Tichkematse, or Squint Eyes (Quchkeimus), 1857-1932 was a member of the Southern Cheyenne. Together with other Southern Plains warriors he was held prisoner at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida from 1875-78, during which period he and others became well known as artists. While imprisoned, he learned to speak English and to read and write. Upon release he attended school at the Hampton Institute in Virginia for about a year before coming to work at the Smithsonian Institution. During his time at the Smithsonian (1879-1880) he was trained to prepare bird and mammal specimens for study and display, participating in field expeditions to Florida and the American Southwest. He also served as a gallery guide, a source on Plains gesture language, and acquired cultural materials for the collections from Cheyenne friends and relatives, as well as producing drawings. Upon his return to Oklahoma (then Indian Territory), he served as an Army scout at Fort Supply.
Etahdleuh (1856-1888) was also known as Etahdleeuh, Etadeleuh, Etahdleuh Doanmoe, Boy, and Boy Hunting. He was imprisoned at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida from 1875-1878. After his release from Fort Marion, he attended the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia, arriving in April, 1878. In 1879, he traveled to the Indian Territory to recruit pupils to attend the Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania, where he would study and work on and off from 1879 to 1887. He made two extended trips back to the reservation during this period. From February to May 1880, he worked at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He was trained as a Presbyterian missionary and returned to the reservation in January 1888 to serve in this capacity.
Edwin Porter Upham (1845-1918) was a museum assistant who worked with the Smithsonian Institution's archeology collections for forty years. Born in Massachusetts, he received a public education there before joining the army during the American Civil War. In 1878, he was hired as an assistant to Dr. Charles Rau, an archeologist at the Smithsonian. After Rau's death, Upham worked with Dr. Thomas Wilson, with whom he cowrote a book entitled
The drawings are unarranged. They have been ordered in the same sequence as the original cataloging under MS 290844-290845 when possible.
The collection consists of twenty-nine (29) loose drawings on various types of paper, some double-sided, with scenes of warfare, hunting, and camp life. They were probably produced at different times during the period 1879-1880. Four are inscribed with the name Etahdleuh Doanmoe and the majority of the remainder with the name Tichkematse, plus other descriptive elements in the artists' hand. Two pencil drawings, which lack any identifying name, are in a Western style and may not be by either artist. In two instances, the figures in the drawing have been cut out and pasted to a new backing [08519400; 08601400].
Most of the images adhere to Plains conventions of close up views of encounters, but in three drawings, Etahdleuh used a more distant perspective to show a Kiowa village along the Washita River (08601800), a buffalo hunt (08601900), and a battle against US troops (08517900). Also unusual are two drawings by Tichkematse showing details of tipi life, including women cooking and children playing (08601500-08601600).
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
These drawings together with a photograph of Tichkematse were received in May 1916 from E.P. Upham, an employee of the United States National Museum (USNM). They were entered into the Anthropology collections as Accession 59,767, and assigned catalog numbers 290,844 (14 drawings) and 290,845 (5 drawings). They were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives (NAA) in the 1970s, where they retained their original catalog numbers. The total quantity of drawings does not agree with the count as originally recorded by the museum. It is not possible to determine which items were assigned to which catalog number, but as the original record offers no information on provenance, they have been treated as a single set under MS 290844. The majority of the drawings bear the signatures of the artists, either Etahdleuh Doanmoe (Kiowa) or Tichkematse (Cheyenne). Both men were held as prisoners of war at Fort Marion, Florida (1875-1878), and remained in the East for education upon release, becoming literate in English. Both men spent a period of employment at the Smithsonian, and this is likely when all the drawings were produced. One drawing signed by Tichkematse is dated Nov. 8, 1879.
Other drawings by Tichkematse are held by the National Anthropological Archives (NAA) in MS 7500, MS 39D2, and in Photo Lot R79-24. For other drawings by Etahdleuh in the NAA, see MS 39C and MS 39D2. Two photographs of Tichkematse in Photo Lot 24 (00438200 and 00438300) are attributed to this accession.
Tichkematse and Etahdleuh drawings (MS 290844), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
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Inscription reads "Tichkematse, Cheyenne"
This drawing was on exhibit in the North American Indian hall from the mid-1950s until 2004, when it was re-associated with the manuscript. It was assigned inventory control number ET15,402 in the collections management system while it was on exhibit.
Etahdleuh drawing of two mounted men wearing finery
NAA INV 08517800
OPPS NEG 75-11139
OPPS NEG 92-11421
OPPS NEG 94-768
OPPS SLIDE 94-768
Inscription on recto reads "Etahdleuh Doanmoe (Kiowa)". Inscription on verso reads "E.P. Upham".
Etahdleuh drawing of mounted warriors engaging cavalry and infantry formations
NAA INV 08517900
OPPS NEG 92-11400
OPPS NEG 91-19217
Inscriptions on recto read "Killed," "Been killed," and "The Indians Fighting Against the Army." Inscriptions on verso read "E.P. Upham", "Plains Indians", and "probably by Etahdleuh".
Tichkematse drawing of meeting between three Osage men and four Cheyenne men, three mounted
NAA INV 08518000
Inscriptions read "Osage Indians" and "Drawn By Tichkematse Cheyenne Nov 8th, 1879."
Tichkematse drawing of two Comanche men confronting two Cheyenne men
NAA INV 08518100
Inscriptions read "Comanche Indian" and "Tich-ke-mat-se Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of Cheyenne man with quiver on horseback aiming bow and arrow at wounded buffalo
NAA INV 08518200
Inscriptions read "Tichkematse" and "Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of two mounted Cheyenne warriors with feathered shields, lance, and sword, pursuing mounted Ute warrior aiming bow and arrow
NAA INV 08518300
Inscriptions read "Utah" "Cheyenne" and "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of Indian man wearing face paint with full feathered headdress with two buffalo horns and carrying feathered shield, lance, bow and arrow, with saddled and branded horse with bridle following him
NAA INV 08518400
Inscription reads "Tich-ke-mat-se Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of three men and one woman, all wrapped in blankets
NAA INV 08518500
Inscription reads "Tich-ke-mat-se Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of two Indian men, with one riding on back of buffalo and the other holding rope attached to its neck
NAA INV 08518600
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of man wearing face paint holding full feathered headdress, with feathered lance, shield, bow and arrow nearby
NAA INV 08518700
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of battle scene between Cheyenne and Ute
NAA INV 08518800
Inscriptions read "Uta" and "Cheyenne." Depicts two men, Ute and Cheyenne, wearing face paint engaged in combat; Ute firing a bow and arrow with three arrows behind him; Cheyenne carrying a feathered shield and piercing him in stomach with lance.
Tichkematse drawing of Cheyenne scalping Ute
NAA INV 08518900
Inscriptions read "Uta" and "Cheyenne." Depicts two men, Ute and Cheyenne, engaged in combat; Cheyenne is holding knife and scalping Ute who is firing revolver; feathered lance, bow and arrows nearby.
Tichkematse drawing of warfare between two Indian men on horseback, one with shield
NAA INV 08519500
Tichkematse drawing of two Indian men on horseback charging U.S. soldiers in fortification
NAA INV 08519600
Tichkematse drawing of man on horseback hunting buffalo
NAA INV 08601100
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of two Cheyenne men hunting buffalo
NAA INV 08601200
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of battle scene between Cheyenne and Osage
NAA INV 08601300
Inscriptions read "Osages Indians" and "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of row of warriors, some displaying lances
NAA INV 08601400
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne." Figures cut out and pasted onto substrate.
Tichkematse drawing of camp scene with men and children gathered outside a tipi, with sides rolled up to show woman cooking inside
Tichkematse drawing of camp scene with men and children gathered outside a tipi, with sides rolled up to show woman cooking inside
NAA INV 08601500
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne." Shield, lance, and headdress displayed behind tipi.
Tichkematse drawing of camp scene with women cooking and tanning hide outside tipi, with man smoking in entrance and children and dogs nearby
Tichkematse drawing of camp scene with women cooking and tanning hide outside tipi, with man smoking in entrance and children and dogs nearby
NAA INV 08601600
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne." Shield, lance, and headdress displayed behind tipi.
Tichkematse drawing of Cheyenne man wearing long feather headdress scalping Ute man with long knife
NAA INV 08601700
Inscriptions read "Uta," "Cheyenne" and "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Etahdleuh drawing of panoramic view of tipi camps set up along the Washita River, with people moving between camps, and horses grazing in the distance
Etahdleuh drawing of panoramic view of tipi camps set up along the Washita River, with people moving between camps, and horses grazing in the distance
NAA INV 08601800
OPPS NEG 99-10056
Drawing depicts seven painted tipis. Inscriptions on recto read "Etahdleuh Doanmoe (Kiowa)" and "road". Inscriptions on verso read "E.P. Upham", "Kiowa Village", "Washita River Indian Territory (Oklahoma)".
Etahdleuh drawing of panoramic view of buffalo hunt, with mounted men pursuing buffalo, dismounted men standing next to dead buffalo, and hills and pronghorn antelope visible in the distance
Etahdleuh drawing of panoramic view of buffalo hunt, with mounted men pursuing buffalo, dismounted men standing next to dead buffalo, and hills and pronghorn antelope visible in the distance
NAA INV 08601900
Inscription on recto reads "Etahdleuh Doanmoe (Kiowa)." Inscription on verso reads "E.P. Upham."
Anonymous drawing, possibly Cheyenne, of man
NAA INV 08519000
Drawing possibly by Tichkematse. Although received with Cheyenne and Kiowa drawings, the style is very different. It may represent an experiment on the part of an Indian artist or work by a non-Indian.
Anonymous drawing, possibly Cheyenne, of man
NAA INV 08519100
Drawing possibly by Tichkematse. Although received with Cheyenne and Kiowa drawings, the style is very different. It may represent an experiment on the part of an Indian artist or work by a non-Indian. Inscription reads "To illustrate No. 86 of collection."
Tichkematse drawing of man carrying lance, cloth-draped, and feathered shield with bear symbol
NAA INV 08519200
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne."
Tichkematse drawing of fire drill
NAA INV 08519300
Inscription reads "Cheyenne Fire Drill Drawn by Tichkematse- E. P Upham."
Tichkematse drawing of man holding knife to cut up dead buffalo, with horse with bridle and saddle tethered to shrub nearby
NAA INV 08519400
Inscription reads "Tichkematse Cheyenne." The figures have been cut out and pasted to the substrate.