Seven men, three sitting, four standing, are grouped in a studio before a backdrop which has tipis painted on it. Two of the standing men are white men, identified as John McBain and Lee Moorhouse. Both wear suits and ties and McBain wears a felt hat while Moorhouse wears a high top hat. Both men have moustaches. Moorhouse holds a long pipe and flat geometrically beaded bag with fringe in his right hand, and his left hand is on the shoulder of the man seated in front of him, identified as Young Chief of the Cayuse. A Native American man, identified as Chief Sho-o-way of the Cayuse, stands in the back, also wearing a suit. He has a top-coat with furred lapels over it, and a conspicuous watch chain and medal. He wears no hat, and his gray or white hair hangs to his shoulders, where it is curled. The fourth man in the back row, identified as Chief Wolf, does not seem to be wearing headgear, but the middle section of his dark hair is pulled back from his forehead and puffed up above his head, and there seem to be feathers or other ornaments in it. The hair on the sides hangs at least to his shoulders. He wears a choker necklance and buckskin shirt, with a blanket across his left shoulder to the right side of his waist. He appears to be holding a large white feather or wing with dark spots in his right hand. The three Native American men seated in front are all wearing headgear. The man on the left, seated on a wooden chair, is identified as Chief Peo of the Umatilla. He wears a stand-up bonnet of feathers over his shoulder-length hair, and seven rows of necklaces, and his shirt is decorated with shells or teeth along its v-neck, with a stiff fringe below the shoulders. His hands are crossed on his lap, and the lower hand rests on a patterned blanket hanging between his legs. His upper, right, arm, is crossed over, and he has another blanket draped over it, and a ring on his hand. His pants have wide strips of beading down the outside of the legs. He seems to be wearing plain moccasins. The man in the center has been identifed as Chief Homily of the Walla Walla. He seems to be wearing a military cap, ornamented with beading, feathers, and fringe. His buckskin shirt has rectangular areas of beading on the sleeves and a row of ermine across the chest and shoulders.He seems to be wearing plain buckskin chaps over his pants, and beaded moccasins. His hands are in his lap and in his right hand he holds a pipe, from which a beaded bag dangles. The third seated man, Young Chief, wears a straw or felt hat with a hatband and an ornament standing up in the front, out of which emerge plumes of feathers which curve over the top of his hat. He has dark shoulder-length hair, and an earring is visible. He too wears loops of beads around his neck. He seems to be wearing a military jacket with chevrons at the wrist over a plaid shirt. The jacket is decorated with fringe at the shoulders which depends lower than his elbows. He has a patterned blanket over both legs and rolled in his lap, with patterned trousers underneath and floral beaded moccasins. His hands in his lap grasp a hatchet-style pipe, which has a flat beaded bag with streamers hanging from it. The area beneath the men is covered with a very hairy rug or mat, which is slightly rolled up at the right side of the photograph.
A wood-framed structure, covered with a striped tent cloth, appears to have three wooden walls and a wooden floor. From the open side, one can see that the tent structure is filled with an assortment of Native American objects and artifacts, suspended from the walls and crossbeam, set on a table, and arranged on the floor in front of the back wall. There is a sign on the tent that says "Major Moorhouse's Indian Pictures." The inventory includes: blankets and other woven textiles; photographs, some framed; beaded bags; baskets; a cradleboard; a saddle and bridle; tomahawks; bow and arrows in a quiver; a buckskin dress with beaded fringe; a beaded buckskin shirt and pants, a pair of beaded moccasins, and a feathered cape, displayed together as an ensemble; a small statue of a Native American man, wearing a feathered robe and headdress, a shell necklace, a beaded breastplate, and beaded moccasins; more feathered headdresses and other feathered and beaded items; a pair of beaded gloves; a beaded necklace; a pile of fur (under the table).
A Native American woman, identified as Alice Pate-wa of the Umatilla Tribe, is standing on a large rock in front of a stand of trees. She has an infant in a cradleboard strapped to her back. The woman is wearing a floral design cloth dress with a scarf tied under her chin. Her hair is in a long braid and she is holding a white hankerchief or small cloth. The cradleboard is buckskin with a beaded, floral design top. The baby's head is tucked in the hood of the cradleboard, showing just a profile of the face. The ground around them is covered by several large and small rocks. The trees are full of leaves that almost screen out the horizon beyond., Alice Pate-wa, Umatilla Tribe [Alice Pa-tewa, Umatilla woman, carrying infant in cradleboard. On reservation.]
A Native American man sits astride a white horse at the edge of a creek or pond. In the background are deciduous trees and bushes. The man wears a horned headdress with fur or feathers on it, and beaded buckskin shirt and leggings or trousers, decorated with fringe, fur, or feathers. The shirt has strips of geometric beading and fringe along the shoulders and outside of the arms, and a circular medallion of the beading on the chest. The man's hair appears to hang loose behind him under the headdress. The horse wears a geometrically beaded martingale with feathers; its headband is outlined with larger beads with two clumps of grouped feathers. The horse blanket is also patterned and seems to be mostly pale with a dark border on the outside., [Luke Minthorn, in regalia, on horseback. He wears buckskin and rib or horn headdress; horse has martingale and forelock decoration.]