Mato-tope

[11] At that time, Four Bears was a brave warrior among his people, famous for killing a Cheyenne chief in hand-to-hand combat.

[14] Catlin secured a robe recounting Four Bears' deeds in 1832, now preserved in the United States National Museum.

[15] Another robe of Four Bears collected by Catlin is on display at the Upper Musselshell Museum in Harlowton, Montana.

[16] The next to bring home a robe of Four Bears showing warrior exploits was Prince Maximilian zu Wied.

[17][18] While other leading men were sturdy and tall, Maximilian described the ever-successful warrior Four Bears as a bit slim and only of average height.

[28] Eventually he became a chief in the common Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara settlement Like a Fishhook Village, largely because of his outstanding father.

The 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic wiped out most of Four Bears' tribe, leaving 27 (or by some accounts 100 to 150) survivors out of a former population of around 2,000.

"One of our best friend of the Village (The Four Bears) died to day, regretted by all who Knew him", wrote the manager of Fort Clark, Francis A.

)[36] As recorded in Four Bears' last speech to the Arikara and Hidatsa (two neighboring tribes) he denounced the white man, whom he had previously treated as a brother, for deliberately bringing the disease to his people.

Mato-tope holding a lance and wearing painted and quilled shirt : aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834". The shirt is made of " bighorn leather". [ 1 ]
Mato-Tope, Adorned with the insignia of his warlike deeds. : aquatint by Karl Bodmer from the book "Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834". The six sticks in his hair represent killing six men with a gun and the wooden knife represents he killed a Cheyenne chief with a knife. The split turkey feather is said to stand for an arrow wound. [ 2 ] The hand on Four Bears' torso may indicate that he once seized an enemy for his comrades to kill. [ 3 ]
Facsimile of the Robe of Mah-to-toh-pa - Mandan by George Catlin showing Mato-Tope victories
Karl Bodmer facsimile of ledger art showing Four Bears (at left) in a duel with a Cheyenne chief. The hand wound of the knife entitled him to pose with a wooden knife, as seen on the pictures of Catlin and Bodmer. [ 4 ] The realistic work of both artists inspired Four Bears to make this true-to-life drawing of his feat. [ 5 ]
Mandan Chief Bad Gun, son of Mandan Chief Four Bears