Northern Cheyenne Ledger-Kansas State Historical Society

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ANIMALS, ELK; WAR, WARRIOR on White Horse with Blue Legs Carries a Lance

Ethnographic Notes

54 ANIMALS, ELK. Adult 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 may be alongside her, as ledger art telescopes distances. 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 elk, see plate 19 notes. 55 A warrior rides a white horse with blue legs from left to right across the page. The warrior wears a single-trail eagle feather bonnet seen repeatedly in this ledger. He wears a dark shirt (lead pencil) with a white blanket wrapped around his waist (see a similar blanket arrangement in Arrow�s Elk Society Ledger, Cowdrey: 1996, 144-5). German silver arm bands cuff the full-cut shirt above each elbow. His leggings are elaborated with a zigzagged black-and-white beaded border (see references for plate 13). He wears a blue breech cloth with undyed selvage edging. He carries a lance with a metal point, similar to the lances in other drawings. The lance has identical ornamentation at two places: two immature golden eagle feathers and a strip of red cloth tied to a clipped feather circle. These are at the top of the shaft and near the end. Its hooves are uncolored and appear white. The horse's tail is tied up with red trade cloth, and its reins are attached to a German silver headstall. This particular warrior is repeated in this ledger, wearing the same distinctive war bonnet. See Plate 9 for further discussion.


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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: 29
Page No: 54-55
Media: Lead pencil outline, detail, and fill; yellow crayon; Lead pencil outline, detail, and fill; blue crayon; red watercolor
Dimensions: 3.25 x 5 in (8.5 x 12.75 cm)
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