Miller reported that on his arrival at Fort Laramie they were escorted into “the principal room of the Fort” where they:
noticed 5 or 6 first class engravings.—one of which was Richard & Saladin, battling in the Holy-Land [Richard I of England fought Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, at the battle of Arsuf in 1191 during the Third Crusade], & from these immediately surmised that the commandeer of the post was a refined gentleman.—When he came in we found our surmise correct.—His name was [Lucien B.] Fontenel[le], already famous in Indian history;–he at once [offered] the hospitalities of the place and attendents [sic],–gave orders for crocks of milk to be brought to us, a luxury we had been deprived of for a length of time & to which we did ample justice;–& while we rested here, seemed never tired of extending to us every comfort & aid that he could command (Troccoli, 1990, p. 66).
Images of Fort Laramie proved to be one of Miller’s most popular subjects, and several different patrons ordered more than a dozen copies of it over the years, including William T. Walters (this image), Alexander Brown (CR #159C), and William C. Wait (perhaps CR #159A) among others. In this version, Miller sets the fort a little further from the viewer, making the distance between the familiar trio of Indians in the foreground and the post appear greater. (Warner, 1979, 109 – 113)
Ron Tyler
