White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-09-03

els!' have appeared over pic
lures of him in the newspapers. Innumerable
tourists to Glacier National park in Montana
have exhibited to friends back home picture
which they took-of "the buffalo nickel Indian"
In the many trips which Two Guns White Calf
has taken to all parts of the United States
he has been photographed, interviewed, adver-
tised and written up as the Indian whose like
ness appears on every buffalo nickel" All Of
which has built up typical American myth.
And now it turns out that the buffalo nickel
Indian" isn't Chief Two Guns White Calf In
the parance Of the day it's two other fellows"
or possibly three!
The authority for that statement is the man
who, If anyone, should know. He is James
Earle Frazer, famous sculptor (if you Wis.,
tied the Panama-Pachc exposition in San Fran
cisco in 1915 perhaps you remember his strik-
ing piece of Indian statuary, ('The End Of the
Trail") whose design for the buffalo nickel was
accepted by officials of the United States Treas
ury department when plans for Issuing that
fivecent piece were made some Is years ago.
The other day Mr.. Frazer wrote letter to
the office of Indian affairs in the United States
Department of the Interior in which he said
that he had not used Two Guns White Calf as
his model but that he had used the pro-
files of three other Indians for his design. One
was Chief Iron Tail Of the Ogalala Sioux, an
other was Chief Two Moons Of the Northern
Cheyennes and the third was an Indian whose
name he had forgotten. OF course, If you in
sist upon chershing the myth you can be-
lieve that the Glacier Park chief is the third
Indian whom Mr.. Frazer has forgotten. But
even that's difficult in face of the fact that
the sculptor was quoted saying he "had
never seen Two Guns White Calf.
But even though this does demolish our pop
ular Beliefs" it has it's compensations. For one
thing it makes valid publicity story put out
by press agent! press agent yarns" espe-
cially those which have to do with the show
business-the theater, the circus, the movies,
ct cetera more often than not, of the kind
which require more than q grain of salt for
the taking. generation ago when the late
Col. William f. Cody was amazing and de-
lighting two continents" with his famous Wild
West show part of his personnel was band
of Ogallaa Sioux Indians from the Pine Ridge
reservation in South Dakota. Among them
chief Cat least he was chief in the show pro-
gram whether the Ogaala looked upon him as
such noD named Iron Tail. Later Iron
Tail travelled with the combined Buffalo Bill
and Pawnee Bill Wild West shows and still
later in the 1O1 Ranch show owned by the Miller
Brothers Of Oklahoma and Edward Arlington.
Soon after the appearance of the buffalo
nickel some inspired press agent whose name
is unknown had photograph (such as is shown
above) taken of Iron Tail and one of the buff
falOeS carried by the snow ana gave out the
information that this was ''the original Indian
and buffalo on the new buffalo nickel" Wheth-
er he really knew that Frazer had used Iron
Tails profile in making his design is also I'M
known. Anyway it was good story and the
press stuck to it, But for some reason the
story didn't "catch on" with the public. Per-
haps it Was dismissed as lust another press
agent yarn even though there was some ee-
ment of truth in it.
In the next few years the Wild West show
business languished. The automobile and i'm
proved roads began to make Americans a race
of motor gypsies." Instead of waiting for the
Wild West to be brought to them in tented
arenas, they cranked up their cars and went
to see the Wild West, such there was Of it
left, for themselves. Glacier park became one
of the favorite Meccas of the tourist and in adj
dition to it's marvellous scenery there were also
and paint to greet them with cultural "Hows"
One of these who became best known was Two
Guns White Calf. And then some other I'M
known press agent-for whom or what the
present chronicler does not know-started that
yarn about Two Guns being the Original buff
falo nickel Indian" And this press agent who
had no real foundation for his story, was be-
lieved where the other press agent who had
tried to tack that fame on Iron Tail and who
had real justification for his story wasn't!
So the myth grew and grew until this year
when James Earle Frazer exploded 1t