Indian Joe: In Person and In Background. Historical Perspective into Piute Life

xiii, [1], 205 pp. Black-and-white photographs and illustrations throughout, map follows text. Inspired by his fascination with Indian artifacts, Beckwith also undertook the study of the petroglyphs in the area [around Delta, Utah], and became an authority on petroglyphs in Utah. He and Charles Kelly traveled all over the state, photographing and attempting to interpret the engravings. With the help of Joseph J. Pickyavit, a Native American who resided in Kanosh and who was known locally as “Indian Joe,” Beckwith attempted to deduce what certain petroglyphs depicted. In this work, Beckwith focuses on the family and culture of Joe Pickyavit and his people. At first he produced six copies of the original manuscript himself, setting the type on an old Linotype and providing his own illustrations and photographs. The book has been called 'a grandiose task and a great tribute to his friend Indian Joe and the other Paiutes…The appeal of the book is the personal account of one man's reaction to the friendship of another.'