Post by jinlian on Jan 20, 2009 9:23:49 GMT -5
Biitawuásh (1842-1932) "Bell Rock" to the Americans is acknowledged as the greatest pipe-carrier (leaders of war parties) of the pre-reservation era. However, in Euro-American sources, I've found only scarce and often contradictory information about this great warrior and leader.
According to etnographer Robert Lowie, Bell Rock, who belonged to the Uu'sawatsi'a, Without-shooting-they-bring-game clan, was considered by many Crows a kambasaa'kaace, "supreme among the living men, excelling in every war deed", even if an accurate count showed that Plenty Coups had 25 coups against Bell Rock's 24 (some informants claimed however that Bell Rock's having led eleven war parties against Plenty Coups' nine gave him a superior status). In their introduction to Plenty Coups, chief of the Crows, Barney Old Coyote jr and Phenocia Bauerle reported a rumor according to which Plenty Coups' superior warrior record was due to the fact that Bell Rock gave him permission to count his deeds along his own. Old Coyote and Bauerle also spoke of Bell Rock as Plenty Coups' "brother-in-law" (probably in the Crow meaning of the term), and a hint of this relationship is perhaps in the fact that Bell Rock's son, Charles is mentioned among his "living relatives" in Plenty Coups' death certificate.
In Blankets and Moccasins, Glendolin D. Wagner states that Bell Rock belonged to the River Crows, but in Plenty Coups' autobiography, recorded by F. Linderman Bell Rock is instead ranked among the Mountain Crows.
In the reservation era, Bell Rock resided in Pryor District, where he was one of the leaders of the Weasel chapter of the Sacred Tobacco society. According to the 1910 census, he married 8 times and had 3 children from his last wife. Bell Rock wasn't too active in diplomatic relationship with the US government (he never traveled to Washington as a delegate), but his attitude in these respect was in most cases similar to that of his rival/friend Plenty Coups.
About photographs: the only portraits of Bell Rock I know of are the one above (by Rinehart?) and one by Curtis (which I can't show here because I didn't purchase showing/reproduction rights from the Smithsonian). Curiously enough, Curtis didn't report anything about this great individual in his The North American Indian volume on the Apsalooke. I don't know if this lack of "popularity" among Euro-American researchers was due to Bell Rock's own reluctance or to an inaccurate judgment of this leader's importance.
Any additional information (and photographs) on Chief Bell Rock would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I purchased this 1907 photograph of Bell Rock by E.S. Curtis last year, but couldn't post until now because I didn't have permission to - now that the Smithsonian has uploaded it on its archives, I think it's ok to do it now
