Northern Cheyenne Ledger-Kansas State Historical Society

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ANIMALS, ELK; WAR, WARRIOR with Saber on Pinto

Ethnographic Notes

50Adult female and her calf run from left to right across the page. The adult is outlined and fully colored, with detailing of ears, split hooves, dew claws, and tail. The eye is an unpigmented circle that contrasts with the hide. The front legs are down, indicating motion. The head and neck extend and lift upward. Between her legs, in the same composition as the female buffalo and calves in this ledger, is a small calf. The calf is clearly between its mother's legs. The calf is mostly an outlined shape with no coloring, except for darker fur around its head and neck. Its ears, split hooves, and tail are detailed. It has no eyes. This drawing is almost identical to the sequence of other female elk with calves in this ledger: plates 25-31. Minor variations do occur. For further information about this sequence of female elk and claves, see plate 25; for more about elk, see plate 19 notes. For further discussion buffalo and calves, see plate 11.

51 The warrior, wearing a single-trail headdress of immature golden eagle feathers, rides a pinto horse from right to left across the page. He wears a blue cloth shirt, cut full and with shirt tails in a �billowy� style (Lanford, 2010: 159). German silver arm bands cuff the shirt sleeves above each elbow. The alternating blocks of black-and-white beadwork that edge his leggings are an �old� and �sacred� pattern (Powell, Sacred Mountain: 564); this design appears often on war shirts and leggings (Lanford, 2003: 153, Fig. 15; Cowdrey, 1999: 209). His narrow (stylized) dark (pencil fill) breech clout flaps have undyed selvedge ends. He carries a saber in his right hand, with two streamers (see plate 13 for discussion), and his left hand is outstretched. The warrior is mounted on a black and white paint horse. The horse has a silver or German silver headstall. It is crowded against the edge of the page so its tail is not visible.


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Provenance

Drawn in 1879 by one or more Northern Cheyenne prisoners in the Dodge City jail held for trial after breaking ...

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Document Info
Plate No: 27
Page No: 50-51
Media: Lead pencil outline, detail, and fill; yellow crayon; Lead pencil outlines, details, and fill; blue crayon; red watercolor
Dimensions: 3.25 x 5 in (8.5 x 12.75 cm)
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