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Post by ephriam on Sept 15, 2019 0:00:50 GMT -5
I think I might have solved part of the issue. It turns out there are two men with very similar names that we are confusing.
In the 1879 Pine Ridge Agency ration index, there are two bands of interest: Band 7: “Daylight (Waz.)” and Band 9: “High Wolf”. As I create a list of the families in both bands and then compare them to the tiyospaye list for 1890, I discovered that there is a man named Daylight in Band 7, no doubt the leader. And there is another individual named Daylight Man in Band 9 with High Wolf. This suggests two different individuals!
Will finish comparing the lists of names and revise the above paragraph shortly.
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Post by ephriam on Sept 14, 2019 19:11:26 GMT -5
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Post by ephriam on Sept 14, 2019 13:43:16 GMT -5
The Pine Ridge Agency census for 1890 records a band known as the Pesla (Pĥešlá), a small thiwáhe numbering 22 families or 98 people living within the Porcupine District. The Pĥešlá or Bald Head’s band was a very ancient group of families who had originally been aligned with the Sičháŋğu until perhaps about 1839 when they shifted to the Oglala camp circle. Together with the Waceyunpa with whom they were intimately intermarried, this small band generally roamed with the southern Oglala during the decades of the 1840s and 1850s, hunting buffalo along the Republican River. Following the massacre of Cheyenne at Sand Creek in 1864, nearly all of the southern Oglala joined their relatives north of the Platte River. Over the next several years, most of these bands returned to their home hunting territory along the Repubican, except for the Waceyunpa and the Pelsa who remained in the north. During the 1860s they were with the northern Oglala fighting along the Bozeman trail in Red Cloud's War. By the time of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, both the Waceyunpa and the Pesla were considered part of the larger Wazhazha tiyospaye and were aligned with the northern bands -- both bands were at the Little Bighorn. The Pesla ultimately settled in the Porcupine District on the Pine Ridge Reservation and did participate in the ghost dance in 1890.
Two key leaders are generally mentioned for the Pesla band during this period: High Wolf and Daylight Man. Oral history notes that Daylight's father was Walks Freely (Ikopesni Mani) who was one of the prominent leaders of the Pesla during the 1840s and 1850s. In contrast, High Wolf was a Minneconjou who married into the Pesla. This information would suggest that both High Wolf and Daylight came into leadership positions perhaps in the 1860s.
But here is where some of the confusion exists within historical documents. Oral history notes that High Wolf's band had aligned with the more moderate Man Afraid of His Horses' band (Payabya) in 1866. This is supported by the 1874 ration list for the Red Cloud Agency, as recorded by Forsyth, that lists High Wolf as leader of a group of 35 lodges with the "Piabia". In contrast, the Forsyth list separately records a "Waz-izas" band of 28 lodges led by Day. One of Dr. Saville's annuity sheets (1874) has survived for Day's band, listing the head of families for 19 families, but only a few of these can be connected to later known families. Forsyth's list seems to suggest that High Wolf and Day were leaders of two separate bands. This is further supported by Merritt's list of families in 1876 and by a comment in the William Garnett interview in the Ricker Tablets. In talking about an 1878 council in which the Oglala were preparing to move from the Missouri River to what would become the Pine Ridge Agency, Garnett mentions High Wolf, “an old time chief,” and later Day, "a Waj ja ja chief.” He seems to treat them as two different band leaders. High Wolf and Daylight Man are listed in the 1879 Pine Ridge ration list as separate bands and in the 1890 census as the same band (Pesla).
So how do we interpret these tidbits of information? One possibility is that the Pesla was one band, bound together by family/kinship but deeply polarized and split politically during the 1866-1878 time period, as many bands were. High Wolf presumably fought early in the 1860s, but had become more moderate by 1866 when he aligned with the Payabya. He traveled to Washington, D.C. as a delegate in 1872 and then accompanied Red Dog on their peace mission to the northern Lakota later that same year. (Both High Wolf and Red Dog had married into the Oglala and had gone through similar political transformations.) Daylight might have initially been a supporter of the northern traditionalists. When the northern "break-aways" headed to Canada to join Sitting Bull in late 1877 and early 1878, both High Wolf and Daylight Man remained behind. Perhaps as these two factions of the Pesla band came back together, they lost their more ardent traditionalist followers to other Oglala bands and the two factions came back together again.
An alternative theory is that perhaps Daylight married into another band and only returned to his original family band, the Pesla, about 1878, hence High Wolf and Daylight being listed as leaders of different bands during the 1870s.
High Wolf disappears from the Pine Ridge census records between 1890 and 1892, suggesting that he died at that time. His wife, Susan, later married Shot in the Eye. Daylight Man died in 1909.
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Post by ephriam on Sept 9, 2019 23:28:06 GMT -5
This will be a challenge. The Whetstone Agency was not established until 1868 and did not become known as the Spotted Tail Agency until the 1870s. Trade in weapons and ammunition were illegal after 1876, so traders like Francis C. Boucher got out of the business. Have not come across any record of a German gunsmith in that area. Sorry could not be of more help.
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Red Dog
Sept 9, 2019 8:40:19 GMT -5
Post by ephriam on Sept 9, 2019 8:40:19 GMT -5
Good morning, Dietmar:
Red Dog returned to the Red Cloud Agency with the rest of the Oglala delegation after the 1872 delegation trip to Washington, D.C. He saw his family briefly before starting out again for the Fort Peck Agency negotiations. I assume that his daughter joined Red Dog at that time.
Ephriam
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Red Dog
Aug 30, 2019 9:07:20 GMT -5
Post by ephriam on Aug 30, 2019 9:07:20 GMT -5
Very cool. What a great find!
Ephriam
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Post by ephriam on Jul 3, 2019 21:49:19 GMT -5
Californian:
Trager was never known by the name George. In all the records in which he is mentioned -- including census records, land records, newspaper accounts -- he is always referred to as Gustavus or Gus. He later also used the name Gustavo. Unfortunately, the initial mistake of calling him George has persisted through John Carter (Nebraska State Historical Society) and other writers, creating confusion. I am working on a biographical article to hopefully provide more details about his early photography.
By 1896, Trager had located in Arcadia, Iowa, where he operated a studio in partnership with F. M. Steadman. The two partners then headed to Puebla, Mexico. Steadman returned but Trager remained in Mexico and abandoned professional photography for mining. He worked in Mexico from 1897 into the 1930s at least, with occasional visits back to his family in Wisconsin. I suspect he had a Mexican family and probably died there. I have been trying to track down this last tidbit his final years to complete the article.
Ephriam
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Post by ephriam on Jul 3, 2019 21:31:25 GMT -5
Dietmar:
About 1906, there was an attempt by the agent at Pine Ridge to assign Christian names to all Lakota on the reservation and Yellow Bear was listed in the name ledger book as McKinley Yellow Bear. But I have seen no evidence that the name stuck. In the census records, he is always referred to as simply Yellow Bear.
Ephriam
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Post by ephriam on Aug 5, 2018 5:39:44 GMT -5
Good morning, Graham: This drawing is from a private collection, part of which has been traveled around on display. I saw the exhibit perhaps 8-10 years ago in Salt Lake City, though I do not recall this drawing being there. You can access a description about the piece from here: www.splendidheritage.com/nindex.html. Then search for artifact number WC8708933. Here is a link to a short paper written up about this drawing: www.splendidheritage.com/Notes/WC8708933.pdfHope this helps. Ephriam
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Post by ephriam on Aug 1, 2018 20:24:12 GMT -5
Good evening, everyone: I wanted to share a few more details about the Red Hawk ledger book that might be of interest. According to the museum's online description, the ledger book was purchased in 1897 from H. H. Hayssen of Chuncula, Alaska. The book was reportedly "captured" by Captain R. Miller from Red Hawk at Wounded Knee Creek on January 8, 1891. Henry H. Hayssen (1848-1913) had immigrated to the U.S. as a child with his family, initially settling in Wisconsin. As an adult, he operated a general store and became a very active collector of Indian artifacts, particularly projectile points. He was described in one publication as an "avid collector and amateur archaeologist." In 1896, the board of the Milwaukee Public Museum voted to purchase Hayssen's "collection of Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology," presumably including this ledger book. We should point out that Hayssen had moved to Chunchula, Alabama [not Alaska] about 1896 or 1897 where he died in 1913. "Captain R. Miller" was one of the notorious characters of the Ghost Dance troubles. A seasonal cowboy, hunter, and homesteader in South Dakota, Riley Miller was part of the Home Guard that caused so much trouble in 1890-91. He later adopted the title "captain" to give some sense of respectability to his activities. Miller had served in the Civil War, was a survivor of the Confederate POW camp at Andersonville, and now worked seasonally for one of the large ranches near the Pine Ridge Reservation. Renee Flood, in her wonderfully researched book Lost Bird of Wounded Knee, describes how members of the Home Guard including Miller ambushed a group of Lakota near the Stronghold on or about December 14, 1890, killing some number. I have not been able to figure out yet who this Lakota group was. One witness noted that Miller and another companion brought back mules to pack out a large collection of artifacts, including clothing, etc. that had been left behind by these fleeing Lakota and Miller later spent several years traveling these items around as part of his "dime museum" trying to earn money. Here is a photograph of Miller and some of these captured items, probably taken about 1891 or 1892. ( Click here for link). I am guessing that during one of Miller's tours with his Indian collection, he passed through Wisconsin and Hayssen was able to purchase the ledger book. The date on the ledger, Jan. 8, 1891, does not match the timing of the "Home Guard Ambush" of Dec. 14, 1890. I am still researching to determine if Miller and others may have been involved in another incident a month later. During the Ghost Dance period, Red Hawk Sr. and his son, Red Hawk Jr. were living along Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Several of the individuals mentioned in the ledger book -- Holy Standing Buffalo, Crazy Thunder and Runs Against -- were members of the Wakan Band, a sub group of the Oyuhpe Oglala who settled on Wounded Knee Creek near where it empties into the White River, a community later known as Rockyford. This suggests that the artist was probably the son, better known later as Austin Red Hawk (c1856-1928), who is listed as a member of the Wakan band in the 1890 census for Pine Ridge. He served as an Indian scout during the Ghost Dance troubles and later as a reservation policeman. Did Red Hawk give the ledger to Miller or did the cowboy militia raid Indian cabins along Wounded Knee creek during which he "captured" the ledger book? Hopefully more research will help us determine where it was found. Hope this helps to provide some additional context for this ledger book. Ephriam
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Post by ephriam on Oct 29, 2017 11:47:26 GMT -5
Edwin A. Howard, commencement of service, June 1, 1873. - Howard, Edwin Alexander (b. 11 May 1833 Gilead, OH -- d. 22 Apr 1907 Hillsdale, MI) was a long-time merchant in Hillsdale. He was nominated by Zachariah Chandler, at that time the senator from Michigan who went on to become the Secretary of the Interior. In 1877, Howard was appointed Indian Agent for the Ponca.
1st Lt. M. C. Foot, commencement of service, Aug. 11, 1876. 1st Lt. Augustus C. Paul, commencement of service, Nov. 1, 1876. 1st Lt. Horace Neide, commencement of service, Dec. 1, 1876. 1st Lt. Jesse M. Lee, commencement of service, Mar. 4, 1877. James Lawrence, commencement of service, Aug. 26, 1877. Cancelled.
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Post by ephriam on Oct 29, 2017 7:18:52 GMT -5
Still on the hunt for anything about the family background of the Oglala Sitting Bull killed at the Tongue River Cantonment in December 1876. Here are the words of Little Wound that confirms young Sitting Bull was a member of the Little Wound family. This letter was written shortly after the Cheyenne Outbreak at Fort Robinson: Pine Ridge Agency, D.T. Feb’y 1” 1879 Commander of Fort Robinson Nebraska Sir I have the honor to report that “Little Wound” chief of a large band of Ogalalla Indians requests me to say to you for him, that he has in the past troubles stood firm for the Gov’t and thinks it would be just to him to hear what he has to say. The Whistler family belonged to my band and relatives of mine. They were all murdered by white men, not soldiers. “Young Setting Bear” or “Carries the Drum,” my son, while on a mission of peace and carrying a dispatch to the near mouth of tongue river, was killed by Crows with the white soldiers and now you have a full blood Ogalalla “Big Head” my first cousin who married a Cheyenne women and happens in that way to be with the Cheyennes he is now wounded and perhaps crippled for life and now he would ask as a favor from the Gov’t and in view of his many misfortunes, that Big Head be released and turned over to his band where he properly belongs, and that you will show him a special favor by telegraphing to such authority as may be able to release him, as so many of our relatives and friends have been killed you can surely afford to do me the favor I ask. He wants you to be kind enough to answer this letter and tell him what you can do. Your Friend his X mark Little Wound I certify on honor that I interpreted the above letter to “Little Wound” and he says it is his exact meaning. Leon F. Pallardy Letters Received, Adjutant General’s Office (M666 Roll 429).
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Post by ephriam on Oct 28, 2017 12:51:49 GMT -5
Dr. S. L. Nedelet, entered duty in Aug. 1868. - Nedelet, Sylvester Lewis (b. 2 Dec 1829 Philadelphia -- d. 30 Oct 1906 St. Louis, MO) was the son of Stephen F. Nidelet from San Domingo who had built up a successful silk trade business in Philadelphia. On a trip to St. Louis, he met Celeste Pratte, the daughter of the influential Bernard A. Pratte. They were married and lived in Philadelphia until about 1844 when the growing family relocated to St. Louis. Young Sylvester was well educated in Philadelphia and St. Louis. In his application to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he was reported to speak Spanish, French and English, as well as some German, Greek and Latin. After his failed appointment to West Point, he attended and graduated from St. Louis University's school of medicine. By 1856, he was working for the Army at Fort Belknap, Texas, as a contract surgeon. When the Civil War broke out, Dr. Nidelet became regimental surgeon for the 2nd Texas Infantry in the Confederate Army and was later placed in charge of the Ross Hospital at Mobile, Alabama. Despite his service in the Confederacy, Dr. Nidelet was again serving as a contract physician for the U.S. Army by 1868, now on the upper Missouri. He was appointed Indian Agent in Aug. 1868 by General Harney. He was reported to have learned several native languages, presumably including Lakota. Clow, in his article on the Whetstone Agency, described Dr. Nedelet as “incompetent and irresponsible” though I am still trying to track down some of his agency correspondence. Dr. Nedelet returned to St. Louis where he was a private physician for many years.
Captain D. C. Poole, entered duty on 14 July 1869. - Poole, DeWitt Clinton (b. 28 Sept 1828 Amsterdam, NY -- d. 30 Nov 1917 St. Louis, MO) From Wisconsin Veterans Museum: "...moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1854 after being deeded land by his cousin, Napoleon B. Van Slyke. At the onset of the Civil War, Poole volunteered with the Governor's Guard, later designated Co. K of the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. At the end of his three month enlistment, Governor Randall appointed Poole a Lieutenant Colonel in the newly-formed 12th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Poole was relieved from active duty in fall of 1863, and worked as an instructor within the Veteran Reserve Corps for several months before joining the Army of Virginia in June 1864. Poole was detached shortly thereafter and made Provost Marshal of the District of Columbia, placed in charge of President Lincoln's security. Poole eventually returned to Madison in 1866, but only remained for one year before accepting an offer to return to the Army as a Captain, transferring to Atlanta in 1867. In 1869 he was appointed by General Sherman an "Agent for the Sioux Indians," and was stationed in Whetstone Creek Reservation in Dakota Territory. In December of 1870, he was relieved of Indian service duty and reassigned to the 22nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Randall, Dakota Territory. In 1880 he was assigned to recruiting service in New York then became a Paymaster in Washington Territory in 1882, where he received a promotion to Major. As required by the Army, he was retired on his 64th birthday in 1892." See his book: Among the Sioux of Dakota: Eighteen Months Experience as an Indian Agent (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1881).
J. M. Washburn, entered duty on 18 Nov 1870. - Washburn, John Murry (b. 15 Feb 1831 Manlius, NY -- d. 16 Sept 1887 Mitchell, SD). Obituary from Mitchell Daily Republican, Sept. 18, 1887: "...Major Washburn was 53 years of age, and was born at Manlius, New York. Early in his life he came west, having lived for a short time in Kansas and Nebraska. He came to Dakota eighteen years ago, and was appointed Indian agent at what was known as the Whetstone agency, near Ft. Randall, afterward removing the Indians to the Spotted Tail agency. Later he made his home in Yankton, and in 1872 was appointed receiver in the U.S. land office, then located at Vermillion. From there the office was removed to Sioux Falls, and later to Mitchell, it present location. After retiring from this position he engaged in the practice of land law and in real estate, the firm for a time being Washburn & Currey. For the past two years he had been alone in business, to which he gave his undivided attention...”
D. R. Risley, entered duty of 27 Feb 1872. - Risley, David R. (b. 1824 St. Louis -- d. 13 Aug 1890 San Francisco, CA). His father, William Risley, moved to St. Louis in 1818 and two years later, married Sarah Simmonds, sister of John Simmonds who was part of one of the first banking firms established in California; he operated a large pork packing operation. David was born and educated in St. Louis. Working initially in his father's company, he soon began finding employment on the Mississippi and Missouri River steamboats, eventually working up to pilot. In 1847, he married Margaret (granddaughter of Capt. Nathaniel Leonard, captured by the British at Fort Niagara during the War of 1812). During the Civil War, David was arrested as a potential Confederate sympathizer, but paroled on a $3000 bond. He was active in local politics and in the Episcopal Church, which probably led to his consideration as Indian agent at the Whetstone Agency, as part of President Grant's Indian policy. David returned to St. Louis after his service as Indian Agent and then moved to southern California in 1880 where he was appointed marshal for several years.
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Post by ephriam on Oct 28, 2017 7:12:23 GMT -5
Graham: Regarding who took the photograph of Hamilton photographing the Sioux, it was not unusual for a traveling photographer to bring several cameras with him on an expedition of this nature. You would hate to travel all the way to Red Cloud and the Black Hills and have your only camera break! Remember that Hamilton's son joined him. I have assumed that this photograph was taken by his son, showing James Hamilton at the studio. I can add a few extra images to the list: 102. Sioux War Dancer 110. Scalping Scene. 123. Emigrants Surprised 125. Spotted Tail’s Son. 127. Spotted Tail’s Son and Family 136. Pappoose in Cradle, Strapped to Pony. 137. Indian Graveyard at Red Cloud. 149. Crow’s Breast, Sioux Chief. 161. Children in the Wigwam.
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Post by ephriam on Oct 9, 2017 11:19:12 GMT -5
Peter: We have learned quite a bit about the three photographer brothers, James, Charles and Grant Hamilton. I discuss Charles and James a bit in my article in Nebraska History (Click here for link), though I have never been able to find any records that gives precise dates for James' trip to the Red Cloud Agency. I tracked down family descendants but unfortunately there were no letters or diaires; I was able to get a copy of a photograph James and his family about 1881-82. Here are a few historical notes that might be of interest as we try to narrow down the timeframe when Hamilton was at the agencies: March 6, 1877 -- James H. Hamilton wrote to the commanding officer at Fort Laramie asking permission to open a photograph gallery at that post. March 15, 1877 -- Major A. W. Evans replied to Hamilton's request granting permission for him to come to Fort Laramie "if you will find your own building, and understand that by residing on a military reservation you subject yourself to military discipline. You had better make a visit here first and see how you like the place." Sioux City Daily Journal, April 8, 1877 -- J. H. Hamilton contemplates a trip to the Black Hills before long. Sioux City Daily Journal, April 29, 1877 -- J. H. Hamilton is now talking of taking a trip to the Black Hills, and thence to the Yellowstone country, for the purpose of securing stereoscopic views of the beauties of those regions of country. Black Hills Times, May 2, 1877 -- James Hamilton of Iowa in Deadwood Black Hills Times, Oct. 3, 1877 -- J. H. Hamilton of Sioux City in Deadwood Black Hills Times, Nov. 5, 1877 -- J.H. Hamilton and son return to Sioux City Hamilton returned to the Black Hills in 1880, but I do not yet know much about this trip. He died in 1897 and was buried in Sioux City, Iowa. I have visited his grave during a research visit to Sioux City. Hope this is helpful. Ephriam
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