Holt Collier: His Life, His Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear

by Minor Ferris Buchanan

On November 14, 2002, the 100th anniversary of the world famous Teddy Bear will be celebrated. The origin of the Teddy Bear stems from an occasion when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the wilderness of Mississippi in hopes of killing a black bear. He was guided on this hunt by Holt Collier, a former slave, Confederate veteran (yes-amazing though it sounds), Texas cowboy, Mississippi lawman, and noted pioneer. He is known to have killed over 3,000 bear in his lifetime, more than Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett combined. Roosevelt, who also hunted with Collier in Louisiana in 1907, called him "the greatest hunter and guide I have ever known."

Collier killed many white men, several in Mississippi. One exciting incident in his biography is a detailed description of the gunfight at Washburn's Ferry where Collier out-drew the notorious Louisiana outlaw Travis Elmore Sage. He was prosecuted only once-for the murder of a Union captain after the Civil War-but he was acquitted. Collier was famous nationally during his lifetime, but the racial atmosphere in Mississippi for the last eighty years kept his remarkable story from being told. There is no detailed and authoritative work on Holt Collier or the origin of the Teddy Bear other than this book.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story, July 1, 2016

This review is from: Holt Collier: His Life, His Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear (Hardcover)

Holt Collier was one of Mississippi's most interesting minor historical figures. His life, his presence as a man transcended the times in which he lived. Mr. Buchanan's well written book tells Collier's fascinating story, bringing to life a man little known outside of Mississippi.

I noticed that one reviewer insists that there were no black confederate soldiers. There is considerable history to the contrary. Not only did some blacks fight for the South, but so did Native Americans, Hispanics, and various orientals, particularly men of Filipino origin from Louisiana. I have read that two of the sons of the original Siamese twins, actually part Thai, Chinese and Malay, fought for the Confederacy. In addition to Jewish soldiers, one of the most important members of the Confederate government, Judah Benjamin, was Jewish.

[Jack McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Mississippi and US history. Holt was the real deal. This is sort of a hard-to-find book, but if you like Southern history, hunting, Presidents, and people who excelled at their craft...then check out Holt.

[Mark Mears · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, Holt Collier’s story is a compelling one; a fascinating and certainly unusual life. Mr. Buchanan did a commendable job telling it.

I read the book because I am a Roosevelt fan, and discovered this book as a result. I learned a great deal, which is always my hope in a history or biography.

Holt Collier went from slave, to Confederate soldier, to master huntsman, which led him to Roosevelt and the famous Teddy Bear story. Certainly a lot of unexpected plot twists, not all of which I want to give away in a review.

The book is difficult to stay with at first. There appears to be a lack of detailed information about Collier’s Civil War career, so Mr. Buchanan fills in a lot with information about his unit or other people he knew. After that it picks up somewhat. There are still missing details, such as what became of Collier’s first wife and children. This likely should not be blamed on the author; if the information is not there, you can only report that fact.

[Jim Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a biography of the remarkable life of the antebellum slave Holt Collier. It is also a biography of key members of the Hinds family that founded Hinds County, Mississippi, and were his masters. Collier is the only known African American combatant for the Confederacy and was the key player in the 1902 Mississippi Delta hunt with President Roosevelt that spawned the “teddy bear.” Buchanan’s work is scholarly and sheds light on political dynamics in Mississippi at the turn of the century.

Holt Collier became a famous and almost mythical personality in the Mississippi Delta as a war hero, manslayer, and bear hunter. During Reconstruction and Jim Crow, he killed white men and was acquitted each time. He was a friend to and respected by both white and black people during a time when race completely divided society. His story is fascinating to all and oftentimes inconvenient to political extremists.

[Susie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fastinating book. Another Mississippian I knew so little about. All I knew was his connection to Predesident Teddy Roosevelt and the Bear Hunt. The story artfully tells the life of a man whose life and values defy stereotypes and complexities of race.

A long forgotten bear hunter and guide from the Mississippi Delta. Holt Collier was born a slave and and hunted and provided meat for the workers Plum Creek Plantation.

He became a runaway slave during the Civil War and took up arms for the Confederacy. He became a Texas cowboy. Became a bear hunter killing over 3,000 bears. He hunted with President Rosevelt twice, the 1st time resulted the phenomena of teddy bear was born.

[Aimee]

Pre-Review thing because I want to say why I want to read this book so bad:
This is one book I'm so excited to read when I can finally order a copy! I listened to the Holt Collier series on the Bear Grease podcast (the author of this book is on the podcast) and this story is bananas! It was certainly one of the most intriguing podcast series I have ever listened to. Holt was one interesting and confusing and... I can't think of any other very fitting word right now. A phenomenal story about an extraordinary life.

Anyway, I will be reading this book sometime and I hope to find out even more about this wild dude.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than half of the book was about those that owned Holt and history of the Civil War. Although that played into the telling of his life it did little to explain the man he was. I would have liked to have known more about his life after the War. His encounter with Teddy Roosevelt implied much more than was said and realizing little else was known of him one wonders what other aspects of his life could be uncovered. No doubt he was a fascinating person.

[Ryan Achilles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holt is high on the list of most fascinating characters in American history. This is a great and quick read. Highly recommend.

[Donald Yann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting view of pre war southern life.

[John Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a man! Here are some Holt Collier facts: was born a slave, killed his first bear at age 10, stowed away at 14 to follow his owners into the Civil War where he fought with the Confederates, spent time in Texas as a cowboy, guided Teddy Roosevelt on his infamous "Teddy bear" hunt, and eventually killed more bears than Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone combined.

Whew!

However, those are facts you can read on Wikipedia. What made me love this book were the little things about Holt: his loyalty to the people he loved, his fearlessness that started at a young age, and his ability to associate with and impress a wide array of people. He could hold his own in any situation.

This was a great read. 4/5 stars.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories from when he was a slave of Thomas Hinds and then fought for the confedracy in the Civil War....Just a man that I would have liked to have met.