(Let me say up front that I understand the name “Indian” is
offensive to Native Americans, because it’s not accurate, and even more
offensive is the derogatory term “Squaw” for female Native Americans. But I
often have to use such words when researching antique photos in my collection,
because they were used to identify 19th century photos, since the
terms were in common use at that time.)
I usually don’t collect postcards for several reasons: I’m more interested in photos taken in the
nineteenth century (the earliest photographs) and photos on postcards didn’t
appear until the beginning of the twentieth century: 1903.
Also, postcard collectors number in the millions—it’s the third largest
collectible hobby in the U.S.—and at ephemera auctions they buy boxes of
hundreds of old postcards, which are worth pennies each. I have no expertise in postcards and little
patience for sorting through them, but I do know that authentic vintage photos
concerning Native Americans and scenes of the Old West are always of greater
value than most. (By the way, if you
find yourself in possession of a daguerreotype or any antique photograph of
gold miners in California --or maybe an original image of Jesse James’ dead body,
you can probably sell it to finance your retirement.)
Thus began my hunt to determine the identity and value of
the three individuals in my “Western” postcards. (As any collector will tell you, this is the fun
part: trying to track down the story
behind your latest acquisition, hoping to find a nugget of gold amid all the
pebbles and stones.) Starting with the
white-haired gent, I typed “Indian Chief” into Google. (How did I live before the internet? My life through high school, college and
graduate school was one long trek from one library to another.). As soon as I clicked
on Google Images, I said, “Bingo! This
is Geronimo!”
I had heard of Geronimo, of course, but never knew the
fascinating story of his life. Will try
to sketch the highpoints. Geronimo was born June 1829. Became prominent leader
and medicine man from Apache tribe. 1850
to 1886 joined fellows to carry out raids and resistance against U.S and
Mexican military in Mexico and New Mexico. His fellow Apaches thought he had
supernatural gifts, including foreknowledge. He had nine wives, the first one
named Alope. They had three
children. She and the children and Geronimo’s
mother were all killed in a raid by Mexican soldiers in 1858.
In 1886, Geronimo surrendered to Lt Charles B. Gatewood, an
Apache-speaking West Point graduate who had earned his respect. He was a prisoner of War in Fort Bowie,
Arizona, then exiled to Florida. In his
old age, Geronimo became a celebrity and appeared at World’s Fairs, including
the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, where he sold souvenirs and photographs of
himself and even buttons off his coat—sewing on new buttons overnight! He died at the Fort Sill Hospital in 1909, at
the age of 80, still a prisoner of war.
Convinced that my guy was Geronimo, I set the photos and
research aside and recently came back to them, to write this blog post. But in browsing, I came upon a photo of
Sitting Bull and said, “Uh oh! He looks a lot like my Geronimo!” Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader born about
1831, led his people during years of resistance to
United States government policies. Like
Geronimo, he was believed by his people to have precognition—after he had a
vision of his tribe achieving a great victory against Custer’s troops at the
Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 (also known as Custer’s Last Stand.) Here's Sitting Bull below.
Sitting Bull evaded capture
by U.S. soldiers until 1881 when he and his band surrendered to U.S.
Forces. After that he worked as a
performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, becoming, like Geronimo, famous
and feared.
But did I have Geronimo or
Sitting Bull? (That's three photos of Geronimo above.) I turned into my Nancy
Drew Girl Detective persona and started raking the internet for photos of both men
with white hair in their old age. But it
didn’t work. I couldn’t find an elderly, white-haired Sitting Bull. Then I had a moment of illumination, went to the
computer, and learned that Sitting Bull was shot to death by an Indian Agency
policeman who was trying to arrest him on Dec. 15, 1890. Sitting Bull was only 58 or 59—so he died
before his braids turned white!
Then I began to study with a
strong magnifying glass my photo of the white-haired gent. Looking very
closely, I saw he had what seemed to be two large warts just below his left
eye. A clue! So I went back to internet photos of Geronimo
as he aged, and quickly learned that he had warts all right—a very prominent
one, but it was on the fullest part of his right cheek. It’s visible in many photos taken as he aged,
including the wonderful portrait of him below, taken by Edward Curtis in 1905.
Geronimo died at the age of 79. After he was thrown from his horse while riding
home, and lay in the cold all night, he died of pneumonia on February 17,
1909, as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
So at this point in my
detective story, I can’t claim a verified Geronimo Real Photo Post Card, which,
according to the Price Guide of Stefano Neis would be worth $50 to$125. (Check it out at https://www.playle.com/realphoto/rpguide.php ). But I’m not giving up yet!
In my next blog post I’ll
tell you what I discovered about my two other Western characters, as well as explaining how to tell when a postcard is a
valuable Real Photo Post Card (RPPC) or
a nearly worthless printed postcard. And what you can learn from the blank back
of a vintage postcard. Stay tuned!
1 comment:
Heartbreaking to read the fates of both of these leaders.
Great post- as usual.
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