Rain-in-the-Face 'Iromagaja'. The first photograph of Rain-in-the-Face, taken shortly before his arrest and incarceration at Fort Lincoln in 1874. He was one of the leaders during the Fetterman disaster of 1866, the worst defeat the U.S. Army had suffered on the frontier up to that time. His prowess as a warrior continued throughout the Sioux Wars. Wounded and lamed during the fight, he led his band against Custer, and later followed Sitting Bull into exile in Canada. Rain-in-the-Face and his followers surrendered to General Miles at Fort Keogh, Montana, in September of 1880. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Rain-in-the-Face, 'Iromagaja' (ca. 1835-1905). Warrior of note during the Red Cloud Wars. He became known to the army through the ears of Charley Reynolds, Custer's chief scout. Reynolds overheard a boast by Rain-in-the-Face during a war dance at the Standing Rock Agency in December of 1874. 'Iromagaja' told of killing two civilians traveling with Custer's 1873 Yellowstone Expedition. The tale was reported to General Custer, then Commander of Fort Abraham Lincoln, D.T. Captain Thomas Custer (brother of the General) was ordered to arrest the chief. He was imprisoned at Fort Lincoln but he managed to escape, vowing to avenge his incarceration at the hands of Captain Custer. 'Iromagaja' united a large band of warriors and joined Sitting Bull's hostiles, where in June 1876 in the valley of Little Bighorn, it is said Rain-in-the-Face was avenged. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
The first photo of the famed Hunkpapa war chief, taken at Fort Buford, D.T. shortly after his surrender to major Guido Ilges, Fifth Infantry, following a short fight near the Poplar Camp Post, January 2, 1881. Four years earlier, in the valley of Little Bighorn, it was Gall, Sitting Bull's lieutenant and war chief, who rallied to meet Reno's initial charge and quickly turned it into a devastating retreat. Gall later crossed the Little Bighorn River and led the Sioux to triumph over Custer's contingent of the Seventh Cavalry. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Gall 'Pizi' (ca. 1838-1895). A wise, fearless, and successful war chief, Gall was Sitting Bull's adopted brother and one of the few Indians for which the army offered a bounty. While visiting Fort Berthold, D.T., Gall was discovered and bayoneted by soldiers. Assumed to be dead, his body was abandoned by those in his camp, and in the bitter cold of a Dakota winter night Gall staggered some 20 miles in search of aid. Stabbed through his neck, belly and abdomen, it was nearly a year before he recovered completely. Gall poses, painted as if for battle, in Barry's Ford Buffalo studio shortly before he was sent to the Standing Rock Agency. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Goose was one of the best known Arikara scouts of the 1876 Sioux Campaign; he enlisted during April of that year for the expedition. He fought with Reno and was wounded during the initial battle of the valley. His story has been printed in numerous publications. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Dimensions
18 X 13 cm
Size Overall
51 X 41 cm
Medium
Black and white photograph
Condition
Bowing back of picture along both vertical edges away from mat.
John Grass 'Pizi' (1837-1918). John Grass, warrior and gifted orator was well known during reservation days as a progressive. Able to speak English and many dialects of Sioux, he was made head chief at the Standing Rock Agency, a position created by the white agent to rival the authority of Sitting Bull and unify the Agency Sioux. In later years he was credited for the success of the Commission of 1889: a session which, by the stroke of the pen, meant the end to the great Sioux Reservation. The stage has been set for the Ghost Dance uprising. Sitting Bull was killed, Wounded Knee took the lives of over 150 Sioux, and ironically John Grass helped negotiate a settlement for the survivors. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Dimensions
23 X 18.5 cm
Size Overall
51 X 41 cm
Medium
Black and white photograph
Condition
Severe bowing back of left vertical edge away from mat.
Red Horse 'Xunktanka Stanewe'. During the spring of 1876, Red Horse moved his band from the region of the Cheyenne River traveling through the Rosebud Valley and met with a large contingent of Sioux assembling on the west bank of the Little Bighorn river. As a head chief within the council lodge of the largest recorded Sioux camp, Red Horse fought both Custer and Reno. In 1881 at the Cheyenne River Agency, S.D., Red Horse created 41 ledger drawings illustrating his part in the famed battle. His story was published by the Bureau of American Ethnology in their Tenth Annual Report. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Wild Horse 'Xunktanka Wohitika'. An Oglala chief, Wild Horse was said to have been the brother of cousin of the great chief and leader, Crazy Horse, of whom no documented photograph is known. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Dimensions
23 X 19 cm
Size Overall
51 X 41 cm
Medium
Black and white photograph
Condition
Severe bowing back of both vertical edges away from mat.
Long Soldier 'Akicita Hanska'. A well known Hunkpapa chief at standing Rock, he wears a beaver top hat in vogue during the Civil war days. He was known as a skillful hunter and fearless warrior. Long Soldier represented his band at the signing of the 'Treaty of Fort Laramie' in 1868. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
