Old Solitaire | My Sixty Years On The Plains

Before he became known as Old Bill Williams, the gaunt and scarred Mountain Man was a Methodist preacher who attempted to bring the gospel to the Osage people. Bill lived among the Osage, married into the tribe, helped them negotiate a treaty, and even translated the Bible into their language. It’s said, however, that it was the Osage who ultimately ended up converting Williams. Sadly, Bill’s Osage wife passed away and he pressed further west to the Rockies, becoming a free trapper and trader (as well as a prolific horse thief). Often known as “Old Solitaire”, Williams rode with the likes of Jed Smith, Kit Carson, and Joseph R. Walker and scouted for both Bonneville and Fremont. And, according to rumors, Bill would do whatever it took to survive, including dining on human flesh during starving times. Luck would have it that Bill Williams was also the mentor of William T. Hamilton. In this installment, young Hamilton joins the Lakota in an attempt the retrieve horses stolen by the Pawnee and in doing so has his first taste of combat on the Great Plains. Also discussed are coup sticks, the act of counting coup, competing traders, and encounters with the Arapaho and the Crow.    Part 1 of My Sixty Years On The Plains - https://www.wildwestextra.com/sixty-years-on-the-plains-wt-hamilton/   Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wildwest   Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/   Join Patreon for ad-free and bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra   Merchandise! https://www.teepublic.com/user/wild-west-extravaganza   Book Recommendations! https://www.amazon.com/shop/wildwestextravaganza/list/YEHGNY7KFAU7?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d   My Sixty Years On The Plains by W. T. Hamilton - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1695768930?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzjoshta02-20&creativeASIN=1695768930&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.YEHGNY7KFAU7&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ons_d_asin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices