Kihegashugah

Kihegashugah was in his late 30s when he made a long journey to France along with his two wives, Hawk Woman and Sacred Sun, Frenchman David DeLaunay, and four other Osage Indians in 1827.

However, DeLaunay actually took them to France and the Netherlands where he displayed them in a Wild West show for European entertainment.

The hot air balloon was a recent invention of the French Montgofier brothers, and a popular attraction in France during the period.

[3] Early sources conflated Little Chief Kihegashugah with a fellow tribesman, Little Soldier, and reported that he died of smallpox while aboard a ship when returning to America after the voyage.

[4] In fact, Kihegashugah was on the Fort Gibson Indian Territory tribal councils of 1833 and 1839.

Kihegashugah (center) with other natives from his tribe (1827) Lithograph Artist: Pierre Lacroix, 1783–1856
From Luther Brand's Illustration, 1827. Original Caption: "The Indians From the Tribe Osage, who are still in Paris—at the theater in Rouen" Kihegashugah can be seen in the front row with his two wives, Hawk Woman and Sacred Sun.