^6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 97 



Robert A. Smith 

 430 S. Garden Street 

 South BeHingham, Wash. 



June 20, 1923. 

 Smithsonian Institution 

 Washington, D. C. 



Gentlemen : 



I am sending with this a boolv of paintings by Sitting Bull, with interpre- 

 tation of same, letters from Wallace Tear, Lieut. 25th Infantry U.S.A. to my 

 father, General John C. Smith, which explain themselves. Lieut. Tear was a 

 soldier in the 96th Regt. Infantry^-Illinois U.S.V. 1860-65. 



My father was Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Brevet-Colonel 96th 

 Regt., and Brevet Brig. General. At the close of the war he was able to get 

 a commission in the Regular Army for Tear and did him some favors after- 

 wards, hence this History of Bull. 



All the people mentioned are gone and when I pass on there will be none 

 that will be interested,' so I would like to have this book where perhaps it might 

 interest someone — sometime. 

 I am. Gentlemen, 



Respectfully, 



Robert A. Smith 



430 South Gardner Street 



South BeHingham 



Washington 



Two letters of explanation from Lieutenant Tear addressed to 

 Gen. John C. Smith were with the pictographic record. 



Fort Randall, D. T. 

 August 10, 1882 

 Dear General: 



Yours of 31th ult., with photographs of yourself and wife reed. Many thanks. 

 Mrs. Smith looks younger than she did 20 years ago — fact — you don't look 

 very old yourself. I may be a little prejudiced in this matter as I am "passing 

 off" as a young man yet. 



I have Sitting Bull's description of the paintings, taken down when the 

 pictures were made. Am copying them for you, and will send them next mail. 

 Intended to send them with the book, but I had to send the book to keep it 

 from being stolen. I came near losing it. Some tourists wished to look at it 

 and then borrowed it for a while to show to some friends. I only got it back 

 "by a scratch." They had hidden it with the intention of carrying it off. As 

 soon as I got my hands on it, I put it into the mail. 



Bull is very diffident about giving any incidents of his fights with the whites. 

 I have tried to have him give me a detailed description of the Custer fight 

 but he seems rather timid. Once in speaking of the affair he said: "I did not 

 hunt Custer. I thought I had a right to protect my own women and children. 

 If he (Custer) had taken our village he would have killed our women and 

 children. It was a fair fight." 



I will try and get him to make a picture of some portion of the fight. 



