The Buffalo Soldier

Having finally gotten the recent problems with this Blog straightened out with the valued assistance of my Brother, I thought I'd better post something quick before you lose interest.

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I did this piece a couple years ago. I've always had a fasination with the Buffalo Soldiers. You probably already know that they acquired that name from the Native Americans who associated their dark skin and woolly topknots to the animals that roamed the plains. Here are a couple of great sites where you can learn just about everything you might want to know about them plus find some great reference material:

- http://www.buffalosoldier.net/index.htm

- http://www.9thcavalry.com/frampage.htm

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The title of this carving is "Smoke Break". While we don't know this fella's name we can see he's the First Sergeant of his Cavalry Troop by his arm and Kipi insignia. He's carrying a Sharps Carbine and looking forward to a cool drink out of that regulation canteen. If you look close on his right side you will note the rifle clip next to his sidearm which hooks to the sliding ring on the side of the rifle.

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There are a few other photos in the Gallery. As always, your comments and opinions are welcome.