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The original drawing of Owl Woman by Abert (1845).

Owl Woman

By Monika Vischer
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The Fort was Bent’s — but the force that made it trusted ground was Owl Woman’s. Mestaa'ėhehe, or Owl Woman, was the daughter of a Cheyenne leader. She married William Bent soon after he built a trading post on the Santa Fe Trail in the 1830s. Near present day La Junta, Bent’s Fort was a crossroads. Tribes, trappers and soldiers came from all directions. Bent and Owl Woman welcomed them, and under their combined influence and oversight, the outpost became known for honest dealing. While trade flowed inside the Forts, Owl Woman preferred living outside, in a more spacious and more traditional Cheyenne lodge where she raised their children. Owl Woman died in 1847; two years later, Bent’s Fort was deserted. But it was reconstructed in 1976, informed by hundreds of letters written by George Bent, son of Owl Woman.

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