Blackfoot photographs with typed captions

Scope and Contents

Catalog Number 4724 Blackfoot: 1. "Blackfeet Indian Encampment near Browning, Montana" Date: July 5, 1923. 2. "Blackfeet Indian Sun Lodge near Browning, Montana" July 8, 1923. 3. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. ... Note profile of human head among rocks above the [Three] Indians [seated below stones]." Left to right: Split Ears, Bird Rattler, and Jack Wagner September 14, 1924. 4. Close up of the above September 14, 1924. 5. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Looking up the Milk River Valley from a point about one half mile below the stone. The east end of the stone can be seen in the middle ground" September 14, 1924. 6. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Looking down the Milk River Valley about one-half mile below Writing-on-stone" September 14, 1924. 7. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Looking up the Milk River Valley from the foot of the cliff near our camp, which may be seen." September 14, 1924. 8. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. The Indian writings are found on the smooth sandstone surfaces near the bottom of the cliffs rising from the floor of the Milk River Valley, extending over a reach of about one half mile." 9. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Looking through a cleft in the rocks..." September 14, 1924.

Scope and Contents

Catalog Number 4724 Blackfoot: 10. Subject: "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada, Chief Bird Rattler and Split Ears on top of Butte..." September 14, 1924. 11. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Party resting after studying the many Indian writings found on these sandstone cliffs." From left to right are Chief Bird Rattler, John Stevenson, O. I. Deschon, Jack Wagner and Split Ears. Bird Rattler also called Chis-Cho-wa-na. 12. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Chief Bird Rattler, Chis-Cho-wa-na, making picture to show what he said would probably be his last trip to this historic spot" September 14, 1924. 13. "Writing-on-stone, near Coutts, Alberta, Canada. Indian writings on the smooth sandstone surfaces near the base of the cliffs. These writings are scattered along this cliff for about a half mile. Many of the characters were unintelligible to our Indian friends. Indian tradition has it that these writing are made by ghosts since no one knows who put them there. It is also believed that events have been forecasted by these writings. C. M. Russell told me [R. H. Willcomb] that this spot was held as sacred by the old Indian tribes and was used as a place where enemy tribes could meet to arrange peace without danger of ambush" 14-22 Indian pictographs. Writing-on-stone, Milk River Valley northeast of Coutts, Alberta, Canada August, 1926.