BEN-ASH (?-1844). Ben-Ash was chief of Battise Village^qv of the Coushatta Indians during the first half of the nineteenth century. This village was on the west bank of the Trinity River at the Coushatta Trace^qv crossing of the Trinity, near the site of present Point Blank in San Jacinto County. Land in this area proved to be desirable for agricultural activities, and George T. Wood,^qv who was elected governor of Texas in 1847, established a plantation bordering the Trinity a half mile downriver from Battise Village. Ben-Ash lived on a hill two miles from the Trinity, and this location in San Jacinto County is still called Ben-Ash Hill.

Records of the Republic of Texas^qv indicate that Ben-Ash participated in various types of this nation's activities relating to Indian affairs. The ledger sheet of the republic's Indian commissioners for 1843 includes a list of gifts for Ben-Ash. On May 13, 1844, the Indian commissioners called a meeting with Texas tribes on the council ground at Tehuacana Creek (see tehuacana creek councils) for the purpose of establishing a boundary, regaining horses stolen from the white settlements, and distributing presents to the groups assembled. The minutes for this meeting show that Ben-Ash was present for the conference.

Ben-Ash died sometime in 1844. A passport written by Republic of Texas President Sam Houston^qv on October 17, 1844, states: "Know Ye that the bearer hereof, the widow of Ben-Ash who died lately at this place (Washington-on-the-Brazos), is on her way home to the Coshattee tribe of Indians...near Smithfield on the Trinity river; and they are hereby recommended to the hospitality and kind treatment of the good people of the Republic on the road."

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Louella Styles Vincent, "Governor George Thomas Wood," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 20 (January 1917). Amelia W. Williams and Eugene C. Barker, eds., The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813-1863 (8 vols., Austin: University of Texas Press, 1938-43; rpt., Austin and New York: Pemberton Press, 1970). Dorman H. Winfrey and James M. Day, eds., Texas Indian Papers (4 vols., Austin: Texas State Library, 1959-61; rpt., 5 vols., Austin: Pemberton Press, 1966).