Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1933-03-16

4. !. {. !. !. | ! !.
W to revive the interest of the people
M1 Ntl of the United States In the original
lHI WI inhabitants of this continent the
N.Y. NV North American Indians. but they
IN NV have also served to recall the
Ny1HzU ices of a group OF men whose work
7LEQR deserves better fate than the par
lLI1tU tal oblivion which has been theirs.
nDN These are the early painters of the
Indians to whom we are indebted
for most OF our pictorial evidence
about the red man while he was still compare
lively untouched by the so-called "ciyilizing" In
fuences Of the white man.
Foremost among the names OF these artists
Is that OF George Catln and mention OF him
Ia sngulary appropriate at this time because
1t was just 100 years ago that Catlin had started
ON his work of recording the appearance. social
life and customs of the tribes Of the transmits
sIssIppi West. Catn was born In Wyoming,
Pa, In 1T9G and In accordance with his fathers
wishes studied for the profession Of law, which
he began practicing In Philadelphia. But, be-
Ing fond OF excitement and adventure, he found
1t difficult to stick to his business and he de-
voted almost as much time to his avocation OF
drawing and painting, In which he was self
taught, as he did to his vocation of law.
One day In 1890 party OF Indians from the
s'Far West" who were on their way to coun-
ell with the Great White Father In Washington
stopped over In Philadelphia. Catlin saw them
on the streets and was so delighted with their
nne forms and noble bearing that he determined
to give up his law practice and devote his life
to making collection Of paintings Of Indians
which would show, after they were gone, how
they looked and how they lived
The result was his first journey to the Indian
country In 1882 and for the next eight years he
devoted himself to the work He travelled many
ndz 1f mill nv nm nhprlx
among tribes which We're sun as Wild and I'M
tanned as they had been in pre- Columbian days
and he found plenty of excitement, difficulty and
danger In his work. He made paintings every
where. portraits Of chiefs and warriors. paint
ings Of the scenery Of the West, Of herds Of huf-
falo, of hunting life, Of Indian games, cere-
monies social misunderstanding that would
Illustrate the life and country of the wild tribes
of the West More than that, he painted scenes
of old trading posts and United States forts,
upon whose sites now stand important American
cities so that even II he had not left in
valuable record Of the Indian, the historical
value Of this other phase of his work would be
great enough to place Americans under heavy
debt Of gratitude to him.
Catlin not only painted hundreds Of pictures
but he made big collection OF fndian objects
weapons scalps, objects used In gamesr
articles Of clothing, ornaments, etc. With all
Of these he made tour of the East, exhibiting
his collections In the larger cities and every
where attracting large crowds.
1t seems unfortunate that Catlln could not
have prohted more from his work while he lived.
For In his old age he lost the fortune which he
had built up, became a bankrupt, in fact, until
III 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 a fire which
swept thu institution In January, 1855, but the