I Will Tell of My War Story: A Pictorial Account of the Nez Perce War (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book) [Paperback]

Scott M. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000 | ISBN-10: 0295979437 | ISBN-13: 978-0295979434

Chief Joseph's exhausted words of surrender, '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', are the accepted end of the Nez Perce War of 1877, in which several bands of Nez Perce attempting to find a new home outside their diminished Idaho reservation clashed with the U.S. military (and occasionally other Indians) along the Clearwater and Big Hole Rivers, and finally at the foot of the Bear Paw Mountains. However, a number of Nez Perce escaped transportation to Indian Territory with Joseph and continued their flight to Canada, with perhaps a hundred eventually joining Sitting Bull's Lakota."I Will Tell of My War Story" reproduces, describes, and discusses a remarkable series of drawings by an anonymous Indian artist who fought with Chief Joseph and later reached Canada. The drawings, in red, blue, and black pencil, include portraits of principal participants in the war, battle scenes, and views of Nez Perce camp life and celebrations during the war and after. The drawings are preserved in a small pocket ledger labeled 'Cash Book' on the front, which was acquired by Indian Agent Charles D. Warner in the 1880s.It was willed by him to a family living in northern Idaho, and is now in the collection of the Idaho State Historical Society. Scott Thompson worked closely both with the owners and with members of the Nez Perce community in preparing his manuscript. Thompson's detective work and research methods to identify Nez Perce and other parties pictured in the Cash Book make fascinating reading. He is careful to point out what is speculation and what has been documented or attested to by experts on dress, weapons, ceremony, and other aspects of Native culture.The Cash Book drawings are unique in several ways. They are one of very few firsthand pictorial records of the Nez Perce War, representing an even scarcer record of this war as seen from the Indian viewpoint. They contain invaluable historical and ethnographic information not only explicit in the form of military and Native dress, regalia, and quite graphic battle scenes, but also implicit. The drawings reveal an important stage of cultural adaptation as shown by the mixture of white and Native goods combined in Nez Perce material culture during the 1870s and 1880s, and by the artist's assimilation of white/European drawing techniques such as texture and perspective. The artist combined these drawing techniques with Native art traditions to make exceptionally effective pictorial communications. Scott M. Thompson is an art teacher at Chase Middle School in Spokane, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

While many books have been written about Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, Native accounts of the famous Nez Perce War of 1877 are extremely rare. Thus, this manuscript, known as the "Cash Book," by an unknown member of Chief Joseph's band sheds important light on the Nez Perce view of the war and its participants. Thompson, a Spokane middle-school art teacher with an interest in and knowledge of native history and traditions, analyzes both the artistic and historical importance of each of the pictures (drawn in colored pencil in an old-fashioned ledger book) and is careful to identify his conjectures. He also provides an introduction that places the "Cash Book" in its historical and cultural context and provides an overview of the book and the unknown artist. This important document belongs in all Western history and Native American collections and is recommended for all other libraries.DStephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The subject, the Nez Perce War of 1877, is of great general interest and there is very little Indian pictographic record of it. The author has a very good knowledge of the Nez Perce culture, dress, etc., and has enlisted the help of other knowledgeable people to help clarify and interpret the pictographs. His 'Overview of Nez Perce Culture' and 'The Nez Perce War of 1877' are both succinct and accurate. This is a fine piece of work." Bill Holm, author of Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form "The Cash Book is a fantastic find and a great Nez Perce tribal document. The Cash Book depicts many tragic but significant events which I can relate to because many of my family's forebears were involved in those events." Allen W. Pinkham, Sr., Nez Perce Tribal Member and Wisdom-Keeper

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295979437
• ISBN-13: 978-0295979434
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scott Thompson finds buried treasure, January 11, 2001

By 

"mrinkling" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Will Tell of My War Story: A Pictorial Account of the Nez Perce War (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book) (Paperback)

For anyone who likes the history of Native American Culture or military history, this book is an interesting find. The pictures found in the "cash book" by Mr. Thompson in 1990 illustrate a hidden viewpoint of the Nez Perce War. An unknown Indian warrior who traveled with the Nez Perce during their flight from the U.S. Army recorded some brilliant pictures in full color. These pictures, preserved by Indian Agent Charles Warner, are first shown to the public in this book. The pictures are not only full of cultural symbolism, but also portray historical figures. If you have interest in what happened in America's wars with the Indians, Chief Joseph, or the Pacific Northwest this book is worth looking into. I think that it is interesting just to see the pictures. Although the book is an academic publication with footnotes and all, it is well written and reads easily.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth your time, May 20, 2005

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naiche (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: I Will Tell of My War Story: A Pictorial Account of the Nez Perce War (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book) (Paperback)

This book is very informative and I really enjoyed reading the detailed descriptions of what the ledger drawings are believed to illustrate. There was one error (a typo?) regarding the year that Agent Charles Warner lost his position as agent (page 3 states 1881 and page 4 states 1882). Overall, this book gave me an appreciation for the perceptive eye that the Native chroniclers possessed. In a way, it helps give credence to their oral history.

Highly recommended.