Sky Chief

[Dietmar]

Here´s an account about the killing of the Pawnee Sky Chief in 1873 by Lakotas in a fight called “The Battle of Massacre Canyon”. Williamson was a trail agent who went with the Pawnees:


Portrait of Te-Low-A-Lut-La-Sha (Sky Chief) 1868 (from SIRIS)

www.buffalocommons.org/docs/smenu1/massacre.html
(look here for the whole article)

The Battle of Massacre Canyon
The Unfortunate Ending of the
Last Buffalo Hunt of the Pawnees
An Account of the Last Battle by Indians

By J. W. Williamson

In May 1873, the Pawnees held a council meeting and decided to leave the agency on the summer hunt in July. Major Burgess, a Quaker, was agent at Genoa, and thru him the Indians made their request for permission to hunt, and also for the appointment of a trail agent to accompany them. Texas Jack (John Omahander) had acted as trail agent the previous year and made application for reappointment. George Clothier, of Columbus, also applied for the position, I did not apply for the place and was surprised when one of the chiefs came to me and informed me that they had decided to request the government appoint me to accompany them.
…
On the fourth day of August we reached the north bank of the Republican River and went into camp. At 9 o'clock that evening, three white men came into camp and reported to me that a large band of Sioux warriors were camped twenty-five miles northwest, waiting for an opportunity to attack the Pawnees for several days, anticipating that we that we would move up the river where buffaloes were feeding. Previous to this, white men visited us and warned us to be on our guard against Sioux attacks, and I was a trifle skeptical as to the truth of the story told by our white visitors. But one of the men, a young man about my age at the time, appeared to be so sincere in his efforts to impress upon me that the warning should be heeded, that I took him to Sky Chief who was in command that day, for a conference. Sky Chief said the men were liars; that they wanted to scare the Pawnees away from the hunting grounds so that white men could kill buffaloes for hides. He told me I was squaw and a coward. I took exception to his remarks, and retorted: "I will go as far as you dare go. Don't forget that."
…
The following morning August 5, we broke camp and started north, up the divide between the Republican and the Frenchman Rivers. Soon after leaving camp, Sky Chief rode up to me and extending his hand said, "Shake, brother." He recalled our little unpleasantness the night previous and said he did not believe there was cause for alarm, and was so impressed with the belief that he had not taken the precaution to throw out scouts in the direction the Sioux were reported to be. A few minutes later a buffalo scout signaled that buffaloes had been sighted in the distance, and Sky Chief rode off to engage in the hunt. I never saw him again. He had killed a buffalo and was skinning it when the advance guard of the Sioux shot and wounded him. The Chief attempted to reach his horse, but before he was able to mount, several of the enemy surrounded him. He died fighting. A Pawnee, who was skinning a buffalo a short distance away, but managed to escape, told me how Sky Chief died.

[Dietmar]

For information about the above photograph of Sky Chief please look at the excellent website of Thomas Kavanagh, which is well worth visiting. He discusses other Pawnee photographs as well:

php.indiana.edu/~tkavanag/phothana.html

Tirawahatlashar 'Sky Chief'
Photograph by the James E. McLees Studio, Washington D.C., 1857-58. Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives, 1293.
Sky Chief stands stiffly at attention for the photographer; this is not military bearing, but photographic necessity: the base of the brace holding him still is barely visible behind his feet.
He wears a Army private's uniform frock coat over buckskin leather leggings. The coat has been patched on the left skirt and left sleeve. He holds a brass pipe- tomahawk; the stem of these pipes were often but not always drilled out for actual use as tobacco pipes. The heart design cut-out had been used on tomahawks since the 18th century.
His headdress is unclear, but his hair is fairly short in front; the braids of his scalp-lock can be seen over his shoulder. He wears several ball-and-cone earrings, and has a beaded neckband. On a braided or beaded chain around his neck is a 'peace medal'. Since Spanish times, such medals has been given to the principal political leaders of Indian groups--the "medal chiefs"--as symbols of the status. During American times, however, many individuals were given medals, and their meaning changed from denoting leadership to denoting friendship.
His leather leggings are of a type called bottom-tab leggings: a separate piece of leather is sewn to the cuff of the leggings so that it falls over the moccasins. It appears that a portion of the skin from which each legging was cut has been left to form a decoration above the knee called the 'tail'. The leggings are tied with woven or beaded garters. The wide strips of beadwork are worn so as to come down the front of the legging rather than on the side as in other Plains groups. The glass beads, known as "pony beads," were fairly large, ca. 1/8", and generally came in blue, red, or white. The distinctive pattern will be shown clearer in other photographs. He wears plain moccasins with large turned-down flaps.


Here is the second photograph of Sky chief:

from left to right: (by William Henry Jackson, ca. 1868-71)
Man who left his enemy lying in the water
Night Chief
Baptiste Bayhylle
One who strikes the chiefs first
Sky Chief

[jinlian]

According to Catherine Price (The Oglala People) it was Little Wound's band (at the time in the Republican River area for hunting, against the agent's will) to kill Sky Chief and most of his party. Little Wound, together with Pawnee Killer and Two Lance afterwards gave up the Pawnee prisoners at Fort Sidney.

[Dietmar]

This photo has been posted by HinTamaheca in another thread:


Standing L-R: Night Chief, Curley Chief - Sitting L-R: Sky Chief, Major North, George Kit-kah-hak - Pawnee - 1888

Unlike in the other portraits of him he is seen above with longer and loose hair.
The date of the photograph of course must be wrong. Sky Chief was killed in August 1873.

[Dietmar]

Here´s another photo of Sky Chief, which I have found here:
triptych.brynmawr.edu/index.php


from left to right, top row:
Champion S. Centennial Mayor of Omaha Counsel for prisoners
Baptiste Bayhylle, US indian interpreter for Pawnees
Barclay White, Supt. Indian Affairs Artipit
Henry M. Allis, White interpreter, born 1839, first White Man born in Nebraska
Jacob M Troth, US Indian Agent for Pawnees
bottom row:
Strikes Chief Tie-ta-cha-cod-ie
Horse Driver Te-ca-rix-ta-pah-ra
Yellow Sun Tah-co-re-cah
Little Wolf Sket-de-kitty butck
Blue Hawk Go-tow-we-couts-la-re-use
Sky Chief Telah-wah-la-sha-ro

Photograph probably taken in 1871 of a group of Pawnee prisoners that were accused of the murder of a white man, McMurtie, along with their chiefs, interpreters, legal counsel, and Quaker indian agents.