Baishan (Apache)

Baishan
Black Knife, painting by John Mix Stanley, 1846.[1]
Tribe	Chiricahua Apache
Born	c. 1816
Died	1850 or 1857 (?)
Nickname(s)	Black Knife, Cuchillo Negro, Knife
Known for	Chief lieutenant of Mangas Coloradas

Baishan, Spanish name Cuchillo Negro (Black Knife) (c. 1816 – May 24, 1857), was a Chihenne (Mimbres) Apache chieftain, of the Warm Springs Apache Band during the 1830s to 1850s.

Life

Baishan (“Knife”), was a respected leader among the eastern Chiricahua bands and a leader of the southern Warm Springs local group of the Chihenne band. His name was translated by the Mexicans as Cuchillo (“Knife”) or - because of the Apache practice of blackening their weapons to make them less conspicuous - as Cuchillo Negro (“Black Knife”). He was a chief lieutenant of Mangas Coloradas. Cuchillo Negro's name is mentioned in military and civilian records of treaties and other dealings with Apaches during the early years of U.S. jurisdiction over the New Mexico Territory. The U. S. Army claims he was killed in the Black Range by Pueblo scouts, under Col. William W. Loring, during the Bonneville Expedition in 1857.^[2] However, the Fort Sill Apache, Chiricahua - Warm Springs Apache website says he "Died in the revenge raid on Ramos (1850)."^[3]

Legacy

Several geological features in Sierra County, New Mexico bear his name: Cuchillo Negro Mountains, Cuchillo Negro Creek, and the town of Cuchillo, New Mexico.^{[4] [5]}

A painting of Cuchillo Negro on horseback was done by John Mix Stanley in 1846. The painting hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It measures 42 1/2 x 52 in. (107.8 x 132.1 cm).^[1] Since Apaches traditionally did not wear feathers in this way there is some doubt the artist ever saw his subject.

Black Knife appears as a character in a 2011 science fiction film, Cowboys & Aliens.

References