“Nov. 19 1879/ This Indian. all dance/ three sing/ and some sport” (Artist’s inscription, verso)

"Depicted here are two separate, but not unrelated, scenes.

The lower section of the drawing shows the Sioux version of the Grass Dance (compare with Nº27 and Nº13). The feather bustle is shown in great detail in this drawing. Other paraphernalia of the dance, including spoons, a pointed stick, and elaborate tomahawks, are carried by various dancers. The containers holding the ceremonial food are shown in the lower right. Above them, around the horizontal drum, sit three warriors wearing dyed deer-hair roach headdresses.

Pictured above the Grass Dance is a complete narrative.

At the far left a young man approaches a young woman; both are on horseback. At social functions such as the Grass Dance this was a common occurrence. The second scene shows the two of them dismounted and speaking.

The third scene depicts them wrapped in a blanket (see Nº27 and Nº17). This was the standard method of courting and allowed the lovers privacy. Here, however, the blanket functions as a symbol for sexual intercourse, for the final scene depicts the woman holding a baby carrier. A great amount of time is compressed in this narrative to indicate that social functions, such as the Grass Dance, were occasions for social engagements of all kinds.” (p.26)

William S. Wierzbowski and Helen M. Mangelsdorf in Images of a Vanished Life: Plains Indian Drawing from the Collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1985.