Wetherill
A History of Discovery
Harvey Leake
Wolfkiller
Wolfkiller is the remarkable life story of a
Navajo herdsman and plant-gatherer who lived in the Monument Valley
region of Navajo country, along the Utah/Arizona
border,
from about 1855 until 1926. Raised by his grandfather and mother,
Wolfkiller learned the ancient wisdom of his people. He grew up
seeing the beauty in nature and discovering how to face the wind,
storms, cold, and even death with optimism and courage. Through his
embrace of the natural world, he developed both a rare depth of
character and an understanding of human relations that guided him
through times of adversity. Wolfkiller's story was recorded and
translated by pioneer trader Louisa Wade Wetherill, who met him
after moving to his community in the early twentieth century. After
listening to Wolfkiller describe the wisdom of the elders he had
learned as a child and by observing his respect for all of life,
Louisa proposed that these lessons be preserved for the benefit of
future generations. Photographs of Wolfkiller and the Wetherills and
other historical images are included throughout the book to help
illustrate the mode of life, types of personalities, and environment
in which Wolfkiller's story took place. Louisa Wade Wetherill was
born in a small mining town in Nevada in 1877. When she was two
years old, her family moved to the town of Mancos in southwestern
Colorado. There she grew up and married rancher and explorer John
Wetherill. In 1900, Louisa, John, and their two small children left
Mancos and moved to a trading post among the Navajos in northwestern
New Mexico. In 1906, the Wetherills moved to an isolated area in
southeastern Utah where they established their Oljato trading post.
Among their neighbors was Wolfkiller, a man Louisa quickly came to
know and respect. For more than forty years she devoted herself to
studying Navajo culture and became an advocate for recording their
ancient customs. Her Navajo friends called her Asthon Sosi, Slim
Woman. Harvey Leake began tracing the trail of his
great-grandparents, Louisa and John Wetherill, more than twenty-five
years ago in libraries, archives, and family papers, and by
listening to the recollections of the family elders. He assists in
the interpretation of historical documents and photographs for the
Wetherill archive at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores,
Colorado. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from
Arizona State University and a Master of Arts degree in theology
from Fuller Theological Seminary. "If Mrs. Wetherill could be
persuaded to write on the mythology of the Navajos . . . she would
render an invaluable service. She not only knows their language; she
knows their minds." Theodore Roosevelt, after visiting the trading
post in 1913 "The ancient world and the American present meet in
[Louisa Wetherill's] personality as perhaps in no other personality
alive." John Collier, who later became U.S. Commissioner of Indian
Affairs.
Harvey Leake
Harvey Leake began researching the history of the Four Corners Country more than twenty five years ago, focusing on the explorations and activities the Wetherill family from whom he is descended. His investigations have taken him into many of the Colorado plateau's remote canyons as well as into archives, libraries, and family historical collections. He assists in the interpretation of historical documents and photographs for the Wetherill archive at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado and is employed as an electrical engineer in Phoenix. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Arizona State University and a Master of Arts degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.