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IDENTIFIED ORIGINAL CABINET CARD OF WHITE HORSE
–KIOWA WARRIOR KNOWN TO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE BATTLES
OF ADOBE WALLS & THE PALO DURO CANYON: A very
nice original identified cabinet card depicting Kiowa
warrior White Horse in a portrait setting. His
adornment features a very nice hair ornament and a bone
breastplate.
White Horse was known as one of the most
daring raiders among the Kiowa during the 1870s. On
June 12, 1870 he stole 74 horses and mules from the
quartermaster’s herd within the confines of the main
garrison at Fort Sill,. He was active in most of the
significant encounters with the US Army, settlers and
buffalo hunters on the Southern Plains during the period
of 1870-1875, including the second Battle of Adobe Walls
and the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon. As punishment for
his resistance, he was among the Kiowa sent into exile
at Fort Marion, Florida, from 1875 to 1878. While there
he produced a significant number of fine drawings. Upon
his return to Indian Territory, he settled into a quiet
life. Shortly before his death in 1892, the Smithsonian
ethnologist James Mooney made two fine portraits of
White Horse in his war clothing (National
Anthropological Archives, Neg. Nos. gn_01377 and
gn_01379ano2). His war shield and headdress are in the
National Museum of Natural History.
This cabinet
card measures 6 ½ " high and 4 ¼ " wide. The overall
condition of the image is quite good with only minor
scuffing at the edge of the image proper, and no wear to
the central focus of the image. The only sign of wear
or age is along the edge of the card, with a small rub
on the right edge of the card that does not intrude into
the image. The reverse of the card bears a hand written
notation “Chief White Horse – Dead”, and the
identification of this image is further confirmed by
comparison to several other known images of White
Horse. The bottom of the card front is printed with the
photographer’s name, Addison, and the location of his
studio at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma Territory.
George A. Addison was a photographer of some note, and
owned studios in Texas and Oklahoma Territory from the
early 1880s through the first decade of the 1900’s. He
established studios in Taylor and Georgetown near
Austin, Texas; Nocona in northern Texas; Wheeler County
in the Texas Panhandle; and, from 1890 to 1895, in the
Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory area.
Overall, this
is a very attractive, well identified image with the
added value of featuring a prominent Kiowa warrior who
was present at many, if not all, of the last dramatic
days of the
free ranging tribes of
the Southern Plains.
SOLD
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