Synopses & Reviews
Although he is best known for his paintings of Native Americans, George Catlin (1796-1872) also wrote books about his experiences among the indigenous peoples of the United States. During the 1830s he travelled widely in the western frontier regions with the aim of documenting the vanishing cultures of the Indians, and managed to meet 48 groups from the Great Plains, Arkansas, Texas and Florida. This was a critical time for Native Americans, as US government policies were forcing many tribes off their ancestral land and onto reservations west of the Mississippi River. Catlin's two-volume work, published in 1841, is a compilation of his letters and field notes, and includes over 300 drawings of people, artefacts, and animals. In line with Romantic philosophy, Catlin expresses admiration for the 'honest and honourable' Indians, and disgust at how 'civilised man' made them 'victims to whiskey, the small-pox and the bayonet'.
Synopsis
The notes, letters and drawings of an artist who spent the 1830s documenting Native American tribes in the United States.
Synopsis
The American Romantic artist George Catlin (1796-1872) travelled widely during the 1830s, documenting the vanishing cultures of the Native American tribes in the Great Plains, Arkansas, Texas and Florida. In 1841 he published this two-volume account of his experiences, including over 300 illustrations of people, artefacts and animals.
Table of Contents
volume 1: 1. Wyoming, birth-place of the author; 2. Mouth of Yellow Stone; 3. Mouth of Yellow Stone: character of Missouri River; 4. Mouth of Yellow Stone: Upper Missouri Indians; 5. Mouth of Yellow Stone: author's painting-room; 6. Mouth of Yellow Stone: medicines or mysteries; 7. Mouth of Yellow Stone: Crows and Blackfeet; 8. Mouth of Yellow Stone: further remarks on the Crows; 9. Mouth of Yellow Stone: contemplations of the Great Far West and its customs; 10. Mandan Village, Upper Missouri: a strange place; 11. Mandan VillageL location; 12. Mandan Village: bird's eye view of the village; 13. Mandan Village: the wolf-chief; 14. Mandan Village: costumes of the Mandans; 15. Mandan Village: astonishment of the Mandans at the operation of the author's brush; 16. Mandan Village: an Indian beau or dandy; 17. Mandan Village: polygamy; 18. Mandan Village: Indian dancing; 19. Mandan Village: sham fight and sham scalp dance of the Mandan boys; 20. Mandan Village: Mandan archery; 21. Mandan Village, Upper Missouri. Mah-to-tah-pa (the four bears); 22. Mandan Village: Mandan religious ceremonies; 23. Minataree Village: location and numbers; 24. Minataree Village: Crow, in the Minataree village; 25. Litte Mandan Village, Upper Missouri: an Indian offering himself for a pillow; 26. Mouth of Teton River: Sioux of Dah-co-ta; 27. Mouth of Teton River: custom of exposing the aged; 28. Mouth of Teton River: difficulty of painting Indian women; 29. Mouth of Teton River: voluntary torture; 30. Mouth of Teton River: Indian weapons and instrument of music; 31. Mouth of Teton River: Bisons (or buffaloes) description of. Volume 2: 32. Cantonment Leavenworth; 33. Grouse shooting before the burning prairies; 34. Ioways; 35. St. Louis; 36. Pensacola, Florida; 37. Transit up the Arkansas river; 38. Fort Gibson; 39. Mouth of the False Washita and Red River; 40. Sickness at the Mouth of False Washita; 41. Great Camanchee village, Texas; 42. Description of the Camanchee village, and view of; 43. The regiment advance towards the Pawnee village; 44. Camp Canadian; 45. Return to Fort Gibson; 46. Alton, on the Mississippi; 47. Trip to Florida and Texas, and back to St. Louis; 48. Flatheads, nez Percés; 49. Shawanos; 50. Fort Snelling, near the Fall of St. Anthony; 51. Fourth of July at the Fall of St. Anthony; 52. The author descending the Mississippi in a bark canoe; 53. The author and his bark canoe sunk in the Des Moine's Rapids; 54. Côteau des Prairies; 55. 'Story of the Dog' told; 56. Author's return from the Côteau des Prairies; 57. Fort Moultrie; 58. North Western Frontier; Appendices.