Ambrose Bierce’s Indian inscriptions: Pictographic records of Indian-White conflict along the Bozeman Trail

Abstract

Western History is often understood primarily from the perspective of the United States westward expansion as reflected in the concept of manifest destiny. Rarely do we have the opportunity to view this period through the eyes of native artists who were fighting to maintain ownership of their ancestral lands. These two historical currents came together in 1866 with the Hazen Expedition, when the expedition’s cartographer, Ambrose Bierce, recorded two “Indian inscriptions” that were first-hand accounts of indigenous groups’ efforts to combat westward expansion of different non-native peoples. Although the native groups ultimately failed in this effort, these narrative vignettes provide first-hand testimony to their effort to maintain control of the Powder River Basin and surrounding regions in the face of a variety of intrusive elements. As a part of the Biographic art tradition, both sites appear to have been left as “calling cards,” a recently recognized site type whose purpose was to taunt defeated enemies with an unmistakable message detailing the artist’s bravery and audacity in invading their territory.