So earlier this morning I was perusing the Cincinnati Enquirer archives when I come across this little blurb from the July 23, 1848 edition, which reads: “Quite a large crowd was collected in front of where the old mayor’s office used to be to see the basket of human bones that were taken from the seller, the question is how under the sun could they have got there?” Needless to say that piqued my interest. So I dig a bit further and I find this bit from three days later on July 26, 1848 which reads, “The Bone Affair is at length settled the Marshall informs us that they were part of the possession of the renowned Jocosot which were brought to this city from Cleveland by a medical student to whom Jocosot dedicated himself to when he died. Officers Pye and Legg know nothing about the matter.”
Wait…what? Bones from a renowned Native American Chief turned international performer in the hands of a medical student in Cincinnati.
If you’ve followed my page you’ll know how medical students of the time procured bodies for research. If not, you may want to check out my previous story on the topic.
So we know a bit of what happened after his death but what was the story of his life. Who was Joc-o-sot? Joc-o-sot or Walking Bear was born in 1810 and was Chief of the Mesquakie Tribe which were indigenous people from the Iowa area. After Joc-o-sot was wounded in the Black Hawk War he made his way to Cleveland and began a new life. In his first endeavor he offered his skills to lead hunting and fishing expeditions, and while doing so met a man named Dan Marble who ran a theatrical troupe. At this point Joc-o-sot opted for a radical career change and joined the troupe touring major cities and doing his show which depicted Native American life. He even had live buffalos on stage, sounds like quite a show! A rising star, Joc-o-sot made his way to England in June 1844 where he performed for Queen Victoria. She was so impressed she commissioned a portrait of him by her royal lithographers, Day and Hague. Sadly, Joc-o-sot became ill while in England and returned home to Cleveland with what was probably tuberculosis and passed away soon after his return.
Joc-o-sot was buried at the oldest cemetery in Cleveland. A memorial was placed at Erie Street Cemetery for him that states:
Joc-O-Sot ~ the Walking Bear
A Distinguished Sauk Chief
Died August, 1844
Erected by ten citizens of Cleveland and a friend of Cincinnati.
Could that lone Cincinnati friend be the medical student?
Legend has it that the spirit of Joc-o-sot still roams the Erie Street Cemetery, so distraught with being buried in Cleveland and not on his home turf, that he summoned a bolt lightning to shatter that memorial placed by his friends. Others assume those big cracks happened during the grave robbery, I definitely prefer the lightning story.
SOURCE CITATIONS
Cincinnati Enquirer: March 25, 1843, April 29, 1843, July 23, 1848, July 26, 1848
The Illustrated London News 1845
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