This transcription was created by the Harvard-Diggins Library
from original document held by MHS (#SC 1274)

( ) Original page numbers
Edited for readability

Crow Agency, Montana
August 14, 1897

My own true loving little wife,

Yours received and glad to hear from you. I wouldn’t have received Uncle Ed’s writing as you must remember, when he is in Chicago he has so much to see to. About the money my dear, Uncle Ed owes me now $675.00 and it costs me anyway $125.00 a month here but I am doing now what will bring me in more money (2) than anything have ever done. Tomorrow I will have 20 pictures finished which I will sell eventually for $4,050.00 and before I return will have $8,000 worth of pictures. The $60.00 & 75.00 you want or $135.00 and with what I spend, it will be quite a good deal. The Tribune has written me to write them some stories about the Indians (Mr. Barstow just came in so will finish this tomorrow Sunday). I wrote 15 pages for the Tribune about two Indians, White Swan & Chief Deaf Bull. I have painted a fine picture of White Swan.

White Swan
Crow
1897
Crow Agency, MT
Courtesy: The Newberry Library, Chicago.

(3) He was in the Custer fight with Reno and is the only living Crow Scout that was with Reno, the rest were killed. He had a close call, he was shot in the leg and his right hand nearly shot away and his head was cut open with a tomahawk by a Sioux. He is an awfully nice fellow. He has taken a great fancy to me, and he is in my studio all day long drawing pictures for me. He gives them to me. He draws pictures of the part he took in the fight, so at noon I invite him to dinner with me. He is teaching me the sign language. Sometimes he comes before I am up and walks right in the room. He wears these red feathers (4) in his hair which means three wounds he received.

I am painting Chief Deaf Bull. He is the ugliest Indian among the Crows. Later a white man told me I was the only white man he ever saw he likes and he shows it. I wrote a lot about him for the Tribune and also wrote an article for the Inter Ocean. It probably came out today. Deaf Bull was sent to Fort Snelling and put in prison because he was so ugly and in prison he killed an Indian who was with him. He comes to my room early in the morning. There are two beds in my room so (5) he lays down on the bed and goes to sleep. He is an awfully brave man and is a great fellow with an awfully big head. You ought to see him when he is painted up in war paint. He painted his face yellow and then wipes off some of it which gives his face a yellowish brown color, then on one side of his forehead he paints it red and on each side of his eyes, on the temple, has three red stripes. His body is painted yellow, and on his arms red stripes which indicate how many Sioux he has killed. He has a couple of scalps pinned on his hair from Sioux. He puts a lot of red paint on his hand and stamps his hand on his chest (6) which leaves a red hand, which means wounds he has received.

Today, Sunday, I saw a fine war dance 6 miles from here. I knew a lot of the Indians in it and had to laugh to see them dance. It was a big dance some 400 Indians all dressed up in war paint and so many cute papooses dressed up in Elk teeth dresses. Pretty Eagle was there. The minute he saw me he came and shook hands and said he was coming to see me before he went home, 26 miles from there. I am painting a picture of Pretty Eagle’s son. He has a fine costume and I am painting him full (7) length. He has a fine war bonnet on, reaches clear to the ground. I also painted a portrait of Pretty Eagle’s married daughter. She is very pretty.

I haven’t been able to paint the pretty little papoose yet, but think I will later on. There was some Shoshone Indians looking at the dance. They are fine looking Indians. They come here to visit the Crows. The Indians have it fine, they can converse with any tribe in the sign language and they are so graceful with their hands and so quick.

I don’t know when I will get away from here but the pictures I am painting will take better than anything have painted (8) and if I could have had my exhibition of Ft. Sill Indians in the Fall or Winter I would have sold lots more, as in June when I had it. The wealthy people were away as a rule.

What will we do my dear for living and where are we going to live? I won’t be in Chicago this Winter at all. When I return, I will be there a couple of weeks and will go away again, somewhere south probably, to Ft. Sill, as I didn’t begin to finish up there. I could spend every Winter there for years.

Mr. Truesdale, Vice President of the Rock Island (Rail)road, which goes to Indian territory, wrote (9) me that whenever I wanted to go South again he would get me passes. Would you like to go my dear? You would have a fine time, horses to ride, etc. The ladies have time there, they all have horses and go camping in the mountains 40 miles from here.

Last night two Crow kittens came to see me. They would take turns in crawling in my lap, and how they would sing Crow songs to me. Well, my dear, I must close. Good night darling. Wish you would look in the magazine I wrote you about to see if my pictures are in there. Your own true loving husband.

Lots of love, hugs & kisses,

Elbridge
over
(10)
P.S. Enclose send you part of feather came up from Pretty Eagle’s son’s war bonnet.