Buttons & Beads is a story about friendship and shared goals, although it does also chronicle the troubling events leading up to the French and Indian War.
The Indian town of Kittanning, Pennsylvania, was burned to the ground by settlers; Wynonah's own uncle Shingas led strikes against English settlers by destroying food supplies and farms.
The burning home seen here could easily have been part of the Indian settlements like Kittanning, which, with small stone or log homes and flowered window boxes might have been mistaken for English towns; or it could be an English farm burnt by Shingas. The interpretation is up to the viewer.
See early sketches below and at this link.
First stage of creating the image-- toned paper with the buildings sketched in
Later I began darkening with a pencil and lightening with an eraser
Almost done. Buildings based on period structures in Berks County, PA
