Atsina Camp

Description

On August 5 Maximilian's keelboat stopped opposite an Atsina camp at the mouth of the Judith River. It was a large camp encompassing over 200 tipis, and the boat was soon besieged by visitors demanding to trade or be given merchandise. Since the Indians far outnumbered the party of travelers, there was concern that the situation could turn hostile. The vessel sailed as soon as possible. Under the circumstances Bodmer probably had little time to record the scene, and this pencil sketch may well have been done afterwards from memory. A month later, when the travelers passed by this spot on their return downstream, there was not a trace of the camp. A vivid recreation of this Atsina encounter, very like the sketch, appeared as Tableau 38 in the atlas of aquatints.