Baishan (Apache)

For other uses, see Baishan (disambiguation).

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, or as he was called by the Mexicans, Cuchillo Negro, was a respected leader among the southern Chiricahua tribes. 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.

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.^[1]

A painting of Cuchillo Negro on horseback, was done by John Mix Stanley in 1846. Since Apaches traditionally did not wear feathers there is some doubt the artist ever saw his subject. The painting hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

References

1. ^ Robert Hixson Julyan, The place names of New Mexico, Univercity of New Mexico Press, 1996, p.41, 103