Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-06-01
BILLY BENT.
A Romantic Story of a White Boy
Found Among the Indians.

"A ROmantIc SIOEy OI WhlLe hOy
Found Among the Indians.
From the Helena (NIontana) Gazette, May Is.
There is a romance connected with the
young man whose name heads this article,
who was one of the party accompanying
A. J. Simmons down the Missouri to treat
with the hostile Indians, and who went as
an Indian interpreter. As the painful story
of the ruthless murder of the party as re-
lated in our paper yesterday has not been
contradicted, and as young Bent was an en-
ploye in the Gazette Office, and known to
many of our citizens, we presume the fol-
lowing will not be uninteresting to our
readers;
Early in the fall of 1868 a boy of about
eighteen years of age, clad in buckskin, sun
burnt and Weatherbeaten, entered the
Gazette job office and asked for employ
ment, stating that he knew nothing about
the printing business, never saw printing
Office before, but was willing to make him
self useful, as he was ''hard up and wanted
to stay in white settlement long enough
to earn the price Of horse, rife and OUTFIT"
The boy, despite his greasy buck skin suit,
and tanned and weather beaten appear
ance, had a bright, handsome and intelIi-
gent countenance, and employment was
given to him in the Office, where he worked
faithfully until spring opened, when he quit
his situation, purchased a horse, blankets,
rife and accoUtrements, and babe us all
goodbye, stating that he was going back to
his tribe; since which time we have never
heard of him until connected with the story
Of the massacre of A. J. Simmons and
party. Bent was white boy but knew
nothing of his parents. He was brought
up by old Col Bent, of Fort Bent, on the
Arkansas river, who purchased him from
the Cheyennes. All that young Bent knew
Of his history was what the Cheyennes re-
lated to Col. Bent, on his purchase, which
was to the effect that during the California
emigration across the plains, a train was at
tackled by band Of Cheyennes, land the whole
party was butchered with the excep-
ton of Billy, who was then a sucking IN
FAINT, and he was cared for and brought I'D
by the Indians who captured him, and
taken with them through all their wander
ings, from the Arkansas river to the Red
river of the North, and when purchased by
Col. Bent he fully believed he was an In
dian, and could speak no other language
but the Indian dialect. Billy was taught the
English and French languages and to read
and write at Fort Bent; but his rowing
disposition led him, when able 10 handle a
rifle aud ride cayuse, to desert his bene-
factor and seek his old haunts among the
Indians. We never could learn why he
left the Indians and came to Helena, but
from hints surmised that a fatal quarrel
between himself and one of the Young In
dams, in which Billy got the best of it, and
had TO fee the camp. Young Bent was
natural artist, and often, on the cold win
ter nights of 1868, while sitting around the
stove of the Gazette posing-room. wonId
the young barbarian take a pencil and
sketch from memory any mountain scene
it would be our pleasure to ask for
Among those scenes, he has given us aeon
rate sketches of the falls of the Y elowstope
the Upper Falls of Missouri, Longs Peak
Pixies Peak and some of the won
ders of the Yellowstone which are
now part of our geographical knowledge,
but at that time were only regarded Ly us
as visionary sketches of the boy. He stated
that the squaw taught him how to paint
rude figures of birds and animals upon
robes, but one day be found case of PEN
ellis and Hudson Bay receipt book, and on
each was a picture of female. He had
never seen anything like it before, and
having learned the use of the pen
els be soon learned to draw a face smile
of the cut, and from practice soon became a
frst-class sketcher, as related above. Poor