Hodges Soileau (American, B. 1943) "Little Wolf" Signed lower middle. Original Mixed Media painting on Paper.

Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.

This artwork originally appeared on the Fleetwood Little Wolf Commemorative Cover Postmarked February 18, 1982.

Born in Montana in the early 1820's, Little Wolf was one of the ablest military tacticians of the Northern Cheyenne. During the siege of Fort Phil Kearny in 1866, he probably taught young Crazy Horse some of the arts of decoying soldiers. After the soldiers withdrew from Fort Phil Kearny in August 1868, Little Wolf led the warriors who torched the buildings. Ten years later he again tasted victory, this time against Custer on the Little Bighorn. During the following months, the Army pursued the Cheyenne relentlessly, and on November 25, 1876, Colonel Ranald McKenzie attacked Dull Knife's village on Powder River in Wyoming. In the fierce fighting Little Wolf was wounded seven times. Although many Cheyenne escaped, they were without means of survival and were soon forced to surrender. In the summer of 1877, Little Wolf and Dull Knife with about 1,000 Northern Cheyenne were sent to Indian Territory. In that vastly different climate, without medicines or adequate rations, they began to die. Little Wolf and Dull Knife fled northward on September 10, 1878, with about 300 followers. Their epic 1500-mile flight across the Plains, pursued by thousands of soldiers and civilians, rivals that of the Nez Perce a year earlier. After crossing the North Platte, they split into two groups, one following Dull Knife to Fort Robinson, the other continuing with Little Wolf to their old homeland along Tongue River. There in 1884 they were at last given a reservation, Little Wolf living until well into his eighties.

Image Size: 14.5 x 13 in.
Overall Size: 19.5 x 17.5 in.
Unframed.
(B07363)

- By registering to bid for this auction either in-house or online and/or placing a bid in this auction the BIDDER/BUYER agrees to all the terms and conditions of Helmuth Stone Gallery Auctions.

- All silver, gold and/or jewelry lots or invoices containing said lots MUST be paid for via WIRE TRANSFER, no other forms of payment will be accepted.

- All items are sold as-is where-is and no guarantees are made of any kind. All sales are final; no refunds will be given under any circumstances.

- Helmuth Stone Gallery provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.

- Online images can sometimes be low quality due to the uploading process, original high-resolution images can be requested via email at HelmuthStone@gmail.com

- We recommend looking into shipping quotes prior to bidding, shipping quotes can take up to a week or more post-sale as we host our auctions through multiple online platforms and shipping can become backlogged, if you would like a list of local shippers please email us directly.

- Our auction catalogs are hosted through multiple online platforms along with phone and in-house bidding. Bids placed on other platforms are not shown through this catalog. Because of this, even if it appears you are the only absentee bid or bidder on a lot, you may already be outbid or may have placed a bid equal to another bidder. Therefore, we always recommend bidding live.

- Unless otherwise stated in the description, all items are sold without additional documentation or COAs. If any supporting documentation is available an image will be available online via the catalog listing.

19.5 x 17.5 in