Assiniboin Man

Description

The name of this Assiniboin warrior is unknown. Apparently a solemn young man, he remained reserved until Bodmer's music box made him laugh. His quilled and beaded shirt is fringed with leather rather than hair and he carries a flintlock trade gun. Not all of the Assiniboins at Fort Union possessed guns in 1833 because they were expensive. Maximilian said that guns were purchased by the American Fur Company from England for eight dollars each and then sold to the Indians for the equivalent of thirty dollars. As a comparison, ermine skins were bartered for six dollars a piece. Many Indians had nothing to trade but their own clothing, with a finely painted robe bringing from six to ten dollars. This individual appears as a background figure in Tableau 32 of the aquatint atlas.