The Bear Dance | Print | Wisconsin Historical Society

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The Bear Dance

The Bear Dance | Print | Wisconsin Historical Society
Indian dance, with some wearing bear masks (Plate 18).<p>"Next in importance to the buffalo hunts, and not less exciting and spirited in its character, is the mode of hunting the Bear. Several varieties and this bold and ferocious species are found joint occupants with Man, the buffalo, and other animals, through the various wild latitudes of America; and, like the others, their skins and their flesh contribute largely to man's comfort and subsistence. The bear, so different in its habits and haunts from the buffalo, is entrapped and hunted by the Indians in a greater variety of modes than the buffalo, though their hunting excursions for this animal are often on horseback; and when in pursuit of the Grizzly Bear, the most formidable and dangerous animal of the brute creation to be met in the prairies and forests of America, the hunters deem it most prudent to be mounted on their horses' back, instead of trusting to their own legs in contention with so awkward and dangerous an enemy."</p>
DESCRIPTION
Indian dance, with some wearing bear masks (Plate 18).

"Next in importance to the buffalo hunts, and not less exciting and spirited in its character, is the mode of hunting the Bear. Several varieties and this bold and ferocious species are found joint occupants with Man, the buffalo, and other animals, through the various wild latitudes of America; and, like the others, their skins and their flesh contribute largely to man's comfort and subsistence. The bear, so different in its habits and haunts from the buffalo, is entrapped and hunted by the Indians in a greater variety of modes than the buffalo, though their hunting excursions for this animal are often on horseback; and when in pursuit of the Grizzly Bear, the most formidable and dangerous animal of the brute creation to be met in the prairies and forests of America, the hunters deem it most prudent to be mounted on their horses' back, instead of trusting to their own legs in contention with so awkward and dangerous an enemy."

RECORD DETAILS
Image ID:23636
Creation Date: 1844
Creator Name:Catlin, George
City:
County:
State:
Collection Name:Rare Books
Genre:Print
Original Format Type:prints, fine-art
Original Format Number:E77 C399 1844
Original Dimensions:22 x 16 inches
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Image source: Catlin, George. Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio. Hunting Scenes and Amusements of the Rocky Mountains and Prairies of America. From Drawings and Notes of the Author, Made during Eight Years' Travel amongst Forty-Eight of the Wildest and Most Remote Tribes of Savages in North America. (London: Geo. Catlin, 1844). This image is also viewable in the American Journeys online edition of "Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio."
SUBJECTS
Rites and ceremonies
Bears
Painting
Clothing and dress
Indian dance
Indians of North America
Social life and customs
Medals
Body marking
Men

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Reference Details
Location:Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, 4th Floor, Madison, Wisconsin

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