A view of a one-room log cabin identified as the "office of the U.S. Indian Agent Umatilla Agency erected in 1863". The cabin appears to stand on a small rise; deciduous trees are visible off to the left, and grass and low shrubs behind. In the background is a view of a river and distant shore. The cabin is built of rough-hewn logs, slightly notched, with chinking. Some of the chinking between the logs has chipped away in some spots. The roof is constructed of wooden shingles, some of which appear to be peeling or flaking. The cabin looks as though it has been modified from an earlier state: there is a heap of rock at the gable end, in front of an opening now blocked with boards. The roof at that end has a gap left, as though for a chimney; it seems likely the remains of the chimney are the rocks on the ground. The door too may have been modified; in the photo the door jambs are wide boards nailed over logs, rather than fitted in with them. The door now takes up half the long side of the cabin, and is ill-fitting, with two wide doors with hinges that open outward and wide gaps under both doors. Two long poles protrude from under and between the doors. At the right side of the cabin two metal rings have been driven into one of the logs, and a chain hangs from one of them.
Victor William of the Cayuse tribe stands in front of a tipi, gazing slightly down and to his left. He wears a collarless cloth shirt and is wrapped in a geometrically-patterned blanket which hides all but his right shoulder and arm. His left arm pulls the blanket across his body so that it wraps around him thoroughly and no other details of costume or footgear can be seen. His long dark hair is unbound and is parted on the left side and pulled around to hang in front of his right shoulder. To his right stands a child, with bare legs and feet, and hair that is either short or pulled back. The child wears a knee-length dress. The child is holding a length of ribbon, lace, or some other gauzy material which trails on the ground; she smiles as she looks down at it in her hands. In the background of the photo a line of fenceposts behind the tipi leads off to the distance. Farther away across the flat land in the far distance is a line of mountains.
A Native American man, identified as Victor William, sits in front of a plain cloth backdrop. His head is turned to the left. He wears only a blanket over his shoulder and wrapped around his torso. His hair is syled in braids.
W. S. Bowman's photography studio in Pendleton, Oregon. Two stories, of brick or stone, with a crenellated roofline across the front and wrapping partway around the sides of the roof, it sits on a high foundation near the river. The ramp leading to the entrance has been braced with a stone retaining wall. In the window of the studio are displayed a number of photographs. The deck runs around at least two sides of the building. To the left is a wooden false-fronted building with the painted word "Persian" visible, and beyond that what looks like a large house.
A Native American man, identified as Wa-tis-te-me-he of the Cayuse Tribe, is stading in front of a blanket backdrop. He has long grey hair, that hangs down over his shoulders, and is wearing several beaded loop necklaces. He is wearing a suede leather coat that has buttons. The jacket has long fringe around the upper arms and along the back of the sleeves and has short fringe around the collar, the cuffs, the hem, and the placket. Some of the fringe areas have beads. The man is also wearing a cloth shirt and has a blanket wrapped around his waist. The blanket backdrop is set up in front of a lattice fence.
A Native American man, identified as Wanico of the Umatilla tribe, is standing outside in front of a cloth backdrop. He is wearing a Euro-American shirt, a wide-brim hat, a vest, a scarf, boots, and woolly chaps. His hair is tied into two braids. He is holding a bow in his left hand and has a knife tucked into the waistband of his chaps. There are garden plants within the man's immediate vicinity. A lattice-work fence is on the left. A house and tree are visible in the background.
A Native American man, identified as Wanico of the Umatilla Tribe, is posed in front of a white canvas backdrop. His hair is long, parted on one side with some pulled back and secured behind his head. He is wearing a buckskin shirt with beadwork on the shoulders that extends down the arms and down both sides of the front, below the shoulders. The shirt has fringe at the hemline around the waist and cuffs, around the seam connecting the sleeves to the shoulders, and on the front, between the beaded areas. He is wearing several beaded loop necklaces, cloth pants, and a cloth shirt under his leather shirt. Only the collar and neck of his shirt and the top of his pants are visible.
A Native American woman, identified as We-nix of the Cayuse Indians and sister of Donald McKay, stands in front of a canvas tipi. She is wearing a plain cloth dress, plain moccasins, leggings with a floral design, a head scarf, shell earrings, beaded necklace and bracelet, a ring, and has two long braids. She has one Pendleton blanket draped around her and another one on the ground, under her feet. A large pine tree is all that is visible in the background.
An unidentified Native American child and a Native American women, identified as Wenix, the sister of Donald McKay, of the Cayuse tribe, are outside in front of a tipi. The child is seated on two Pendleton blankets atop a horse. Other blankets are draped across the horse. The child is wearing a long-sleeve shirt and a necklace. The child is holding the reins in his or her left hand. The woman is standing to the right of the child on horseback. She is wearing a robe, a necklace, and boots. Her hair is tied into two braids. With both of her hands, she is holding a beaded bag with a geometric design. A grove of trees is in the background., We-nix, Sister Donald McKay [We-nix, Cayuse tribal woman, sister of Donald McKay. Near child on horse in front of tipi. She has cornhusk bag. Child has necklaces and a fur dangling by leg.]
A Native American man, identified as Isadore Whitebull of the Cayuse Tribe. is seated in front of a white backdrop. He is dressed in cloth pants, a cloth shirt buttoned up to the collar, and a wool vest that has a pocket watch chain looped from the pocket to a button hole. He has long hair and is wearing a cowboy hat that is tied under his chin with a ribbon.