Page 8 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript Americana - Sale 2310 - April 16, 2013

3 ● (AMERICAN INDIANS.) Bourke, John Gregory. On the Border with Crook.
7 plates. 8vo, publisher’s pictorial cloth, minor wear; lacking front free endpaper, browning
on title page, rear hinge starting; original owner’s inscription on title page. 4 pages of
undated publisher’s ads. New York, 1891 [250/350]
FIRST EDITION. “A truly great book, on both Apaches and Arizona frontier”—Dobie, Life
and Literature of the Southwest. The original owner Anson G. McCook had been a brevet
Brigadier General in the Civil War, served three terms as a United States Representative for
New York, and when he signed this book in 1891 was serving as Secretary of the United
States Senate. Graff 367; Howes B654.
4 ● (AMERICAN INDIANS.) Catlin, George. Letters and Notes on the Manners,
Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. 2 (of 3) maps, more than
100 plates. 2 volumes. viii, 264; viii, 266 pages. 8vo, publisher’s cloth gilt, moderate wear
and fading; text blocks coming detached from bindings, leaves I:O2-3 coming loose,
foxing, scattered tears; 1953 owner’s inscriptions on front free endpapers. 3rd edition.
New York, 1844 [100/150]
5 ● (AMERICAN INDIANS.) Hopkins, Sarah Winnemucca. An impassioned letter
to the President, complaining of corrupt Indian agents. Autograph Letter Signed
to President Grover Cleveland. 4 pages on 4 sheets, 11 x 8 inches; minimal wear, one
phrase inked out. With her unstamped envelope, and a clipping referenced in the letter.
San Francisco, CA, 6 March 1885 [500/750]
Sarah Winnemucca (circa 1844-1891) was a Paiute author and activist, best known for Life
among the Paiutes (1883), believed to be the first book by an American Indian woman in the
United States. She married an Indian agent named Lewis Hopkins, and lectured widely across
the country. By way of introduction, she explains to the president: “At 15 years I had mastered
the English tongue sufficient to begin working for my people. From that time up to date I have
fought an uphill fight to try and place them on an equal footing with other nations of the earth.
It is needless to say my efforts have failed, yet I am not discourage.” The bulk of her letter is
devoted to an exposé of corrupt Indian agents: “25 years experience among Indian agents
compels me to say honest agents are like angel’s visits.” She argues: “For hundreds of years my
people have lived without the care of an agent, and were never as poor as they are to day, or as
few in number. Call off your agents, I beseech you. If they must be supported, do it in
Washington. It will come cheaper to the government. My people have been afflicted with them
long enough.” She concludes her letter with a list of personal references, including the renowned
educator Elizabeth Palmer Peabody.
6 ● (AMERICAN INDIANS.) Loughridge, R.M.; and David M. Hodge. English and
Muskokee Dictionary. 8vo, publisher’s cloth gilt, a bit musty, minimal wear; contents
toned but crisp and clean. St. Louis, MO, 1890 [500/750]
FIRST EDITION. One other copy known at auction, in the 1999 Siebert sale; no copies of the
first edition in WorldCat. Gilcrease-Hargrett, page 180.