" THE DEFIANT "
Judy Larson
1000 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Print 18" x 21.75" Email-price
200 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Giclee Canvas 19" x 23" $650
For more than 50 years after an inconceivable act in which U.S. Army Colonel George Wright
ordered his troops to slaughter 800 Native American horses, the bleached bones of the doomed
horses could still be seen along the bank of the Spokane River in Washington. Today, a monument
marks the site that became known as Horse Slaughter Camp.
The year was 1858, and several companies of soldiers, both on foot and on horseback, under
the leadership of Colonel Wright, were engaged in a punitive military expedition against the
Native American tribes, Yakama, Spokane, Palouse and Coeur d’Alene. On the morning of
September 8, Colonel Wright and his troops spotted a large cloud of dust, which revealed
the position of 800 Palouse horses. Although a valiant effort was made by the tribes to drive
their horses into the mountains, nevertheless, after a fierce skirmish, the majority of the herd
was captured. Although it was a crime at this time on the frontier to kill a horse, it was Wright’s
job to subdue the tribes’ powerful hold over their land and to demoralize them. It took “the
better part of two days” to shoot, club and kill all the horses, and, as the Native Americans
watched helplessly from the hills, they could not believe what they saw.Following the
slaughter, Colonel Wright and his troops continued on their way, burning lodges and
storehouses, filled with the Native Americans’ winter supply of oats, vegetables, camas
roots and dried berries. That winter many of the old and very young died of starvation.
Apparently, to Colonel Wright, however, the campaign was a success, as he reported to
his superior, “The chastisement which these Indians have received has been severe
but well merited and undoubtedly necessary to impress them with our power. For the last
80 miles our route has been marked by slaughter and destruction.”Judy's "The Defiant"
portrays three of these Native American horses, rebelling at the senseless slaughter of
their herd. These three are "The Defiant," as they show themselves and their Native
American caretakers, that somehow, against all odds, they will survive as living
testament
to two horrific days in history.
The Defiant - Judy Larson
