Frank Joshua North (10 March 1840 – 15 March 1885), was an American interpreter, United States Army officer and politician. He is most well known for organizing and leading the

Pawnee Scouts Pawnee Scouts were employed by the United States Army in the latter half of the 19th century. Like other groups of Indian scouts, Pawnee men were recruited in large numbers to aid in the ongoing conflicts between settlers and the Native Americans ...

from 1865 to 1877. His brother Luther H. North also led the Scouts.

Early life

Frank Joshua North was born in Manhattan, New York on March 10, 1840. He had an older brother James E. North, born in Ohio, where their parents Thomas J. and Jane E. North had moved from their native Tompkins County, New York. His parents returned to Ohio, where his brother Luther H. North was born, followed by two younger sisters. In 1856, at the age of 16, Frank moved to Nebraska and worked as a transporter, moving goods between Omaha, Nebraska and Fort Kearny. During this time, North made contact with the Pawnee Indians, befriended them and learned the Pawnee language. In 1860, North was working as a clerk and interpreter at the Pawnee Agency trading post in

Genoa, Nebraska Genoa ''(pron. je NO uh)'' is a city in Nance County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,003 at the 2010 census. The city was founded by Mormons in 1857. In the fall of 1859, the Mormon Colony was forced to abandon Genoa when the town ...

Military

In 1864, Major General

Samuel R. Curtis Samuel Ryan Curtis (February 3, 1805 – December 26, 1866) was an American military officer and one of the first Republicans elected to Congress. He was most famous for his role as a Union Army general in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the ...

approached North to have him organize a company of Pawnee scouts to serve in the Union army. In 1865, he organized Company A of the

, and was appointed the rank of First Lieutenant and then Captain. While commanding the scouts, Captain North fought at Crazy Woman's Fork, participated in the Powder River Massacre, and fought in the Battle of Tongue River, all of which took place in August 1865 in Dakota Territory. On July 11, 1869, he fought with his scouts at the Battle of Summit Springs in Colorado Territory. After the battle, North claimed to have shot and killed the Cheyenne chief

Tall Bull Tall Bull (1830 - July 11, 1869) (''Hotóa'ôxháa'êstaestse'') was a chief of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers. Of Cheyenne and Lakota parentage, like some of the other Dog Soldiers by that time, he identified as Cheyenne.Hyde 1968, p. 339. He was sho ...

. He also participated in the Dull Knife Fight on November 25, 1876. Frank North was promoted to the rank of major and mustered out of the Army in 1877.

Later life

Frank North served one term in the Nebraska State Legislature from 1871 to 1872. He was then a ranching partner with

William F. Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

in a cattle ranch in western Nebraska on the

Dismal River The Dismal River is a winding U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 30, 2011 river in the state of Nebraska. It is formed by the confluence of two forks, one of which h ...

. He disposed of his interest in 1882, and then joined

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

's Wild West as manager of the American Indians. He sustained serious injuries (including seven broken ribs) in a horse accident in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

in 1884. As a result of his injuries and the following illness, Frank Joshua North died on March 15, 1885, in Columbus, Platte County, Nebraska. In 1958, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North, Frank Pawnee People from Nance County, Nebraska 1885 deaths 1840 births Ranchers from Nebraska