The Story of "Indian Bill"

        Along the banks of the Scioto River is a monument that does not quite fit within the urban environment that surrounds it. It is about 9 ft tall, in the shape of pyramid and is made completely out of granite boulders. Odd as the monument was, I had to pull over and get a better look. The monument is known locally as the granite teepee and it was erected in honor of a man that few outside the immediate area knew much about. The man’s name is Bill Moose Crowfoot and he was a Wyandot Indian. His life’s story reads more like a highlight reel than a complete history but the emotion that his passing caused tells us that Bill was more than just the average citizen. Bill was to say the least, unique. Bill Moose Crowfoot was the last full blooded Wyandot Indian to live in the Northwest Territory.

Bill’s Herritage

        The settlement of the Northwest Territory played host to some of the most bloody a fiercely contested battles in early American history. None more fiercely contested than those fought against the Native American inhabitants of what is now the states of Ohio and Indiana. For nearly a century members of the Wyandot tribe actively opposed American expansion. Members of their tribe fought with the British during the revolution, the Northwest Indian Wars and the War of 1812 but as was the case for many tribes the effort to stop encroaching settlers was futile.

        Shortly after the battles for the Northwest Territory started Native Americans began to join forces in an effort to try and stop the encroachment of the white man into the Ohio Valley. This loose alliance of tribes was known as the Western Confederacy of Indian Tribes and Bill’s Wyandot tribe was one of the founding members.The Wyandot Indians were known as fierce warriors who were experts with a bow and arrow.It has been said that they were just as accurate shooting an arrow from a charging horse as they were standing on level ground and in the early stages of the war the Wyandot’s were useful allies within the Confederacy. It was not until the Confederacy's devastating defeat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers that tribes like the Wyandot started questioning their ability to defeat the invading American army.

        After the Battle of Falling Timbers the Wyandot tribe split into two different factions with two opposing ideologies about how to survive the ever expanding American settler. One faction lead by Chief Leather lips saw assimilation and peace as a means to survive, while the other faction chose to follow Chief Roundhead and join Tecumseh in continuing the resistance. History tells us that neither strategy worked for very long.

        Bill Moose’s family followed the advice of Chief Leather lips and chose compromise and peace rather than to continue to fight a seemingly invisible foe. However, the peace and compromise eventually gave way to the needs of the American nation. As treaties and boundaries became more and more restrictive to the needs of American expansion, Native American tribes found themselves forced to renegotiate terms. By the time the 1830 Indian Removal Act had been signed into law the tide had already turned on most of the native inhabitants of the Northwest Territory and by 1843 every tribe living within the territory was forced to give up their land and travel west towards the government established Indian reservations.

The Ohio Wyandot tribe was assigned to the Oklahoma Indian Reservation. For most tribal families this is where the history of their homeland ends and their history on the reservation begins but to my surprise Bill’s family history was different.  Bill’s family was one of twelve families that refused to leave Ohio and took up residency near present day Dublin, Ohio.

What Is Known About Bill Moose ?  
                              

Born on Sept. 9 1837, assimilation and the presence of a European culture was all that Bill Moose had known. By the time of his birth Chief Tecumseh and Roundhead had already failed in their bid to regain the territory given up by his forefathers and Bill’s family was more a novelty to days gone by, than a threat to western expansion.

It is believed that Bill first learned to read and write from the traveling missionaries who would occasionally drop by his family’s settlement. At the age of sixteen Bill was sent to live with a Christian family in Pennsylvania. It was there that he was taught carpentry, plumbing, and wood carving. Bill never stayed away from his Ohio homeland for too long and within a few years Bill returned to Ohio utilizing the skills he had learned in Pennsylvania. Once back in Ohio, Bill found odd jobs working as a handyman for local famers and shop keepers but even though he was said to have been a skilled craftsman who could read and write he showed little desire to fully assimilate into the western culture.  Bill instead chose to live in a small hand built cabin near the Scioto River.  He often worked for free and he either hunted, planted or fished for his food. Bill was known to trade wild game he had killed for blankets and clothing but otherwise he seemed to be content to live a meager lifestyle. 

In 1878 Bill was hired by the Sells Brothers Circus as an Indian rider in their Wild West show.To Bill the idea of riding around on horses all day was an easy way to make a living and something that came naturally to him.[4] It was at this time that Bill received his stereotypical headdress and Indian garb. Bill was told that the outfit was how the audience expected an Indian to look. Not one to fuss over trivial things, even those that were ignorant of his culture; Bill dawned the outfit and played the part for the cheering crowds. Always the showman Bill even dressed in full ceremonial clothing complete with headdress for local tourists and passer-bys who stopped by for a picture with the real life Wyandot Indian.[5]

         For 9 years and in nearly every state in the country, the man known as “Indian Bill” amazed audiences with his acts of equestrian marksmanship. After returning from the circus Bill became somewhat of  local attraction and the non-official ambassador for his people. The shining example of old world customs mixed with new world experiences.

        At the age of 78 Bill found himself once again standing on the banks of the Scioto River but as an old man who had outlived his family, his tribe and his bloodline. After seeing the places that Bill saw and living the life of an entertainer, one could understand if Bill returned home a changed man but that was not the case. Upon his return to Ohio Bill moved back to his one room shack that had become a playhouse of sorts for the local children and began to live his life in the same manner he did prior to his stint in the Circus. The only real change in his life style was the town folk and tourists who would occasionally stop by to get a glimpse of him. Bill was said to have been soft spoken, respectful, and always willing to discuss his native heritage with anyone who stopped by for a visit. Bill would spend his free time making trinkets to share with his visitors or taking pictures with passer-bys. In his life Bill had seen his tribe dwindle and move away. Those who did not move, he saw buried in a hilltop cemetery alongside his own mother and father.I found no one who had anything harsh to say about Bill. He truly seemed to be a man who became a respected part of a foreign community while remaining true to his own heritage.

        Bill Moose Crowfoot died two months short of a century at his home on the banks of the Scioto River.He was a good man, a friend to many and the last full blooded Wyandot Indian to live in the Northwest Territory.

        Bill is buried near his mother and father on what is now called “Wyandot Hill” outside of present day Columbus Ohio.

        In his long life Bill had made many friends and few enemies. His funeral was reportedly attended by no less than twenty thousand people. A monument known as the “Granite Tepee” was erected on the banks of the Scioto River in his honor. Those who knew Bill well remember him as a simple man who would often be found walking along the Scioto, blanket and gun in hand. Bill once said that he preferred the serenity of sleeping outdoors to the four walls of a bedroom. This post is written out of respect for a man who faced immense personal hardship in a time of incredible change, all the while finding peace and balance while living in a culture foreign to his own.

[1] Ohio History Central. Wyandot Indians. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Wyandot_Indians.
[2] Wilhelm, Carol. "‘Indian Bill’ fascinated many." This Week News. Mar. 28, 2014. http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/olentangy/news/2014/03/25/history-today-indian-bill-fascinated-many.html.
[3] Bill Moose, c. 1920. Nov 19, 2013, Retrieved from the Upper Arlington Archives. http://www.uaarchives.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4036coll10/id/343.
[4] Tebben, Gerald. "City mourns Bill Moose, the last of the Wyandots." The Columbus Dispatch, July 12, 2012
[5] Thompson, Jim, and Roger Perry. "document-8280_OBJ.tif." Worthington Memory. 2012. http://www.worthingtonmemory.org/sites/default/files/documents/document-122209.pdf.