544

C. 1905 Blue Thunder Sioux Chief Photograph

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 150.00 USD
C. 1905 Blue Thunder Sioux Chief Photograph
This is an original photograph of Blue Thunder Sioux Chief, a U.S. Indian Wars Scout, by Holmboe of Mandan, North Dakota from circa 1905. The photograph is commonly referred to as a Real Photo Postcard or R.P.P.C. and consist of silver photo on postcard stock. Marked in the field and on the back shows the piece was mailed from Mandan, North Dakota on June 23, 1905. Blue Thunder enlisted as a U.S. Indian Scout at Fort Rice before transferring to Fort Yates. Brigadier General Terry wrote a special letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in D.C. requesting Blue Thunder receive special Silver Medals or Certificates of Merit, which Blue Thunder could not receive as he was not a U.S. citizen. Blue Thunder fought in a three-day gun fight at the Little Heart Butte southwest of Fort Abraham Lincoln in 1874 where he held off an estimated 100 “wild” Sioux. He later died in 1922-1923 as a U.S. Citizen in Mandan, ND where he had become a local hero of sorts. Provenance: From the Jim Aplan Piedmont, South Dakota collection. Measures 5.5” by 3.5”. U6