Baltimore painter Alfred Jacob Miller visited Fort Laramie in 1837, during the waning years of the fur trade. He painted this painting from sketches two decades later.
Looking Glass, Nez Perce chief, was five years old out in Oregon when this was sketched by Miller.
It would be interesting to lens that scene in 1837 in person from a 2015 perspective.
ReplyDeleteI always found it interesting when they built forts from wood because wood burns. Indians didn't understand digging saps and siege warfare in the classic sense. They were raiders - light cavalry.