Camp Weld Conference

[Gary]

The latest issue of the English Westerners Tally Sheet has an interesting article on the identity of the Indian Chiefs in the two pictures taken at the Camp Weld Conference in 1864.

The author relies upon comparisons with photographs of the 1863 delegation to Washington to identify some of the Chiefs.

I know that there were several contemporary newspaper accounts of the visit to Washington in January 1863. Does anyone know if any of them are on the internet?

Gary

[grahamew]

I know this isn't what you were after, but I read the article too.

There is an earlier photo of Neva, taken in 1863:


From liveauctioneers.com:

CDV of Neva and Spotted Wolf, Arapaho Delegates to 1863 Visit Abraham Lincoln, with imprint of Addis & Noel, Leavenworth, Kansas. Neva (standing) is wrapped in a masterpiece of porcupine quillwork embroidery on a brain-tanned buffalo robe of the type that was sometimes presented as a special gift from a mother-in-law to her daughter's husband. Such robes were made as sacred vows by Cheyenne and Arapaho members of the Woman's Sewing Society. Also, such work was often pledged as a prayer for the recovery of a sick relative or the return of a loved one too long away at war. Once the work was completed, the vow was considered fulfilled, and the maker was then at liberty to give or trade her work however she wished. Twenty was considered the minimum number of quilled stripes for such a vow; 30 or more was deemed extraordinary. This robe has over 80 stripes running the entire length. It represents a year or more of daily work by the woman who created it. Among the property which George Custer reported he had destroyed with Black Kettle's Cheyenne/Arapaho village at the Washita in November 1868, were "573 tanned buffalo robes, many decorated." Spotted Wolf carries a pipe and a beaded tobacco bag, indicative of his position as a Council Chief. His painted and quillwork-decorated leather shirt with locks of human hair indicates his earlier career as leader of one of the warrior societies. Neva grasps a bow and a single arrow in his left hand. The nock and fletching of the arrow are seen against his bare right shoulder.


I don't think the picture helps identify which man is Neva, though. Here's he best picture I could find on the net:






The Indian leaders on their way to the meeting. I think they're in the second wagon.

[grahamew]

The man with the neckerchief?!

Anyhow, here's the best I could find of the version without the whites;

[charlie]

I never seen the first photo.Very interesting.I don't know if the standing man is Neva.I am only sure that first chief seated from left, in the second photo, is him, and the chief seated far right, in the fourth photo, is him.It's very hard make comparison with the first photo.

[grahamew]

The gist of the article was that only Black Kettle and White Antelope can be positively identified in the Camp Weld photos, based on their appearances in other photos: White Antelope, according to this, is the man sitting at the left of the first group photo and at the left of the one without the whites.

[Gary]

Thanks for posting the pictures Grahame. The bit in the article that particularly interested me was the suggestion that Black Kettle had gone to Washington in 1863. I don't think that he did, although I have only checked the secondary sources. They (Hoig, Powell, Viola etc) make no mention of Black Kettle being in the delegation.

Gary

[Gary]

The article also said that the young boy, second from the left in the back row, is Dexter Colley. Hoig says that it is in fact John Simpson Smith's son who was murdered by Chivington's men at Sand Creek. Smith himself is stood next to him, third from left on the back row.

Gary

[grahamew]

Viola says the delegation consisted of 14 men and two women.

Cheyenne: War Bonnet, Standing in the Water, Lean Bear

Arapaho: Neva and Spotted Wolf, although Viola identifies Spotted Wolf as a Cheyenne.

Kiowas - Yellow Wolf, Lone Wolf, Satanta, Yellow Buffalo, Little Heart, plus two women: Coy and Etla.

Comanche: Ten Bears and Pricked Forehead

Apache - Poor Bear

Caddo - Jacob

On the other hand, George Bent says Black Kettle did go...

Elsewhere. Viola talks about the FIFTEEN Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche and Kiowa from this delegation being coerced to work for P. T. Barnum. Note that he confuses the identity of Lean Bear and War Bonnet in the pictures. There used to be a site that had two or three of the Barnum photos on it, but I can't find it any more, unfortunately.

Having looked at a better defined and larger photo of Spotted Wolf and Neva, I'm inclined to think Neva is indeed the man with the neckerchief, but who knows...?

The author of the article seems to base his inclusion of BK in the 63 delegation on William Blackmore's identification of War Bonnet as Black Kettle (which Colin Taylor repeats) - and that's all. He's not identified as such in the Fleming/Luskey book.

[tatanka]

The one seated in the centre of the big group looks a lot like Dull Knife.

[grahamew]

That's generally held to be Black Kettle

[Dietmar]

Unfortunately I haven´t been able to read the article Gary referred to. But how can the author identify the Camp Weld chiefs by comparing them with the 1863 delegates, when only Neva was there at both occasions?

If you ask me, Neva is indeed the man with the handkerchief in the 1864 photo. He is also the man standing left in Grahame´s photo of 1863. Left Hand, who was the principal chief of the Arapahos at that time, was left out on that delegation trip because John Smith did not like him and because Left Hand was upset about this Little Raven did not want to go either. Neva and Spotted Wolf went in their places.

As far as I know, the Indian participants of the Camp Weld meeting were White Antelope, Black Kettle, Bull Bear (all Cheyenne) and Neva, Bosse, Heaps-of-Buffalo and No-ta-nee.
There are reference photos of White Antelope, Bull Bear and Neva, so they are quite easy to identify.

[Dietmar]

here is a transcript of the Camp Weld Meeting:

"Report Of Council with Cheyenne and Arapahoe Chiefs and Warriors, Brought to Denver by
Major Wynkoop; Taken Down by the Indian Agent Simeon Whiteley, as it Progressed"

Daily Rocky Mountain News, (Sept. 13, 1865) vol. 6, No. 16, p. 2.

www.kclonewolf.com/History/SandCreek/sc-documents/sc-weld-council.html

[charlie]

Dietmar: in the site "www.kclonewolf.com" the order of the chiefs in the second photo (black & white) posted above by Grahamew is wrong! The right order is (seated L-R): Neva - Bull Bear - Black Kettle - White Antelope - Knock Knee. Are you agree?

[grahamew]

One of the issues raised in the article was that there isn't a clear identification of all invloved and what identification there is occasionally varies depending on which writer uses the photograph. The article claims, rightly or wrongly, that only two Indians can be positively identified. Another issue, which seems dubious, is the article's assertion that Black Kettle was in Washington in 1863 - although this isn't entirely based on the misidentification of War Bonnet in the delegation photos. As I said, George Bent (in Hyde) said he was there. The other issue was the identification of the men at Camp Weld - not so much in the actual photograph, just who was there. Bent, for example, said Left hand was there; other accounts mention One Eye or Lone Bear.

[Dietmar]

I don´t agree with the kclonewolf site. You can compare at least three individuals to other photos. White Antelope was also photographed in 1851. There are later photos of Bull Bear, one with his son. Neva is in the 1863 photo with Spotted Wolf. Plus Black Kettle was also sketched individually, or is this not an original?
So from left to right sitting are White Antelope, Bull Bear, Black Kettle, Neva (and possibly No-ta-nee aka Knock Knee).

I know you never can´t be sure absolutely, but that´s my opinion.

Black Kettle in Washington in 1863. Hmmh, he would have been the most important man in that delegation, why did he not appear in the photographs? I know, I know... Red Cloud avoided it in 1870 and Red Leaf in 1872. But his name must have been recorded in official papers.