NO. 5 SITTING BULL STIRLING 5 



James C. Kimball, of the army, in the month of August, 1870, while he was 

 stationed at Fort Buford, Dakota Territory. He had the pictures translated, 

 and sent them, with the translation and an index, to the Curator of the Army 

 Medical Museum, Washington, Surgeon George A. Otis, United States Army, 

 who has filed them in book shape, among the archives of the Aluseum. The 

 introduction, written by Dr. Kimball goes, on to say that the autobiography 

 contains a description of the principal adventures in the life of Sitting Bull, 

 who is an Unk-pa-pa chief. It was sketched by himself in the picture language, 

 in common use with the Indians. Since the establishment of Fort Buford, in 

 1866, Sitting Bull, at the head of from sixty to seventy warriors, had been 

 the terror of mail-carriers, wood-choppers and small parties in the vicinity of 

 the post and from 100 to 200 miles from it either way, up and down tlic 

 Missouri River. During the time from 1866 to 1870, when the autobiography 

 was written, this band had several times captured and destroyed the mail and 

 had stolen and run off over 200 head of cattle and killed near a score of white 

 men in the immediate vicinity of the fort. The Unk-pa-pas are a tribe of the 

 great Sioux Nation, living in tlie Yellowstone and Powder River countries. 



The book was brought into Fort Buford by a Yanktonnais Sioux, and offered 

 for sale and purchased for $1.50 worth of provisions. The Indian gave con- 

 flicting statements regarding the manner in which he came into possession of 

 the book, exciting suspicioi: that he had stolen it from Sitting Bull, who in his 

 turn, undoubtedly stole the book in blank from the whites. 



In an article over the name of Porte Crayon published in the 

 supplement to Harper's Weekly of July 29, 1876, the editor says: 



About the year 1870 a collection of M.S. drawings, put up in book form, 

 bearing the autograph of Sitting Bull and exhibiting a record of his exploits 

 and adventures, was brought into Fort Buford by a Yanktonnais Sioux and 

 sold for a dollar and fift}» cents worth of provisions. When cross-questioned 

 regarding the ownership of the book, the Indian shuffled and prevaricated sci 

 as to confirm the belief that he had stolen it from Sitting Bull himself. The 

 authenticity of the work, with its general historical accuracy, is confirmed b)- 

 Assistant Surgeon James C. Kimball, U.S.A., who, with the aid of interpreters, 

 Indians, and others versed in the picture-language of the Northwestern tribes, 

 wrote a detailed explanation of the scenes represented, accompanied by a brief 

 sketch of the warrior-artist's life. The book was then forwarded to the Superin- 

 tendent of the Army Medical Museum at Washington, who placed it in the 

 hands of the present editor. 



The series consists of fifty-five designs, drawn on the blank side of printed 

 rosters of the Thirty-first United States Infantry, of uniform size (about eight 

 by ten inches), clearly outlined with a pen and a brown ink resembling sepia. 

 There is no attempt at shading, but the outlines are filled in with flat tints, 

 very crudely laid on, with red and blue chalk, yellow ochre, green, and the 

 same brown ink or pigment used in the outlines. The coloring, which is quite 

 appropriate in the dress and trappings of the human figures, is rather florid 

 in the animals. Thus while there seems to be great care in showing the 

 characteristic spots and markings of the horses and mules, the sorrels are 

 represented with bright yellow, the grays with blue, the bays red, and the 

 browns and blacks with the aforesaid brown ink. 



