Gustav Sohon facts for kids
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Gustav Sohon (1825–1903) was an American artist, interpreter, and assistant who helped map new lands. He was born in 1825 in Tilsit, East Prussia, which is now part of Russia. When he was 17, in 1842, Gustav Sohon moved to the United States.
In the early 1850s, he joined the U.S. Army. He was sent to the American West, eventually arriving at Fort Steilacoom. One of his first jobs was with Lieutenant John Mullan. Mullan was exploring the land between the Rocky and Bitterroot Mountains. This was part of a big project called the Pacific Railroad Surveys, led by Isaac Stevens, to find the best route for a railroad.
Exploring the Northwest
From this time on, Sohon was part of important events in the history of the American Northwest. As an army private, he worked with the Stevens railroad survey for over a year. Governor Stevens soon noticed Sohon's amazing artistic skills.
Sohon also had a talent for linguistics, which means learning languages. He quickly became fluent in the Flathead and Pend d'Oreille languages. This skill helped him talk with Native American people. It also gave him the chance to draw portraits of many important Native American leaders. Because Sohon could easily communicate, we can now see the past through his detailed drawings.
Sohon was also a very skilled painter. He created accurate pictures of landscapes and lively scenes from Native American life. His work includes the first wide view of the Rocky Mountains. He also made the earliest known sketch of the Great Falls of the Missouri River. Sohon also drew several important treaty meetings while working with Governor Stevens.
Life After the Army
Sohon's five-year time in the army ended in July 1857. After leaving the army, he looked for his old friend and mentor, Lieutenant John Mullan. Mullan was leading the building of a military road from Walla Walla to Fort Benton. Sohon helped by surveying routes and checking how the road building was going.
In 1860, Sohon guided the first group of wagons to cross the Rocky and Bitterroot Mountains. They used a new route to reach the Columbia Plateau, different from the usual Overland Trail. When Mullan's Road was finished, Sohon went with Mullan to Washington, D.C. There, he helped prepare maps, data, and drawings for a report about the road's construction. He never went back to the Northwest.
Family Life
In April 1863, Gustav Sohon married Julianna Groh. For a short time, they lived in San Francisco, where Sohon ran a photography studio. A few years later, they moved back to Washington, D.C. Sohon then left public life. He started a shoe business and raised a large family with Julianna. He passed away on September 9, 1903.
Sohon's artistic talents put him in the same group as other famous Western artists. These include George Catlin, Paul Kane, and Karl Bodmer. Sohon's art shows us what life was like during his time. His drawings and watercolor paintings let us see, through his eyes, the treaty meetings between the United States Government and Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest.
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