William Bent
Born in St. Louis in 1809 to a Missouri Supreme Court Justice, William Bent had an ear for foreign languages, learning to speak French, Sioux, Indian Sign Language, and Spanish.
In 1829, Bent helped his brother take a wagon train of trade goods down the Santa Fe Trail. The Bent brothers and their friend Ceran St. Vrain journeyed to the Arkansas Valley, where they discovered booming trade between Santa Fe and St. Louis. As a result, the Bents and St. Vrain formed a partnership and built a fort to trade with the Indians and westward-bound travelers. It was there the Bents met Yellow Wolf, a Cheyenne Chief, and other Indian leaders who helped them choose a location for a new fort. In 1853, Bent supervised the construction of the new fort, now known as Bent’s Old Fort, a trading spot for trappers, Indians, and traders along the Santa Fe Trail.
Bent’s Fort provided shelter and sanctuary for emigrants, trappers, miners, explorers, soldiers, and adventurers. During this time, Bent developed a deep insight into the Indian character and became a liaison to the Cheyenne Indians, continuously negotiating relationships with other tribes to maintain peace.
On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington planned to destroy the Cheyenne’s Sand Creek Reservation, an Indian encampment led by Chief Black Kettle. Chivington prevented Bent from warning the Cheyenne leader and forced his son to guide him to the site. This massacre of more than two hundred men, women, and children turned William Bent’s world upside down. Not only had his son been an unwilling accomplice to the tragedy, but Bent’s three other children had been living in the encampment and were killed. His heart broken, Bent moved to Westport, Kansas, where he died in 1869.
In 1829, Bent helped his brother take a wagon train of trade goods down the Santa Fe Trail. The Bent brothers and their friend Ceran St. Vrain journeyed to the Arkansas Valley, where they discovered booming trade between Santa Fe and St. Louis. As a result, the Bents and St. Vrain formed a partnership and built a fort to trade with the Indians and westward-bound travelers. It was there the Bents met Yellow Wolf, a Cheyenne Chief, and other Indian leaders who helped them choose a location for a new fort. In 1853, Bent supervised the construction of the new fort, now known as Bent’s Old Fort, a trading spot for trappers, Indians, and traders along the Santa Fe Trail.
Bent’s Fort provided shelter and sanctuary for emigrants, trappers, miners, explorers, soldiers, and adventurers. During this time, Bent developed a deep insight into the Indian character and became a liaison to the Cheyenne Indians, continuously negotiating relationships with other tribes to maintain peace.
On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington planned to destroy the Cheyenne’s Sand Creek Reservation, an Indian encampment led by Chief Black Kettle. Chivington prevented Bent from warning the Cheyenne leader and forced his son to guide him to the site. This massacre of more than two hundred men, women, and children turned William Bent’s world upside down. Not only had his son been an unwilling accomplice to the tragedy, but Bent’s three other children had been living in the encampment and were killed. His heart broken, Bent moved to Westport, Kansas, where he died in 1869.