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

Minor Ferris Buchanan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Holt Collier's biography is long overdue." -- -Shelby Foote, author, The Civil War, A Narrative (3 volumes)

"Masterfully told. It is important history, exciting reading, and related the way history should be written." -- -Gordon Cotton, Curator and Director, The Old Courthouse Museum–Eva W. Davis Memorial, Vicksburg

"Well-researched and well-written, about an unforgettable character and a factual account of the origin of the Teddy Bear." ---David G. Sansing, author, The University of Mississippi, A Sesquicentennial History

About the Author

Minor Ferris Buchanan is a native Mississippian. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1973 with a degree in History and English, graduated from Mississippi College School of Law in 1978, and has been a litigation attorney for twenty-three years. He has researched the life of Holt Collier for a decade over archival collections through much of the country.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Centennial Press of Mississippi, Inc.; 4th Printing edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893062376
• ISBN-13: 978-1893062375
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Roosevelt, Theodore

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenally intriguing, accurate, and detailed., November 6, 2002

By 

Bryan R (Altoona, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

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

Minor Ferris Buchanan excells in this historical document of Holt Collier: an ex-slave, Confederate soldier, and excellent big-game hunter. I found the portrayal of this very accomplished individual more intriguing and inspiring than any other Afro-American biography I've ever come across (including those of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X)
I loved it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN AMAZING MAN, October 18, 2002

By 

Floyd Moody (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

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

I have never written a review before, but here goes....

I had never heard of his name before this book was recommended to me, but this fellow Holt Collier is one of the most amazing men to come out of the American scene in years. Just think, to have been born a slave, to have become a runaway--to seek out his master and fight for the confederacy--unbelievable. And then he out-fought his master during the entire conflict, and it is all backed up by detailed research. Amazing.

Then to become an independent hunter in the lower Mississippi delta where he made a small fortune every year, ultimately becoming a hunter of legendary status, a cowboy and a lawman as well. And those white men he killed in duels--and not to be prosecuted in Mississippi of all places.

Then, when he was getting pretty long in the tooth, to be selected to take Roosevelt on two hunts, arguably the most famous hunts ever on American soil, it seems like it must be fiction, but it is not.

And for this man to be the sole person responsible for the event that gave us the teddy bear. Why has his story not been told before?

Anyway, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in southern history, hunting, Theodore Roosevelt, black history, teddy bears, and the civil war.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most significant new character on American scene in years:, October 8, 2002

By 

H. L. Buford (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

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

This is just an amazing story. How could it be that this person escaped everyone's notice for the last century? The character of Holt Collier is no less important that Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett. And for those who want to say he was just a loyal servant, I am sure none of the many white men he killed in combat would have called him an Uncle Tom. This book gives us a core look at the old South. This guy Buchanan has written a masterpiece. It is all good history backed up by apparently good sources. Personally I believe that in time--because of this book--the name of Holt Collier will become a well known name.