HENRY F. FARNY (1847-1916)

The present work was reproduced as an illustration for the article "Dance of the Crow Indians" published in the December 15, 1883 edition of Harper's Weekly. The author writes, "The Northern Pacific Railway crosses their reservation, which lies on the Upper Yellowstone, under the shadows of the Belt Range of the Rockies, and when the excursion which formally opened the road passed through their domain, the Crows celebrated the occasion by a series of 'grass' dances, which were the most picturesque episode of that notable journey...The lurid light of the camp fires, deafening drum-beat, jingling bells of the dancers, and weird monotonous chant of the singers were echoed by the whistle of the locomotives as the excursion trains successively drew up." ("Dance of the Crow Indians," Harper's Weekly, December 15, 1883, p. 799)