page_title: Owl Woman
section_title: William Bent and the Santa Fe trail
hierarchical_section_title: Owl Woman / Background / William Bent and the Santa Fe trail
caption_attribution_description: English: 1845 Santa Fe Trail
context_page_description: Owl Woman was a Cheyenne princess. She was a daughter of White Thunder, a well-respected medicine man of the Cheyenne tribe. She was married to an Anglo-American trader named William Bent, with whom she had four children. Owl Woman was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame for her role in managing relations between Native American tribes and the Anglo-American men.
context_section_description: William Bent, a white trader from St Louis, came to the Arkansas River region towards the end of the 1820s.  By around 1832, although possibly as late as 1834, a permanent trading post called Bent's Fort, which was a substantial adobe construction capable of accommodating 200 people, had been built on the northern "Mountain Route" of the Santa Fe Trail and was open for business. The location of this building was determined after discussions with the Cheyenne and was not far from La Junta, near to land occupied by the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes. It became an important center of trade, principally in buffalo robes but also in numerous other goods, including horses and mules. The fort was operated in partnership with his brother, Charles, and Ceran St Vrain, a fur trader who had already established significant trading contacts in New Mexico. Sometimes referred to as Fort William, it was in "the perfect place at the perfect time" for someone looking to make money from trading and, for example, a gallon of brandy bought in St Louis for US$2 could be sold at the fort for US$25.
  Hyde has dated the moment that White Thunder realized a common interest with Bent. In November 1833 they talked together as a meteor shower lit up the sky over the plains. Many Cheyenne who were gathered with them believed that this celestial event was a signal of the end of the world and it was subsequently referred to as "the Night the Stars Fell". White Thunder saw it as a new beginning and sought both a truce with the Pawnees and the return of the Sacred Arrows of the Cheyenne which had been captured by the Pawnee during a battle. Partially successful, he returned from his solo, unarmed visit to the Pawnee village with two of the arrows and an agreement for peace. He also realized that a formal marital alliance with Bent, and in particular the children that would result from such a relationship, would represent another element of the new beginning, of peace for the Cheyenne and indeed the region.
  Bent had already learned the language of the Cheyenne and he was known as Little White Man by the native tribes. He and his brothers had been given native names upon their first meeting with Cheyenne in the area, which had been a convivial occasion during which their respect for the Cheyenne protocols had set a firm base for their future development of the fort and trading.
caption: 1845 Santa Fe Trail and native tribal lands
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