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Big Timbers is a wooded
Seasonally the Cheyenne that camped at Bent's Old Fort moved down the Arkansas River from their camp to Big Timbers. Alongside the Arkansas River for Big Timbers was a prime location for hunting buffalo, a major source of food for the Cheyenne. The tribe also lived on roots and berries. Big Timbers was their desired camp site in the winter, due to the relatively mild weather.
According to Hyde, William Bent's wife, Owl Woman and her children traveled with her tribe to Big Timbers during the winter months and were at the fort itself during the summer. During the Cheyenne's winter visit to Big Timbers, Bent accompanied his family with goods for trading. At Big Timbers, Bent lived in accordance with Cheyenne customs which was a more casual, unstructured way of life. His life at Bent's Fort was somewhat structured with William having a leadership role.Halaas, David Fridtjof; Masich, Andrew Edward (2004)
Halfbreed: the remarkable true story of George Bent
Da Capo Press. p. 62
Big Timbers is a wooded riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...
area in Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
along both banks of the Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United S ...
that is famous as a campsite for native American tribes and travelers on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail.
Description
The Spanish knew this area as ''La Casa de Palo'' or the House of Wood, because wood was scarce along the banks of the Arkansas River except for that specific area. Cottonwood was the primary type of timber found there. It known by its Spanish name followingJuan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding ...
's defeat of Cuerno Verde and the parties signed a peace treaty there in 1785–1786. At its greatest extent, Big Timbers may have stretched from the mouth of the Purgatoire to the present-day Kansas-Colorado border, a distance of
Winter camping ground
Seasonally the Cheyenne that camped at Bent's Old Fort moved down the Arkansas River from their camp to Big Timbers. Alongside the Arkansas River for Big Timbers was a prime location for hunting buffalo, a major source of food for the Cheyenne. The tribe also lived on roots and berries. Big Timbers was their desired camp site in the winter, due to the relatively mild weather.
According to Hyde, William Bent's wife, Owl Woman and her children traveled with her tribe to Big Timbers during the winter months and were at the fort itself during the summer. During the Cheyenne's winter visit to Big Timbers, Bent accompanied his family with goods for trading. At Big Timbers, Bent lived in accordance with Cheyenne customs which was a more casual, unstructured way of life. His life at Bent's Fort was somewhat structured with William having a leadership role.Halaas, David Fridtjof; Masich, Andrew Edward (2004)Halfbreed: the remarkable true story of George Bent
Da Capo Press. p. 62
Trading
A favorite camping ground for the Cheyenne and Arapaho, William Bent locatedBent's New Fort
Bent's New Fort was a historic fort and trading post along the banks of the Arkansas River in what is now Bent County, Colorado, about nine miles west of Lamar, on the Mountain Route branch of the Santa Fe Trail. William Bent operated a trading ...
near Big Timbers and present-day Lamar to trade with the Native Americans. Alexander Barclay and William Tharp also traded at Big Timbers.
Notes
References
{{Reflist Geography of Prowers County, Colorado Santa Fe Trail Native American history of Colorado Cheyenne tribe Arapaho