Mähsette-Kuiuab, Cree Chief

Description

Mähsette-Kuiuab's French name was "Le Sonnant." When encountered by Maximilian at Fort Union in mid-October of 1833, he suffered from an eye affliction and the light bothered him so much that he could not sit still for a detailed portrait. In this hasty sketch Bodmer shows him with a noticeable squint. In the later aquatint (Vignette XXII) the man's right eye is filmed over as if with a cataract. In both renderings, the extensive body tattooing is a striking feature. Tattooing was practiced by both men and women among the Crees. For women the tattoos were primarily decorative, while men's tattooing had religious significance or reflected rank. Mähsette-Kuiuab was a powerful chief and famous medicine man. He used as a charm or emblem the scalp of a bear, and was particularly respected for his ability to foretell the future. Once while among the Mandans, Mähsette-Kuiuab prophesied that they would soon kill a man on a white horse. Shortly thereafter, a Cheyenne raiding party came riding through and a warrior astride a white horse was captured by the Mandans and put to death.