Samuel C. Mills

[Dietmar]

Ephriam wrote an excellent article for the Fort Douglas newsletter about photographer Samuel C. Mills, who accompanied Captain James H. Simpson on his 1858-59 expedition to Utah territory.

It´s not only worth of reading regarding the relatively unknown photographer, but for the photograph of Utes on the frontpage, which shows a group of Utes with their head chief Arrapene (Sinnearoach), photographed by Mills in 1859.

I found information that Arrapeen and his brother Chief Walkara are said to had been the most notorious raiders of the Utes in the 1840s, when they possibly were aided by mountain men Pegleg Smith and Joe Walker. Their horse-stealing ring reached as far as California and resulted in hundreds of horses for the Utah Utes. (see: Utes – the Mountain People by Jan Pettit)
When Walkara (aka Walker) died in 1855, Arrapeen succeeded him as chief.

Here is the link to the article:

fortdouglas.org/newsletters/vedette09july.pdf

Enjoy

Dietmar

[ephriam]

Here is my new article in Utah Historical Quarterly about photographer Samuel C. Mills, who took the earliest known image of Fort Laramie (1858) and of Ute leaders at Camp Floyd (1859). Enjoy!

Ephriam


“Shadowy Figures about Whom Little Is Known”: Artists of the Simpson Expedition, 1858–59
Ephriam D. Dickson III

www.american-tribes.com/messageboards/dietmar/SimpsonsArtistsEphriamDickson.pdf

[Dietmar]

Excellent article, Ephriam... as always!

Thank you very much for sharing it here.


Here´s the link to the Utah Historical Society issue:

heritage.utah.gov/dha/dha-special/uhq-current-issue



Please don´t miss this page with photographs discussed in the article in better quality:

heritage.utah.gov/history/uhq-fall-2015-simpson-expedition-gallery

[Dietmar]

Ephriam,

are there any more surviving pictures of the expedition somewhere? For example the portraits of the Utes taken inside the photographic room at Fort Floyd?


Here are two articles on Chief Arapeen:

juvenileinstructor.org/arapeen-the-ute-prophet/

www.heraldextra.com/sanpete-county/commentary/chief-arrapeen-warrior-saint/article_a4971acf-b220-5b6a-a4b4-627f0b88f26f.html

[ephriam]

Thank you, Dietmar:

Unfortunately, only one of Mills' native photographs is known to have survived. I continue to search and while I found some new unpublished officer's portraits that he took, so far no further Ute images.

Ephriam



"A Group of Utah Indians, including Arrapene (Sinnearoach), the head chief of the tribe, and Luke, the interpreter, taken on the outskirts of Camp Floyd, looking north west towards the Oquirrah Mountains." By Samuel C. Mills and Edward Jagiello, January 1859.