This button is from a small series, all picturing Indians of the Ponca Tribe (we've seen three different) and we consider them among the rarest and most fascinating buttons ever produced. The button is 1.75" with metal back carrying name of maker St. Louis Button Co. and with a vertical pin. The front has real photo without dot pattern and with red color accents. There is a pinpoint shallow nick on his cheek and the button surface has a great deal of very tiny surface scratching but really only very noticeable upon the closest inspection as the piece still retains its gloss and N. Mint appearance. The button was used for a historic Oklahoma event on June 11, 1905. The Miller Brothers, owners of the 101 Ranch, wanted the National Editorial Association to hold its annual convention in Oklahoma to gain publicity for their entertainment enterprises. They traveled to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and were successful in getting an agreement to hold the group's 1905 convention in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The plans called for a side trip to the 101 Ranch to witness the Buffalo Chase. Pre-event publicity was rampant with reports that 100 bison would be killed for dinner. Dan Beard, a naturalist who in 1910 helped found the Boy Scouts, was outraged and asked President Roosevelt to send armed troops to prevent the slaughter. Roosevelt did have the territory's governor sent militia so the Millers essentially received free crowd control for what turned out to be 65,000 spectators coming by all modes of transportation and in anticipation of seeing Geronimo (under soldier guard from Fort Sill) shoot "His Last Buffalo." A huge grandstand was constructed and a vast show was put on by the Millers' cowboys and Indians. Geronimo, from the front seat of a Locomobile, used a Winchester rifle to kill one bison for the editor's dinner. Ironically, this was Geronimo's first buffalo kill, not his last, as no buffalo ever roamed his original homeland in the arid Southwest. There were many additional events which included famous black rodeo star Bill Pickett plus appearances by famous cowboys who were with the group and included Tom Mix, Will Rogers, Buck Jones and Ken Maynard. Chief White Eagle was a close ally of the Miller Brothers and a chief of the tribe for over 50 years. He toured with the Wild West Show for many years and died in 1914. Only the fourth example we've seen of this button. The two others we know of depict this man's son Horse Chief Eagle and a third Ponca Indian Standing Elk. Rare.