On this date in 1936, the Bismarck Tribune reported the passing of William Zahn at Fort Yates. Zahn was a colorful character in North Dakota history, a Native trader, interpreter, and former Army scout who accompanied Custer's expedition to the Black Hills in 1874. After returning, he quit the Army to marry Pretty Woman, sister of Chief John Grass. They had three sons. Pretty Woman died in 1886.
At 17, Zahn left his Indiana farm to enlist. In 1869, he came to the Grand River Indian Agency in South Dakota with a regiment of soldiers. On July 4, 1873, a detachment of 26 soldiers, including Zahn, helped establish what’s now Fort Yates and the Standing Rock Indian Agency. The new post was first known as Standing Rock but later renamed for Captain George Yates, who died at the Little Bighorn.
In 1873, soldiers at Grand River moved to Fort Abraham Lincoln. Zahn was next assigned to the Stanley expedition, escorting surveyors for the railroad project to the Yellowstone River.
William Zahn was reportedly the first white settler along the Cannonball River. He ran a trading post at his cabin on the Standing Rock Reservation and worked as a freighter between Bismarck and the Black Hills during the gold rush. The Tribune noted, "He became a close friend of many famous Natives including Sitting Bull, Rain-in-the-Face, and Red Tomahawk."
Zahn came into their midst as an enemy soldier and stayed for more than 69 years as a neighbor, friend, and counselor. Always friendly, he showed the Natives how to plow with oxen, plant potatoes, and take up other white farming practices.
In 1893, Zahn acted as interpreter at the Sitting Bull cabin at the World’s Fair in Chicago, where Rain-in-the-Face appeared alongside Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Zahn later married Josephine, daughter of Chief Flying Cloud. One of their children, Frank Zahn, professionally known as Chief Flying Cloud, graduated from Carlisle Indian School, served in WWI as an interpreter, and became Chief Judge of the Court of Indian Offenses. He was also a movie actor, artist, columnist, and violinist, profiled in Extraordinary North Dakotans by Erling Nicolai Rolfsrud.
Among William Zahn’s notable descendants is actor Zahn McClarnon, who plays Joe Leaphorn on the TV series Dark Winds.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- Erling Nicolai Rolfsrud, Extraordinary North Dakotans.
- Nebraska State Historical Society, William Presley Zahn. https://history.nebraska.gov/collection_section/william-presley-zahn-rg3130-am/
- Curt Eriksmoen, InForum, July 23, 2017
- Zahn McClarnon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahn_McClarnon
- SANTA FE Magazine undated https://santafemagazine.co/article/zahn-at-home/Zahn at Home
