Sheltowee is the name Daniel Boone was given by Chief Black Fish leader of the Chillicothe, a Tribal member of the Shawnee Nation, when Boone was captured by the warring tribe. You probably recognize the name Chief Black Fish as his entire stature, along with Daniel Boone's, adorns the reverse of one of the United States Silver Commemorative Half Dollars, right? Chief Black Fish is the Anglicanized name of the war chief. His name in his native (Chillicothe) tongue is Cot-ta-wa-ma-go and in Shawnee it's Mkah-day-way-may-qua. Daniel Boone's Chillicothe name of Sheltowee translates to the English equivalent of Big Turtle. When the Shawnees were defeated by Virginia in Dunmore's War in 1774, the resulting peace treaty made the Ohio River the boundary between western Virginia (what is now Kentucky and West Virginia and American Indian lands in the Ohio Country. Although this treaty was agreed to by the Shawnee Nation leaders such as Cornstalk, Blackfish and a number of other tribal leaders refused to acknowledge the loss of their traditional hunting grounds in Kentucky. Violence along the border escalated with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. As a result, the Chillicothe moved their village on the Sciota River further west to the Little Miami River, near what is now Xenia, Ohio. Encouraged and supplied by British officials in Detroit, Michigan, Blackfish and others launched raids against American settlers in Kentucky, hoping to drive them out of the region. In revenge for the murder of Cornstalk by American militiamen in November 1777, Blackfish set out on an unexpected winter raid in Kentucky, capturing American frontiersman Daniel Boone and a number of others on the Licking River on February 7, 1778. Boone, respected by the Shawnees for his extraordinary hunting skills, was taken back to Chillicothe, adopted into the tribe and given the name Sheltowee. Boone escaped in June 1778 when he learned that Blackfish was launching a siege on the Kentucky settlement of Boonesborough, Kentucky, which commenced in September of that year. The siege of Boonesborough was unsuccessful, and the Kentuckians, led by Colonel John Bowman, counterattacked the Chillicothe the following spring. This raid was also unsuccessful, but Blackfish was shot in the leg, a wound which became infected eventually leading to his death. Here's the photo of the US commemorative Half Dollar featuring Boone and Chief Black Fish on its reverse (courtesy of Coin Page): http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-8227.html Thought you might like to know... Clinker
If memory serves, Blackfish adopted Boone as his son, replacing a "blood" son who was lost in battle. This was an accepted practice among the Shawnee. I enjoyed the info Clinker.....
To green18 Black Fishes' adoption of Boone has never been proved and is still regarded as a rumor by most historians, however here's a bit of history most people don't know about Boone: When Boone initiated his escape he was aided by settlers and individual Native-Americans living in an area which is now known as Mansfield, Indiana. They agreed to help Boone make good his escape if he helped them build a grist mill. The mill still stands today. The old wooden dam has been replaced by a concrete one. When you stand by the water wheel you can still see remnants of the old wooden dam Boone helped the settlers build. The town of Mansfield is a ghost town, but some of the original buildings have been repaired. The General Store, with its old gas pumps, is open year 'round. About one-half mile downriver is one of the finest covered bridges I have ever seen. Yes, its red! The buildings are about 200 yards downriver from the dam with half of each building anchored on the bank and the rear half of each building situated atop some wooden support beams. Mansfield is one of the stops the annual Rock and Covered Bridge Festival buses make. During the festival, Mansfield operates a big Flea Market attracting visitors from around the globe. Vendors set up booths inside an old red barn that is directly across from the mill. All of the original buildings were rented out and open. The last time I visited Mansfield (1968, the mill was still in operation and allowed visitors to purchase small (5 lb. and 10 lb) bags of real stone ground flour. Tex Terry (resident and retired cowboy movie star) sold packages of his famous cattle drive chili. He set up an authentic chuck wagon 7 foot high iron tripod in his front lawn which supported a big iron pot which the tripod held suspended over a wood fire. The festival is held in October. Clinker
Yes, very interesting indeed. Thanks Clinker! Back in 1997&1998 when I traveled Eastern KY in my first job, one of my favorite overnight spots was in Cumberland Gap, TN. This town was located in a little valley that bordered Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. Very historical town as Daniel Boone allegidly left his signiture in one of the rocks or something like that. It was a very quaint and nicely restored little old town....really nothing more than a few walking blocks. Your story brought back some of those memories. Thanks.
Wonderful read. Thank you. I believe Sheltowee was "Big Turtle".......and aka Boone. Unlike my relative (perhaps) Blue Jacket. One of the most powerful Shawnees....who may have not been a Shawnee. But I do have some of the pipestone from around there. It was used as barter. Nice to know my old swimming hole, the Scioto, made it onto this board I think Blue Jacket "captured" Sheltowee twice? Maybe I'm thinking of Simone Kenton....it was soooo long ago. 8^)
Similarly Sam Houston of later Texas fame lived amongst the Cherokee in Tennessee early in his life. I cannot recall what his name was in Cherokee, but do recall that it translated out to "old drunk". At any rate they must have made a favourable impression because he gave a lot of them refuge in the Republic of Texas during the "Trail of Tears".
To Dok U. Mint: Hey... It's so nice to hear from you. A big T H A N K S for sharing your heritage with us. Clinker
To Saor Alba: Thanks for adding to this post. Maybe I should write a TRIVIA on Sam Houston or Texas or "old drunk" or all of them... Clinker
He was a remarkable individual and definitely ties into numismatics with his signatures or copies thereof that are on the Republic of Texas notes.
