Black Beaver or ''Se-ket-tu-may-qua'' (1806–1880, Lenape, or ''Delaware'') was a trapper and interpreter who worked for the American Fur Company. He served as a scout and guide as he was fluent in English, as well as several European and Native American languages. He is credited with establishing the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and Chisholm trails. After working as a scout, he settled among his people in the village of Beaverstown in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

, where they had been relocated in the 1830s.May, Jon D
"Black Beaver (1806—1880)."
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. (retrieved 19 July 2011) At the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, he guided hundreds of Union troops and their long wagon train from Fort Arbuckle in Indian Territory to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, to escape much larger Confederate forces. They had to travel more than 500 miles through Indian Territory to reach safety. None of the party or their animals or wagons was lost. Confederates destroyed Black Beaver's ranch, but after the war, he eventually resettled in Indian Territory. He became a wealthy rancher in present-day Anadarko, Oklahoma. His former ranch site has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Trapper and guide

Black Beaver was born in 1806 into a Lenape family living in the area of present-day Belleville, western Illinois. This was east of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Many Lenape had migrated here after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

from their traditional territory along the Delaware River and coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic states. As a youth, Black Beaver began trapping and trading beaver pelts for the American Fur Company of

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by History of opium in China, smuggl ...

, as the fur trade was still an important industry.

Interpreter and scout

Known to his own people as ''Se-ket-tu-may-qua,'' the young man became fluent in English, French, and Spanish, in addition to his native Lenape and about eight other American Indian languages. He used the common trade sign language to communicate with tribes whose language he did not know. His skills were invaluable to the many white settlers and military expeditions that were traveling west. He served the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition of 1834 and, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

(1846–1848), led a unit of Indian volunteers as a captain in the U.S. Army. When Captain Randolph B. Marcy escorted the first 500 emigrants from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Santa Fe during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

days of 1849, he engaged Black Beaver as his guide. On his return, Black Beaver took a shortcut across the prairie that reduced the two-month trip to two weeks. Thousands of emigrants followed this route to the west; it became known as the California Trail. After that Black Beaver settled near Fort Arbuckle, in south-central Indian Territory. He became chief of a Lenape village called Beaverstown. During 1849, 1852 and 1854, Black Beaver guided Randolph B. Marcy's exploration expeditions throughout Texas. 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."Black Beaver"
in ''Randolph B. Marcy: The Prairie Traveler.'' (retrieved 19 July 2011)

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. The Lenape had been relocated here from east of the Mississippi by the federal government during Indian Removal . In May 1861, with the outbreak of the

, General

William H. Emory William Hemsley Emory (September 7, 1811 – December 1, 1887) was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer in the 19th century. As an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers he specialized in mapping the United State ...

, stationed at Fort Arbuckle, learned that 6,000 Confederate troops were advancing toward his forces 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. In addition, members of the "

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by European Americans in the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek ...

": the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

, Creek and other slaveholding tribes, had allied with the Confederates, who promised them an Indian state if they won the war. Emory guaranteed Black Beaver that the federal 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 were the first prisoners captured during the Civil War. Black Beaver guided more than 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 () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

in eastern Kansas; he did not lose a single man, horse or wagon. He also freed multiple slaves from each of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Confederate Army and allied Native American warriors destroyed Black Beaver’s ranch and placed a bounty on his head. He stayed in

until after the end of the war, when he returned to rebuild in Indian Territory. The United States government never fully compensated him for his losses.

Rancher

After the war, Black Beaver and his friend

Jesse Chisholm Jesse Chisholm (''circa ''1805 - March 4, 1868) (Cherokee) was a Cherokee fur trader and merchant in the American West. He is known for having scouted and developed what became known as the Chisholm Trail, later used to drive cattle from Texas to ...

returned and developed part of the Native American path used by the Union Army into what became known as 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. The Chisholm Trail was used by other cowboys to drive millions of cattle to Kansas for shipment to the East. 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.Note: Jenny says they collected 3 million stray cattle, but since a contemporary account in the ''Handbook of Texas Online'' reports a total of 5 million cattle were shipped over the trail during its entire use, the Jenny account appears to be based on an incorrect source.

Death and legacy

Black Beaver died at his home on May 8, 1880, and was buried on his ranch. In 1976 he was reinterred in a military cemetery at Fort Sill, in recognition of his contributions to the Union during the Civil War. His former ranch site has been listed on the

. Black Beaver was the first inductee in the American Indian Hall of Fame, located in Anadarko on part of his former ranch lands.Jenny, Walter, Jr. "Black Beaver’s Oklahoma legacy should not be forgotten"
''The Edmond Sun''. 2 July 2007 (retrieved 19 July 2011) Se-ket-tu-may-qua is the name of a character in Mary Kathryn Nagle's play, '' Manahatta''. His image was used in the set of the

Yale Repertory Theater Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

production of the show.

Notes

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