Naiche (ca 1856-1919) was the second son of Cochise and Dos-Teh-Seh, and thus hereditary chief of the Chiricahua Apaches when his elder brother Taza died in 1876. This public domain photograph was copyrighted in 1898 though it may have been taken a few years earlier — not before 1890. It shows Naiche dressed in a military uniform, with ‘USS’ on the cap above crossed arrows, a symbol worn by civilian scouts for the US Army 1890-1926.

This image was taken by Adolph F Muhr (ca 1858-1913) who was born in New York City, the son of Herman Muhr, a physician. His family moved from New York to Hoboken New Jersey in the 1870s, and Adolph took up photography there, probably working for a local studio while still living with his parents. About 1883 he moved to Denver and opened a studio on the corner of Larimer and 16th Streets in partnership with William L Bates. About 1889 Muhr married Cora E, and in 1890 he was listed as manager of the ‘International Art Gallery’ in Denver. In 1893 he had a photographic studio at 48 King Block in Denver. Muhr later moved to Seattle Washington, where he died at the age of 55.

The photograph was not copyrighted by Adolph Muhr, the photographer, but by F A Rinehart. Frank A Rinehart was in Denver 1879-81, just before Muhr went there, but was probably related to Alfred Evans Rinehart, another photographer who was in Denver from 1875 until after 1910. Frank Rinehart was in Omaha Nebraska from about 1882 until after 1898. Rinehart presumably bought the negative from Muhr in 1898 and scratched his copyright notice onto the glass plate negative.