The rendezvous was the “ultima [T]hule, our final destination,” Miller wrote. “Here we rested for a month under the shadows of the great spurs of Wind River Mountains, encamping among 3000 Snake and other Indians who had all assembled at this place for a special purpose, viz. to trade buffalo robes and peltries for dry goods, ammunition, tobacco, etc. It truly was an imposing, animated and unique sight. The white lodges of the Indians stretching out in vast perspective, the busy throng of savages on spirited horses moving in all directions, some of them dressed in barbaric magnificence.” (Tyler, 1982, plate 65)
This is the summary of the rendezvous that Miller painted for Stewart, with Horse Creek and the valley in the middle ground and the magnificent Wind River Mountains in the background. It was among the eighteen paintings that Stewart loaned to the Apollo Gallery in 1839 before they were shipped to Murthly. The reviewer for the New York Morning Herald noted the popularity of the exhibition and suggested that the “beautiful landscapes of Miller, illustrative of the scenery, sports and Indian society, near the Rocky Mountains… are well worth a couple of hours inspection.” (Tyler, 1982), p. 37)
The artist; Sir William Drummond Stewart (1839); Frank Nichols; [Chapman’s, Edinburgh, June 16-17, 1871]; [Appleby Brothers]; [B.F. Stevens and Brown, London (1937)]; Everett D. Graff, Winnetka, Ill. (1937); present owner
