Ledger Drawing

Cheyenne · 1884-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Maffet Ledger is named for George West Maffet, who in the 1880slived in Darlington, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), where he was anewspaper publisher. There, he became acquainted with Indian men whofilled ledger books with drawings that gave narrative to their lives, depictingtimes of heroism and freedom. The Maffet Ledger is one of those books.In this drawing, attributed to the Northern Cheyenne [Richard] Wooden Legs(1858–1940), a Crooked-Lance bearer is striking fallen enemies. The tallCrooked Lances were wrapped in otter skin with bundles of attached eaglefeathers. They were awarded to the bravest men of the Cheyenne ElkhornScrapers Society. The presence of two Crooked Lances here implies thatthe events depicted occurred on different occasions, not that the bearerhad two lances.