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\"Yellow Fox\" Hidatsa Indian by D. F. Barry. a.imagelink {color:#ffffff;} a:hover.imagelink {color:#ffffff;} a:visited.imagelink {color:#b10d1c;} a.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #ffffff; } a:visited.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #b10d1c; }
Hidatsa and also Mandan men in the community at Like-a-Fishhook Village, D.T., were punctilious in displaying their personal records in the romantic, as well as the martial spheres. Yellow Fox\'s dress in this portrait documents both.
The long, decorated stick held in his left hand proudly trumpets his physical attractiveness to young ladies of the community. Known in the ethnographic literature as a "courting stick," the withe is cut from osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), with a polished, red bark. The light-colored bands on this stick have been formed by carefully whittling the surface, so that the curled bark remained attached, exposing the white wood. Each clump of curled bark represents an extra-marital, sexual liaison---a sort of "desirability quotient."
The 12 golden eagle tail feathers sewn to his blanket represent battle coups, a distinguished record, which were also a material advantage in adding further "notches" to his courting stick. (See: Gilbert L. Wilson, [Bella Weitzner, ed.] "Notes on the Hidatsa Indians." American Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Papers, Vol. 56, Pt. 2. New York, 1979.)
Yellow Fox\'s handsome face would be creatively painted for the occasion. At the left side of the image we can discern a zigzag line of lightning below his right eye---a boast that in battle his very glance would mean death for the enemy. The white shirt is accented with a beaded choker. A small section of his leather leggings is seen at bottom, left, decorated with globular, brass coat buttons. His moccasins are partially decorated with seed beadwork. The wool, cloth breechcloth, also seen at bottom, is supported by a wide, leather belt decorated with brass upholstery tacks, a trade item popular for this purpose. The long, trailing end of the belt reaches nearly to the ground. [Note by Mike Cowdrey.]
This is a nice clean example of this rare subject, now identified. The backstamp is from Barry\'s West Superior, Wis, address but the portrait was taken at Ft. Berthold, D.T., ca. 1881. This is printed from the original negative, No. B-447, Denver Public Library, Western History Collection. There, the individual is unidentified, so this rare print with the paper label recto provides Barry\'s own information.