Billy Motlow

Photo of Matlo or Billy Motlow; source: Hugh L. Willoughby's Across the EvergladesOld Billy Motlow, member of the Seminole tribe in Florida, was a medicine man and one of the oldest living Native Americans in South Florida in 1892. He probably was born in the mid-1850s, possibly 1853 or 1857. In various sources he was described as a man in his 80s in 1894 and in his 90s in 1908. When Billy Harney guided J.W. Newman, J.E. Ingraham, S.O. Chase, and W.R. Moses to Miami, they quickly found Billy Motlow there and hired him to assist on their return trip to the secondary Expedition group still in the Everglades. In the Expedition texts, he is named Omathla, Omathlier, and Matla. He is described as guardian of the Seminole Boy Chief called George. He also is described as "Chief of the Seminoles" by James E. Ingraham. When Ingraham hires Motlow to help with the Expedition he states that this act also secured "...the aid of the Indians in future if necessary, committing them to our work." In the early 1900s, Old Motlow trained future Seminole leaders, Ingraham Billie and Josie Billie, to be medicine men. Several sources report that Motlow was greatly disliked by most people.

Name Variations:

Note about confidence of this information:

It is very difficult to provide contextual information about many of the Native Americans mentioned in the Expedition texts. One difficulty is that names are often spelled multiples ways in various sources, and information in those sources is often conflicting. Another difficulty is the Seminole practice of reusing names within families. While there is good evidence that the Omathlier, Matla, and Omathla mentioned in the texts is the same individual as the Billy Motlow described here, it is impossible to determine how much of the information provided here is accurate or applicable.

Credits:

Sources:

References in the Texts:

Links below open in a new browser window.

Illustration of Old Matlo or Billy Motlow; source: Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly American Magazine, 1891

For other topics referenced in the Expedition texts, please refer to the Index to Subjects and Names.
1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition : Three Digital Texts, 2015