An Oasis in the Bad Lands, 1905

This picture was made in the heart of the Bad Lands of South Dakota.  The subject is the sub-chief Red Hawk, a sketch of whose life is given on page 188 of Volume III.

Print caption by Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian, Portfolio III, Plate no. 80, 1908.

…Red Hawk, whose recollection of the fight [The Battle of the Little Bighorn] seemed to be particularly clear, I persuaded to visit the field with me. His description of the battle was exceedingly lucid and remarkably detailed for one who had been a participant.

Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian, Text III, 44, 1908.

The war-bonnet, like the shirt, could be worn only by men who had earned honors in war.  When the young warrior had struck the necessary coups, he procured the needed eagle-feathers, took them with suitable presents to some one skilled in fashioning war-bonnets, and asked him to make a head-dress, that he might wear it as evidence of his bravery.  

Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian, Text III, 30, 1908.