A Fort Marion drawing book
Illustrated by Bear's Heart (Nock-ko-ist, Tsis tsis'tas [Cheyenne], 1851–1882) and Ohet-Toint (Ohettoint / High Forehead; Kiowa, c. 1848-1934/35), comprising twenty-two unpaginated folios bound in a commercial sketchbook with printed cardstock covers, integral tissue guards between the pages, the folios illustrated with a total of sixteen single and five double-page drawings in ink, graphite and colored pencil; while the 'true' front cover bears the dedication from Pratt to Whipple as transcribed below, the volume opens from the back cover in order to view the illustrations right-side up, left-to-right in the sequence reproduced below, depicting the following scenes or events:

P.1 recto: Inscribed in pencil, 'To my beloved Evangeline, with her husband's love, H.B. Whipple'

P.1 verso and P.2 recto: A two-page illustration of a procession of Tsis tsis'tas warriors on horseback, 'Cheyennes' inscribed in pencil bottom corner right page, individually identified and with some of those named apparently signed by the individuals represented, showing from left to right Making Medicine (Okuhhatuh), Squint Eyes (Tichkematse), Cohoe, Roman Nose (Wouhhunnih), Bears Heart, Shanvehead [sic] (Shave Head / Ouksteuh), Chiefkillr [sic] (Chief Killer / Nohhunahwih), Little Chief (Koweonarre), Matches (Chisiseduh), and the last figure unnamed; all those identified men incarcerated at Fort Marion

P.2 verso: 'Cheyennes at Home

P.3 recto: blank

P.3 verso: Depicting a buffalo hunt, inscribed 'Cheyennes'

P.4 recto: blank

P.4 verso: Showing three warriors on horseback, inscribed 'Cheyenne Soldiers patrolling the camp'

P.5 recto: blank

P.5 verso: Inscribed 'Medicine Dance (Cheyenne)'

P.6 recto: blank

P.6 verso: blank

P.7 recto: Depicting a solitary hunter pursuing a wounded bison

P.7 verso and P.8 recto: A two-page illustration titled 'Cheyenne Feast'

P.8 verso: The page divided to show turkey and buffalo hunt scenes

P.9 recto: blank

P.9 verso: Inscribed 'Moving Camp'

P.10 recto: blank

P.10 verso and P.11 recto: A two-page illustration titled 'Changing the Guard at Ft. Marion – July 1876 / Indians'

P.11 verso: Inscribed 'Miss Murrays(?) Class', the seated prisoners with books or primers in hand, the Euro-American schoolteacher gesturing to a lesson board

P.12 recto: blank

P.12 verso: 'Bishop Whipple talking to the prisoners, Ft. Marion, Fla., 1876'; accompanied by a loose bookplate bearing the initials 'EW,' inscribed verso in ink 'Please note character Bishop Whipple, and especially the long hair, hat that he wore and collar'

P.13 recto: blank

P.13 verso and P.14 recto: A two-page illustration titled 'Indian Prisoners on an excursion to the woods'

P.14 verso: 'Cheyennes after Antelope'

P.15 recto: blank

P.15 verso: Titled 'Kiowas' in pencil, the name 'Saul: written in ink above one of the figures

P.16 recto: blank

P.16 verso: 'Kiowa and Wife' in pencil, 'Saul' in ink above the horseman

P.17 recto: blank

P.17 verso: 'Young Kiowa + Wife' in pencil, 'Saul' and 'Ohet-Toint' in ink above and below the horseman

P.18 recto: blank

P.18 verso and P.19 recto: A two-page illustration titled 'Pawnees and Cheyenne making friends'

P.19 verso: 'Buffalo and Turkey Hunters' inscribed in pencil

P.20 recto: blank

P.20 verso: Showing two rows of prisoners sitting in a classroom, a schoolteacher waiting to one side as an officer instructs

P.21 recto: blank

P.21 verso: blank

P.22 recto: 'Cheyennes chasing Antelope'; this image appearing upside down in relation to all the other illustrations in the volume

P.22 verso: blank

The inside of the front cover inscribed in ink: 'Bishop Whipple – With compliments and regards of R.H. Pratt, U.S.A. / Drawings by Bears Heart (Cheyenne) and Ohet-toint (Kiowa), Prisoners at Ft. Marion, Fla., July 31, 1876'
dimensions of each page approximately 8 5/8 x 11 3/8 inches
Footnotes:
Provenance
Gifted by Richard Henry Pratt to Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple (1822-1901);
Evangeline Marrs Simpson Whipple (1857-1930), from the above by descent;
Roy Henry Robinson (1882-1970), acquired from the estate of the above in 1933

For detailed histories of the two artists, see 'Bear's Heart, The Color-bearer' in Petersen, Karen Daniels, Plains Indian Art from Fort Marion, 1971, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, pp.97-109; and 'Ohettoint, the Police Officer', pp.161-170

The Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple Fort Marion Sketchbooks: A History


The circumstances surrounding the Red River War of 1874-1875 are well documented and the subsequent story of the over seventy Kiowa, Cheyenne, Caddo, Comanche and Arapaho warriors held as prisoners of war by the United States Army between 1875 until 1878 at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida, is one that has been recounted numerous times. Most often this narrative is within the context of an appreciation of the rich artistic output of a select group of the imprisoned men, with the first comprehensive overview, by Karen Daniels Petersen, published in 1971. The author had been in correspondence with Roy H. Robinson for close to a decade regarding the subject, and Petersen had visited and examined the four Fort Marion drawings books in person while researching her book. See Petersen, Karen Daniels, Plains Indian Art from Fort Marion, 1971, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, p.309, Appendix, 'Chronological Catalogue of the Art of the Fort Marion Indians', with the Robinson books inventoried by date, artist, and location. It is interesting to note that Petersen did not indicate the provenance of the Robinson books as having previously belonged to Episcopalian Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple, despite her familiarity with the Bishop.

The intersection between Bishop H.B. Whipple (1822-1901) and Richard Henry Pratt (1840-1924), the Army officer who oversaw the transport of the Southern Plains warriors from Oklahoma Indian Territory to their imprisonment at Fort Marion and implemented the program of assimilation that he later brought to the Carlisle School, appears to have begun shortly after the latter's arrival at St. Augustine with the prisoners. See Lookingbill, Brad D., War Dance at Fort Marion: Plains Indian War Prisoners, 2006, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, p.109, '(Whipple) wintering in Florida, joined the faculty of the 'Christian school' from 1875 to 1876. Famous for his previous work among the Sioux, he taught at Fort Marion twice during weekdays. In addition to adjunct instruction, he delivered special sermons on Sundays... a number of the students honored him by incorporating his animated oratory into their sketches.'

See also Berlo, Janet Catherine, ed., Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935: Pages from a Visual History, p.116, 'One of the regular visitors to Fort Marion was (Whipple), who was a national leader in the struggle for Indian rights and reform... Bishop Whipple was an enthusiastic patron of the graphic arts at Fort Marion. In his letters to Pratt he often requested additional drawing books, which he gave as gifts and undoubtedly used as proof of the power of education and proselytizing in solving 'the Indian problem.' On March 15, 1876, Whipple wrote to Pratt from Minnesota, 'Send me one more copybook of Indian drawings and some photos of the Indians.' Pratt replied that the artists sent the book without cost. On July 26, 1876, Pratt wrote to his friend the bishop that 'they seldom make a drawing book now without putting you in. The Bishop talking to them, the classes and teacher and their lives as soldiers are three staple pictures. Several good books are in progress. Will send one when done.'
In November 1876, Whipple requested five more drawing books, for which he was charged two dollars apiece. Perhaps it was one of those books that he gave to his friend Jared Daniels, M.D., who served as an Indian Agent among the Sioux. Karen Daniel Petersen's family's ownership of her great-uncle's book sparked her interest in researching the warrior-artists at Fort Marion, and the result was a legacy of superb publications on the topic.'

Returning to Karen Daniels Petersen's work, 'Captain Pratt quickly saw the efficacy of his drawings in public relations and used them to this end. He sent a collection of drawings to the United States National Museum and others to ranking Army officers to demonstrate the industry of his men. A very early book went to the headquarters of General Philip H. Sheridan, commanding the Division of the Missouri, and two others to William T. Sherman, commanding the Army. The books that Pratt selected indicate his high estimate of the work of certain artists: for the gifts to his superiors – Bear's Heart and Zotom; for his mentor Bishop Henry B. Whipple – Etahdleuh, Ohettoint, Bear's Heart and Cohoe, 'the best books I could find'; and for his own use, an Etahdleuh book which the captain gave to his son Mason...' Ibid, pp.69-70. While the whereabouts of the mentioned Cohoe book is unknown, the four lots (20-23) on offer are very likely the same as those gifted to Whipple as referenced in Petersen's book.

These four lots of Fort Marion drawing books, together with the two drawings offered in lot 24, were acquired in 1933 by Roy H. Robinson as a group lot from Minneapolis antique dealer Alice Best Rogers in her sale of the Evangeline Marrs Simpson Whipple (1857-1930) estate. The widow of industrialist Michael Hodge Simpson, Evangeline was a close friend of Bishop Whipple's first wife, Cornelia Wright Whipple, and married the bishop in 1896, six years after Cornelia's passing. Evangeline commissioned several memorials to the bishop after his death in 1901, and left Minnesota for Europe in 1910, never to return to the United States. It remains to be seen what sort of impact the rediscovery of this unprecedented cache of Fort Marion sketchbooks will have upon the scholarly understanding of the artists who created them and the transitional era in which they lived.
For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com