Mato-Tope (Four Bears) Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database

Plains Indian War Club

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 14:02:40 +0000

War clubs were among the most important weapons and status symbols of the Northern Plains nations encountered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Styles varied widely among nations: the Sioux and Mandan used stone-headed war clubs with rawhide-wrapped handles, while other nations favored gunstock-style clubs shaped like a rifle butt (reflecting contact with European firearms). Lewis and Clark collected several war clubs during the expedition, some of which were sent back to Jefferson with the keelboat from Fort Mandan in 1805. These artifacts provided Eastern Americans with their first direct evidence of Plains Indian military technology. The war club carried by Mato-Tope (Four Bears), depicted in both Catlin’s and Bodmer’s paintings, was particularly celebrated and reflected his status as a great warrior.

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Mah-to-toh-pa, Four Bears, Second Chief in Full Dress

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:03:32 +0000

Portrait of the celebrated Mandan chief Mato-Tope in full ceremonial dress, wearing a painted buffalo robe depicting his heroic deeds. Catlin greatly admired this chief, calling him “the most extraordinary man in the nation.” Mato-Tope died in the devastating 1837 smallpox epidemic.

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Mato-Tope, A Mandan Chief

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:03:27 +0000

Iconic portrait of Mato-Tope (Four Bears), the celebrated Mandan chief, in full ceremonial regalia with eagle feathers and ermine tails. Bodmer painted him at Fort Clark on April 14, 1834. Lewis and Clark had visited the Mandan villages three decades earlier during the winter of 1804–05.

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