J. H. Hamilton

[peter]

Hi Ephriam and Dietmar, thank for the updates. Ephriam I have read you article numerous time now. I thank you for your work. I just wanted to match the dates and see when approximately Hamilton was at Camp Robinson/Red Cloud Agency. I'm pretty sure you know by now that I think and I'm sure 200% that the Little Bat tintype is Crazy Horse, but just my opinion. Time will tell. But between all my researches and so forth, the only think that made me wonder a bit about the authenticity of the tintype, it was Ephraim article. In his article, Ephraim stated that Hamilton was at Red Cloud, in August, late summer. I also read Ephraim comments in an other forum stating that since it was Little Bat who convinced Crazy Horse to take a picture, this could not have happened because the only photographer at Red Cloud when Crazy Horse was there, was Hamilton in August and according to Little Bat, brother in law, Hunton, Little Bat was there about May 22 to June 4 and June 15 to June 24 but not in August. Since there was no photographer there during that time, June, May and not even July, the Little Bat theory who convinced Crazy Horse to sit for a photo, went out the window. Ephraim hit the nail right on the money. All my Italian friends who believed that the Little Bat tintype was indeed Crazy Horse changed their minds and rightfully so. Ephraim had done a great work and great researches and we always will be in debt with him and his work, but there was a but. I went back to read the article from the "Annals of Iowa" very careful and I connected a few more dots. Hamilton son spoke about witnessing and taking photographs during a sun dance while he was there with his father and immediately the bulb lit up. I remembered that such a sun dance took place in June 26 and ended in June 29 and right there and there I knew, I understood that Hamilton was there the end of June and the all month of July too. So far just a few days short of when Little Bat was there always according to his brother in law. Then I went back and read the article more careful. His son stated that his father was already there at Camp Robinson waiting for the band of Lame Deer to surrender and that when he decided that all was clear and safe he called for him to go down to Camp Robinson. What does this mean? It means that between the time that Hamilton called for his son and by the time the son arrived from the Black Hills, it must have passed at least one to two weeks and even if the son had arrived just the day of the sun dance and giving the benefit of the doubt going back even one week, it brings the dates back that match perfectly the time that Little Bat was there when Crazy Horse and Hamilton were there too. We also know that the Lame Deer fight took place on May 7th and that Hamilton on his Stereoscopic views marked down:" # 107 Surrender of Lame's Deer Band". Now we know that from Lame Deer Montana and Fort Robinson Nebraska there are about 350 miles. The pioneers of the Oregon trail averaged about 18 to 20 miles at day. Lets say the survivors of Lame Deer band did even less, 15 miles. That will bring us to May 27th when they arrived at Camp Robinson, just an approximation.  I think by then that Hamilton was already there, but even if you are talking an average of ten miles a day, it still brings us in the beginning of June when Little Bat was there the very first time. Personally I think, my opinion only, that Hamilton was already at Camp Robinson by the end of May, perhaps the beginning of June, but not later than that. Plenty time to be there with Little Bat and plenty times, almost two months to take pictures at Red Cloud/Camp Robinson, more than half of the time he spent at Spotted Tail. As I have already stated, every day we discover something knew. I salute the researches that Ephraim is doing and my hat goes off to him for all his tireless work he is doing for our country.

[kingsleybray]

thanks peter, the dating of the surrender of Lame Deer's band at Spotted Tail Agency is essential to refining this timeline. It happened in three stages. On July 22-23, 1877, nine lodges of people surrendered at Spotted Tail. This was the first increment from the Lame Deer village to arrive.

On August 27, twenty-two more people from the Lame Deer camp surrendered, and opened negotiations for the surrender of the remaining camp.

On September 4 fourteen lodges surrendered at Spotted Tail (nb. the same day as Crazy Horse fled from Red Cloud Agency). The leaders included Low Dog and Shedding Bear.

The final and largest increment, of 225 people led by Lame Deer's son Fast Bull, surrendered on September 10, in the chaotic period after Crazy Horse's death.

Of the three Sun Dances on White river summer 1877, the last was the joint Brule-Oglala ceremony which started on July 1st, and was due to conclude by July 8th. One possibility not considered is that there was an Arapaho ceremony not otherwise noted at least in the records known to me.

Back to Lame Deer's camp surrendering. There is a meticulous record of Lakotas arriving at Spotted Tail Agency in summer 1877. No sizeable group arrived before the July 22-23 surrender.

[peter]

Thank you Kingsley, your explanations always make things much clear and better. As you know, I was trying to connect the dots and see what months Hamilton was at Camp Robinson. Now I know May is out of the question, but it was June for sure when he was there, always according to his son and his Stereoscopic catalogue views of the northwest. We don not know exactly when, but according to his son, it took him quite some time before he arrived to Camp Robinson to join his father. We know he was there for the sun dance so even if he arrived the same day the sun dance started, taking in consideration the long time it took him to get to Camp Robinson when his father was already there, a good estimation would be the first or second week of June, but I'm only guessing. Definitely at this point Little Bat, Crazy Horse and Hamilton were there at the same time. Anyway, thank you for your precious time and precious news.

[grahamew]

Kingsley, that's THE Low Dog surrendering on Sept 4? That could explain the photo where he appears younger than in the Barry photos... Is Low Dog's name on the extended Hamilton list, Peter?

[kingsleybray]

grahamew, the entry in the Spotted Tail Agency census seems to read 'Law Dog' but, given that Billy Garnett (to Ricker) recalled that Low Dog was indeed a leader in the surrendering Lame Deer camp, then I'm pretty sure this was the Low Dog.

According to my new Oglala traditional information, Low Dog was of the Oyuhpe band of Oglalas, and had been one of the four wakicunze (Deciders, or camp-leaders) in the Northern Oglala village through summer 1876.

[peter]

No, Grahamew, he is not on the list.

[hreinn]

The reason for Low Dog's presence in Lame Deer's Wakpokiyan tiyoshpaye on Sept 4, 1877.
Is it either because:
a) his wife belonged to Wakpokiyan tiyoshpaye ?
b) either of his parents and/or older ancestors belonged to Wakpokiyan tiyoshpaye ?
(Reflecting the old connection between Oyuhpe and Mnikhówozu)

[grahamew]

I don't have my books with me at the moment, but didn't Finerty meet Low Dog in 1877?

[kingsleybray]

Finerty's encounter with the Lakotas near the Canadian line was 1879. Low Dog was one of the leaders in the breakout in November 1877, fleeing to join Sitting Bull in Canada instead of staying on the reservation. So he was up there, grahame, though I don't think Finerty mentions him. Could be wrong . . .

Lame Deer's camp comprised some Sans Arcs, Hunkpapas, and assorted stragglers, besides Miniconjous of his own tiyospaye (Wakpokiyan). Low Dog (or. to repeat, 'Law Dog') is actually identified in the Spotted Tail Agency census as "Hu/Wa", which signifies Hunkpapa-Wazhazha. Low Dog was certainly well-travelled and spent time with many different tribal divisions of the Lakota, especially the Northern ones. I think he was a kola (comrade) of Lame Deer's nephew Iron Star -- maybe there was a family relationship too?

[grahamew]

Ah, thanks. For some reason, I thought it was a lot earlier! In that case, I'm confusing him with someone else!

Thanks also, Peter. Guess we still don't know when that image was taken or who by.

[peter]

Grahamew, if that image is Crazy Horse, then it was taken in the summer of 1877 by Hamilton. If it is not Crazy Horse, I still think it was taken in the summer of 1877. That was the way all the Indian scouts were dressed that year a Camp Robinson.. Take care

[grahamew]

Ah, I was referring to the image of Low Dog in this case.

[Dietmar]

I think Hamilton´s "Warrior with War Bonnet" (picture No. 151) resembles the man in No. 170 "Learning the Use of the Stereoscope":

[peter]

I think you are right. The nose is identical and so the lips, chin and cheekbones. Bravo. Great catch

[Dietmar]

This is a portrait posted earlier by Grahame. On the back of one stereograph scan is written:

"Plenty of Hair
Spotted Tail's Daughter
Brule"

Another scan of the same stereograph is labelled "Do-me-na, daughter of Spotted Tail"




I can´t find her name in Hamilton´s list, nor is the next photo listed, which shows the same girl with a second unidentified girl. However, it´s clearly a Hamilton picture:




The girl on the right is also in an additional single portrait taken by Hamilton. She is according to other internet sites also a daughter of Spotted Tail.
If so, she is at least the third of his daughters photographed by Hamilton: