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WAR: BATTLE, Man with Banner Headdress Counts Coup on Crow with Elk Horn Scraper Society Lance

Ethnographic Notes

Horizontal WAR: BATTLE, Man with Banner Headdress Counts Coup on Crow with Elk Horn Scraper Society Lance The Cheyenne man on a red stallion counts coup on the enemy, probably a Crow. The Cheyenne man's feather bonnet resembles that of Plate 39, but here it has twenty-two immature golden eagle feathers. He has stripes diagonally across the neck (see Plates 12, 30) that represent a breast plate with German silver ornament attached at the center and bottom. The Cheyenne man wears a single trail eagle warbonnet. The twenty-two immature golden eagle feathers are distinct, and they are attached to red cloth (indicated by a red line). It resembles the headdress of the plate before (39). The man wears dark shirt cuffed with German silver armbands. He has a dark �skunk� blanket wrapped around him, and dark leggings of stroud cloth with the undyed selvedges joined vertically to create a white stripe. The horse�s reins are near his right hand. His lance, wrapped in otter fur, has a large metal tip. Four sets of two immature golden eagle feathers are attached along the shaft. Jean Afton et al. describe this type of Elk Horn Scraper lance: �one of four possessed by the society, two of which were shaped like shepherds� crooks and two that were straight. These sacred lances were wrapped with strips of otter skin and decorated with pairs of eagle feathers at four places along the shaft, again reinforcing the sacredness of the number four� ( 1997: 48, plate 28; see also Grinnell, 1923: 2, 57-8). The tip of the lance touches the enemy, counting coup. The Cheyenne man�s horse is a red stallion with dark tail and ears and white face. Its hooves are uncolored. It wears a headstall of German silver. His tail is tied in dark cloth for battle. The man on foot is outlined in blue. His hair is blue, with a black hair extended attached at the back. A blue outlined arm can be seen across his dark shirt, reaching toward the horse. He wears dark pants and blue moccasins.


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Provenance

Provenance: Drawn in 1879 by Northern Cheyenne leader Wild Hog (incorrectly denoted as "Hagetta" in the text) ...

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Document Info
Plate No: 40
Page No: 44
Media: Lead pencil outline, details, fill; red, black, and blue crayon
Dimensions: 13x9 cm, single column
Custodian
The Sch�yen Collection. London and Oslo. http://www.schoyencollection.com/aboutus.html
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