The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-03-17
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face which Catln painted in profile The picture
was almost finished when a chief of a different
band, a surly, bad tempered man named Shonko
or The Dog, came in and saw Catlins work.
Going to Little Bear, Shonko said insolently:
"Little Bear is but half man." When the chief
demanded an explanation Shonko replied: SO
TO your friend, the painter and ask him. He
painted only half Of your face He knows the
other half is good for nothing"
From this sprang q quarrel between the two
men which resulted IN the death Of Little Bear
before the feud ended. Eventually ii caused
so much trouble among the Hunkpapas that Cat
lin, who had gone farther up the Missouri river,
took care TO avoid the camp Of this tribe on his
return journey.
Some of Catlin's finest work was done among
the Mandans who lived in what is now North
Dakota He there witnessed the entire sun dance
ceremony and painted four pictures Of it.
II seems unfortunate that Catlin could not
have profted more from his work while he lived
For in his old age he lost the fortune which he
had built up, became bankrupt, in fact until
all he had left was his gallery OF some 500 or
more of his Indian paintings These he would not
sell but gave them to the Smithsonian institu-
ton for safekeeping as an imperishable record
of his life work and Of a vanishing race. Some
OF them were destroyed or injured In fire which
swept the institution In January, 1865, but the
remainder which are still preserved in the Smith
sonian are valued at not less than 100000
which, If anything, is an differentiation. con-
sidering their importance. Catlin died In 1872
ar the age of seventy-six.
The same fate overlook most of the paintings
of another famous artist, John Mix Stanley For
the same fire in the Smithsonian destroyed all
but five Of Stanleys collection of more than 10
paintings which represented 10 years of work
among 43 different tribes on the southwestern
prairies. in New Mexico, California and Oregon
Stanley was born In Canadaigua. N. Y, In
1914 and died in Detroit the same year that saw
the death Of Catlin-1s72. AT the age Of four
teen he became orphan and was apprentieed
to a wagon maker in Naples, n. Y, where he
spent his boyhood In 1884 he moved TO De-
troit and the next year his latent genius be-
gan TO show itself In a series Of portraits and
landscapes In 1889 he made his home in
Chicago and Galena. the famous lead mining
center In Illinois, and at this time he first be-
came interested In Indians. making trips tn Fort
Smelling. MINI. to paint them From 1899 TO
1912 he made his home again In the East and
continued with his painting.
His first important work among the Indians
was done In 1872 when he visited the Indian
country In Arkansas and New Mexico and made
many pictures Of Indians and Indian scenes
The next year he was In what Is now Okla
homa. painting among the Cherokees, the Creeks
and the Delawares as well some of the tribes
In Texas. The year 1s45 found him again in
New Mexico and by this time he had painted
So canvases which he exhibited In Cincinnati
and Louisville
In May, 1916, Stanley returned to the West and
painted the famous Sac chief. Keokuk. the wife
Of Black Hawk and other netables Of that tribe.
In October Of that year he visited Santa Fe to
paint some more pictures but instead he joined
the famous march of General Kearney and his
dragons from Santa Re to San Diego, taking