1868 Crows at Fort Laramie.This is the third * glimpses to feature photographs by Alexander Gardner Alexander Gardner may refer to the following people:
A delegation of Crow people attended the 1868 treaty proceedings at Ft. Laramie, somewhat against their better judgment. They had made the long and dangerous trip from Montana in 1866. only to see the proceedings dissolve when the Sioux walked out in protest when Carrington's troops arrived to build the Bozeman Trail Bozeman Trail: see under Bozeman, John M. forts. A group of mostly Mountain Crow agreed to return in 1868, but they made a hurried trip, not even bringing tipis with them. The treaty that they signed at Ft. Laramie was understood by the Crows to represent only the Mountain Crow, and they assumed that the River Crow would negotiate their own treaty for their own reservation in northern Montana. No such final River Crow treaty ever came to pass, and all the Crows were eventually reduced to a single reservation. The photo below depicts most of the Crow leaders, primarily Mountain Crows, who signed the 1868 treaty. From left to right they are Dr. Washington Mathews; Mountain Tail; Blackfoot; Pounded Meat; Winking Eye; White Fawn; White Horse; Poor Elk; Shot in the Jaw; Crow; and Pretty Bull. These men are wrapped in a variety of robes and blankets and several are wearing military hats. Otherwise, again little or no decorated clothing is evident. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Above photo is a group of Crow people, all dressed in their simple "everyday" clothing. In fact, the only highly decorated classic Crow clothing to appear in any of the Gardner photos was worn by the Sioux chief Slow Bull. There are a number of singular and perhaps unexpected things shown by the Gardner photos, one of them being the generally plain dress of most of the Indians shown even during the actual formal treaty negotiation sessions. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gardner identified the people in this photo, from the left, as Fox Tail; a woman; Yellow Bull; Yellow Fox; Bull Goes Hunting; Yellow Coat; and Walks on Ice. Bull Goes Hunting is also known now as Sees the Living Bull, the mentor of Two Leggings leg·ging n. 1. A leg covering usually extending from the ankle to the knee and often made of material such as leather or canvas, worn especially by soldiers and workers. 2. leggings a. . Fox Tail, seated on the left, is wrapped in a blanket, and is wearing a classic trade gun identified by its flat brass butt plate, in a hide case carried across his chest by a strap. His hair is worn loose and seems to be combed up in front, although not in a true pompadour that was later in fashion. Yellow Bull, third from left, is also wrapped in a blanket, and has a bowcase-quiver set carried by a strap across his chest. His hair is similar to Fox Tail's except without the indication of combed-back bangs. Note also that all the visible hair on these people is parted to one side, and not in the center. Bull Goes Hunting, standing at center, is wearing a military Hardee hat The Hardee hat, also known as the Model 1858 Dress Hat and sometimes nicknamed the "Jeff Davis", was the regulation dress hat for enlisted men in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. that he likely received as a treaty present. He is also wrapped in a blanket and is wearing undecorated leggings or trousers and moccasins. Yellow Coat, seated at the right side, is wearing simple tube leggings made from multi-striped blanket material. Photo above is another group of Crow people at their camp site, showing the temporary shelters that they erected for their stay, covered with brush, hides, blankets and canvas. Gardner identified the individuals from left as Grey Blanket; White Horse; White Fawn; a child; Blackfoot; Yellow Bull; Little Face (seated at center); and an unidentified woman. Blackfoot was the great Crow chief of his time, also known as Sits in the Middle of the Land. He was photographed at the first Crow Agency on the Yellowstone by Jackson two years after this and again in Washington, D. C. after that. Three of these individuals are wrapped in buffalo robes (White Fawn, Yellow Bull and the unidentified woman), and the drape drape v. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds. n. A cloth arranged over a patient's body during an examination or treatment or during surgery, designed to provide a sterile field around the area. and folds that are evident clearly demonstrate the fine tanning that Indian women did with robes for their own consumption. As in the first photo, no decoration is evident except for the occasional strand of large light colored beads worn close around the neck. Note that White Horse, standing at left, wears a military blouse and eye goggles. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is an overall view of the Crow camp, showing two worn, white canvas tents and a number of brush shelters as in the last photo. A number of horses are shown in the camp among the shelters, and it is possible that Gardner took this photo as the Crows were packing to leave. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] References Murray. Robert. (1977). 'Treaty Presents at Ft. Laramie 1867-68." Museum of the Fur Trade fur trade, in American history. Trade in animal skins and pelts had gone on since antiquity, but reached its height in the wilderness of North America from the 17th to the early 19th cent. Quarterly, 13:3; 1-5. Kappler, Charles J., compiler and editor. (1904). Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties--Vol. II: Treaties. Treaty with the Sioux--Brule, Oglala. Miniconjou, Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet, Cathead, Two Kettle Noun 1. Two Kettle - a member of the Siouan people who constituted a division of the Teton Sioux Lakota, Teton, Teton Dakota, Teton Sioux - a member of the large western branch of Sioux people which was made up of several groups that lived on the plains , Sans Arcs, and Santee--and Arapaho. 1868 (Treaty of Fort Laramie Treaty of Fort Laramie may refer to either of two treaties signed at Fort Laramie, in what is now the U.S. state of Wyoming:
* Whispering Wind, Vol 38 No. 1, Issue 263, 2008 Whispering Wind, Vol 38 No. 2, Issue 264, 2009 Photographs by Alexander Gardner Photographs from the Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives. |
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