OCR Text |
Show 72 profile are similar. However, the clothing and stance of this figure closely resemble that of a Sioux Indian found in two of the preparatory drawings in the Newberry Library collection.21 The figure standing in the background and third from the left can be tentatively identified as an Assiniboin man by his facial features, hair, and the distinctive quilled and beaded medallion on his shirt.22 Immediately in front of this figure stands an Indian wearing a bear-claw necklace and beaded hairbow, both consistent with Mandan and Minnetaree attire. The facial features of this figure bear some resemblance to those of Pehriska-Ruhpa, as he appears in Bodmer's full-length portrait.2^ There is no reference to the central figure of the image. This Indian, who wears a top hat, appears for the first time in Bodmer's second preparatory sketch. Perhaps this figure was based on Bodmer's memory. However, there is a similarity in the facial features of this figure and that of the portrait of Addfh-Hiddisch, one of the most important of the Minnetarees Bodmer and Maximilian met at Fort Clark.24 The horse with the painted markings sketched out in the second preparatory drawing is based on the small sketch mentioned in the discussion of the first and rejected preparatory sketch for this vignette. On the right side of the image Toussaint Charbonneau introduces Maximilian to the gathering. The figure of Charbonneau cannot be relied upon for accuracy, since there were no sketches made of the many trappers and interpreters Maximilian and Bodmer met during the expedition. It is possible, however, that Bodmer himself may have drawn this figure for the aquatint. Based upon the inaccuracies already mentioned, it seems unlikely |