[11] At that time, Four Bears was a brave warrior among his people, famous for killing a Cheyenne chief in hand-to-hand combat.
[14] Catlin secured a robe recounting Four Bears' deeds in 1832, now preserved in the United States National Museum.
[15] Another robe of Four Bears collected by Catlin is on display at the Upper Musselshell Museum in Harlowton, Montana.
[16] The next to bring home a robe of Four Bears showing warrior exploits was Prince Maximilian zu Wied.
[17][18] While other leading men were sturdy and tall, Maximilian described the ever-successful warrior Four Bears as a bit slim and only of average height.
[28] Eventually he became a chief in the common Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara settlement Like a Fishhook Village, largely because of his outstanding father.
The 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic wiped out most of Four Bears' tribe, leaving 27 (or by some accounts 100 to 150) survivors out of a former population of around 2,000.
"One of our best friend of the Village (The Four Bears) died to day, regretted by all who Knew him", wrote the manager of Fort Clark, Francis A.
)[36] As recorded in Four Bears' last speech to the Arikara and Hidatsa (two neighboring tribes) he denounced the white man, whom he had previously treated as a brother, for deliberately bringing the disease to his people.