page_title: Carlo Gentile
section_title: Travels and Buffalo Bill
hierarchical_section_title: Carlo Gentile / Travels and Buffalo Bill
caption_attribution_description: English: Four soldiers at rest, each identified on reverse. F. G. Adams, 1 "Cavalry"; Tom McDougle, 32 "Infantry" (McDougle was later at the Battle of the Little Big Horn but was not with Custer himself and survived the battle); Capt. Fargus, 32nd Infantry; J.C., 32nd Infantry (J.C. stands for James Calhoun, who was later with Custer at the Little Big Horn and killed there).
context_page_description: Carlo Gentile, known professionally in his lifetime as Charles Gentile, was a 19th-century Italian-American photographer. After travelling the world, he settled in Victoria, British Columbia for a few years, photographing diverse subjects including the gold fields. In 1867, he moved to California, and lived a restless existence with frequent moves between California and Arizona. In 1871, he purchased a young boy named Wassaja, later named Carlos Montezuma, for 30 silver dollars. In the midst of their travels, they participated in a Wild West Show starring Buffalo Bill. Gentile continued the pursuit of his photographic career in Chicago, while publishing a series of newspapers along with maintaining a weekly magazine.
context_section_description: In Pueblo, Gentile and Montezuma boarded the train for Denver. An itinerant period of wandering followed that is poorly documented. According to Montezuma's recollections, they traveled by train to Washington, D.C., then to New York, and down to Florida before heading northward as far as Canada.
  In Chicago, the pair joined the production of a show written by Ned Buntline, The Scouts of the Prairie, and Red Deviltry As It Is!. This Wild West entertainment, starred Buffalo Bill, Buntline, Giuseppina Morlacchi, and Texas Jack Omohundro. Despite being panned by critics, it was a great box office success. During their last performance in Chicago, Montezuma appeared on stage for the first time.  He was later billed as "the young Apache captive, Azteka". Gentile had a promotional role, selling carte-de-visites of the cast members.  After Chicago, the show toured St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Toledo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. After the show played in Franklin, Pennsylvania, in March 1873, Gentile and Montezuma departed the tour.
  It is unclear where they traveled next, with the exception of stops in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Grand Rapids. They settled in Chicago for a period until 1875, where Montezuma attended school while his adoptive father ran a new photographic studio. In 1875, as a treatment for a persistent cough, Montezuma was placed on a country farm in Galesburg, Illinois, where he spent two years.  Gentile meanwhile, had begun taking stereoviews of famous Chicago buildings and interiors.  In September 1877, The Philadelphia Photographer published a composite photograph by Gentile based on the carbon process, depicting Lieutenant-General Philip Sheridan and his staff. He exhibited his works in New York in early 1877, winning the highest award.
  The reunited Gentile and Montezuma took up residence in Brooklyn. Apparently Gentile had an art and photography store which was destroyed in a fire, In 1878, the pair traveled to Canada and then to Boston, returning to Chicago late that year. Realizing that Montezuma needed a sound education and a stable upbringing, he was entrusted to the care of a Baptist minister in Urbana, Illinois. Montezuma went on to have a distinguished career and personal life, becoming the second Native American to graduate with a medical degree, as well as being a tireless promoter of Indigenous rights.
caption: Four soldiers at rest. From left, F.G. Adams, Tom McDougle, Captain Fargus, James Calfhoun. 1870s.
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