OT / Indians not from Cleveland

[frankbmd]

Not for sale, not baseball, not sports, but definitely nineteenth century and perhaps of some interest to the general audience. (Bounce me Leon, if I'm too far off base)

The ten N28 Allen & Ginter Baseball Cards in decent condition are out of reach of my collecting budget. Several years ago though this N2 card caught my eye. First the name Bull Head had some appeal (and I'm sure some of you might think you've encountered a few here & there). The card was in good condition (Ex-Mint) and within the constraints of my budget. The N2s were issued in 1888 and are formatted very much like the N28s.

But who was this Bull Head guy? Well, a little research proved rewarding, increased my knowledge and made this card a centerpiece or a least a talking point in my collection. Bull Head was indeed a chief of the Pawnees largely in western Nebraska. The Pawnees, however, were not the last of the tribes to surrender. Many of the Indians were hired by the government in an effort to negotiate and/or coerce the last hold outs to surrender. Bull Head became a lieutenant in this Indian Cavalry in a unit that is also referred to in some references as the Lakota Police.

The story of Sitting Bull and the Sioux is much more familiar and an interesting read. A brief synopsis captured from Wikipedia follows.

Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake in Standard Lakota Orthography,[2] also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies. Born near the Grand River in Dakota Territory, he was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him and prevent him from supporting the Ghost Dance movement.

He had a premonition of defeating the cavalry, which motivated his Native American people to a major victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry on June 25, 1876. Months after the battle, Sitting Bull and his group left the United States to Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, where he remained until 1881, at which time he surrendered to U.S. forces. A small remnant of his band under Chief Waŋblí Ǧí decided to stay at Wood Mountain. After his return to the United States, he briefly toured as a performer in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, earning $50 a week.

After working as a performer, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, Indian Service agent James McLaughlin at Fort Yates ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot in the side and head by Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head (Tatankapah) and Red Tomahawk (Marcelus Chankpidutah) after the police were fired upon by Sitting Bull's supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial, but in 1953, his remains were possibly exhumed and reburied near Mobridge, South Dakota, by his Lakota family, who wanted his body to be nearer to his birthplace.

Yes, this is the same Bull Head, chief of the Pawnee, who is portrayed on the N2 card produced in 1888. When was Sitting Bull (also portrayed on an N2 card) shot by Bull Head? ... on December 15th, 1890, two weeks before the Wounded Knee Massacre that is generally regarded as the last battle of the Indian wars, but two years after they were both portrayed on Allen & Ginter Tobacco cards.

I wonder if either was an N2 collector.