W.J. Hays' strength was in his depiction of plant and animal lines in his paintings of the West.

He did his field work on a trip up the Missouri River in 1860 aboard the Spread Eagle, the same steamer taken by William Cary.

He studied drawing and also was a published naturalist. In his day, Hays and his work were well known. Many of his works became lithography and were published as illustration. His subject matter relied heavily on his one field trip upriver.

William Jacob Hays (sometimes spelled Hayes), was born in New York City in 1830, spent most of his life there, and died there in 1875.

- Ken Rogers

Originally published under the title "Stanley, Wimar, Hays and Sohon: They Also Came Up the Missouri" in Lewis and Clark: Art of the Upper Missouri. (Ken Rogers, Tim Fought, editors. Jim Bridges, publisher. Bismarck: The Bismarck Tribune, 2000.)