Winter Village of the Minatarees
Engraved by Desmadryl Printed by Bougeard
Tableau 26. Winter Village of the Minatarees
$3,300.00

Bodmer and Maximilian visited the winter village of the Minatari or Hidatsa late in November, 1833, arriving there after a tiring, nine-hour journey from Fort Clark to witness a Hidatsa ceremony. According to Maximilian's journal account, they stayed at the village for several days, before returning to Fort Clark.

Comprising approximately eighty lodges or houses grouped closely together in the middle of a thick stand of sheltering timber, the village probably was that known as Elah-sa, largest of the Hidatsa settlements located on the Knife River in what is now the state of North Dakota.

The original sketch by Bodmer in the Joslyn collection is an unfinished pencil drawing embellished with a light wash of watercolor. The subsequent aquatint, showing numerous figures, is considerably more detailed, and again conveys the impression of bitter cold weather.

See Tableau 15 for another winter scene showing a view of Fort Clark across the frozen Missouri River.

Other Hidatsa subjects are featured in this series as Vignette XXVI and Tableaux 17, 23, 24, and 27.

Text by David Hunt, Director, Stark Museum, Orange, Texas, USA

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