Photo of Gall

[Diane Merkel]

Friends,

An author is trying to locate a photo of Gall which appeared in Evan S. Connell's 1984 paperback edition of Son of the Morning Star on p.142. The photo was credited to the John Carroll Collection, and my husband will try to locate it through Carroll's estate. In the meantime, if you know of public domain photos of Gall and/or a collection that would grant permission for publication, please let me know.

Thank you,
Diane

[glenbow]

I would suggest contacting the Denver Public Library about accessing some of the images of Gall that are contained in their Western History Collection, particularly the photographs of David F. Barry:
photoswest.org:8080/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?resultsScreen+19613+1+10+6

[bubbabod]

Diane, funny you should ask about Gall today. Yesetrday I bought the June issue of Wild West, and who is on the cover? Gall. The main article is "Sioux Chief Gall, In the Shadow of Sitting Bull."
I haven't read it yet, but there four pictures of him, one with four others sitting under a tarp. I think I've seen all five pictures before, so I don't know there is anything earthshattering in this issue.
For gun and rifle afficionados, there is also a one-page article on the Remington rolling-block 50-70 sporting rifle and a pic of GAC next to his prize elk.

[Dietmar]

some Gall photos from SIRIS:

[Diane Merkel]

Thank you glenbow and bubbabod. I'll pass your info along.

Dietmar -- as always -- the photos you posted are excellent. I've seen the first and third before but not the other two. I find the last one sad. I know the natives had to conform to our way of life and dress at some point, but I still hate to see it.

[Scout]

According to Gall he killed soldiers with an axe, but yet confided to some whites that he actually got to the fight late, when it was almost over. Hundreds of books on the LBH has Gall 'leading hordes' of warriors against Custer but there dosen't seem to be any eyewitness accounts that say this happen and no Indian claimed to have being led by him. This seems to be a story that Gall put forth and the newspapers were happy to print. Many Indians didn't think much of him...he seemed to be his own creation. There also seemed to be a general dislike between himself and Sitting Bull, the roots of which are unknown.

[Dietmar]

For all of you who like to read more about Gall take a look at HistoryNet where you find an interesting article by Robert W. Larson:

www.historynet.com/culture/native_american_history/3038876.html?page=1&c=y
historynet.com/we/bl-sioux-chief-gall/

There are some comments regarding Gall´s role in the battle:

"Gall's role at the Battle of the Little Bighorn would become a controversial one. (...) In the first stages of the battle, Gall was more of a victim than an active participant; two of his wives and three of his children were killed by the Army's Indian scouts during Reno's surprise attack. (...) In fact, Gall spent most of the early phases of the battle scouting Custer's five companies on the other side of the Greasy Grass, as the Lakotas called the Little Bighorn. His diligent search for the whereabouts of his family also continued. (...) Gall eventually did lead a party of warriors across the Greasy Grass, but only after Crazy Horse and Crow King had preceded him. Following his crossing at Medicine Tail Coulee, Gall led a resolute charge against the dismounted troopers of Captain Miles W. Keough on a slope north of Deep Coulee. His main contribution was to exhort his warriors to stampede the horses of Keough's embattled troopers, thus making it almost impossible for them to retreat. Gall was also one of the warriors who cut down those desperate members of Captain George F. Yates' Company E who were charging down a hill to reach the Greasy Grass. One historian claimed that four or five of Yates' men ran right into the avenging Gall's arms and were promptly killed. The ubiquitous Gall even dashed across Custer Hill on horseback; he participated in the attack where Custer and approximately 40 of his men were killed during their so-called Last Stand. (...) Although Gall was probably not the bellwether at the Little Bighorn, as many historians have maintained, his observations have shaped today's understanding of the battle. In 1886, at the Little Bighorn's 10-year commemoration, Gall became the first major Indian participant to give his version of this bloody conflict."

Dietmar