5th oldest person in the United States at 138 years old
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune obituary says Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce (variously known as Kay-bah-nung-we-way, Sloughing Flesh, Wrinkled Meat or plain old — well, really old — John Smith) was reputed to be 137 years old when he died. Whatever his precise age, his well-lined face indicates a man who led a long and full life. He had eight wives, but no children. He fought, he fished, he counseled, he rode horses and trains, he appeared in moving pictures, he sold postcards. In a 1971 interview, an Ojibwe named Paul Buffalo shared his memories of the man he knew as "Grandpa John." Here's the Tribune obituary, which appeared on page one with a two-column photo of Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce:
137-Year-Old Chippewa Indian Dies in North Minnesota Home
Oldest Man in Country Was Active Until Week Before Death.
Cass Lake, Minn., Feb. 6 – Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce, also known as John Smith, a Chippewa Indian reputed to be 137 years old, died here today after a week's illness with pneumonia.
Smith, whose Indian name means "Wrinkled meat," had been very active in late years. A year ago he became totally blind, but his mind remained clear to the last, and he often recalled the days when he was a scout for the Chippewas in the wars with the Sioux. He also remembered events of the war of 1812. One of his boasts was that he had never fought against the white man.
Up to four years ago he had never visited a big city. His first trip of this kind was to the Twin Cities. Later he visited the Automobile show at Chicago.
A year and a half ago he returned to the north woods of Minnesota to spend his time fishing for sturgeon in Lake of the Woods, in the same waters that he fished more than a century ago.
Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce had been married eight times. He had no children and the only survivor is Tom Smith, an adopted son at whose home he died.
The "old Indian," as he was generally known among the white people, was active until six months ago, since which time he had not been seen outside his adopted son's house. Before that time he had made it a practice to meet all trains entering the village and offer postal cards for sale.
He claimed to have met the Schoolcraft and Cass exploration party which passed through here about 100 years ago, and recalled the changing of the name of the lake, then known as Red Cedar Lake, to Cass Lake, in honor of one of the leaders of the expeditions.
Two years ago he took the central part in moving pictures taken of Indians, called the "Recollections of Ga-be-nah-gewn-wonce," which have been exhibited all over the Untied States.
Soon after the prohibition was put into effect, some bootleggers sold "Old Indian" what they claimed to be a quart of whisky, but which proved to be water. "Old Indian" did not say anything, but three years later the same bootleggers purchased a hind quarter of "venison" from him. This turned out to be a portion of an old horse which had just died.
To illustrate his vitality, it is related that seven years ago, when 130 years of age, "Old Indian" was knocked down by a switch engine, while crossing the railroad tracks. His injuries confined him to a hospital for only three weeks after which he suffered no ill effects.
Pagan rites will be omitted at the funeral of John Smith. He will be buried from the Catholic church here, which he joined about eight years ago.
∼Chief John Smith lived his entire life in the Cass Lake area of Minnesota, and was reputed to have been 137 years old when he died of pneumonia. He was known as "The Old Indian" to the local white people. He had eight wives and no children, except for an adopted son, named Tom Smith.
Local photographers, notably including C.N. Christensen of Cass Lake, used him as a model for numerous stylized images of Ojibwe life, which were widely distributed as cabinet photos and postcards. Smith would carry cartes de visite of himself, selling them to visitors. He was known to travel for free on the trains running through the Reservation, selling his photo to passengers, and becoming something of an attraction or celebrity.[2]
Smith converted to Catholicism in about 1914, and is buried in the Catholic section of Pine Grove Cemetery in Cass Lake.
The exact age of John Smith at the time of his death has been a subject of controversy. Federal Commissioner of Indian Enrollment Ransom J. Powell argued that "it was disease and not age that made him look the way he did"[2] and remarked that according to records he was 88 years old. Paul Buffalo, who had met Smith when a small boy, said he had repeatedly heard the old man state that he was "seven or eight", "eight or nine" and "ten years old" when the "stars fell"[2] in the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Local historian Carl Zapffe writes:
"Birthdates of Indians of the 19th Century had generally been determined by the Government in relation to the awe-inspiring shower of meteorites that burned through the American skies just before dawn on 13 November 1833, scaring the daylights out of civilized and uncivilized peoples alike. Obviously it was the end of the world. . . .".[3]
This estimate tied to the Leonids implies the oldest possible age of John Smith at just under 100 years at the time of his death.
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune obituary says Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce (variously known as Kay-bah-nung-we-way, Sloughing Flesh, Wrinkled Meat or plain old — well, really old — John Smith) was reputed to be 137 years old when he died. Whatever his precise age, his well-lined face indicates a man who led a long and full life. He had eight wives, but no children. He fought, he fished, he counseled, he rode horses and trains, he appeared in moving pictures, he sold postcards. In a 1971 interview, an Ojibwe named Paul Buffalo shared his memories of the man he knew as "Grandpa John." Here's the Tribune obituary, which appeared on page one with a two-column photo of Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce:
137-Year-Old Chippewa Indian Dies in North Minnesota Home
Oldest Man in Country Was Active Until Week Before Death.
Cass Lake, Minn., Feb. 6 – Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce, also known as John Smith, a Chippewa Indian reputed to be 137 years old, died here today after a week's illness with pneumonia.
Smith, whose Indian name means "Wrinkled meat," had been very active in late years. A year ago he became totally blind, but his mind remained clear to the last, and he often recalled the days when he was a scout for the Chippewas in the wars with the Sioux. He also remembered events of the war of 1812. One of his boasts was that he had never fought against the white man.
Up to four years ago he had never visited a big city. His first trip of this kind was to the Twin Cities. Later he visited the Automobile show at Chicago.
A year and a half ago he returned to the north woods of Minnesota to spend his time fishing for sturgeon in Lake of the Woods, in the same waters that he fished more than a century ago.
Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce had been married eight times. He had no children and the only survivor is Tom Smith, an adopted son at whose home he died.
The "old Indian," as he was generally known among the white people, was active until six months ago, since which time he had not been seen outside his adopted son's house. Before that time he had made it a practice to meet all trains entering the village and offer postal cards for sale.
He claimed to have met the Schoolcraft and Cass exploration party which passed through here about 100 years ago, and recalled the changing of the name of the lake, then known as Red Cedar Lake, to Cass Lake, in honor of one of the leaders of the expeditions.
Two years ago he took the central part in moving pictures taken of Indians, called the "Recollections of Ga-be-nah-gewn-wonce," which have been exhibited all over the Untied States.
Soon after the prohibition was put into effect, some bootleggers sold "Old Indian" what they claimed to be a quart of whisky, but which proved to be water. "Old Indian" did not say anything, but three years later the same bootleggers purchased a hind quarter of "venison" from him. This turned out to be a portion of an old horse which had just died.
To illustrate his vitality, it is related that seven years ago, when 130 years of age, "Old Indian" was knocked down by a switch engine, while crossing the railroad tracks. His injuries confined him to a hospital for only three weeks after which he suffered no ill effects.
Pagan rites will be omitted at the funeral of John Smith. He will be buried from the Catholic church here, which he joined about eight years ago.
∼Chief John Smith lived his entire life in the Cass Lake area of Minnesota, and was reputed to have been 137 years old when he died of pneumonia. He was known as "The Old Indian" to the local white people. He had eight wives and no children, except for an adopted son, named Tom Smith.
Local photographers, notably including C.N. Christensen of Cass Lake, used him as a model for numerous stylized images of Ojibwe life, which were widely distributed as cabinet photos and postcards. Smith would carry cartes de visite of himself, selling them to visitors. He was known to travel for free on the trains running through the Reservation, selling his photo to passengers, and becoming something of an attraction or celebrity.[2]
Smith converted to Catholicism in about 1914, and is buried in the Catholic section of Pine Grove Cemetery in Cass Lake.
The exact age of John Smith at the time of his death has been a subject of controversy. Federal Commissioner of Indian Enrollment Ransom J. Powell argued that "it was disease and not age that made him look the way he did"[2] and remarked that according to records he was 88 years old. Paul Buffalo, who had met Smith when a small boy, said he had repeatedly heard the old man state that he was "seven or eight", "eight or nine" and "ten years old" when the "stars fell"[2] in the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Local historian Carl Zapffe writes:
"Birthdates of Indians of the 19th Century had generally been determined by the Government in relation to the awe-inspiring shower of meteorites that burned through the American skies just before dawn on 13 November 1833, scaring the daylights out of civilized and uncivilized peoples alike. Obviously it was the end of the world. . . .".[3]
This estimate tied to the Leonids implies the oldest possible age of John Smith at just under 100 years at the time of his death.
5th oldest person in the United States at 138 years old
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune obituary says Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce (variously known as Kay-bah-nung-we-way, Sloughing Flesh, Wrinkled Meat or plain old — well, really old — John Smith) was reputed to be 137 years old when he died. Whatever his precise age, his well-lined face indicates a man who led a long and full life. He had eight wives, but no children. He fought, he fished, he counseled, he rode horses and trains, he appeared in moving pictures, he sold postcards. In a 1971 interview, an Ojibwe named Paul Buffalo shared his memories of the man he knew as "Grandpa John." Here's the Tribune obituary, which appeared on page one with a two-column photo of Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce:
137-Year-Old Chippewa Indian Dies in North Minnesota Home
Oldest Man in Country Was Active Until Week Before Death.
Cass Lake, Minn., Feb. 6 – Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce, also known as John Smith, a Chippewa Indian reputed to be 137 years old, died here today after a week's illness with pneumonia.
Smith, whose Indian name means "Wrinkled meat," had been very active in late years. A year ago he became totally blind, but his mind remained clear to the last, and he often recalled the days when he was a scout for the Chippewas in the wars with the Sioux. He also remembered events of the war of 1812. One of his boasts was that he had never fought against the white man.
Up to four years ago he had never visited a big city. His first trip of this kind was to the Twin Cities. Later he visited the Automobile show at Chicago.
A year and a half ago he returned to the north woods of Minnesota to spend his time fishing for sturgeon in Lake of the Woods, in the same waters that he fished more than a century ago.
Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce had been married eight times. He had no children and the only survivor is Tom Smith, an adopted son at whose home he died.
The "old Indian," as he was generally known among the white people, was active until six months ago, since which time he had not been seen outside his adopted son's house. Before that time he had made it a practice to meet all trains entering the village and offer postal cards for sale.
He claimed to have met the Schoolcraft and Cass exploration party which passed through here about 100 years ago, and recalled the changing of the name of the lake, then known as Red Cedar Lake, to Cass Lake, in honor of one of the leaders of the expeditions.
Two years ago he took the central part in moving pictures taken of Indians, called the "Recollections of Ga-be-nah-gewn-wonce," which have been exhibited all over the Untied States.
Soon after the prohibition was put into effect, some bootleggers sold "Old Indian" what they claimed to be a quart of whisky, but which proved to be water. "Old Indian" did not say anything, but three years later the same bootleggers purchased a hind quarter of "venison" from him. This turned out to be a portion of an old horse which had just died.
To illustrate his vitality, it is related that seven years ago, when 130 years of age, "Old Indian" was knocked down by a switch engine, while crossing the railroad tracks. His injuries confined him to a hospital for only three weeks after which he suffered no ill effects.
Pagan rites will be omitted at the funeral of John Smith. He will be buried from the Catholic church here, which he joined about eight years ago.
∼Chief John Smith lived his entire life in the Cass Lake area of Minnesota, and was reputed to have been 137 years old when he died of pneumonia. He was known as "The Old Indian" to the local white people. He had eight wives and no children, except for an adopted son, named Tom Smith.
Local photographers, notably including C.N. Christensen of Cass Lake, used him as a model for numerous stylized images of Ojibwe life, which were widely distributed as cabinet photos and postcards. Smith would carry cartes de visite of himself, selling them to visitors. He was known to travel for free on the trains running through the Reservation, selling his photo to passengers, and becoming something of an attraction or celebrity.[2]
Smith converted to Catholicism in about 1914, and is buried in the Catholic section of Pine Grove Cemetery in Cass Lake.
The exact age of John Smith at the time of his death has been a subject of controversy. Federal Commissioner of Indian Enrollment Ransom J. Powell argued that "it was disease and not age that made him look the way he did"[2] and remarked that according to records he was 88 years old. Paul Buffalo, who had met Smith when a small boy, said he had repeatedly heard the old man state that he was "seven or eight", "eight or nine" and "ten years old" when the "stars fell"[2] in the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Local historian Carl Zapffe writes:
"Birthdates of Indians of the 19th Century had generally been determined by the Government in relation to the awe-inspiring shower of meteorites that burned through the American skies just before dawn on 13 November 1833, scaring the daylights out of civilized and uncivilized peoples alike. Obviously it was the end of the world. . . .".[3]
This estimate tied to the Leonids implies the oldest possible age of John Smith at just under 100 years at the time of his death.
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune obituary says Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce (variously known as Kay-bah-nung-we-way, Sloughing Flesh, Wrinkled Meat or plain old — well, really old — John Smith) was reputed to be 137 years old when he died. Whatever his precise age, his well-lined face indicates a man who led a long and full life. He had eight wives, but no children. He fought, he fished, he counseled, he rode horses and trains, he appeared in moving pictures, he sold postcards. In a 1971 interview, an Ojibwe named Paul Buffalo shared his memories of the man he knew as "Grandpa John." Here's the Tribune obituary, which appeared on page one with a two-column photo of Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce:
137-Year-Old Chippewa Indian Dies in North Minnesota Home
Oldest Man in Country Was Active Until Week Before Death.
Cass Lake, Minn., Feb. 6 – Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce, also known as John Smith, a Chippewa Indian reputed to be 137 years old, died here today after a week's illness with pneumonia.
Smith, whose Indian name means "Wrinkled meat," had been very active in late years. A year ago he became totally blind, but his mind remained clear to the last, and he often recalled the days when he was a scout for the Chippewas in the wars with the Sioux. He also remembered events of the war of 1812. One of his boasts was that he had never fought against the white man.
Up to four years ago he had never visited a big city. His first trip of this kind was to the Twin Cities. Later he visited the Automobile show at Chicago.
A year and a half ago he returned to the north woods of Minnesota to spend his time fishing for sturgeon in Lake of the Woods, in the same waters that he fished more than a century ago.
Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce had been married eight times. He had no children and the only survivor is Tom Smith, an adopted son at whose home he died.
The "old Indian," as he was generally known among the white people, was active until six months ago, since which time he had not been seen outside his adopted son's house. Before that time he had made it a practice to meet all trains entering the village and offer postal cards for sale.
He claimed to have met the Schoolcraft and Cass exploration party which passed through here about 100 years ago, and recalled the changing of the name of the lake, then known as Red Cedar Lake, to Cass Lake, in honor of one of the leaders of the expeditions.
Two years ago he took the central part in moving pictures taken of Indians, called the "Recollections of Ga-be-nah-gewn-wonce," which have been exhibited all over the Untied States.
Soon after the prohibition was put into effect, some bootleggers sold "Old Indian" what they claimed to be a quart of whisky, but which proved to be water. "Old Indian" did not say anything, but three years later the same bootleggers purchased a hind quarter of "venison" from him. This turned out to be a portion of an old horse which had just died.
To illustrate his vitality, it is related that seven years ago, when 130 years of age, "Old Indian" was knocked down by a switch engine, while crossing the railroad tracks. His injuries confined him to a hospital for only three weeks after which he suffered no ill effects.
Pagan rites will be omitted at the funeral of John Smith. He will be buried from the Catholic church here, which he joined about eight years ago.
∼Chief John Smith lived his entire life in the Cass Lake area of Minnesota, and was reputed to have been 137 years old when he died of pneumonia. He was known as "The Old Indian" to the local white people. He had eight wives and no children, except for an adopted son, named Tom Smith.
Local photographers, notably including C.N. Christensen of Cass Lake, used him as a model for numerous stylized images of Ojibwe life, which were widely distributed as cabinet photos and postcards. Smith would carry cartes de visite of himself, selling them to visitors. He was known to travel for free on the trains running through the Reservation, selling his photo to passengers, and becoming something of an attraction or celebrity.[2]
Smith converted to Catholicism in about 1914, and is buried in the Catholic section of Pine Grove Cemetery in Cass Lake.
The exact age of John Smith at the time of his death has been a subject of controversy. Federal Commissioner of Indian Enrollment Ransom J. Powell argued that "it was disease and not age that made him look the way he did"[2] and remarked that according to records he was 88 years old. Paul Buffalo, who had met Smith when a small boy, said he had repeatedly heard the old man state that he was "seven or eight", "eight or nine" and "ten years old" when the "stars fell"[2] in the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Local historian Carl Zapffe writes:
"Birthdates of Indians of the 19th Century had generally been determined by the Government in relation to the awe-inspiring shower of meteorites that burned through the American skies just before dawn on 13 November 1833, scaring the daylights out of civilized and uncivilized peoples alike. Obviously it was the end of the world. . . .".[3]
This estimate tied to the Leonids implies the oldest possible age of John Smith at just under 100 years at the time of his death.
