Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. 1 (of 2): With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existingCatlin, George
History
Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. 1 (of 2): With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existing
Catlin, George
Indians of North America
1. Mah-to-toh-pa kills a Sioux chief—the three heads represent the
three Riccarees, whom the Sioux chief had previously killed. The Sioux
chief is seen with war-paint black on his face. Mah-to-toh-pa is seen
with the scalp of the Sioux in one hand, and his knife in the other,
with his bow and quiver lying behind him.[3]
2. A Shienne chief, who sent word to Mah-to-toh-pa that he wished to
fight him—was killed by Mah-to-toh-pa with a lance, in presence of a
large party of Mandans and Shiennes. Mah-to-toh-pa is here known
by his lance with eagles’ quills on it.
[Illustration: 65]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
3. A Shienne killed by Mah-to-toh-pa after Mah-to-toh-pa had been left
by his party, badly wounded and bleeding; the twenty-five or thirty
foot-tracks around, represent the number of Shiennes, who were present
when the battle took place; and the bullets from their guns represented
as flying all around the head of Mah-to-toh-pa.
4. Shienne chief with war-eagle head-dress, and a beautiful shield,
ornamented with eagles’ quills, killed by Mah-to-toh-pa. In this
battle the wife of the Shienne rushed forward in a desperate manner to
his assistance; but arriving too late, fell a victim. In this battle
Mah-to-toh-pa obtained two scalps.
5. Mah-to-toh-pa, with a party of Riccarees, fired at by a party of
Sioux; the Riccarees fled—Mah-to-toh-pa dismounted and drove his horse
back, facing the enemy alone and killing one of them. Mah-to-toh-pa is
here represented with a beautiful head-dress of war-eagles’ quills,
and one on his horse’s head of equal beauty; his shield is on his arm,
and the party of Sioux is represented in front of him by the number of
horse tracks.
6. The brother of Mah-to-toh-pa killed by a Riccaree, who shot him with
an arrow, and then running a lance through his body, left it there.
Mah-to-toh-pa was the first to find his brother’s body with the lance
in it: he drew the lance from the body, kept it four years with the
blood dried on its blade, and then, according to his oath, killed the
same Riccaree with the same lance; the dead body of his brother is here
seen with the arrow and lance remaining in it, and the tracks of the
Riccaree’s horses in front.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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