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Mato-tope

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EntityQ6787705· pop 7· linked from 12 articles

Also known as Four Bears, Mato Tope, Mah To Toh Pa

thumb|right|Mato-tope holding a lance and wearing painted and quilled shirt: aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834". The shirt is made of "[[bighorn leather".]] thumb|left|Mato-Tope, Adorned with the insignia of his warlike deeds.: aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834". The six sticks in his hair represent killing six men with a gun and the wooden knife represents he killed a Cheyenne chief with a

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Type
Person
Country
US

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Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
Missouri River
Place of death
Missouri River
Occupation
warrior
Image
Catlin Chief Four Bears.jpg
Show 4 more facts
date of death
1837-07-30
Commons category
Mato-tope
ethnic group
Mandan
date of birth
1795-01-01
Sources (3)

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~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections
Contents
  • Early years
  • The warrior
  • The public figure
  • Family
  • Visiting the guests from Europe
  • The death of Four Bears
  • Honoring Four Bears
  • References
  • External links

thumb|right|Mato-tope holding a lance and wearing painted and quilled shirt: aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834". The shirt is made of "[[bighorn leather".]] thumb|left|Mato-Tope, Adorned with the insignia of his warlike deeds.: aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834". The six sticks in his hair represent killing six men with a gun and the wooden knife represents he killed a Cheyenne chief with a knife. The split turkey feather is said to stand for an arrow wound. The hand on Four Bears' torso may indicate that he once seized an enemy for his comrades to kill. thumb|left|Facsimile of the Robe of Mah-to-toh-pa - Mandan by George Catlin showing Mato-Tope victories thumb|right|Karl Bodmer facsimile of ledger art showing Four Bears (at left) in a duel with a Cheyenne chief. The hand wound of the knife entitled him to pose with a wooden knife, as seen on the pictures of Catlin and Bodmer. The realistic work of both artists inspired Four Bears to make this true-to-life drawing of his feat.

Mato-tope (also known as Ma-to-toh-pe, Máh-to-tóh-pa, or Four Bears, from 'bear' and 'four'; – July 30, 1837) was the second chief of the Mandan tribe to be known as "Four Bears," a name he earned after charging the Assiniboine tribe during battle with the strength of four bears. Four Bears lived in the first half of the 19th century on the upper Missouri River in what is now North Dakota. Four Bears was a favorite subject of artists, painted by George Catlin and Karl Bodmer.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mato-tope” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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