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Show 42 While the aquatint's absolute accuracy suffers by the imposition of these portrait figures, their presence in the image is not wholly fanciful. It is not unlikely that all of these individuals were present and observed the ceremony. Maximilian mentions in his journal that many Mandans had come to Fort Clark as spectators to the February dance and, certainly, it could be expected that many observers from the Minnetarree village would also have accompanied the dancers to witness the ceremony. The first portrait figure, standing to the far left of the image, is Birohka, clad in his distinctive cap made of white buffalo hide and his elaborately painted buffalo robe.18 Rather than the full-length portrait seen in Bodmer's watercolor, only Birohka's head and shoulders, reproduced in reverse, found their way into the aquatint. It was simpler for Bodmer's etchers to copy the watercolor portraits directly onto the aquatint plate; however, because of the nature of the reproductive process, when the image on the plate was transferred to paper, the image was printed in reverse. To a certain extent, then, the technical process influenced the design of the image. Yet, it must again be recalled that none of the central core figures were reproduced in reverse. This could be interpreted as internal evidence of the importance Bodmer placed upon the accuracy of the central information.19 Immediately to the left of Birohka stands Ahschupsa Masihichsi, holding in his hand a distinctive gunstock club.2^ Also reproduced in reverse for the aquatint, the figure appears with all the detail of regalia seen in the original watercolor. The skill with which Vogel reproduced this figure from the watercolor becomes all the more obvious when compared with the image of this same Indian which also appears, with less definition and detail, in |