In 1855, Governor Issac Ingalls Stephens, accompanied by translator and
artist Gustavus Sohon, convened a meeting with all the tribes of the Upper
Columbia River in order to sign land treaties with them.  The meeting,
which took place at Walla Walla, was one of the largest ever held in the
United States, and included numerous tribes-Cayuse, Umatilla, Yakima,
Walla Walla, and Nez Perce.  Under pressure, the tribes agreed to give up
sixty thousand square miles of land, for an average price of three cents
an acre.  Following the treaty, a number of Indians charged that they had
been unfairly coerced into signing, and continued scattered uprisings
against the rising tide of white settlers.