Introducing 2009 Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductee…
James Willard Schultz (1859-1947)
James Willard Schultz (right) and his sone Hart M. Schultz, an artist known as Lone Wolf – (Lone Wolf lived until 1970.) There are probably grandchildren or great grandchildren somewhere.)
James Willard Schultz lived in and wrote about the northwestern portion of Montana now included within the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park. In 1877, at the age of 18, he traveled from his birthplace in Boonville, New York to Fort Benton, Montana Territory. He became interested in American Indians, and lived for many years with the Blackfeet Indians as an accepted member of their nation. Drawing upon his experiences on the western frontier he later wrote thrilling and colorful books and articles to make his living as an author. His success was notable in his own time, and many of his books remain in print. (from MSU Library web site, special collections)
The following is from the Missoulian’s 100 Most Influential Montanans
By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
Lured by the dream to hunt buffalo, native New Yorker James Willard Schultz packed his bags and followed his wanderlust west to the high plains of Montana.
The year was 1876, and the 17-year-old was quickly swept into the ever-changing tide of Montana's frontier – a wild and woolly frontier he would capture forever in numerous books and stories as it waned with the rise of technology.
Schultz landed a job at the Fort Conrad Trading Post, which evidently was not the life, or the adventure, he had traveled across the country to experience. Soon, he was living outside the fort's wall with the Blackfeet. Soon after that, he married a young woman from the Piegan tribe and was given the Piegan name Apikuni, meaning "Far-off White Robe." Allegiance to the Piegans was so strong that Schultz even participated in raids against other tribes.
In 1885, naturalist George Bird Grinnell read an article Schultz had written and then asked Schultz to guide him through the wilds of what is now known as Glacier National Park. That trip inspired Grinnell to crusade for the preservation of the lakes, rivers and peaks in the northwestern corner of the state, which have become our crown jewels.
Many peaks in the park were named by Grinnell, with Schultz's help. One mountain in the park's northern reaches is named Apikuni mountain, after Schultz's Piegan name.Schultz died in 1947 at the age of 88. He left behind more than 30 written works, including the popular books, "My Life As An Indian," and "Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park."
