Síh-Sä, Mandan Man

Description

This young man, Síh-Sä ("Red Feather"), was raised by the factor at Fort Clark and was a permanent resident there, although he apparently had relatives in the village. He hunted meat for the people at the fort and took care of the horses. His portrait was painted in March of 1834. The blue beaded leggings he wears may be the ones he had recently purchased from a member of the Soldier Society and which he proudly showed to Maximilian along with several new ornaments. He took great care of his clothing, rubbing moist white clay into his buffalo robe to clean and brighten the skin. In this picture he carries a beautiful quiver, probably made of mountain lion hide and decorated with red cloth and white beads in what Maximilian described as typical Mandan fashion. There is one other sketch of Síh-Sä in the collection, too faint to reproduce and evidently a preliminary drawing for the finished watercolor shown here. Síh-Sä also appears in the same pose and dress in Tableau 27 of the aquatint atlas.