Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
(Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee), 1878-1891; 417 items.
After the Civil War, Ruger entered the regular service as Colonel of the 18th U.S. Infantry, and after Reconstruction, he was ordered west with his regiment in the fall 1878 and promoted the next July to Commander of the District of Montana. The present collection is a remarkable archive of his years overseeing military and Indian affairs in Montana and the Dakotas, with some additional materials marking his later years. Although this was his first post in the west, Ruger's toughness and determination to annihilate his enemies made a good fit for the command, it seems, and he must have had anticipated his job with some relish. A long letter from Henry Closson, a colleague from the Civil War, written in Oct. 1878, thinking about the future: "I saw by the N.O. Times that the 18th [Infantry] were in ascendance with Horace Greeley's advice 'going west.'...I suppose you will not be displeased with the change. I have come to regard good health as the one thing needful -- neither croquet nor Christianity amount to anything without that -- and it is to be had in its best quality under the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. The country out there has not become filled with the filth of factories and kitchens, nor it is undermined with [?] & you have a chance at the air as God made it unsullied with man's 'improvements.' The machinery of my life never ran with so little friction as when I was on the plains -- existence out there seemed a thing to be proud of nor did it require the perpetual fillip of quinine or podophyllin to keep the lines from getting asleep or the gastric juices from stagnation...." What Ruger experienced, however, was a running series of conflicts, battles, and campaigns against tribes from Montana through Arizona, and an equally long series of efforts to prevent them.
The real meat of the collection begins with an extensive series of printed and manuscript special orders relating to Ruger issued in the Dept. of Dakota and Montana, but these valuable materials pale in comparison to the correspondence relating to the post-Little Big Horn warfare in the northern plains. Although the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877 was more or less over by the time of Ruger's arrival, the job was not complete, and Ruger was tasked with containing the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, rounding up resisters and confining them when possible to reservations.
Despite Ruger's best efforts, resistance did not die. A typical letter includes a report from W.L. Lincoln, agent at Fort Belknap Agency, MT, May 16, 1879, "About midnight on the 14th some five shots were fired into some lodges out side of the walls of the Fort. The inmates of the lodges had left them in the early evening and taking up their quarters inside the Fort, otherwise they would have suffered. Since that, we have kept a sharp lookout and if attacked, will give them a hot time. Our main source of uneasiness, is lack of ammunition… I am clearly of the opinion that there are large numbers of raiding and horsestealing parties scattered through the country...." Three days later, Lincoln reported that Sioux raids "will be especially directed at this post" and that Fort Belknap was "poorly situated to resist an attack of any large or persistent party. Four of the employees are entirely out of ammunition and we can muster in all, but ten rifles. My Indians [Assiniboines] are also badly off for ammunition, and in case of attack, could not be expected to remain and fight, on that account. Even now the Indians, who are some 14 miles away, are talking of leaving, en masse, through fear of the Sioux...."
The complexity of the situation in the region must have been impressed early on Ruger, who learned quickly that Indians would be used against Indians. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, for example, wrote on July 13, 1879: "As I came ordered up north to see that the hostile Sioux move back over the line and as some of the lower Assiniboines will accompany my command I would be very glad if the Upper Assiniboines would aid in the enterprise either by active assistance or by giving information should the hostiles move south in large or small force. The Assiniboines rendered good service three years ago and if you have no objection I would be glad to have them move as far east as possible...."
In 1887, the conflict spread to the Crow Indians, who had generally served alongside the army. 36 items in the collection relating to disturbance on the Crow Agency, 1887. In the fall of that year, Sword Bearer led Deaf Bull, Crazy Head, and nearly 300 others in a rebellion against the U.S. Cavalry. Ruger received a report from a young Lieut. Hayden Cole, on Oct. 26, stating that Deaf Bull and a party of Crows and two Cheyenne came to the Agency to speak. One of the Cheyenne said he did not want to fight the soldiers "that he had fought the soldier and had been whipped, that he had afterwards served with the soldiers and he liked them... The gist of Deaf Bull's (Crow) speech was that this was the Indian's country, the white man had no right to it, and ought to go back whence he came, showing that his errand was something more than the gathering of his ancestor's bones as his agent claimed...." Cole insisted that the Cheyenne received the Crows coolly.
Indian Inspector Frank Armstrong wrote Nov. 4, 1887 about Deaf Bull: "I consider him the disturbing element in the Crow Tribe. His attempt to incite these people to war on the whites, & his efforts to draw the Cheyennes into joining him, is sufficient reason for his arrest & removal to some place, where he can be made to know the power of the Government...." Sword Bearer was killed in an early engagement and on November 5, Deaf Bull, Crazy Head and six others were exiled to Ft. Snelling, Minn. The collection includes a long series of reports filed by Ruger on the engagement in which Sword Bearer was killed "and the surrender of the remaining refractory Indians whose arrest had been directed..."
The tensions, however, persisted for a while longer. D.W. Benham, 7th Infantry, Dec. 19, 1887 "When I reached the Agency I found quite a body of Indians had collected in the camp of the Indian Police which was located near the Agency and that many of the Indians who were in the front of Col. Dudley's command at the opening of the skirmish were fleeing from his front to that point and I at once moved the two companies of Infantry under my command to a point between the camp of the Indian Police and the Agency, deploying them as skirmishers and held them until directed by you to move into camp. There was not a shot fired at the Indians...." Included is an inventory of "Indians who took part in disturbance at Crow Agency, Sept. 30, 1887."
Having acquitted himself well in the eyes of the War Department, Ruger was later brought in and called upon to assess Indian affairs in the southern plains and southwest. A large sheaf of typed copies of correspondence relating to Apache prisoners of War at Fort Sill, 1894, with dozens of letters and some original printed orders I (all counter as one item in the above listing!). The correspondence relates to significant unrest, alcohol, intermarriage with other tribes, Indian police, provisioning and arrangements for quarters. Among other letters: "H.L. Scott, 1st Lieut. 7th Cavalry, in charge of Apache Indians reporting that the reservation of the Kiowa and Comanche Indians is daily over-run by white people in violation of law; that these people steal the stock, plows, and other property of the Indians, break into their houses cut the timber and destroy the grass in the vicinity of Indian homes, and kill off the game at all seasons of the year; that many outrages are committed upon the Indians because their police are powerless to protect them (on account of the smallness of the number of the police); that these outrages have caused the Indians to purchase a considerable number of new fire arms; that the custom of carrying weapons, which had almost faded into disuse, is now largely revived; that as Geronimo's Band of Apaches is located there, it is especially important to clear the reservation of all unauthorized persons as many of those persons bring dissolute characters and intoxicating liquor upon the reservation...." Accompanying these documents is a closely written 8p. typed "Memorandum in regard to the troubles in the Indian Territory," centering on the Apaches.
Ruger also oversaw a comprehensive inspection of affairs on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservations near Darlington, Okla., in 1895, and the collection includes approximately 100 pages of reports, including detailed summaries of complaints made by Indians for trespass and depredation; an inventory of crimes committed by Indians and of conflicts between Indians and whites (including reports of jury nullification in the case of a "Texas cow-boy" who murdered a Cheyenne); a census of lands, property, and goods at the Agency. A sample report from this inspection is telling:
"Left Hand: When Indians are away for rations white people come and steal timber from their allotments. Reported this to farmer and agent but still stealing goes on. Wants wire and more farm implements, not enough to go round… Getting many settlers among Cheyennes and Arapahoes, stealing property. Only two years until treaty runs out and then in worse fix than when treaty was made. Poor and no way to live after treaty runs out, and he wants Government to extend it five or ten years longer.... Willing to work if he can get tools. General Ruger: Glad to hear him talk so sensibly. Never got anything until they work. Illustrated by game and birds. Can't provide means; must come from Interior Department. Will report fact and it will receive attention...."
The reports can be very detailed: "Cook is a Cherokee, but white; has some little Indian blood. Jim French is one quarter white and three quarters Cherokee. 'Cherokee Bill' is a bad subject: he is 1/16 Cherokee, 1/16 white and balance negro blood. He is a son of a sergeant in 10th Cavalry...." Also accounts of train robberies and more. The series is capped by a 20p. single spaced typewritten minutes of a Council with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes of Oklahoma, Mar. 16, 1895, a brilliant record in which the Indian voices take center stage in their complaints against white depredations. The collection also includes two copies of the 8p. typed report Ruger submitted to Washington regarding his inspection.
The collection includes three fine letters from William T. Sherman, including a rather remarkable one from April 1883 asking privately about the quality of roads leading to Missoula in preparation for a trip to Yellowstone, founded only 11 years before, but revealing a nascent environmentalist impulse: "I will not commit myself to any specific route till I am there, and only want to learn before hand what routes will be possible to avoid the Railroad, and other frequented roads, preserving the country in a sate of nature. Civilization is spoiling out country for travel, and damages the good old camping spots...." Sherman followed up with a 4p. letter detailing how he would manage his trip. The collection also includes a fine letter from Civil War general Alfred H. Terry. Although lacking in the star power of a Sherman or Terry, there are two long, outstanding letters from Ruger's son-in-law describing the commercial opportunities in Helena in 1879, and at least five from a son (?) describing travels in the west and efforts to establish himself in commerce in Kansas City and Salt Lake City.
As rich and important as this material may be, the most stunning of the western material relates to a period near the end of Ruger's appointment as Commander of the District of the Dakotas, when the northern plains experienced one of the last great waves of Indian resistance. This collection includes an exceptionally detailed and important series of 56 documents, several of which are many pages in length, relating to the rise of the Ghost Dance religion in 1888-1890, the death of Sitting Bull, and the massacre at Wounded Knee.
On October 18, 1890, Ruger received a telegram alerting him that President Benjamin Harrison had grown alarmed over reports that the Ghost Dance was beginning to escalate and that whites throughout the region were becoming alarmed. The president "apprehended trouble resulting from the messiah craze" and ordered the Secretary of the Interior to "cause a personal investigation to be made by either the division or department Commander into the actual condition of things among the Sioux" and report back directly. Ruger became the Secretary's man on the spot.
Shortly after receiving the telegram, Ruger was presented with a five page précis of the rise of the "Indian Messiah doctrine" at the Standing Rock Agency, possibly written by the agent James McLaughlin (though not in his hand), presumably to bring Ruger up to speed on what seemed to be a crisis. The Ghost Dance began in 1888-89, according to the report, "but was believed in by only a few of the wilder and non-progressive and very seldom spoken of after the first few weeks until about the middle of the past summer when reports commenced reaching here from the more southern Sioux agencies that the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Cheyenne River Sioux were organizing (under Divine instruction)...." The report goes on to discuss the role of Sitting Bull ("who has always been a disturbing element among the Sioux [and who] has been growing more worthless and insolent the past few months"), Kicking Bear ("who was reported to have been a year absent from his Agency and but recently returned from a visit to the 'Ghost County,' having seen all the dead Indians on their way back to rejoin their relatives and also conversed with the 'New Messiah'"), and at considerable length, Kicking Bear's doctrine.
Accompanying this report is a two page list of Miniconjou and Hunkpapa chiefs, with estimates of the number of men and women, boys and girls in each band. Several chiefs are marked with a red cross, indicating (according to the legend) that they were "more or less disaffected." The collection also includes a list of "Names of leaders among the Indians, in the Messiah Craze," and two hand-drawn maps of the "dancing" region.
Ruger maintained copies of most official correspondence as the tension continued to build during the late fall and winter. On Halloween 1890, Pres. Benjamin Harrison (typed copy) wrote "This delusion, as to the coming of an Indian Messiah, and the return of the dead Indian warriors, for a crusade against the whites, seems to have taken strong hold, not only upon the Sioux, but upon some other tribes, even as widely separated as the Indian Territory," and thus insisting the Secretary of War launch an investigation immediately. Ruger was immediately dispatched to go personally to the region to gain information.
On Nov. 11, a 13p. unsigned letter records that Kicking Bear had "introduced some new doctrines" and that McLaughlin, Agent at Standing Rock, had arrested 12 men, followers of Sitting Bull, "the last four men and also one woman on last Thursday 6 for interfering with the school on Grand River, 3 miles from Sitting Bull's camp, preventing the children from going to school. The effect of these arrests was good." The letter lists the men arrested, those who attended a recent council, those who were disaffected. On Nov. 13, Ruger reported back: "I had council with Standing Rock Indians on Tuesday at Agency where they were collected for issue of rations... Sitting Bull had not come; some of his relatives were present. The principle men all expressed themselves strongly opposed to the ghost-dancing, so called, or whatever was opposed to policy of government for advancement of Indians. The craze concerning expected Messiah affects families embracing two hundred and fifty to three hundred males of sixteen years old and upwards, and is confined almost entirely to Uncapapa Sioux. Sitting Bull and others not well disposed to civilizing methods and opposed to Agent, took advantage of excitement beginning about six weeks since and try to keep it up as means to increase their influence and following...."
Two days later, Ruger received a bit of important intelligence from Perain Palmer reporting that a mixed race (French-Sioux) farmer at the Cheyenne Agency, Narcisse Narcelle, reported a group of Rosebud Indians heading to Pine Ridge and Cherry Creek, adding that he had turned back fifteen families from Lower Brule. Ruger quickly telegrammed his superiors about the spread of the Ghost Dance among the Miniconjou. At first, he reported, the Indian police were able to halt the dance, but when the "excitement" was fed by Indians from Pine Ridge and Rosebud agencies, things grew worse. "The Indians affected by the craze are nearly all of those who did not sign the treaty to cede the lands. Hump is the principle leader. Big Foot is concerned in dances...." Already, he reports, things seemed to be spiraling out of hand at Pine Ridge and the agent there, Daniel Royer, was begging for help. Ruger added "I would recommend that a force strong enough to overawe the Pine Ridge Indians be sent as soon as conveniently may be to the vicinity of the Pine Ridge Agency...."
Four copies follow of a letter from Sitting Bull to "the Captain," dated Nov. 25, 1890: "Last Saturday 5 Indians came from Standing Rock and told me that you (would) come after me, and send me over to Indian Territory because I (am) dancing. That is what I want to ask you…. I never say anything bad to anybody in my life and I dance but I don't kill nothing in my pray(ing); and also this is not myself (who) makes Indians pray, but because some one told me to do so, so I do...."
With the waters roiling, Gen. Nelson Miles issued an order to W.F. Cody to arrest Sitting Bull on Nov. 24. According to a report in the archive, Cody showed up drunk with the order in hand, and by the time he sobered up and started for Sitting Bull's camp to make the arrest, he failed to locate him before the arrest order was rescinded. Nevertheless, Indian police were told to watch Sitting Bull closely and arrest him if the situation changed. The scene was set. On Dec. 14, James McLaughlin at Standing Rock learned "that Sitting Bull has received a letter from the Pine Ridge outfit, asking him ti [sic] come over there as God was going to appear to him. Sittings Bull's people wants him to go, but he has sent a letter to you asking your permission and if you do not give it, he is going to go anyway... Bull Head would like to arrest him at once before he has the chance of giving them the slip...." Another letter from Fort Yates on the same day lays out the difficulty of sending a force secretly to arrest Sitting Bull, ending "The police had strict orders to arrest strange Indians, and should Sitting Bull attempt to get away he will be arrested or killed, unless defended by a force too large for the police...."
What follows is a remarkably terse and fundamentally sad documentation of a legendary incident. A copy of a report filed by Col. W.F. Drum, 12th Infantry, details the killing of Sitting Bull by Police chief Bull Head, anxious to make the arrest: "The arrest was to be attempted before daylight on Monday the 15th instant, Bull Head in charge, and with strict instructions that Sitting Bull must not escape or be rescued. I then ordered Troops F & F 8th Cav. with one Gattling and one Hotchkiss gun... to move out Sunday night in light marching order to meet the police on their way in with Sitting Bull...." A sheaf of orders issued in the aftermath of the killing of Sitting Bull authorizes the arrest of Sitting Bull's followers, and provides soldiers sent out with arms and startling quantities of ammunition. Perhaps inevitably, these lead to more bloodshed. A copy of a letter from Drum of Dec. 30 includes the first report of the Battle at Wounded Knee: "it appears that a desperate fight took place when the 7th Cavalry undertook to disarm Big Foot's Indians. Fifty officers and men are reported killed and wounded...."
The typed documents are copies of reports and counter-reports filed by Col. H.C. Merriam of the 7th Infantry and Capt. J.H. Hurst of the 12th Infantry, regarding credit for the surrender and disarming 300 of Sitting Bull's followers on Dec. 21, 1890, and sending them to Fort Bennett, S.D., as prisoners of war. The series begins with a report from Merriam: "Believing that affairs at the Indian dancing camp at mouth of Cherry Creek, and at Big Foot's camp farther up the Cheyenne River S.D., were assuming an alarming character, I ordered Lieut. Hale, 12th Infantry, to proceed on the morning of December 18, 1890, rapidly to mouth of Cherry Creek and remain there or in that vicinity until further orders, observing, directing, and reporting any movements that might occur...."
Merriam's account, however, was vigorously disputed by Hurst, who reported that Merriam had nothing to do with the surrender: "The only Indians the colonel saw on his march to the forms of the Cheyenne, were a few straggling friendlies hastening in to the Agency, and a few sick and old at Mouth of Plum Creek authorized by me to remain there and to whom rations were sent, and the few enlisted scouts sent to him by me." What follows is a back and forth set of claims and counterclaims. Hurst continued to insist that he "received no order or instruction nor suggestions in the matter [of the surrender of the Indians] from Colonel Merriam or other authority, either verbal or written. My action and responsibility therefor was decided upon by myself and was based on the emergency and importance of securing Sitting Bull's men and arms at once, and was the sequel of the close and constant observation I had been giving to the Indian excitement on this reservation [Fort Bennett] and especially in the vicinity of Cherry Creek, for more than two months."
Later copies include a 22p. missive from the Secretary of the Interior for each Indian Agent, specifying in some detail the treaty provisions with the Sioux.
Ruger, it appears, took souvenirs. The collection includes a letter dated March 8, 1891, "Lieut. McCarthy brought in the other day on his return from his trip of investigation of depredations along the Cheyenne River, the Ghost Dance pole and flag -- or flags, at Big Foot's dancing camp, found securely fastened to the top of a high tree where it had been placed by Big foot and his people at their last dance...." Another letter indicates that the banner was donated to the Military Service Institute after Ruger's death in 1907.
The documents from this brief interlude in Ruger's long career consist of copies of official correspondence, memos, and reports from the winter 1890 through spring 1891, along with original documents that appear to have been compiled by Ruger's staff for his review. Six items relating to construction of Fort Assiniboine, 1879, one of the largest forts in the west. Also included is a rather remarkable scrapbook containing newspaper clippings relating to the uprising in 1890-1891 and the massacre at Wounded Knee.
The collection includes over 225 family letters written while Ruger was posted in the northern Plains, many of which provide evocative descriptions of his life and activities. For example, two outstanding letters (8p. and 11p.!) by Ruger try to describe the scene at Fort Assiniboine for his wife and daughter: "The particular office of the camp is to keep Canadian Indians on their own side of the boundary line. These Indians, besides hunting on the reservation, set said for our Indians, have done no little stealing of horses and some killing of cattle, during the past few years, on this side of the line… A party of Crees who did not know the troops were in the vicinity were overhauled by the cavalry the day before the troops came here and their arms and ammunition taken from them and also some horses. By report of a scouting part that returned today from the boundary line and had some talk with half breeds the Indians were surprised at such treatment and badly frightened..."
A few additional items are worthy of special note. The collection includes an important journal containing rough census information, apparently taken in the field, on a variety of tribes in Montana, including bands of Assiniboine, Kalispel, Flathead, Yankton, Bloods, Blackfeet, and "Canadian Indians," 1878-1881. Included in the journal are three hand drawn sketch maps: one centered on the Judith Mountains, a second depicting the region between the Musselshell and Yellowstone Rivers, and the third showing the Milk River drainage and Ft. Belknap. Laid in the back is a manuscript list of distances between agencies in the District of Montana and a skillfully drawn field map centered on the Milk River, entitled "Route of March with scouting trails of battalion under Captain M.E. O'Brien, Second Cavalry... Aug 19 to Sept 10, 1881."
Ruger also kept a printed invitation to attend a golden spike ceremony for the Northern Pacific Railroad held at Independence Creek, Montana, Sept. 8, 1883, accompanied by a ribbon printed with the logo and a ticket "Good for one passage... to last spike and return."
High quality correspondence relating to the Indian wars of the last quarter of the nineteenth century have become very scarce, and material of such range, quantity and quality, pertaining to such important incidents is virtually unobtainable. The Ruger collection is an extraordinary archive documenting the later phases of the Indian wars on the Northern Plains, including the infamous assault on Ghost Dance religion; the only major rebellion by the Crows; the continuing troubles with various nations of "Sioux;" and the process of confining tribes to reservations coupled with the government's inability -- or unwillingness -- to prevent invasion by whites. A few items are worn or embrittled, but generally good condition.
Descended directly in the family of General Thomas H. Ruger
Condition:
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6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
Previewing Details:
Tuesday, June 23, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
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5.5% |
Ohio State Tax |
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| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
17.5% |
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• To participate in the auction by telephone, potential bidders must complete the absentee bid form and check “I WISH TO BID BY TELEPHONE” for the designed lots.
• Telephone bidders are advised to indicate an “insurance bid”, which amount will become an absentee bid, pursuant to the absentee bidding process set forth above, if Cowan’s can not reach the bidder by telephone for a particular indicated lot.
• Telephone bidders must disable any caller ID or other call blocking mechanism.
• Cowan’s sells about 100 lots per hour, so telephone bidders should plan accordingly. Cowan’s will attempt to reach each telephone bidder, but Cowan’s is in no way responsible for missed calls.
All reservations for telephone lines must be received no later than 6:00 p.m. eastern standard time, the day before the start of each auction session.
10) INTERNET BIDDING
Internet bidding via icollector.com may be available for certain auctions. There may be terms which apply to internet bids that should be reviewed on line at the time of sale. Cowan's is not responsible for any failure to execute a bid due to interruption of internet line service which is beyond our control.
11) BIDDING INCREMENTS
The following increments are used at the auction. Absentee bids must fall within these increments. Cowan's will automatically reduce any absentee bid to the closest increment if the bid falls outside the published range of increments.
For Bids falling Between Bidding Increment
$0-200 $10
$201-500 $25
$501-1000 $50
$1001-3000 $100
$3001-5000 $250
$5001 and up $500 or at the discretion of the auctioneer
Cowan’s reserves the right to modify increments at any time during the auction
AFTER THE AUCTION
12) BUYER'S RESPONSIBILITY
Upon the fall of the hammer, title to the offered lot shall pass to the buyer and the buyer immediately assumes full risk and responsibility for the lot, including liability for loss or damage.
13) PURCHASE PRICE AND PAYMENT
The purchase price for each lot shall equal the hammer price, buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, all packing, handling, insurance and shipping costs. Payment may be made with cash, personal or traveler's check, Visa or MasterCard.
Buyers who are present at the auction must pay the full purchase price at the time of the sale. Buyers who bid by telephone or who are absentee bidders will be invoiced within 5 days after the close of the auction and must pay the full purchase price for each purchased lot within 14 days after the date of the auction. By signing the absentee bid form or placing an absentee bid by telephone, an absentee bidder authorizes Cowan's to charge the purchase price (hammer price, plus buyer's premium) for each lot for which such bidder is the successful bidder to the credit card number provided by telephone or on the absentee bid form, unless payment in full or alternative payment instruction is received within 14 days after the date of the auction. No property will be released by Cowan's unless the purchase price has been paid in full.
Institutional billing may be available, and should be arranged prior to the auction.
14) SALES TAX
Buyers are required to pay any applicable state and local sales tax.
15) SHIPPING
Cowan's is happy to provide a shipping estimate in advance of the auction. We have partnered with an outside shipper - Wrap-It Postal. Their services to our respected customers are based inside the Cowans facility.Please contact Wrap-It Postal by email at shipping@cowans.com, or call 513.871.1670 (ext.19). You can also submit a request for an online quote . All shipping and packing costs will be charged separately by Wrap-It Postal to your credit card on file.
Cowan's is in no way responsible for the acts or omissions of independent handlers, packers or shippers of purchased items or for any loss, damage or delay from the packing or shipping of any property.
ADVICE TO INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: Cowan's will not ship any package containing a firearm to any location other than within the United States. Buyers outside the United States must make their own shipping arrangements taking full risk for the transportation of any firearm.
16) SHIPPING CHARGES
Buyers are required to pay for all packing, shipping and insurance charges. Overseas duty charges are the responsibility of the successful bidder. Be aware that for larger and/or valuable items, shipping charges can be substantial.
17) REMOVAL AND STORAGE OF PROPERTY
If purchased property has not been removed, or Cowan's has not received shipping instructions within 21 days after the auction date, a $10 per item per day storage fee may be charged to the buyer.
18) CANCELLATION OF SALE
If purchased property remains in the custody of Cowan's for a period of 60 days following the auction, Cowan's may, at its option, cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages any payments made by the buyer, or resell the property at auction or by any other commercially reasonable means, and in such event, buyer shall be liable for the payment of all of Cowan's costs, including but not limited to storage and costs of sale.