We Believe in the Spirit of the American West to the Point ©2010 Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC)
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BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER n CODY, WYOMING n SUMMER 2010 n See our new Credo. Page 19 We believe in the spirit of the American West To the point ©2010 Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC). Written permission is required to copy, reprint, or distribute Points West materials in any medium or format. All photographs in Points West are BBHC photos unless otherwise noted. Questions about image rights and reproduction should be directed to Rights and n the cover of this issue of Reproductions, [email protected]. Bibliographies, works Points West is a selection cited, and footnotes, etc. are purposely omitted to conserve O space. However, such information is available by contacting the of photographs from stories editor. Address correspondence to Editor, Points West, BBHC, 720 within these pages along with Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming 82414, or [email protected]. the words, “We believe in the Senior Editor: Spirit of the American West.” Mr. Lee Haines Believe me when I tell you: Managing Editor: You’re going to see a lot more Ms. Marguerite House By Bruce Eldredge of this phrase! Assistant Editor: Executive Director Ms. Nancy McClure At our January Board of Designer: Trustees meeting, we adopted a statement of what we do Ms. Lindsay Lohrenz and what we believe (see page 19). We call it a “Credo,” Contributing Staff Photographers: which is a set of beliefs or ideals conveyed in a concise Ms. Chris Gimmeson, Ms. Nancy McClure, Dr. Charles Preston, Ms. Emily Buckles written form; a credo defines the boundaries within which a group of people operate. In the case of the Buffalo Bill Historic Photographs/Rights and Reproductions: Mr. Sean Campbell Historical Center, it provides the criteria by which all activities, programs, exhibitions, and acquisitions are Credits and Permissions: Ms. Ann Marie Donoghue measured—a principle we readily accept. Advisory Team: Lee Haines, Public Relations Director & Senior Editor With this credo, we’re dedicating ourselves to the care Marguerite House, Public Relations & Managing Editor Nancy McClure, Public Relations & Assistant Editor and cultivation of the Spirit of the American West so it Lindsay Lohrenz, Designer remains relevant for generations to come. Like anything Wendy Schneider, Director of Development Jan Jones, Director of Membership that’s vibrant and alive, we know this spirit can potentially Christine Brindza, Acting Curator, Whitney Gallery of wither and die without our full attention to its care. Western Art Megan Smith, Adult Education Program Coordinator In a sense, we’re picking up where William F. “Buffalo Points West is published quarterly as a benefit of membership of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. For membership Bill” Cody left off. He loved the West and with his Wild West information, contact Jan Jones, Director of Membership, at and other exploits, he liked nothing better than taking the [email protected] or by writing to the address above. West to the world. The BBHC is a private, non-profit, educational institution dedicated to preserving and interpreting the natural and cultural history of the American West. Founded in 1917, its As he wrote in his autobiography, “But the West of collections include: Buffalo Bill and the West he lived and the old times, with its strong characters, its stern battles loved, historic photographs and documents, firearms, natural history of the Greater Yellowstone region, Plains Indians, and and its tremendous stretches of loneliness, can never be masterworks of western art. blotted from my mind. Nor can it, I hope, be blotted from The mission of Points West is to deliver an engaging the memory of the American people, to whom it has now educational magazine primarily to the patrons of the BBHC. become a priceless possession.” Points West will use a multi-disciplinary strategy to connect the reader to the nature and culture of the American West, and the BBHC in particular, through exceptional images and appealing, We, like our namesake, are committed to ensuring that reader-friendly stories. the Spirit of the American West—a spirit that is central to American democracy, an iconic image of freedom About the cover: BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER n CODY, WYOMING n SUMMER 2010 worldwide, and the spirit of optimism itself—is passed Each issue of Points West is a celebration of the Spirit of along, intact, to our children and grandchildren, and for the American West. Look for generations to come. these images as you explore this edition. Consider this your invitation to join the celebration! n n See our new Credo. Page 19 2 n POINTS WEST We believe in the spirit of the American West ContentsThe Plains Indian Musuem Powwow, June 19 – 20, draws more than 225 dancers from 42 tribes and more than 4,000 spectators. See page 18. FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Truth, myth, and imagination: art of the Battle of 15 BBHC BITS AND BYTES, also continued on page 18 and 19 4 Little Bighorn. Numerous accounts from all sides News, activities, events, and Patrons Post of the battle were recorded, including warriors involved, soldiers first at the scene after the battle, 16 CALENDAR OF EVENTS and witnesses of the battle. Research continues to develop new accounts of what really happened that 20 IN OUR BACKYARD: YELLOWSTONE summer in 1876, but no one can be certain. Artists Seeing and hearing is believing: the Greater Yellowstone Sights and choose their own version of history to create in their Sounds Archive. Imagine a well-documented photograph, film clip, or work. By Christine C. Brindza even an audio recording of a dinosaur, saber-toothed cat, or ancient human . How about a video of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark 10 Buffalo Bill’s wild cowgirl falls in love: a romance of exploring the Missouri River country or John Colter making his way the Congress of the Rough Riders in Madison Square through the Yellowstone/Cody region? By Charles R. Preston, PhD Garden. Sergeant Thomason is young, brave and ambitious. Miss McKenny is young, attractive and 24 WAYS OF GIVING By Wendy Schneider worldly. Both are favorites of the gallant Colonel, and both had heard much about each other before 28 TREASURES FROM OUR WEST their meeting two weeks ago. Each was distinctly This month’s look at our collections interested in the other before and on sight. They met on the tanbark one evening before the BETWEEN THE BOOKENDS Buffalo Bill On Stage. By Sandra performance at Brooklyn. From New York Journal, 30 K. Sagala. Review by Lynn Houze April 3, 1898 31 A THOUSAND WORDS Meet me in St. Louis! Daring Cody men undertake 21 river odyssey to the 1904 World’s Fair. In 1904, the centennial anniversary of Lewis and Clark’s epic departure from St. Louis up the Missouri River, Gus Visit us Holms, age 31, and his father, John, age 60, set out on a 3000-mile journey down the Yellowstone and online . Missouri Rivers. Their odyssey in a primitive boat of their own making was the adventure of a lifetime. Don’t forget our online collections! Learn more at www.bbhc.org/collections/BBHC. By Robert V. Goss Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube! Magazine of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center • Cody, Wyoming An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Read more at www.bbhc.org/museums/SmithsonianAffiliate.cfm. SUMMER 2010 n 3 ART OF THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BIGHORN By Christine C. Brindza Stand, Custer’s Last Fight, and several other his summer, the Whitney Gallery names depending on cultural and historical of Western Art at the Buffalo perspective, the Battle of Little Bighorn remains T Bill Historical Center presents shrouded in mystery. Since the date of the a small exhibition of work depicting battle, June 25 – 26, 1876, this event in U.S. the Battle of Little Bighorn. From the history has captivated the American public. Center’s collection, several paintings, More than 263 members of the United States prints, and sketches are on display Seventh Cavalry, under the leadership of George in the Whitney Gallery, offering a Armstrong Custer, fought Lakota and Cheyenne glimpse into those fateful days in the Native Americans in southeast Montana and summer of 1876. Here, Acting Curator perished. As early as two weeks after the battle, Christine Brindza conveys some of the artists attempted to recreate the mysteries of ways the battle has been interpreted the battle in newspaper illustrations and major- through art. scale works on canvas. Some of these early artists served as Truth, myth,Variously and called the imagination historians, whether intentionally or not, Battle of Little Bighorn, revealing details of the battle in their work. the Battle of Greasy Others merely created a work of art based Grass, Custer’s Last on imagination. Regardless, as the public saw George Arm- strong Custer. Matthew Brady, photog- rapher, ca. 1865. Vincent Mercaldo Collection. One of the first depictions of the battle was William de la Montagne Cary’s, “The Battle on the Little Big Horn P.71.1925.3 River—The Death Struggle of General Custer,” Daily Graphic and Illustrated Evening Newspaper, New York, (detail) New York, July 19, 1876. Don Russell Collection. Gift of the heirs of Don Russell. MS62.I.O.3.27 these early images, their views of the image of a heroic “last stand” which horn: the Anheuser-Busch Company battle were shaped by the artwork, the public believed. Here, Custer is the in St. Louis, Missouri. This company and therefore, helped create myths central figure with a saber in his right produced a lithograph of Custer’s Last and legends that resonate even today. hand, a revolver in his left. Actually, Fight, credited to Cassilly Adams, art- Historical accuracy has plagued the there were no sabers carried by Custer ist (1843 – 1921) and Otto Becker, li- Battle of Little Bighorn for well over or his men at the battlefield that day.