MS 7463 Book of Cheyenne drawings by Little Skunk and unknown Cheyenne artists, with correspondence concerning drawings
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 7463

OPPS SLIDE 22,227-22,297

USNM Accession 380496
label: Variant Title
content: Outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians, 1878 / sign language written by the Chief "Little Skunk"
name: label: Artist
content: Little Skunk
place: label: Place
content: North America
label: Place
content: Fort Reno (Okla.)
creator: label: Artist
content: Little Skunk
culture: label: Culture
content: Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Volume (152 pages, including 89 drawings with 3 leaves inserted, hard-bound in slipcase, 5.5 x 8.5 inches)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1878-1902
container: label: Container
content: Box 7463
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The collection was acquired by W.H. Kelly of Glasgow, Scotland.  Kelly worked for Nicol and Halliday, a firm of auctioneers in Glasgow. The collection and other objects were found during a clean-up of the firm's storage areas in the 1950s, and Mr. Kelly was told he could have them. The items were believed to have belonged to a Presbyterian minister from Clyndor, Gareloch, Scotland.

The book was purchased by the Smithsonian from Kelly in 1987, and transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives in 1989.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS7463
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Graphic Materials
label: Type
content: Volumes
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Ledger drawings
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Ledger drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of a bound notebook, slip case, and three inserted letters.  The notebook contains 89 drawings on ruled paper, primarily scenes of warfare. The drawings are the work of several different artists and depict battles with several different tribes as well as with White civilians and Army troops. The slip case is embossed with title "Outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians 1878. Sign Language Written by the Chief 'Little Skunk.'"

The first letter is dated September 10, 1892, and signed by A. Wernher.  It states: "this book was presented to me in 1879 by Hermann Hauser of the Q[uarter] M[aste]r Dep[artmen]t at Fort Reno, Ind[ian] Terr[itory] Hauser was affiliated by marriage to the Cheyenne tribe of Indians and assured me that the book represented in sign language  the outbreak of the Cheyenne Indians at Fort Reno Ind[ian] Terr[itor]y and their raid through Kansas to the North in 1878, written by the Cheyenne Indian "Little Skunk." However, the content of the images is not consistent with the accompanying identification. The names "Little Skunk" and "Hermann Hauser" do not appear in the index to the records of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency held at the Oklahoma Historical Society, but the latter's name appears as "Herman Hauser" in separate material at the Oklahoma Historical Society relating to Fort Reno.

The second letter is dated February 2, 1897, and written by Frank Hamilton Cushing on Bureau of American Ethnology letterhead.  The note returns the book to a Colonel Cushing and asks to see it again later. 

The third letter is dated March 11, 1902, and written by P. C. Knox to Colonel William C. Sanger with thanks for letting him see the book.

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.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The National Anthropological Archives holds MS 7567 Miscellaneous specimen tags and newspaper clippings, which were also donated by W.H. Kelly.  Artifacts donated by Kelly are held in the Department of Anthropology object collections (Accession 380486).