In this version of Stewart in council with several Indian chiefs, Miller has noted the presence of mountain men and traders “lazily lying about” while they watch Stewart and the chiefs or the various activities in the valley below. Miller speculated that they may well be thinking of their “humble homes in old ‘Mis-sou-rye’” while they gaze at the magnificent Wind River Mountains in the distance. (Ross, 1968, text accompanying plate 186)
Here Miller has returned to what appears to be compositional distortions of earlier copies—that is, he has moved from the intimacy of the original sketch to a more studied presentation: Stewart again appears to be on a cliff, and the rendezvous grounds appear much further away than in the sketch (CR #170).
