A Ledger Drawing by an Unknown Southern Cheyenne or Southern Arapaho Artist, a page from the Mad Bull Ledger Book

Description
A battle scene depicting a mounted Cheyenne warrior on a yellow war horse lancing a Pawnee foe who defends himself on foot with a bow and arrows. The Cheyenne protagonist wears a bonnet, a calico shirt and beaded leggings while he carries his shield into battle. A penned inscription, inked by famous scout Ben Clark (between 1878 and 1883) reads, “Pawnee / Cheyenne”. On the verso side there is an important inscription in pencil which reads, “Indian Sketch Book / Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency and Territory / May 1883 / Lieut. Tilton / US Army / Painted and Sketched by Native Indians.”

Collected by Lt. Palmer Tilton, 20th U.S. Infantry, Fort Reno, IT (c.1883);

Ex E. Francis Riggs, Jr., Fort Reno, IT (March 27, 1884);

Ex Carl Dentzel, Director of the Southwest Museum, Northridge, CA (c.1950);

Handed down by descent, to Carl’s daughter, Santa Barbara, CA (c.1980-2008);

Ex Gary Hendershott, AR (c.2010-2019);

Ex Private Collection, NY (Sept. 2019-Jan. 2020)

5.75″ tall and 10.5” wide (unframed); approximately 14″ tall and 20″ wide (framed)

*Ben Clark (1842-1914) was a noted scout for the US Army during the 1860s and 1870s, and later a Cheyenne interpreter at Darlington Agency, Indian Territory. Clark served as chief of scouts for the Sully expedition and the Custer expedition in 1868 before joining General Sheridan’s staff. He likely penned inscriptions in the Mad Bull Ledger Book at Fort Reno (present day Oklahoma), between 1878 and 1883.