Ap-Pa-Noo-Se, A Saukie Chief: Original Hand-colored McKenney & Hall Lithograph

This original McKenney and Hall hand-colored lithograph is printed on a sheet measuring 10.38" high and 7" wide. There is a small spot in the inscription area on the right and two to three faint barely visible spots in margins. The print is otherwise in very good condition. The original descriptive text pages, 167-168, from McKenney and Hall's 19th century publication are included

This is an excerpt from McKenney and Hall's description of Ap-Pa-Noo-Se: "This individual is one of the peace chiefs, and presides over a village of the Sauk. His name signifies “A chief when a child,” and indicates that his station was inherited. He was one of the delegation sent to Washington, in 1837, and, when at Boston, was said to have made the most animated speech, both in manner and matter, that was delivered by the chiefs. He said:

“You have heard just now what my chief has to say. All our chiefs and warriors are very much gratified by our visit to this town. Last Saturday they were invited to a great house, (Fanueil Hall,) and now they are in the great council-house. They are very much pleased with so much attention. This we cannot reward you for now, but shall not forget it, and hope the Great Spirit will reward you for it. This is the place which our forefathers once inhabited. I have often heard my father and grandfather say they lived near the sea coast where the white man first came. I am glad to hear all this from you. I suppose it is put in a book, where you learn all these things. As far as I can understand the language of the white people, it appears to me that the Americans have attained a very high rank among the white people. It is the same with us, though I say it myself. Where we live, beyond the Mississippi, I am respected by all people, and they consider me the tallest among them. I am happy that two great men meet and shake hands with each other.” As he concluded, Appanoose suited the action to the word, by extending his hand to Governor Everet, amid the shouts of applause from the audience, who were not a little amused at the self-complacency of the orator.

The newspaper account, from which we gather some of these facts, concludes with the following remark. “We have taken pains to give the speeches of the Indian chiefs with verbal accuracy, as a matter of high intellectual curiosity. History, romance, and poetry, have embodied the Indian character to our perceptions from child hood. It is pleasant, therefore, to see the original, and find how accurate the picture has been. The language, ideas, and style of these Indians are precisely such as have been ascribed to their race. There is much to admire in the simple and manly manner in which they convey their ideas. He must be but a churl who does not associate with their visit here, objects of philanthropy and protection to their race.”

Col. Thomas J. McKenney was Superintendant of The Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1816 until 1830. He was one of a very few government officials to defend American Indian interests and attempt to preserve their culture. He travelled to Indian lands meeting the Native American leaders. He brought with him an accomplished artist, James Otto Lewis, who sketched those willing to participate. A large number of the most influential Indian chiefs and warriors were later invited to come to Washington in 1821 to meet President Monroe. McKenney commissioned the prominent portrait painter Charles Bird King, who had a studio in the capital, to paint these native American leaders, who chose the costumes they wished to wear for the sitting. The magnificent resultant paintings were displayed in the War Department until 1858, and were then moved to the Smithsonian Institute. When Andrew Jackson dismissed McKenney in 1830, he gave him permission to have the King portraits as well as some by other artists, including George Catlin and James Otto Lewis, copied and made into lithographs, in both folio and octavo sizes. McKenney partnered with James C. Hall, a Cincinnati judge and novelist to publish the lithographs and the text written by Hall. The work was extremely expensive to create and nearly bankrupted McKenney, as well as the two printing firms who invested in its publication. The resultant work gained importance when Catlin's paintings were destroyed in a warehouse fire and Charles Bird King's and James Otto Lewis’ portraits were destroyed in the great Smithsonian Museum fire of 1865. The McKenney and Hall portraits remain the most complete and colorful record of these pre-Civil War Native American leaders.

The folio and smaller octavo sized hand painted lithographs remain prized by collectors and institutions, many of which are held by major museums and collections, including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute.