12 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 10 



in the spring, summer, and fall of 1855. Hazard Stevens wrote of 

 these illustrations : 



The portraits of Indian chiefs were made by Gustavus Sohon, a private soldier 

 of the 4th infantry, an intelligent and well educated German, who had great skill 

 in making expressive likenesses. He also made the views of the councils and 

 expedition. These portraits with many others taken by the same artist, were 

 intended by Governor Stevens to be used to illustrate a complete account of his 

 treaty operations. [Stevens, 1900, vol. 2, p. xx.] 



Isaac I. Stevens was prevented from writing a history of his treaty 

 operations by the pressure of public duties and later by his untimely 

 death in battle in the Civil War. 



Mr. Sohon's illustrations published in Hazard Stevens' book are 

 listed in the Appendix, p. 68. They include portraits of the prominent 

 Indian chiefs at both the Walla Walla and Blackfoot Treaty Councils. 

 None of the prominent leaders of the Flathead and Pend d'Oreille 

 tribes who participated in the Flathead and Blackfoot Treaties are 

 portrayed. 



In 1883 a collection of portraits of Northwestern Indians was given 

 to the United States National Museum by Willard Jewell. It included 

 nine pencil portraits of prominent Flathead leaders, eight portraits 

 of chiefs and headmen of the Upper Pend d'Oreille, and three portraits 

 of prominent Iroquois living with these tribes in the middle of the 

 nineteenth century. The portraits were drawn by Gustavus Sohon 

 while serving under Lieutenant Mullan the year before the Flathead 

 Treaty. These may have been some of the "many other" portraits 

 by Sohon, referred to by Hazard Stevens, which Isaac I. Stevens 

 had intended to use in his proposed book on his treaty operations. 

 Each portrait is on a separate piece of thin drawing board measuring 

 about 7|X 10 inches. Each portrait bears a caption in Sohon's hand- 

 writing giving significant information on the subject of the sketch. 

 These portraits are reproduced for the first time in this publication. 



In 1947 Mr. Sohon's daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Sohon, presented 

 to the United States National Museum 25 original drawings by her 

 father, which were among his personal effects in her possession. Most 

 of these drawings are scenes in the Indian country of the Northwest 

 drawn in the years 1854-60. Several appear to have been the original 

 field sketches in pencil which were copied at a later date in more 

 finished form for some of Mr. Sohon's published illustrations. Others 

 represent subjects that were never published. These drawings vary 

 greatly in size ; they probably were made on whatever paper was 

 handy at the time of sketching. Some are on thin tracing paper in 

 light pencil. The paper has deteriorated and the pencil lines now are 



