Secret of 'Sandman' revealed at BOB signing/talk

     Every signing at Best of Books seems to bring a surprise or two, even from those who come to see an author.
      It happened again this week when famed forensic artist Harvey Pratt arrived to support Jo Ann Kessel, who was signing "Piavinnia: The Bent-Guerrier Connection," a 2015 Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and "Barney Kessel: A Jazz Legend" about her late husband. Pratt's ancestor, Ann Guerrier Pratt Shadlow, is featured in the book.
      During the question-and=answer after Kessel's talk, Pratt told about his reconstruction of the face of "Sandman," a Cheyenne warrior who was killed in 1837 at the Battle of Wolf Creek. The battle was during the war between the Cheyenne/Arapaho tribes and the Comanche/Kiowa tribes. Sandman's body was found by a homeowner in a sand bed near Woodward in 1973.
     Pratt said the warrior was buried with enough items and personal effects that it was determined Sandman was probably named "Horse's Voice" in real life. Most likely, his voice was raspy like a horse and, thus, the name.
         According Pratt's website, the reconstruction was completed in 2001.
    Horse's Voice probably was an individual of importance in the tribe. Due to Pratt, his importance and face will continue to live with us in the future.
          If you want to read more about this important discovery and what happened to Horse's Voice, you can go Harvey Pratt's website. Best of Books also has signed copies of "Piavinnia" and "Barney Kessel" by Jo Ann Kessel.