Төрт Аю: Мандан тайпасының батыры

Native American; Chief of the Mandan tribe

Mato tope (also known as Ma to toh pe or Four Bears, from mato "bear" and tope "four") (c. 1784 July 30, 1837) was the second chief of the Mandan tribe to be known as "Four Bears," a name he earned after charging the Assiniboine tribe during battle with the strength of four bears. Four Bears lived in the first half of the 19th century on the upper Missouri River in what is now North Dakota. Four Bears was a favorite subject of artists, painted by George Catlin and Karl Bodmer.

Four Bears grew up in an earth lodge in the Mandan village On a Slant Village. His father, Good Boy (or Handsome Child), was the village chief. Later the family lived in Mitutanka further north, founded about 1822, possibly by Good Boy.

Around 1830 the trading post Fort Clark was built less than 600 ft. (150 m) south of Mitutanka. At that time, Four Bears was a brave warrior among his people, famous for killing a Cheyenne chief in hand to hand combat. Besides the Cheyenne, Four Bears fought the Sioux, the Arikara, and the Assiniboine and once he killed two Ojibway women. The daring revenge upon the actual killer of his younger brother was still a topic among the Mandans in the early 1930s. Four Bears had learned the identity of the Arikara warrior, Bear Necklace, through fast and "self torture" under an oak tree with a raven nest. Catlin secured a robe recounting Four Bears' deeds in 1832, now preserved in the United States National Museum. Another robe of Four Bears collected by Catlin is on display at the Upper Musselshell Museum in Harlowton, Montana. The next to bring home a robe of Four Bears showing warrior exploits was Prince Maximilian zu Wied. This robe is in Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany. 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. Four Bears' good fortune on the warpath came in part from a sacred bundle containing a rainbow decorated robe.

Four Bears had an important "People Above bundle", one of five among the Mandans. Twice he sponsored the most fundamental ceremony of his tribe, the Okipa. Belonging to the elite of Mitutanka, he lived in an earth lodge across from the ceremonial lodge, with its doorway out to the plaza. Four Bears was often painted by artist George Catlin; Catlin held Four Bears in very high regard, saying that he was a man of liberty, generosity and elegance. Catlin stated that he was one of the most extraordinary Indians he had ever known.

Four Bears' wife was Brown Woman. The couple had an unclear number of children. A daughter is known as Earth Woman. When Maximilian, accompanied by Karl Bodmer, arrived at Fort Clark on November 13, 1833, Four Bears greeted them together "with his wife and a pretty little boy", The Male Bear. This could be an early name for a boy born in 1829, later in life known as Bad Gun, or it may be a brother of his. Bad Gun (or Rushing After The Eagle) lived on after the 1837 scourge. Eventually he became a chief in the common Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara settlement Like a Fishhook Village, largely because of his outstanding father.

Four Bears became friends with artist Karl Bodmer in 1833. He spent time teaching Maximilian his own language and the very different Arikara tongue, which he spoke fluently. He became chief in the year 1836.

Along with a Hidatsa chief of the same name, Four Bears is honored with Four Bears Bridge and Four Bears' Casino and Lodge. A mountain in Glacier National Park is named after the chief, though spelled differently as Mahtotopa Mountain.