scene possibly depicting the murder of Crazy Horse ?

[Californian]

ledger drawing with a scene possibly depicting the murder of Crazy Horse ? This drawing was sold at Poulin’s Online Firearms Auction, April 15-18, 2024, hammer price, including premium US$ 2500

click onto image to enlarge

[grahamew]

You had me really excited there, but I thought the depiction of the dress looked more Cheyenne than Lakota and I checked the PILA site and it's a version of an image in the Black Horse ledger. I don't mean to imply it's a fake, but rather a different image made by the artist, because it doesn't look like a mere copy.



plainsledgerart.org/plates/view/2014

[Californian]

definitely depicting the same scene, the paper is different, also minor details such as the shape of the roof and the location of the chimney. It is framed and now owned by anonymous collector. The estimated price was $ 400 to $ 600, but sold for $ 2700. The low auction house estimate might indicate that something may not be quite right with it.

[grahamew]

I wonder if it's a page from another ledger he drew. When I've come across fakes, they're often so like the original.

Here are some more attributed to Black Horse - different paper again:
www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2862B/lots/203  e.g.



And another - I can see faint lines on these, so they may be related to yours.



www.liveauctioneers.com/item/149506670_black-horse-northern-cheyenne-19th-century-ledger-drawing

And a couple more:




www.liveauctioneers.com/item/149506672_black-horse-northern-cheyenne-19th-century-ledger-drawing-double-sided

And another:


www.liveauctioneers.com/item/149506671_black-horse-northern-cheyenne-19th-century-ledger-drawing-double-sided

... and this time, you can see the lines through the paper. I think you may be on to something here - pages from a ledger that's been taken apart for sale.

[Californian]

that makes a lot of sense Grahame and very likely that more than one ledger with identical scenes might have been produced. I wonder what that scene depicts, maybe two warriors liberating a comrade from jail?

[rodthomas]

That scene shows Black Horse being pulled from a basement in a house in Kansas during the 1879 trek to go home for the Northern Cheyenne. Two settlers were in the house and Black Horse entered the house killed one, then to the basement where the other wounded him. Mari Sandoz tells of it in her classic "Cheyenne Autumn" and Father Powell talks to it in "Sweet Medicine." Thanks for the additional pages and believe Black Horse did several. I'm working on an Excel file of all the Cheyenne ledger books and artwork referenced in the literature including auction catalogs which are invaluable.

[kingsleybray]

Could this have been an incident in the raids along Sappa and Beaver creeks?

[rodthomas]

Kingsley, thanks and yes, it is Black Horse being rescued by his two compatriots during the 1879 Kansas raids in retribution for Sappa Creek massacre in 1875. All best...