7 x 5 in. period copy albumen photograph on 9 x 7 in. cardstock mount (light toning to print, light surface abrasion near lower right edge of print, light crinkled texture in some areas, and penciled border to edges of print). Image numbered "823" in the negative. "4-q. Dakota (Misc.) Group about Fort Laramie" printed on affixed paper label to mount recto. Photograph shows Fox Tail, an unidentified Crow woman, Yellow Bull, Yellow Top, Bull That Goes Hunting, Yellow Coat, Woman Who Walks on Ice, and a second unidentified Crow woman.

Throughout its history, Fort Laramie's role was the primary way station on the westward journey. In 1843, close to a thousand emigrants, including children, passed by the fort and, in the years that followed, it became increasingly evident that the primary role of the fort had become supplying the westward expansion. The US government finally purchased the post in late 1849. It took on a central position in the government's relationship both with the Plains Indian tribes as well as the westward bound emigrants. In 1851, it was to host a multi-tribe treaty conference aimed at negotiating rights of free passage through Indian lands for the emigrants. In 1868, it was the site of the great Sioux Treaty Council. Troops would remain stationed at Fort Laramie until 1890, participating in nearly all the great dramas of the westward migration and settlement.