Washakie, Chief of the Shoshones [Paperback]

Grace Raymond Hebard (Author), Richard O. Clemmer-Smith (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

Washakie was chief of the eastern band of the Shoshone Indians for almost sixty years, until his death in 1900. A strong leader of his own people, he saw the wisdom of befriending the whites. Grace Raymond Hebard offers an engaging view of Washakie’s long life and the early history of Shoshone-occupied land—embracing present-day Wyoming and parts of Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Washakie is seen signing historic treaties, aiding overland emigrants in the 1850s, and finally assisting whites in fighting the Sioux. According to Hebard, Washakie’s role in the battle on the Rosebud in June 1876 saved General Crook from the fate that befell General Custer eight days later on the Little Big Horn.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A book of great merit. . . . Persons interested in the history and romance of the West will be grateful.”—LeRoy R. Hafen, Journal of American History

(LeRoy R. Hafen Journal of American History )

“Hebard has assembled a great deal of interesting and valuable material from the correspondence and memoirs of the fur traders, missionaries, army officers, and pioneers, who were instrumental in opening the region to white settlement.”—American Historical Review

(American Historical Review )

“[This] tribute to an Indian chief who stands preeminent as a factor in the development and settlement of the Northwest, and as friend of the United States through the period of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad, is a distinct and important contribution to the history of the Northwest from 1840 to 1900.”—Boston Transcript

(Boston Transcript )

About the Author

Grace Raymond Hebard (1861–1936) wrote the two-volume Bozeman Trail (Nebraska 1990).

 

The introducer, Richard O. Clemmer-Smith, is a professor of anthropology at the University of Denver and the author of Roads in the Sky: Economic Change and Cultural Continuity among the Hopi.

Product Details

• Paperback: 325 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803272782
• ISBN-13: 978-0803272781
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The First Citizen of a New America, April 18, 2000

By 

James J. Foster (Glenview, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Washakie, Chief of the Shoshones (Paperback)

The author of this book, Grace R. Hebard, was a professor and it shows. This is an awkward book to read. She hops around in space and time and that can be quite confusing to someone who doesn't have her familarity with the history of the region.

What the book lacks in structure, it more than makes up for with its compelling subject: Chief Washakie. I'm sure that few Americans outside of Wyoming have ever heard Chief Washakie's name, yet his accomplishments as a statesman, unifier and leader of his people is unequalled.

He led the Shoshone people through most of the 19th century, into the 20th century. He was a remarkable individual speaking English, French and Shoshone. His charismatic hold on his people only ended when he died in 1900 at the age of 102.

One thing that repeatedly struck me is, in the scheme of things, this was so recent. Another aspect that I enjoyed was that Chief Washakie encountered so many of the characters that we identify with the settling of the West: Kit Carson, Scajawea, Jim Bridger and many others.

The sensibilites of the times described in this book are not what we expect now, and the author brings contemporary (1930) biases to her interpretation. The updated introduction in this edition tries to alert the reader to some of the biases that influence Hebard's comments.

As difficult a read as this book is, I couldn't put it down. As a footnote, Chief Washakie will be memorialized in Statuary Hall the U.S. Capitol in the fall of 2000. He is one of two individuals chosen to represent the spirit of the State of Wyoming.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Washakie: Chief of the Shoshones, January 25, 2002

By 

Dr. Henry E. Stamm IV "hestamm" (Pocatello, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Washakie, Chief of the Shoshones (Paperback)

This is the first published biography of Chief Washakie, the legendary leader of the Eastern Shoshone Indians, and is reprinted from Grace Raymond Hebard's original edition, "Washakie: An Account of Indian Resistance of the Covered Wagon and Union Pacific Railroad Invasions of their Territory " (1930). Hebard (1861-1936) was a professor of politcal economy at the University of Wyoming and became enamoured of Chief Washakie and the Shoshones during the early 1900s. Her book is basically an unstructured anecdotal read that jumps around in time and place.

I used her as a resource in my own book, "People of the Wind River: The Eastern Shoshones, 1825-1900," but only with great care and corroborating evidence. Hebard's sources were sons of Chief Washakie (including Dick, Charles, and George Washakie, all of whom were paid informants), the Reverend John Roberts (Episcopal priest on the Wind River Reservation from 1883-1948), Fincellius G. Burnett (Wind River agency farmer & ancestor of former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson), and retired Indian agents and Army officers who had personal contact with Washakie. She also relied on some of the published annual reports of the Office of Indian Affairs (forerunner of the current Bureau of Indian Affairs).

That said, Hebard reveals family stories and legends about Washakie and often quotes verbatim from published government documents. Hers is a good introduction to the the famous chief and his people, but should be read with a cautionary eye. It is not a biography in the modern or scholarly sense, but functions more as remembrances of a cherished relative. Many of the events or actions attributed to Washakie by Hebard cannot be substantiated with other archival evidence and thus her work borders on hagiography. On the other hand, the very fact that such stories exist are testimony to the impact Chief Washakie had on those who knew him. He was a fascinating individual, leader, and statesperson during a difficult time of transition for the Eastern Shoshones.