Nez Perce Portraits

PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF CHELAN COUNTY P.O. BOX 1231 WENATCHEE WASHINGTON • 98807-1231 www.chelanpud.org PERMIT NO 300

WENATCHEE WA

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“Tell General Howard I know his heart.

What he told me before I have in my heart.

I am tired of fighting.

Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead.

Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death.

My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are - perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.

Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.�

Chief Joseph Oct. 5, 1877 www.chelanpud.org

Seven miles north of Wenatchee on Hwy. 97A. Open daily mid-March through mid-November.

509.663.7522

The Collection

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The first 22 portraits were presented to Chela n County PUD by Mr. an d Mrs. Frank Glenn of Long Beach, Wash., in memory of Mrs. Glenn’s parents, Guy and Amy Myers. Guy Myers help ed purchase major propertie s for Chelan County PUD, including the Rocky Re ach Dam area.

The 23rd portrait was donated by a the artist, Rowen Alcorn, in 1967.

To complete the series, the 24th portrait is on permanent loan from the Washington State Capital Museum at Olympia.

NEZ PERCE NATION HISTORY

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Before 1877, the Nez Perce Nation was the richest, most powerful yet peaceable of the Columbia Plateau peoples. There were separate bands, each ruled by one or sometimes two chieftains.

Breeders of sturdy spotted horses, first introduced about 1740 by Chief Three Circling Eagles, these tribesmen were very mobile, traveling long distances between their homeland, in what is now Washington, Idaho and Oregon, to the plains of Montana, where they hunted buffalo. The Nez Perce dried meat and cured hides for tepees and robes; then they returned via the high Lolo Pass over the Rocky Mountains.

For winter food, they netted salmon from the Columbia, Clearwater, Snake, Imnaha and Salmon rivers. They ate fish fresh, smoked or dried. The women gathered kaus roots, which were scraped and dried. Bulbs of the camas were harvested and roasted.

Originally, these tribesmen called themselves the Numipoo, “We People.”

However, early French fur traders named them the Nez Perce (Pierced Noses).

Since nose piercing was not practiced, the name may have come from their tribal sign of passing the forefinger of the right hand beneath the nose from right to left.

Historically, it would be impossible to overestimate the Nez Perce contribution to the Pacific Northwest. They aided the Lewis and Clark party, helped the early Presbyterian missionaries, Dr. Marcus Whitman and Rev. Henry H. Spalding, and led the way in Five Tribe Treaty Councils of 1855 at Walla Walla.

During the 1860s, when gold was discovered at Orofino, some settlers and miners ignored treaties and overran the Nez Perce reservation. This resulted in the Nez Perce War of 1877, which ended in disaster for the Nez Perce Nation.

Led by chieftains Joseph, Looking Glass, White Bird, Big Noise and Naked Head, 800 men, women and children of five bands of the Nez Perce Nation, pursued by General Howard’s U.S. Army forces, fled from their ancient homeland to seek refuge in Canada—“Land of the Red Coats.” This running campaign began on June 17, 1877, at White Bird Canyon, south of Grangeville, Idaho, and lasted almost five months.

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The final encounter of the war occurred in the Bear Paw Mountains within 50 miles of Canada. There, on Oct. 5, 1877, Chief Joseph surrendered the broken remnants of a proud nation.

Chief White Bird refused to submit and — with members of his band and others — escaped and reached the sanctuary of Chief Sitting Bull’s encampment in Canada.

White Bird never returned to his homeland.

Nez Perce War of 1877 battles:

July 10-12 - Battle of the Clearwater July 13 - Battle of Kamiah Crossing Aug. 9 - Battle of Big Hole Aug. 20 - Battle of Camas Meadows Sept. 13 - Battle of Canyon Creek (Sturgis Battle) Oct. 5 - Battle of Bear Paw

In 1885, Chief Joseph was banished to the Colville Reservation and was only once permitted to see his beloved homeland, the Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon, in August 1899. He died in 1904 and is buried at Nespelem.

A note about the artist - Rowena L. Alcorn

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Rowena Alcorn was an artist and a writer on the history of the Northwest, particularly of the Nez Perce. Alcorn and her husband produced one book and 125 articles on the subject. Articles were published in the Montana Magazine of Western History, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Oregon Historical Quarterly, Tacoma News Tribune Magazine, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Sea Chest, Journal of the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, Frontier Times, True West, and Old West.

Alcorn worked more than 20 years painting this series of portraits to pay honor to the great Nez Perce Nation.

When she started in the fall of 1935, she was the first artist to undertake such a project.

When Alcorn started her portrait series, there were only five tribesmen left who Rowena L. Alcorn (1905-1996) presents portrait of Shining Light to PUD Commissioner Robert Keiser in had participated in the War of 1877: Chiefs White 1967. Photo courtesy The Wenatchee World

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Hawk, Many Wounds, Black Wings, Grizzly Bear, and Touching Hands as They Pass. All of them sat for their portraits.

Other important living tribesmen were painted from tribal records and word descriptions: Broken Arm, Twisted Hair, Black Eagle, Spotted Eagle, Roaring Eagle, Red Bear, Lone Bird, Pile of Clouds, and Eagle from the Light.

The portraits have been shown in 25 solo exhibitions throughout the United States. The first exhibit was in 1939 at the Smithsonian Institution. Eight portraits had been completed, and the showing was sponsored by three United States senators: Homer Bone of Washington; William Borah of Idaho; and James Hughes of Delaware.

The paintings were also displayed at the Treaty Centennial at Walla Walla in June 1955, for the dedication of Chief Joseph Dam in June 1956, and the Maryhill Museum of Fine Arts in 1957.

At the time the collection was formally presented to Chelan County PUD in 1971, Alcorn was an art instructor for Fort Steilacoom Community College, now Pierce College. Her other teaching experiences include five years at both the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, and Grays Harbor Community College, Aberdeen. Many of her paintings are in public buildings and in private collections.

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NEZ PERCE PORTRAITS CHIEF JOSEPH

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains (Hin-mah-too-yah-latkekt) One of the leaders of the Nez Perce in the War of 1877, the only time they ever fought against the white man.

Considered by authorities to be one of the greatest leaders of native peoples, Chief Joseph and others led nearly 800 Nez Perce men, women and children, and twice that many horses, over 1,170 miles through the mountains, from June to October 1877.

The retreat from their homeland, as they fled over Lolo Pass toward Canada, encumbered with their families, was masterful but tragic.

Painted from historical records.

He holds his prized elkhorn riding quirt, and the snow-sprinkled Lolo Pass of the high Rockies forms the background.

Chief Joseph died at Nespelem Sept.

21, 1904, and is buried there in the Indian cemetery on a knoll, far from his homeland—the lovely Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon.

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CHIEF LAWYER (Hal-hal-tlos-sot)

He met the Whitman-Spalding missionary party at the Wyoming rendezvous in the summer of 1836. He is said to be the descendant of Twisted Hair who befriended Lewis and Clark in 1805. He was a signer of the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855, and it was said he saved Governor Stevens from an attempt on his life.

He also signed the Treaty of 1863, and in 1868, he made a trip to Washington, D.C. Lawyer was a famed buffalo and bear hunter.

Painted from historical records.

He became a Christian and was first elder of the small Indian Presbyterian Church at Kamiah, Idaho, which is still in use today.

He is buried in the church cemetery.

WOUNDED HEAD

(Husis-ow-yean)

Originally known as White Cloud (Sewatis-hih-hih), he was an outstanding hunter and brave warrior, and fought all through the long retreat over Lolo Pass. He was thereafter known as Wounded Head as a result of a severe wound.

At the Battle of Big Hole, he tallied the Nez Perce casualties on his buffalo horn drinking cup, which he always wore suspended by a band around his neck.

During fighting at White Bird Canyon, Wounded Head, seeing a white pioneer woman on the hillside, whisked her onto his horse and carried her to a place of safety.

Painted from historical records.

Wounded Head holds a weapon made of bone.

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BLACK WINGS

(Tsi-mook-tsi-mook) Son of Wot-tol-len, famous warrior and tribal historian, Black Wings was sometimes called Black Eagle. He was one of the braves who fought under Chief Joseph. He was with the group, led by Chief White Bird, who fled into Canada following the battle and surrender at Bear Paw. Black Wings – who was also known as Daniel Jefferson Green – eventually returned to live at Lapwai, Idaho, where he died in 1943.

SPRINGTIME

(Toma-alwa-win-mi) Wife of Chief Joseph. The child she carries Painted from life in 1936. on her back was born a few days before the He holds a peace pipe. battle of White Bird Canyon. The baby girl died after the war ended, when the Nez Perce Indians were taken to the Midwest, which the Nez Perce called “The Hot Place” (Eikish-pah). There, many Nez Perce died of malaria.

When her people were leaving the Clearwater battlefield, Springtime could not mount her frightened horse. Yellow Wolf rescued her and together they rode to join the other members. Chief Joseph, unaware his young wife was not with the other women, was grateful to Yellow Wolf for not allowing her to be captured.

Painted from historical records.

Springtime drinks from a cup made of bone with leather handle.

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CHIEF TIMOTHY (Ta-moots-tsoo)

He and Chief Red Wolf ruled over the Alpowa Band. He was the first Christian convert of the pioneer Presbyterian missionary, Henry H. Spalding.

He was 5-years-old when Lewis and Clark visited his village in October 1805.

Red Wolf was a signer of the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855 with the territorial governor of Washington, Isaac Stevens.

He saved Eliza Spalding from the Cayuses after the Whitman massacre of 1847.

He also saved the lives of the Steptoe Expedition of 1858. When the troops were surrounded on a ridge near Rosalia, he led them to safety under cover of night, through enemy lines. They made a miraculous escape riding without rest for 24 hours.

Painted from historical records.

He holds a peace pipe.

Chief Timothy died in 1891 at 91. He was first buried along the Snake River at Alpowa. In 1956, his bones were moved to a place of honor in the Beachview Park in Clarkston, Wash.

This painting is reproduced in Clifford Merrill Drury’s book, “Henry Harmon Spalding.”

Alcorn’s book, “Timothy, A Nez Perce Chief,” was published by Ye Galleon Press.

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PEACE PIPE

(Tuk-tar-mal-way-une) A member of the Chief Looking Glass band, he stayed behind at Kamiah with his mother, Imnah- mah, who was too frail to ride over Lolo Pass in 1877.

Peace Pipe was a cousin of Chief Looking Glass and a nephew of Chief Timothy.

Story behind the portrait

Peace Pipe served as guide and interpreter to Alcorn. Without his assistance, this series of paintings would not have included the remaining five members from the Retreat of 1877.

Painted from life in 1936.

At the age of 103, Peace Pipe, or Albert Moore, was the oldest living tribesman when he died at Lapwai, Idaho, in October 1965.

HAPPY WOMAN

(Ta-moo-wai-at-naime) Also called Tsa-yaa, she was the wife of Chief White Hawk, whom she married in about 1915.

She was much respected by her people and took part in the 1877 Nez Perce retreat.

Alcorn stated that Happy Woman possessed a quiet dignity with a sense of humor characteristic of Nez Perce older women.

Happy Woman enjoyed sitting for her portrait.

She died in 1938.

Painted from life in 1937.

Happy Woman holds a litskow, or woven hat, and beside her are baskets she had made.

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CHIEF WHITE HAWK (Ta-mopt-sa-you-hih-hih)

White Hawk was one of the famous warriors of the War of 1877. He was a leader of considerable influence among the upper Nez Perce. At the Battle of Bear Paw, he would not surrender and fled to Canada.

Later he joined his brother and lived for many years in the Bitterroot Mountain area of Montana.

He enjoyed sitting for his portrait.

His hair still long, he died in 1952, the last of the great warriors. He is buried in Stites, Idaho.

Painted from life in 1937.

Holding the gun he used in the war, his hair is worn to imitate a hawk’s head.

CHIEFS THREE FEATHERS, RED WOLF and THUNDER EYES Viewed from left to right, these three are on one canvas. All were signers of the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855.

CHIEF THREE FEATHERS (Met-ot-waptus) ruled over the lower Clearwater area band of the Nez Perce Nation. He was a great chieftain, brave in battle and a noted hunter. He was particularly famous for his courage in forays with their traditional enemy, the Crow. He was one of the Nez Perce honor guard who accompanied

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Painted from historical records as they might have sat in council.

Governor Stevens’ party from Walla Walla to Fort Benton in 1855.

CHIEF RED WOLF (He-mene-ilp-pilp) was a very influential leader who ruled with Chief Timothy over the Alpowa Band, located a few miles down the Snake River from today’s Clarkston, Wash.

He was a striking man with a long, lean face. His 5-year-old grandson, Josiah Red Wolf, was with the Nez Perce as they fled over the Lolo Trail in 1877.

Josiah Red Wolf died in March 1971.

CHIEF THUNDER EYES (Hema-tuta-hi-kaith), known as Chief James, lived in the Lapwai Valley–“Butterfly Valley”–when the Spaldings came to work among the Nez Perce. He was the grandfather of young Thunder Eyes who went with Speaking Eagle on the Sioux peace mission. The older Thunder Eyes was a great medicine man. He died while on a buffalo hunt on the Montana plains.

CHIEF YELLOW BULL (Chus-lum-mox-mox)

BIG DAWN

(He-mackis-kai-won) Yellow Bull, who’s earlier name was Sun Necklace, was a sub-chieftain under Chief Joseph during the War of 1877. Big Dawn was his brother and a brave warrior during the tragic retreat.

Yellow Bull’s son, Red Moccasin Tops, was one of three tribesmen who killed a group of white men who had been mistreating them, instigating the 1877 conflict.

When he was slain at Big Hole, Yellow Bull Painted from historical records. offered a prize wolf skin to anyone who would risk enemy fire to bring his son’s body home.

At Bear Paw Mountain, Chief Yellow Bull was sent to negotiate with General Miles before the surrender. Years later, when Chief Joseph died, Yellow Bull, seated on Joseph’s favorite horse and wearing his buckskins, delivered the funeral oration at Nespelem.

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MANY WOUNDS

(Illah-nee-alwa-tasin) He served in the War of 1877 as one of the brave young men who fought alongside the seasoned warriors like his father Wot-tollen, Rainbow, Five Wounds, and others.

Many Wounds was named after his great grandfather, the powerful Chief Red Bear, who was usually known as “Many Wounds� because of his 80 wounds received in battles with Nez Perce enemies, the Shoshone and Crow.

Red Bear greeted Lewis and Clark in 1805 at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers.

Painted from life in 1935.

Chief Red Bear, who signed the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855, was the son of the Great Red Bear. He lived in the Salmon River region.

Many Wounds was also known as Sam Lott. After his father, Wottol-len, the tribal historian, died in 1935, Many Wounds inherited his position.

He died in 1936, shortly after he sat for his portrait.

OL-LO-KOT The handsome younger brother of Chief Joseph, his name is a Cayuse, Indian word meaning Little Frog.

Ol-lo-kot was a sub-chieftain in the War of 1877, and in charge of all the young warriors who idolized him.

Painted from historical records. The Bear Paw Mountains are dimly seen in the background.

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A number of these braves were expert riders and streaked along the summit of White Bird Canyon hanging on one side of their mounts. Because these horses appeared to be riderless, the Nez Perce were able to make a surprise attack on the Army forces at the Battle of the White Bird Canyon.

Ol-lo-kot was killed at the Battle of Bear Paw, one of the reasons Chief Joseph decided to surrender his forces.

RAINBOW

(Way-chum-yus)

FIVE WOUNDS

(Pah-kay-tas-ow-yeen) Two of the greatest Nez Perce warriors, they were on the plains of Montana hunting buffalo when they heard that trouble was brewing. They hurried back over the Lolo Pass, arriving a few days after the Battle of White Bird Canyon.

They joined the forces of their tribesmen and helped plan strategy for the next encounter at the Clearwater River. There, the Nez Perce warriors, camped with their wives and children in a meadow across the South Fork of the Clearwater River, fought the Army forces along Battle Ridge.

Painted from historical records.

Early in the morning of the Battle of Big Hole on Aug. 9, Rainbow was killed.

Legend tells that Five Wounds, who had never been seen to ever shed a tear, wrapped himself in his dark blanket and wept when he saw that Rainbow was slain. As they had made a pact to die together, Five Wounds deliberately walked into enemy fire. Both are buried at Big Hole, Mont.

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JOSEPH BLACKEAGLE (Tip-ya-la-na-tsi-mook)

Joseph was the son of James Blackeagle, a direct descendant of the famous Chief Blackeagle’s grandmother, Celia, Chief Joseph’s sister. A highly respected member of the Nez Perce Nation, he was very helpful in persuading other members to pose for their portraits. He held a number of responsible positions at the Nez Perce Tribal Agency. Joseph Blackeagle and Sam Tilden were the closest living relatives of Chief Joseph at the time this portrait was painted.

Blackeagle died in 1961 and is buried in Lapwai, Idaho.

LITTLE SQUIRREL

Painted from life in 1938.

(Its-ku-yalkt) His other name is He-yurn-taka-lept, which means “Bear Stumbles and Blushes.” At the time he sat for this portrait, he was 12 years old and an expert ceremonial dancer.

Alcorn said that his headdress, made from dyed porcupine quills, and the eagle-feather sunburst tied at his belt, were dramatic when he danced.

His English name was William Steven Jr.

Painted from life in 1937.

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YELLOW WOLF

(He-mene-mox-mox) Yellow Wolf, a famous warrior, was a first cousin of Chief Joseph. His earlier name was White Thunder (Hein-mot-hih-hih).

Yellow Wolf fought all through the War of 1877.

He was the last warrior to leave Battle Ridge at the encounter of the Clearwater River where he was wounded several times.

At the Battle of Bear Paw, he escaped with Chief White Bird into Canada.

Later, he returned and lived for a number of years at Colville.

Painted from life in 1937.

His magic war whistle, made of a heron wing bone, hangs on the wall.

He holds his war club (kop-lits).

This remarkable man is buried at Nespelem.

On his headstone, a few feet from the grave of Chief Joseph, is this inscription: “Patriot Warrior of a Lost Cause.”

CHIEF LOOKING GLASS (Alla-lem-ya-ta-kanin)

The son of Old Looking Glass (A-push-wahhite), he was a signer of the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855.

The younger Looking Glass had not intended to join Chief Joseph’s forces, but a surprise attack on the Looking Glass Village brought him and his band into the war at the Battle of the Clearwater. Named Looking Glass because he wore a small mirror suspended from his forelock, he was the last casualty of the War of 1877.

He was shot through the forehead when he rose Painted from historical records.

He holds a battle ax. up from his rifle pit at the Battle of Bear Paw.

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GRIZZLY BEAR (In the Tree) (Har-harts-tusty)

One of the tribesmen who participated in the War of 1877, this Nez Perce had been acting as a scout for General Howard and was persuaded to remain with him. However, during the Battle of the Clearwater, when he saw some of his friends killed, he went home.

He never carried arms against his own people, and therefore, most of his tribesmen did not resent his role as scout.

Persuaded to sit for his portrait, he asked if he could hold his most prized possession, a bow and arrow given to him by his longtime friend, the Sioux Chief American Horse.

Painted from life in 1937.

His English name was Paul Slickpoo. He died in 1945.

CHIEF OLD JOSEPH The renowned Tu-ekekas, also known as Wella-motkin, was the father of young Chief Joseph.

He was one of the first Christian converts of the pioneer Presbyterian missionary Henry Harmon Spalding.

He was also a signer to the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855, which he later regretted.

Old Chief Joseph died in the Wallowa Valley in 1871 and is buried at the north end of Wallowa Lake in the shadow of the snowcapped Wallowa Mountains he loved. It was over this valley that hostilities broke out in 1877.

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Painted from historical records.

The Wallowa Lake and mountains form the background.

TOUCHING HANDS AS THEY PASS (Pee-we-nap-ta)

Also known as Arthur Simon, Alcorn remembered him as very strong and brave, although a rather small man. He had fought through the entire campaign of 1877 and was credited with saving Chief Joseph’s life during the Battle of White Bird Canyon.

He was, at the time of the painting of this portrait, the last living warrior of Chief White Bird’s band of the Salmon River region. He was blind.

He was a man of great dignity. Only after much persuasion was he willing to allow his portrait to be painted.

Painted from life in 1937.

Hanging on the wall is his prized saddlebag, which he used until his sight failed.

Touching Hands As They Pass died in 1939 and is buried at Lapwai, Idaho.

Story behind the portrait

“He was the only one who was reticent about posing,” Mrs. Alcorn said. “After he did agree, I had to make three trips to his home before he would pose.

‘Come back tomorrow,’ he would say.

“On the third day I decided I couldn’t make the trip down from Moscow [Idaho] again.

He was sitting with a blanket over his head. I reached over and patted his hand. That did it. He posed. It was the type of communication he needed, I suppose.”

Rowena Alcorn The Wenatchee World, June 7, 1962

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CHIEF WHITE BIRD

(Peo-peo-hih-hih-kis-kiok) His name meaning White Pelican, White Bird was the chief of the Salmon River Band that roamed in the rugged area along the Salmon River. White Bird was nearly 70 when the War of 1877 started.

He usually held a large eagle-feathered fan before his face when he sat in council and was a noted warrior, powerful leader and medicine man.

At the Battle of Bear Paw, he decided that he would never surrender, so he escaped to Canada, where he died and is buried.

SHINING LIGHT

Painted from historical records.

The White Bird Canyon forms the background.

(Way-yah-tanah-tola-kah) Shining Light was nearing his 18th birthday when he went with his people on their retreat of 1877. When Colonel Nelson Miles’ forces attacked them in that final encounter of the war, he escaped from the Bear Paw battlefield by clinging to the side of his horse so it appeared to be riderless.

After several years in the Sioux village of Chief Sitting Bull in Canada, Shining Light returned to Idaho where he married Tema Peo, daughter of the Umatilla chief. For many years, was a rancher in the AhsahkaOrofino area.

Painted from life in 1958.

He was one of the last tribesmen of the Nez Perce Nation to keep the traditional long hair.

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Background for this portrait is Battle Ridge where the Battle of the Clearwater was fought in July 1877. It is across this south fork of the Clearwater, near Stites, Idaho, which the Nez Perce called “Koos-koos-kie”

where Shining Light lived in his final years.

Shining Light, or Johnson Hoyt, sat for his portrait three years before he died at age 100 on June 10, 1961.

IDES-HOH TA-MOTS-SOMMY Elderly Nez Perce women who vividly recalled the turbulent days before and during the War of 1877. They were close friends of Chief Joseph.

Alcorn met these gentle and dignified tribeswomen when she and her husband attended an annual tribal ceremonial dance held at Lapwai, Idaho.

Painted from life in 1938.

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“Tell General Howard I know his heart.

What he told me before I have in my heart.

I am tired of fighting.

Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead.

Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death.

My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are - perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.

Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.�

Chief Joseph Oct. 5, 1877 www.chelanpud.org

Seven miles north of Wenatchee on Hwy. 97A. Open daily mid-March through mid-November.

509.663.7522

PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF CHELAN COUNTY P.O. BOX 1231 WENATCHEE WASHINGTON • 98807-1231 www.chelanpud.org PERMIT NO 300

WENATCHEE WA

US POSTAGE PAID

STANDARD

PRESORTED