What Crazy Horse looked like

Trimble:  What did Crazy Horse look like?No photograph claimed to be that of the great Lakota chief has ever been authenticated. And varied reasons are given as to why the great chief is supposed to have refused to allow his picture to be taken. The usual reasons, of course, are variations of Crazy Horse;s reply recalled by Indian agent Valentine McGillicuddy when he urged the chief to pose for a picture: "His invariable reply to my request was, 'My friend, why should you shorten my life by taking from me my shadow?"'

A strong case made by Tom Buecker, curator of the Fort Robinson Museum near Crawford, Neb., is that one good reason no photo was ever taken is that, for all but a short time in his life, Crazy Horse was never in the vicinity of a photographer. Right up to his death, Crazy Horse could never be called a "hang around the fort" type.No photos exist, but a drawing does:Descriptions of Crazy Horse's facial and physical features are abundant, both from Lakotas and a few whites who knew him well. These are included in letters, transcripts of interviews and in books based on those primary sources, and all are consistent in their descriptions. These descriptions generally help disprove the claims of authors and some respected historians that any photo purported to be that of the great leader is the real thing.

Sometime prior to 1940, Oglala Lakota artist Andrew Standing Soldier rendered an ink and watercolor sketch based on descriptions of old men and women who knew Crazy Horse personally. Standing Soldier created extremely accurate portrayals of Lakota life in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as of historic events. Of his Crazy Horse portrait, relatives and close friends of the war leader reportedly pronounced it an excellent likeness.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Giago's Photo Isn't Crazy Horse and Seeking Crazy Horse Photo.

Below:  Sketch by Andrew Standing Soldier.