RG0741.AM: George Pfouts Belden, 1844-1871
Brownville, Nemaha County, Neb.: Soldier, hunter, trapper, guide
Size: 1 item on 1 reel of microfilm
George P. Belden was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio in 1844. He ran away from his Ohio home sometime between 1855 and 1857, and settled in Brownville, Nebraska Territory. During the Civil War, Belden served in the 1st Nebraska Infantry, the 1st Nebraska Veteran Cavalry Volunteers, and the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry, rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He later received a Lieutenant's commission in the regular army and held assignments at Ft. Phil Kearney, Dakota Territory, Ft. D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory and Ft. McPherson, Nebraska Territory. He was court-martialed in 1869 and cashiered on November 4, 1869. He died in 1871, either the murder victim of an Unkpapa Sioux or of a half-breed with whom he had quarreled.
Belden, as a hunter, trapper, and guide, lived among the Plains Indians. His experiences are chronicled in Belden, The White Chief; or Twelve Years Among the Wild Indians of the Plains, available in the Nebraska State Historical Society Library. Photographs are available in the photo component of this collection (RG0741.PH).
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one volume of manuscript material on one reel of microfilm. Entitled "Dictionary of the Snake, Crow, and Sioux," this material was compiled by Lt. George P. Belden while he served with the U.S. 2nd Cavalry at Ft. Phil Kearney, Dakota Territory. Belden's Dictionary includes a profile map of the road from Ft. Smith to Ft. Phil Kearney which shows the Crow and the English names for the waterways shown; a listing of Indian names with their English translations and an explanation of their meaning; translations of numerals and colors; and a semi-alphabetical listing of English words and their translation into Snake, Crow, and Sioux.
This microfilm was purchased from the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1961.
Note: Photographs are available in the photo component of the collection (RG0741.PH).
- Dictionary, 1868
Belden, George Pfouts, 1844-1871
Crow Indians -- Language
Dakota Territory -- Maps
Indians of North America -- Language
Siouian Indians -- Language
Snake Indians -- Language
04-17-2007 Revised TMM/tmm
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