Kicking Bear photo

[Grahame Wood]

I've found an unusual - well, to me, anyway, photo of Kicking Bear that I'm asking Diane to post here. Anyone have any idea when it was taken? I think he looks young in it - younger than in those taken around the Ghost Dance period that are often reproduced in books. On the other hand, the only other historical Indian photos on the site it comes from are from Wild West Shows...

[Dietmar]

Grahame, I post another photo of Kicking Bear. I would presume that your photo is from the same session, judging from the shirt, black vest, blanket, handkerchief and breast plate, although the other photo is without the bonnet.



The inscription says: Geo. E. Spencer (Photographer), Fort Sheridan, Home Studio 7520 Ellis Ave., Chicago.

Dietmar

[shan]

Dietmar,

like Grahame, you seem to have a wonderful supply of interesting photos, where on earth are you both finding them?
Shan

[Dietmar]

Shan, I guess I am an addict , searching for photographs of native american history for many years. I save and copy from internet sources and books constantly.

I will try to contribute what I have to this great message board, but please forgive me my imperfect English

Dietmar

[Dietmar]

I guess this 1891 group photo by Trager is well known, but interestingly it shows Kicking Bear again with the black vest and a handkerchief.

[Grahame Wood]

I'm not so sure, Dietmar. Dark vests and neckerchiefs were pretty popular. His breastplate doesn't seem to be the same either, but maybe it's just the angle. Still, I'm managing to convince myself that it may not be an earlier photo but may have been taken during his brief time as a POW of perhaps during the time he spent with the Wild West show.

Here are two other photos I found on the same site - and they do appear to be from Wild West shows.

[Dietmar]

Grahame, you are right about the vests and neckerchiefs. I do not know exactly whether the first two photos were made about the same time or not. It was just my first impression.
Kicking Bear wears this outfit in many photographs. All of them were made - as far as I know - in the period around 1890 (after Wounded Knee and with Cody´s Wild West Show).
I still believe that your photo is not much older.

This picture is from a group photo that shows the prisoners who joined Cody´s show on March 30, 1891: (left Kicking Bear, right Short Bull)




P.S.: I would LOVE to see a photograph of Kicking Bear in the 1870s. He must have been an impressive warrior!!

[Grahame Wood]

I wonder if the man in the centre of the group wearing the bonnet is KB? Hard to tell; I've tried to blow it up but it loses too much definition. I'm not sure that it is at all but from ther labelling on the KB photo and that of the two men in bonnets, it seems that they may have belonged in the same collection.

[Dietmar]

I agree, he looks like Kicking Bear.

[Dietmar]

Thanks for the Marquette Univ. link, Grahame.

This photo reminds me of Kicking Bear, what do you think?

tinyurl.com/p54wy

Dietmar

[Modified to shorten URL -- DM]

[agnes]

Dietmar,
I agree with You, the man on the photo remind me of Kicking Bear also.
Thanks!

Agnes

[grahamew]

Could be. Not sure about the distinctive curve of the lips, though. It would have to be towards the more recent date because the 1896 photos show him to be nowhere near as old as the man in this photo.

Here's another alleged photo of Kicking Bear. I'm not convinced by it. His looks are distinctive and I don't immediately recognise his features.
www.liveauctioneers.com/item/149381/three-old-photos



Here's a tinted photo that is definitely him:

[grahamew]

Here's one more, showing a mounted Kicking Bear, an unidentified man and Crazy Bear, whose photo - with the same clothing - is on p11 of Jensen et al., Eyewitness to Wounded Knee.

[grahamew]

The man in the middle would appear to be Hollow Wood, shown here in another Trager photo, wearing the same clothing and standing against the same backdrop as Crazy Bear. Makes you wonder if there's not a photo of Kicking Bear on his own, wearing the same clothing as in the picture above. I wonder when it was taken! Hollow Wood, according to my information, was Northern Cheyenne, though I've read about a Minnie Hollow Wood, a Lakota woman who fought at Little Bighorn.



Here's a poor and small copy of the Crazy Bear photo - the best I could find on the net, but you can see what I mean about the clothing and backdrop:

[hans54]

"grahamew", fine pictures, especially the colored copy of the well-known Heyn photo of Kicking Bear and son.

No Kicking Bear among the three mounted men. The first rider (on the left) is Stinking Bear. The others, as you said, are Hollow Wood and Crazy Bear.

Hans Karkheck