Boonville has reason to be proud of native son James Willard Schultz.
Schultz was born Aug. 26, 1859, in Boonville, and grew up to become a nationally-famous explorer, historian and author of 37 books. And, as a “Brother to the Blackfeet,” he also became known by his Indian name, “Apikuni.”
Schultz’s parents were wealthy, and his father made sure he learned to camp and hunt at an early age, with frequent trips to the Adirondacks.
More about this enterprising young man, from Wikipedia and other sources:
He attended West Point, but was asked not to come back after he set off a cannon during graduation in his junior year.
Schultz moved to Montana as a young man. In 1879, at the age of 19, he married Natahki, or “Fine Shield Woman,” a 15-year-old girl who was a member of the Blackfeet tribe. They had a son they named “Lone Wolf,” who grew up to become an artist. Natahki died in 1903.
In 1880, at the age of 21, Schultz set up a trading post in Montana, and later a second one, trading furs and other necessities with the Indians and settlers. He traded with the Cree, Pikuni and other native tribes.
After a few years, he moved to an area that is now Glacier National Park, and began working as a hunting guide and outfitter.
In 1885, he wrote an article about the area, and sent it to Forest and Stream magazine. It was to be the first of many articles Schultz wrote which were published by the magazine.
The magazine’s editor, George Bird Grinnell, became interested in both Schultz and the area about which he wrote. He hired Schultz to be his hunting guide on a trip there. After Grinnell killed a ram with a single shot, Schultz decided to name the mountain where it happened “Singleshot.” Over the next several years, Schultz continued naming mountains and other geographical features after himself, his friends and customers and traditional Native American names -- among them, Grinnell Lake, Grinnell Mountain, Apikuni Falls and Apikuni Mountain.
Schultz continued writing articles for Grinnell’s magazine for 15 years. The year 1902 found Schultz working as the literary editor of the Los Angeles Times.
In 1907, at the age of 48, Schultz wrote his first book, “My Life as an Indian.”It relates the story of his life with the Pikuni tribe of the Blackfeet. He married Celia Hawkins, from Highland Park, Ill., and the couple returned to Schultz’s life with the Indians.
He continued to write books about life with the Indians, and in the wilderness.
He visited Arizona, and helped in the excavation and restoration of pueblo ruins there.
In 1911, Houghton Mifflin began publishing Schultz’s other books — a total of 37 fiction and non-fiction works about the Blackfoot, Kootenai and Flathead Indians. Critics praised his tales for their story telling and their information about Indian history and culture.
In 1914 Schultz and his wife took up residence in what was called the Butterfly Lodge, in the mountains near Greer, Arizona, east of Phoenix. For the approximately 20 years Schultz and his wife Celia were married, Schultz wrote most of his books, and used the cabin as a vacation home.
The cabin is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, houses a museum, and often hosts weddings and other celebrations.
But in 1928, Celia left Schultz and he eventually married another woman, Jessica Louise Donaldson. She had a master’s degree, and taught English at Montana State College. She shared Schultz’s interest in Native Americans.
But all of Schultz’s years working as a guide in Montana began to affect his health in the final 30 years of his life. He had infections in his lung and heart, and suffered a spinal cord injury. In 1942, he broke his leg and arm, and two years later he broke his hip. He had difficulty concentrating and had to cut back on his writing.
He moved to an Indian reservation in Wyoming, and there he died of a heart attack on June 11, 1947, at the age of 88. He was buried on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, in the family plot near his first wife.
This column was written for the Rome Historical Society by Chip Twellman Haley, retired Daily Sentinel news editor. Comments, old photos, suggestions for future columns or guest columns may be emailed to: chiphaley@yahoo.com. Copies of the books “Rome Through Our History, Volumes I and II,” collections of some of Haley’s columns, may be purchased at the Rome Historical Society.
The Rome Historical Society, 200 Church St., is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Go online at https://ift.tt/2NCH7l2, visit their Facebook page, or call 336-5870 for more information.
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Boonville native became author, explorer, historian - Rome Sentinel
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