Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ledger drawings
Date:
ca. 1889
Scope and Contents:
Ledger book, now disbound, containing drawings of warfare, courtship, hunting and ceremony. The pages are numbered 1-113, with the following numbers missing: 5-6, 27-28, 31-32, 69-70, 93-96. Endpaper inscribed "Cheyenne Agency, Darlington Ind[ian] Terr[itory]". Additional laminated sheet contains original collector's tag, associated note, and early museum label. The drawings are by several artists, the most prominent being Yellow Nose. When possible, individual drawings have been assigned to Yellow Nose on stylistic grounds by comparison to his other known work.
Biographical / Historical:
Yellow Nose aka Little Face, Hehuwesse, He-her-we. (1848-1910) was a Ute captured as a young boy by Dives Backward and raised within Northern Cheyenne society by his adopted father Spotted Wolf. He is recorded to have participated in the Battle of Rosebud (June 17th, 1876) and the Battle of Little Bighorn (June 25-26th, 1876) where he reportedly 1) lost a famous shield made by Whistling Elk (later acquired by the NMAI) 2) captured the guidon of the 7th Cavalry and 3) strangled Custer to death with his bare hands. After the Battle of Little Big Horn, Yellow Nose traveled with a group of Northern Cheyenne led by Little Wolf and Dull Knife eventually making camp along the Powder River. The group was attacked by General Ranald McKenzie in the Battle of Crazy Woman Fork (November 20th, 1876). During this battle Yellow Nose distracted the US soldiers, allowing the women and children to escape, and sustained a shot to the chest. Eventually, the group, including Yellow Nose, was captured and removed to the southern Cheyenne reservation in present-day Oklahoma, where Yellow Nose remained for the remainder of his life. Information on Yellow Nose from: Powell, Peter John, Sweet Medicine: The Continuing Role of the Sacred Arrows, the Sun Dance, and the Sacred Buffalo Hat in Northern Cheyenne History. Norman; University of Oklahoma Press (1969).
For a biography of H. R. Voth, see Kaufman, Edmund G. (1973) "Heinrich R. Voth" in General Conference Mennonite Pioneers. North Newton, Kansas: Bethel College. (1973) pp. 326-333
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 166032
Local Note:
This book was originally noted as having been created solely by Yellow Nose. Stylistic differences between the images suggest that more than one artist is represented within the manuscript.
Place:
United States Indian Territory Cheyenne Agency Darlington.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings
Ledger drawings
Date:
ca. 1889
Scope and Contents:
Drawing was most likely completed by Yellow Nose and another artist. Numbered pages 22 and 23. Inscriptions read "Me-Thow-You-us-a," "Clyde C. Bear Robe," and "Owl Bare Billy."
Local Numbers:
NAA INV 08703400
NAA INV 08703500
OPPS NEG 57,148-A
OPPS NEG 57,149-A
NAA MS 166032
Album Information:
MS 166032 016
Genre/Form:
Ledger drawings
Collection Citation:
Manuscript 166,032, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
