DOG TRAVOIS. Travois were hauled by dogs before horses started appearing on the Northern Plains by the late 1600s. Horses, named “elk dogs” or “big dogs” by some tribes, could carry more weight, thus allowing larger tipis for nomadic tribes. Horses also revolutionized hunting and warfare techniques.
The elderly woman, perhaps a Lakota Sioux named Red Thunder, reportedly held the staff of her husband, Little Bull, and posed in her best regalia.
A finely-crafted miniature buffalo was on the dog’s back. What appeared to be a dead skunk was in the travois. Dating from about 1910-20 or so, the photo by Frank Fiske of Fort Yates (ND) was found at the Buffalo Bill Museum.
Prehistoric Needles from Siberia:
In a cave above the Inya River’s middle reaches, scientists discovered 20,000-year-old sewing needles. Not only are they sharp enough to perforate thick animal hides, they possess a needle “eye,” to thread the needle and sew.
Woman with donkey and cart selling fish. Inver village, Co Antrim. c1890s.
(National Museums of Northern Ireland).