MS 39-c Kiowa drawings by Koba, Etahdleuh, and others
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 39C
name: label: Artist
content: Doanmoe, Etahdleuh, 1856-1888
label: Artist
content: Kobay, (Comanche chief)
label: Names
content: Fort Marion artists
place: label: Place
content: North America
creator: label: Artist
content: Doanmoe, Etahdleuh, 1856-1888
label: Artist
content: Kobay, (Comanche chief)
culture: label: Culture
content: Kiowa
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 39-c Kiowa drawings by Koba, Etahdleuh, and others
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Koba (Wild Horse) was born in 1848. During the Red River War he was a member of the Kiowa band that surrendered on February 18, 1875. Following his surrender, he was confined at Fort Sill, Indian Territory. He was accused of stealing horses and mules in Texas and participating in the August 22, 1874 skirmish at the Wichita Agency, one of the opening engagements of the Red River War. He was among the Kiowa prisoners who were incarcerated in Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida following the end of the conflict. He arrived at Fort Marion on May 21, 1875. After his release from Ft. Marion, Koba attended the Hampton Institute in Virginia. He arrived at Hampton on April 14, 1878. In June of 1879, he left Hampton to work on a farm in Lee, Massachusetts. He then enrolled in the Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania, where he studied to be a tinsmith. He arrived at Carlisle on October 7, 1879. On September 10, 1880, Koba left Carlisle on what was intended to be a brief trip to Indian Territory. Although his health was failing, he was deemed fit to travel. He died of tuberculosis on September 24, 1880, only three days after arriving at his destination.
label: Biographical Note
content: Etahdleuh (1856-1888) was also known as Etahdleeuh, Etadeleuh, Etahdleuh Doanmoe, Boy, and Boy Hunting. He was imprisoned at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida from 1875-1878. After his release from Fort Marion, he attended the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia, arriving in April, 1878. In 1879, he travelled to the Indian Territory to recruit pupils to attend the Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania, where he would study and work on and off from 1879 to 1887. He made two extended trips back to the reservation during this period and from February to May 1880, he worked at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He was trained as a Presbyterian missionary and returned to the reservation in January 1888 to serve in this capacity.
label: Historical Note
content: Fort Marion, also known as Castillo de San Marco, is a stone fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two prisoners from the southern plains were incarcerated in the fort. Captain Richard Pratt supervised the prisoners during their incarceration at Fort Marion. The prisoners consisted of 27 Kiowas, 33 Cheyennes, 9 Comanches, 2 Arapahos, and a single Caddo. With the exception of one Cheyenne woman, all the prisoners were men. They had been accused of participating in the recent Red River War, earlier hostilities, or both. With the exception of the wife and daughter of one of the Comanche men, the prisoners families were not allowed to accompany them to Fort Marion.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 25 Drawings (visual works) (graphite, colored pencil, crayon, ink, and watercolor; laminated)
label: Extent
content: 5 Leaves (graphite and ink on ruled paper; laminated)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1875-1878
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The drawings were collected by Burnet S. Reynolds, who lived in St. Augustine, Florida from 1875 to 1878. He received them from Kiowa prisoners at Fort Marion, whom he tutored. The drawings were donated to the Bureau of American Ethnology by Reynolds' widow, Mrs. Mary B. Reynolds, in August 1945. Related correspondence is in Bureau of American Ethnology records; copies of the correspondence (4 pages) are stored with drawings.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS39C
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings (visual works)
label: Type
content: Leaves
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Ledger drawings
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Pictographs
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Ledger drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Pictographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of twenty-five (25) drawings depicting warfare, courting, hunting, dances, a horse race, and an intertribal meeting. Also included  are five (5) pages with pictographs representing various words and the rosters of the Fort Marion prisoners listing the prisoners' names and tribal affiliations. Several drawings are inscribed with the name of Koba, some with the name Etahdleuh. Most were probably drawn by Koba.  All drawings have been laminated.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.