm Trail. In fact, Black Beaver would later suggest this route to his friend Jesse Chisholm.

The Route In Harvey County

The trail enters Harvey County on S. Anderson Rd. Brian Stucky discovered a unique trail pattern while researching.  He identified seven pairs of wagon tracks sandwiched between two sets of Indian trails suggesting military wagons and equipment.

Detail of Black Beaver Trail through Newton, Ks. Courtesy Brian Stucky.

The main branch enters Newton south of the Newton Medical Center and crosses Walmart parking lot and interstate going north. There is a slight turn east near the Newton Country Club and continues north  past St. Mary’s and Greenwood Cemetery and Chisholm Middle School, continues north along Duncan street over 12th street  to Centennial Park.

The trail exits Harvey County at Spencer Rd and the Marion County line. This matches the historic documentation of the Black Beaver/Col Emory Trail.

Black Beaver/Col. Emory Trail through Harvey County

After the successful venture each man went on with their lives. Col. William Emory devoted 45 years to the military of the United States and died on December 1, 1887, in Washington, D.C.

Black Beaver returned to his ranch and discovered his fears had come true. “Turned His Face Toward Home” tells the rest of Black Beaver’s story.

A previous version of this post, “A Roving Disposition: Black Beaver” was published on December 20, 2019.

Sources

  • Thank you to Brian Stucky for the Pioneer Trails in the Newton Area Maps, 2013 and the related written guide. The maps, created by Brian Stucky, of the trails in Harvey County are available to study at the HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks.
  • Wichita Daily Eagle 17 September 1922. Written by Joseph B. Thoburn.
  • Pioneer & Indian Trails Map, Brian Stucky, HCHM Archives
  • Thoburn, Joseph Bradfield. A Standard History of Oklahoma: An Authentic Narrative of Its …, Volume 1.  The American Historical Society, 1916. Accessed via google books, p. 278-279.
  • Warde, Mary Jane. When the Wolf Came: The Civil War and the Indian Territory. University of Arkansas Press, 2013. Accessed via google books, p. 50-51.

Turned His Face Toward Home: Black Beaver

Posted on by hchm-curator

Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Part 2 of a 2 part Series on Black Beaver

“Turned His Face Toward Home“

Once the garrison was safely at Ft. Leavenworth, Black Beaver retraced his route toward Washita. South of the Arkansas River, “he met his panic stricken neighbors, the people of the tribes, who were seeking safety . . . from the invasion of their own country on the Washita by Texas troops.”

They carried sad news about Black Beavers own home. What he feared had occurred,“his farm had been laid waste, his home burned and his cattle and horses confiscated and driven away.“

In 1862, Black Beaver wrote a letter to the commissioner of Indian Affairs describing what happened.

“In the spring of 1861 General Emery requested me to guide his command and also the combined commands from Forts Smith, Cobb and Arbuckle to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . . I hesitated about leaving my stock until General Emery assured me that I should be paid by the United States for my losses, and on that representation I complied with his request and came with his command to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. . . When I visited my old place and found that my stock was killed some having been destroyed by the wild Indians and some by the Southern Army.” (U.S. Senate 1909, 13-14)

“What is Justly Due Him”

In 1872, Black Beaver filed a claim with the government for the property on the Washita River that had been destroyed by Confederates. The property was valued at $22,268. The commissioner on Indian Affairs recommended compensation of $5,000, which Black Beaver never received.

In response William G. Donna, Iowa and member of the committee on military affairs noted in his report:

“The command reached Leavenworth safety, and several officers certify to the great value of his services and his unflinching patriotism. . . . he is now over sixty years of age, too feeble to earn a livelihood and what is justly due him from the Government.”

Until his death in 1880, Black Beaver continued his efforts at securing compensation for the loss of his property while serving the United States. He never received the compensation promised to him by Col. Emory in the spring of 1861 despite being a“true friend to the army for many years.”

“Noted Delaware Leader”

An account of Black Beaver’s life appeared in the Wichita Daily Eagle 17 September 1922. Written by Joseph B. Thoburn, Secretary Oklahoma Historical Society, the story begins “not all great Indians were chiefs or even warriors.”  

Thoburn described Black Beaver’s early life as “extremely romantic,” as he traveled the “the unbroken wilderness of mountains, plain and prairie, he was schooled in the elements of resourcefulness and self reliance and became a  master of the lore of all that was wild and untamed.”

Black Beaver continued to be a part of history even in his senior years.  Described as a “noted Delaware leader,” he was involved with  the Medicine Lodge treaty negotiations in 1867 and attended inter-tribal councils throughout the 1870s.

He had three, perhaps four, wives and four daughters. Black Beaver converted to Christianity in 1867 and became a Baptist minister.  Black Beaver died May 8, 1880 at the age of  74. Initially buried near Anadarko, his remains were reinterred at Fort Sill in 1975.

Today, Black Beaver’s original grave site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NR 73002256).

Sources

  • Thoburn, Joseph B. Secretary Oklahoma Historical Society, Wichita Daily Eagle 17 September 1922
  • Ezzo, David A. & Mike Moskowitz, “Black Beaver,” 1998.
  • Hauptman, Laurence M. “Black Beaver: Delaware Hero of the Civil War” American Indian. Summer 2015/ Vol 2. No. 2. at https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/black-beaver-delaware-hero-civil-war
  • Jon D. May, “Black Beaver,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=BL001.

A Roving Disposition: Black Beaver

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Part 1 of 2 blog posts. Part 2

In 1861, Col. William H. Emory was in a vulnerable position.  Tensions were high between southerners or secessionists and the Union north. Stationed at Fort Washita in Indian Territory, Emory, a Federal officer, was surrounded by secessionist states. In April 1861, he was forced to evacuate his troops after receiving reports of the advance of Confederate troops from Arkansas and Texas.  At Fort Cobb, Emory was able to move against a Confederate advance guard  under the leadership of William W. Averell. Emory was successful in part due to an advance warning from a Delaware scout, trader and rancher, Black Beaver. With the information provided by Black Beaver,  Emory was able to capture the first prisoners of the Civil War.

Following the battle, Col. Emory was responsible for “the largest concentration of federal troops in Indian Territory” which included:

“eleven companies, 750 fighting men, 150 women, children, teamsters and other non-combatants. . . about eighty wagons with about six hundred horses and mules.”

The next challenge? To get to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas safely with his troops and the captured prisoners.  He needed to navigate through miles of open, uncharted prairie and  territory occupied by Confederates and Indians.

1856

Emory needed a knowledgeable guide. He turned to his friend, Black Beaver.

Black Beaver

In 1861, Black Beaver was in his 50s with a successful ranch near Fort Arbuckle,  but he was no stranger to exploring new country.

Born in Belleville, Ill in 1806, the son of a Delaware chief, Capt Patterson, Black Beaver served as a guide for several expeditions including one in 1840 with famed naturalist John Audubon. Throughout the 1830s,  40s and 50s, he worked for the American Fur Company  as a scout and guide. Described as an unassuming man with a “roving disposition” Black Beaver was frequently used as an interpreter. He spoke eight Indian languages, English, French, Spanish and was adept at Indian sign language.

Both Black Beaver and Jesse Chisholm were hired as interpreter and guide for an expedition under the command of Col. Henry Dodge to the main village of the Wichita on North Fork of the Red River in the summer of 1834. During the Mexican/American war, he led a group of Indian scouts and American expeditionary forces and became known as “Captain Black Beaver.”

He was known for his truthfulness and honest dealings with everyone he met from military officers to the “wild Indians of the plains.”

“Without Map or Chart”

At the opening of the Civil War, Black Beaver was focused on ranching. However, Col Emory “appealed to Black Beaver as a guide in an effort to extricate . . . the garrisons.”  Black Beaver was reluctant to leave his farm with “considerable stock” a few miles from Ft Cobb. He feared without his presence, the farm would “fall into the hands of the enemy and be lost to him.” Emory promised “the government would fully recompense him for any losses.” So, he agreed.

Years later  Black Beaver would note that

“one of his most notable achievements was that of piloting the garrisons of abandoned federal military posts in the Indian Territory out of the country to Fort Leavenworth, Ks at the outbreak of the Civil War.” 

They traveled over “300 miles, more than two thrids (sic) of which was a trackless wilderness, but Black Beaver was not at a loss.  . . .Without map or chart, straight as the crow flies, he laid his course and men still travel the route.” to Ft Leavenworth, Kansas.

Upon arriving at Leavenworth, Col. Emory noted everyone was in “good condition, not a man, an animal, an arm, or wagon . . .lost except two deserters.”

Black Beaver’s trail goes directly through present day Newton and Harvey County.

Indian Trails

Ancient Native American Trails have been discovered all over the city of Newton. One runs just west of Main from 1st street to 10th street where it joins another trail  leading to a spot near Sand Creek where several trails come together.  Other trails meet at a spot where the Ash Street Bridge is located today. Most of these trails remain unnamed or indicated on maps a “Indian Trail.”

The Black Beaver/Col. Emory Trail  was a significant  north/south route through Sedgwick, Harvey and Marion Counties and pre-dates the Chisholm Trail. In fact, Black Beaver would later suggest this route to his friend Jesse Chisholm.

Detail Black Beaver Trail through Harvey County. Courtesy Brian Stucky Entire map available for study at HCHM Archives.

The Route

The trail enters Harvey County on S. Anderson Rd. Brian Stucky discovered  a unique trail pattern to this ancient route.  He identified seven pairs of wagon tracks sandwiched between two sets of Indian trails suggesting military wagons and equipment.

The main branch enters Newton south of the Newton Medical Center and crosses Walmart parking lot and interstate going north. There is a slight turn east near the Newton Country Club and continues north  past St. Mary’s and Greenwood Cemetery and Chisholm Middle School, continues north along Duncan street over 12th street  to Centennial Park.

The trail exits Harvey County at Spencer Rd and the Marion County line.

Detail of Black Beaver Trail through Newton, Ks. Courtesy Brian Stucky.

The maps, created by Brian Stucky, of the trails in Harvey County  are available to study at the HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks.

Part 2 of this series on Black Beaver will focus on his return home.

Sources

  • Wichita Daily Eagle 17 September 1922. Written by Joseph B. Thoburn.
  • Pioneer & Indian Trails Map, Brian Stucky, HCHM Archives
  • Thoburn, Joseph Bradfield. A Standard History of Oklahoma: An Authentic Narrative of Its …, Volume 1.  The American Historical Society, 1916. Accessed via google books, p. 278-279.
  • Warde, Mary Jane. When the Wolf Came: The Civil War and the Indian Territory. University of Arkansas Press, 2013. Accessed via google books, p. 50-51.