Wi-Ne-Ma (The Woman Chief) and Her People
Hartford, Conn. American Publishing Company, 1876. First Edition. Small 8vo. 168 pp. 14 plates. Original brown blind-stamped cloth with gilt lettering. Light wear to extremities; some rubbing to gilt lettering; a very good copy. Item #22964
Alfred Meacham was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon (1869–1872). In his account of the Modoc War of 1872–73, he writes of Wi-Ne-Ma (also known as Toby Riddle), the Modoc woman who served as interpreter between the Modoc leadership, Captain Jack, and the U.S. peace commissioners, including Meacham himself. During the peace negotiations, Captain Jack and his Modocs attacked the Americans, including Meacham and it was Wi-Ne-Ma is credited with warning him and quite possibly saving his life. Meacham's work is one of the very first English-language, contemporary accounts to center a Native American woman not just as a “character” but as a political agent with moral standing.
Price: $750.00