White Swan

[jinlian]

Thank you Jari, for posting this document - it's also evident how bad the hand-maiming was plus the badly fixed fracture.
According to Bradley, White Swan's limping worsened after 1891, when he broke his left leg falling from his horse.

Back to White Swan's family, I've read that his pension file also reported that his wife died in 1873 and he never remarried or had children. However, I recall having read (don't remember where exactly, it must have been in a discussion board) that descendants of White Swan still live at Reno Crossing - descendants of adoptive children, maybe? The available census data don't mention sons or daughters.

[jinlian]

Mar 19, 2009 13:49:06 GMT -5 jinlian said:

... any reason for his grave not being marked?

Looks like it is in fact marked...

www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5989474

[jinlian]

(photograph from SIRIS)

This is the photo published in a past Greasy Grass Magazine issue (n.40, 1998) and labeled as "Curly, White Swan, Bull Snake, and Hairy Moccasins". Bull Snake is the one pointing ahead for sure, don't see any Curley and White Swan...the only possibility would be the man identified as "Bad Belly". There was a Bad Belly at Crow Agency, but he was born in 1858 and the photo looks like a 1880s one...therefore he would have looked younger than the man wearing an army coat. The only possibility to make sure this man is not White Swan would be a closer look to his right hand...is there a better version of this photo around?

[jinlian]

Pretty Shield (scout Goes Ahead's wife)'s account of Half Yellow Face (who was her father's brother ) and White Swan at LBH:

When Half-yellow-face and White-swan got back we heard their story, and it was like hearing the dead speak, because we thought they had been killed. They said that they had not understood, and had gone with the little chief [Reno] by mistake. They were with him until his men came to the big Lacota village, until the little chief's men got off their horses to shoot, and until one of the littler chiefs tried to get back onto his horse, and got dragged. He let his foot go clear through the stirrup, and his frightened horse ran away, dragging him. When Half-yellow-face and White-swan saw this they knew it was bad medicine. They saw how things were going to end, as anybody could; and then they ran to a hole in the hill. My man, Goes-ahead, showed me this hole, and so did my uncle, Half-yellow-face...

The Lacota set the country afire to drive them out of the hole. It was here that White-swan got shot in the hand. His hand was never any good after that day. He was also shot in the foot and in the shoulder. But the bullet only burned his shoulder, making a bloody mark there that was not bad. They stayed in that hole, even when the smoke of the Lacota fire nearly smothered them, for two days and two nights; and some of the Arickara wolves were in there with them.

Finally the Lacota and Cheyenne left the Little Bighorn, and then the walking-soldiers came. Half-yellow-face said that they were very glad to see the walking-soldiers, because White-swan's wounds were swelling, and looked very bad, and because they all wanted to get something to eat.

Pretty Shield says that White Swan and Half Yellow Face spent 2 days and 2 nights before meeting with the remains of Reno's troops, while in Young Hawk's account of the fight that happened shortly after the end of the battle.

[jinlian]

White Swan, sketch by J.H. Sharp

[jinlian]

White Swan by Throssel - images come from the UOW Archives, Richard Throssel Collection:



(already posted, but here in bigger size)

[jinlian]

Yet another one from the Throssel series (from the UOW Archives, Richard Throssel Collection):

[jinlian]

Another White Swan portrait by J.H. Sharp (scanned from J. H. Sharp among the Crow Indians, 1902-1910: Personal Memories of His Life and Friendships on the Crow Reservation in Montana by C. Reynolds Riebeth) - original is held at the Lowie Anthropology Museum University of California, but, as far as I know, there's no digital copy available online.



Note that White Swan is said to be "a full brother" of Curley - among the Crows maternal cousins were considered "brothers".

The portrait shows a very handsome man, indeed, looking somewhat younger than in the other Sharp painting posted in the first page of this thread.

[grahamew]

Another Sharp painting of White Swan, ca. 1900

[jinlian]

Beautiful portrait! So, how many White Swan portraits did Sharp paint? Three...and the pencil sketch?

[wyman]

White Swan's grave at Little Bighorn IS marked.

farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3558782484_6b3ab1de07_b.jpg

[jinlian]

Hi Wyman, and congratulations for the beautiful photographs you posted on the other board. I don't know where the story of White Swan's grave being unmarked came from, but I remember reading it on at least two books - probably they mixed up White Swan and Half Yellow Face, the other Reno scout, whose burial site seems to be in fact unknown.

[jinlian]

Still from the image posted by Tipifan in Crow Tipis:




White Swan at the Sheridan fair, 1903.

Looking at White Swan (and Curly)'s attire, the photograph below was taken in the same occasion:

[jinlian]

White Swan, detail from the LBH group photo:

[jinlian]

On the LBH board, WY Man posted some interesting information about White Swan's burial place:

"[White Swan] WAS buried in an unmarked grave. Until 1911 anyway. An order dated February, 10, 1911 from H. Hazelton to Billings Marble and Granite Works, for "one tombstone for White Swan, deceased, $50.00," and signed, "Received Payment." An attached letter goes on to say, "Dear Major Scott, The Billings Marble & G. Works are today shipping to you a tombstone for White Swan's Grave. Frank Shively collected $49.75 from the Indians & Whites for this purpose. The freight is prepaid."

Thank you, WY Man! (Link to the original post: lbha.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=3509&page=5#68612)