|
Post by grahamew on Mar 30, 2009 14:34:58 GMT -5
In his excellent little book on the Lakota who remained in Canada after Sitting Bull returned to the United States, Ron Papandrea presents this photo. He refers to the Mack family history files in which was found this image, purporting to show Black Bull, his wife and son, Short Bull. Henry Mack was the Baptist Minister in Moose Jaw, 1892-3; Black Bull was the Brule Lakota who led a small band in that area. Papandrea makes a case for the man with the gun pointing at him as Black Bull, though as can be seen from the notation, he is labelled Feathers on his Head. Going from the second photo, it is Feathers on his Head, isn't it? Papandrea makes his case for the photo being taken between 1875 and 1876, bearing in mind Yates was a trader at Spotted Tail and Red Cloud Agencies from 74-77. Dietmar has suggested the photo is maybe a decade or more later and I agree; Feathers on his Head wears the same medal (?) in both pictures. It's not wise to generalise, but the length of the breastplate worn by Fire Thunder and possibly the hairdressing of the younger men point to a later date. FDoes anyone know of Yates' later career? Or who Deadwood Charlie was? Following on from this, what do we know about Feathers on his Head? Feather on Head was an informant for James R. Walker, but Demallie and Jahner found two men with that name; one born near Porcupine in 1845 and the other born in the Wounded Knee district in 1832. According to Billy Garnett, Feather on the Head was a sergeant of scouts under General Crook during the Great Sioux War (and was dead by 1907). According to the former trader and captain of the Indian Police George Bartlett, he was also a scout during the Ghost Dance and was the man who found Lost Bird before passing her to Bartlett who then gave her to Feather on the Head's wife, Long Woman. He is mentioned in David Miller's book on the Ghost Dance as secretly passing water to the injured Lakota during this period. What else do we know of him - or of the other men in the first photo and can anyone date it? The second photo is dated 1891 and I have to say he looks older and heavier than in the first. I'm sure I've seen a companion photo to this (or possibly a newspaper illustration based on a photo) in which he's wearing the hat that is half hidden to the left of the picture. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by grahamew on Mar 30, 2009 16:46:41 GMT -5
I should have added that Walker's informant, though I'm not sure if it's the same man, was a holy man - a 'great medicine man'. If that photo was taken in 1891, then it's surely not the man born in 1832, because he doesn't look almost 60. I found the reference to him on freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mikestevens/tiyo2-p/p180.htm#i11393and it gaves his year of death as 1904: "(?) was born. He married Unknown (born ca. 1850) circa 1870. (?) died in 1904. His body was interred in 1904 at Wounded Knee, Shannon Co., South Dakota, USA, at Messiah Cemetery.'
|
|
|
Post by grahamew on Mar 30, 2009 17:04:25 GMT -5
And I also have this from Clark's book on Sign Language:
"Among many tribes there are brothers by adoption, and the seems to be held about as sacredly as though created by One cold, wintry morning in the late fall of 1876, while yet gray shadows of darkness hovered mistily over crag and gorge, some enlisted Indian scouts and regular troops charged down upon a hostile Indian village sleeping in fancied security in a cañon of the Big Horn Mountains. One of these scouts, Three Bears by name, rode a horse which became crazed by excitement and unmanageable, and being wonderfully fleet, dashed with him, ahead of all others, into the very centre of the hostile camp, where men, women, and children were running in wild confusion, where bullets were flying thick and fast, and where the hostiles were making a sharp resistance to protect their families.
Feather-on-the-Head, another scout, seeing the trouble his friend was in, dashed after him, urging his own fast pony forward with vigorous strokes of the whip, at the same time throwing himself from side to side of his pony to avoid the shots of his enemies. Thus he followed Three Bears through the bushes and across the stream, down among the tepees, and into the very centre of the village, where Three Bears’ horse had fallen dead, shot through the neck. His rider had scarcely touched the ground when Feather-on-the-Head, sweeping past, took him behind himself and bore safely away out of the valley of death.
Feather-on-the-Head saved Three Bears’ life at the risk of his own, and thenceforward the two were much together, and became brothers by Feather-on-the-Head never seemed to think he had done anything very noble, and never boasted of it; but keen-eyed, brave, loyal, wiry little Three Bears deeply appreciated the service he had rendered him, and there would have been glad sunshine in his heart if an opportunity had presented itself for him to have reciprocated the gallant action."
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Mar 31, 2009 8:37:07 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by grahamew on Mar 31, 2009 10:02:48 GMT -5
Yes - also a sergeant in the scouts - or head sergeant (in Ricker), which obvioulsy implies a position of superiority. They're both mentioned by Bourke too. I guess the fact he had the rank of sergeant suggests he must have been reasonably important amongst his people.
|
|
|
Post by grahamew on Mar 31, 2009 12:07:55 GMT -5
According to the Crazy Horse Surrender ledger, one Feather on Head belonged to Little Wound's Kiyuksa band, though there's another listed under American Horse's Oglala. There were also an Arapaho and a Cheyenne listed under that name!
|
|
|
Post by kingsleybray on Mar 31, 2009 12:27:57 GMT -5
The Feather on the Head who enlisted as an Army Scout in fall 1876 belonged to the Kiyaksa band. Note in the entry in the November 1876 census (printed on p. 26 of THE CRAZY HORSE SURRENDER LEDGER) that against Feather on Head's family, in the list of "Kiocsies", 1 person is noted to be "With Expedition", i.e. he is serving in the Mackenzie campaign as a scout. Moreover in the John Gregory Bourke Diary, Vol. 14 p. 1360 is listed a "Roll Call" of enlisted Red Cloud Agency scouts with Feather on the Head noted as a private, belonging to the "Cut-off or Kioxsi" Band.
However I really doubt whether this man could have been in Canada with the post-1881 exiles - surely another man with the same (fairly common) name.
Hope this helps
Kingsley
|
|
|
Post by grahamew on Mar 31, 2009 12:46:44 GMT -5
Thanks, Kingsley. I must have misread Ricker or the informant wasn't remembering correctly when he said he was a sergeant. I didn't mean to suggest HE was in Canada, rather that the illustration in the Papandrea book wasn't a misidentified Black Bull (as he suggested) but actually was Feather on the Head (though I'd like to know more about the photo) - then I got curious about Feather on the Head...
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on May 10, 2019 7:11:28 GMT -5
Here is some information on the above photo with Yates and Gordon. According to Mike Stevens „Tiospaye web“ was Feather On Head or Feather In Head an Oglala Lakota. Also known as Wiyaka Aopaza (?) He was born in 1831/32 and he married Yankton Woman about 1868. Feather On Head died in 1904 and was interred at Messiah Cemetery at Wounded Knee, Shannon Co. Francis (Frank) D. Yates (1846-1925), brother of Captain Yates 7th Cav, operated one of the Indian trading stores at the Red Cloud Agency, home of the Oglala Lakota. The Wyoming territorial legislature passed a bill in Dec, 1875 authorizing the establishment of a daily passenger and express service between Cheyenne and the Black Hills of Dakota Territory. William H. Brown and his son-in-law Frank D. Yates started to carry the mail to Spotted Tail Agency via Red Cloud Agency in Jan, 1876. The first stage of F. D. Yates & Company started on Feb 3. In 1878 a Jack Gilmer and Monroe Salisbury of Ogden, Utah, purchased the Black Hills Stage from Frank Yates and his father-in-law. According to „The Caledonian Advertiser of June 5, 1890“ (fragment), Caledonia / New York fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Caledonia%20NY%20Advertiser/Caledonia%20NY%20Advertiser%201890-1894%20Grayscale/Caledonia%20NY%20Advertiser%201890-1894%20Grayscale%20-%200009.pdfCharles B. Gordon and „Feathers-on-his-Hat“ were members of the Forepaugh and Sells Brothers' aggregation (a big Circus). Adam John Forepaugh (1831 - 1890) was in 1887 the first to incorporate a "Wild West Show" into his circus. Forepaugh may have been first to stage a re-enactment of “Custer’s Last Fight” as a regular act. Buffalo Bill did not re-enact Custer’s Last Stand until a year later see www.bbhc.org/learn/western-essays/wild-west-shows ) Gordon was a colourful character . In the Caledonian Advertiser article he was introduced as „professor Charles B. Gordon of Philadelphia“ and in the Watertown N.Y. Daily Times as „agent for the Cream Indigo Bluing Company“ who alway met Chief Feather On Head (or Feather-on-his-Hat!) by chance and exchanged joint experiences. It seems quite possible that the above photo was created on the Circus Tour about 1890. Maybe Yates accompanied the Oglala as a kind of manager or "chaperone" As Gregor has pointed out in the Black Bull thread (http://amertribes.proboards.com/post/13751/quote/453?page=2), Feather-on-his-Head and some Lakota were photographed with "Deadwood Charlie" Gordon while in the East. This print I´ve found recently shows that the picture indeed was taken by a Philadelphian photographer, whose name was written into the right corner:
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on May 10, 2019 8:24:13 GMT -5
Maybe this is the source of the confusion we have about the identification of the men in the picture: There indeed was a man called Black Bull (Bear), who was part of the troupe that went with Forepaugh and his circus in 1890 and he is labeled as chief of the Wood Mountain Sioux in several newspaper reports: Morning Journal and Courier, July 11, 1890 The Morning News, July 18, 1890
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on May 10, 2019 8:34:57 GMT -5
Pittsburg Dispatch, May 19, 1890
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on May 10, 2019 11:25:41 GMT -5
Another version of the group photo, where Black Bull Bear is identified as the man sitting second from left in front row (with feather bonnet): printed in: "Recent Indian wars under the lead of Sitting Bull, and other chiefs: with a full account of the Messiah craze, and ghost dances" by James Boyd, Publishers Union, 1891
|
|
|
Post by grahamew on May 10, 2019 12:35:11 GMT -5
This is excellent. Date's interesting. I can't see why they would take a man from Wood Mountain on a tour like this unless he was one of those who returned to the USA in 1889, perhaps with Black Moon. I'm assuming THE Black Bull was older for he died in 1897 - though maybe not. I wonder if there were men from other tribes there or whether they were all Lakota and just given other tribal identifications to make it more exciting for the audience, as in Cody's tour of Britain in 1887
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on May 10, 2019 13:59:38 GMT -5
According to Ron Papandrea Black Bull never left Moose Jaw after retreating to Canada. So he can´t be the man called Black Bull Bear. And he can´t be in the photograph, in my opinion. Maybe it is as you said, Grahame. Stories made up to make the performing Indians interesting. Or he belonged to a group of returners. The list of Black Bull Bear´s group is pretty accurate in the following article: The Jersey City News, April 14, 1890 The Wheeling daily Intelligencer, May 05 1891
|
|
natethegreat
Full Member
Long live the Indigenous Tribes of North America
Posts: 117
|
Post by natethegreat on May 10, 2019 16:41:42 GMT -5
I remember reading in a book about Sgt. Billy Garnett, U.S. Army Scouts, where he relays a story about Feathers On His Head saving his friend.
|
|