SOLD
13,000.00USDto floor+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2013 Jan 30 @ 17:54UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT
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An extraordinary group of letters from Pvt. John Pyne, Troop E, 6th Cavalry, 39pp. 4to., written from Feb. 17 - Nov. 12, 1886 from various locations in New Mexico including Fort Stanton, Fort Union, and from camp in the San Andrea mountains. While on the trail of Apache warriors Geromino and Natchez, Pyne takes time to write very detailed letters about his experiences. In very small part: "...isolated as I am...a letter from you is quite a tonic...Our little band here is in a high state of expectancy. Gen. [Nelson A.] Miles...has relieved Gen. [George] Crook, he has ordered all the wester holes to be guarded by the infantry...cutting off all the water from the Indians [and] he will concentrate all the Cavalry and Indian scouts and take up the trail of Geronimo and force him to fight or surrender unconditionally. I expect a protracted campaign...I am thankful for the compliment you paid me in saying I look older than you imagined as it removes me from dudeism...My life at its best is a failure...the privacy of races referred to do not condone the insult to those brave fellows who gave up their lives for those principles when we forget the respect due to the bereaved widows and orphans, victims of that conflict...This from a cavalry soldier sounds straight laced if not hypocritical...I ride a roan horse...I have every reason to believe he is the fastest horse on the post...when a horse is issued to a man he cannot be taken away unless he ill treats him...I received orders to get ready for field service...there are seven of my comrades [here]...we are attached to a company of Indian Scouts and with one officer attached we have a roaming commission. Gen. Miles' motto seems to be 'it takes a thief to catch a thief' hence the employment of Apache scouts, a more worthless set I never met. The command is divided into parties of ten Indians and one soldier; the soldier is brought into requisition as a hostage for the safety of the Indians from attacks by settlers...and to render an intelligible report...I have seen the red devil in every phase of his life...greasy red blanket, the variegated shirt, the battered and worn hat, the shuffling gait...when not in war paint he is garrulous and inquisitive...begging but actually waiting for a chance to steal, or drink whiskey...unless engaged in gambling, the bucks are idle and the squaws are at work. The squaw is a slave, never too old to work...beaten, abused and sold like a pony...The most horrible fate awaits the prisoner, turned over to the squaws...pie-eyed, ragged, wretched and covered in vermin...the baby will never cry...If the Government turned over the Indians to the Army, they would receive their full allowance...the psalm singers of the East oppose this on the ground that the soldiers would contaminate them. This is false as hell, squaws are naturally chaste, with their hunger appeased, more chaste than their white sisters...The Indian is in fact being driven to the wall, he will soon be a thing of the past...". Pyne then describes travels through Mexican villages, offering great detail on the structures, farming methods, clothing, foods, and so on, though at times he makes equally disparaging remarks about the Mexicans. Following the capture of Geronimo in late August, Pyne relates the events: "...After a close chase and numerous murders Geronimo surrendered...I was ordered to join my Troop at Fort Stanton...[and] ordered to take the field in pursuit of one hundred and forty Jicarci Apaches who had left their reservation...we struck their trail about 120 miles west of Stanton, on the Rio Grande...we arrested them at Albuquerque...Gen. Miles came in person...and [ordered] the Indians to Santa Fe...". Pyne also carefully describes a Mexican church and wedding in Albuquerque, a visit to a Pueblo Indian village, and passing through a Navajo village (drily noting "I saw nothing of note, even their famous blankets are a fraud"). He then describes a Zuni courtship ritual and a visit to "the oldest church in the U.S.". These fascinating letters, well-written, full of detail and easily read, bear a few tape repairs here and there, mainly at horizontal folds, but are otherwise in very good condition. Letter groupings of cavalry soldiers on Indian pursuits are very rarely encountered, especially of this quality.
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| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
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