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More From The American West From Arthur H. Clark Catalogue #919 from Arthur H. Clark. By Michael Stillman The Arthur H. Clark Company has issued A Catalog of Fine Books, number 919 for this century-old bookseller. This catalogue includes a memorial to Arthur H. Clark, Jr., son and namesake of the company founder, who died on March 27, 2005, at the age of 92. Mr. Clark had worked for the family business, selling and publishing books, since his graduation from college in 1934. That's a career of over 70 years. The catalogue begins with a dozen pages of recent books published by Clark. Arthur Clark is one of the premier publishers of Western Americana, and has been for almost a century. However, since our focus is on older books, we'll move on after making one exception. Item 618 is Tom Custer: Ride to Glory, By Carl F. Day, published by Clark. The name, at least the first name, may not be instantly recognizable, but Tom Custer was General George Armstrong Custer's little brother. Some people, perhaps even George, felt Tom was the one who should have been the general. However, Tom would not likely have been among them, for he idolized his brother. When the Civil War broke out, George had already graduated from West Point and was an officer in the military. Tom was just a boy of sixteen, but he lied about his age so he could join his older brother in service to the Union. He would serve under his brother late in the war, and along the way, Tom earned two medals of honor. He was the first Civil War soldier to do so. Tom would serve in South Carolina for awhile after the War, chasing down the KKK, but most of his time was spent serving as a lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry under George. Eventually, this would be his downfall, as Tom, and yet another brother, Boston, would die at the Little Big Horn with George. This was a close-knit family, and George's widow, "Libbie," would write complimentary words about Tom, just as she did about her husband for the next 57 years. This book is priced at $38.50. Speaking of the Custers, here is an unusual item pertaining to General George: Sitting Bull - Custer, by Reverend Aaron McGaffey Beede, published in 1913 by the Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune. Along with being an Episcopal minister, Beede at various times was an educator, lawyer and judge. He grew up in northern New England, where he graduated as Valedictorian of his class at Bates College in Maine, and later received his Divinity degree from Andover Theological Seminary. Then, after three years as Superintendent of Schools in Alfred, Maine, Beede picked up his family and moved to South Dakota, and from there to North Dakota. He had already learned the Sioux language, and served as a missionary to the tribe. It was this connection that enabled him to gather the material for his book. Eventually, Beede would become disenchanted with the Church's insufficient concern for social issues, which turned him to the legal profession later in his career. His book on the Indians is item 88 in this catalogue. $150.
More From The American West From Arthur H. Clark Tom Custer (standing) along with brother General George, and George's wife Elizabeth. Frederick Remington was one of the greatest artists of the American West. His drawings captured the land in the days before the West itself was captured. Item 36 is Done in the Open, published in 1902, and consisting of Remington's drawings and verses by Owen Wister and others. This is a first edition, first issue of this large (elephant folio) book. $300. Item 52 is an interesting biography, Miles Goodyear: First Citizen of Utah; Trapper, Trader and California Pioneer, by Charles Kelly and Maurice Howe. I don't know whether Goodyear was actually the first, but he was certainly one of the earliest white settlers of Utah, having set up shop before the Mormons arrived. An orphan, Goodyear traveled west with the Whitman-Spaulding missionary party in 1836 at the age of 19. However, he would leave the party to head off into the Rocky Mountains alone as a trapper. He was one of the "mountain men" of the era, and participated in the famed rendezvous of 1843. However, by then he had already married the daughter of a Ute chief and had two children. It was time to settle down. He began building a fort, "Fort Buenaventura," along the Weber River in what is now Ogden, Utah, in 1845. He planned it to be a base for trappers and others, as well as serving emigrants. When the Mormons first began to arrive, he encouraged them to settle along the Weber River, but they opted for Salt Lake City. In 1847, the Mormon High Council negotiated a purchase of Goodyear's fort for a price of $1,950. The settlement became known as Brownsville and then Ogden. Goodyear moved on to California. He became involved in trading, and then discovered gold. Unfortunately, he never had much chance to enjoy it, becoming ill and dying in 1849 at the age of 32. Goodyear's Utah home has since been reconstructed and can be seen in Fort Buenaventura State Park in Ogden. Kelly and Howe's book was privately printed in 1937, and this copy is number 3 of a limited edition of 350, inscribed to Hoffman Birney (the western writer?) by Kelly. $350. Item 87 is a reprint of A.S. Mercer's The Banditti of the Plains: or the Cattlemen's Invasion of Wyoming in 1892 - "The Crowning Infamy of the Ages." This is the story of Wyoming's "Johnson County War." In the 1880s, much of northeastern Wyoming was open range, used primarily by large cattle barons for running their herds. However, homesteaders, many former ranch hands, began settling the area around Buffalo and forming their own small herds. Some of them formed their herds by picking up young, unbranded cattle that had strayed from the large roaming herds. The large cattle owners were not pleased, and in 1892 sent a mission to the area to deal with the rustlers. They recruited a couple dozens hired guns from Texas to kill and run off the rustlers, expecting most people in the area would be sympathetic. They were wrong. At their first stop, a small rural cabin, they killed two of their enemy. However, one managed to hole up most of the day, before being burned out. Meanwhile, the cattlemen's activities were spotted by others, who sounded the warning in Buffalo. The tables were quickly turned, and it was the cattlemen who found themselves surrounded. However, the cattlemen had friends in high places, including not only Wyoming's political leaders, but President Benjamin Harrison. Federal troops were sent out to protect them, and while many were arrested, no one was ever convicted in this episode. Most were simply allowed to return home. Mercer's book was first published in 1894, but that edition is rare, many copies apparently having been suppressed by the cattle interests unflatteringly portrayed. This is a 1935 reprint of the book published by San Francisco's famed Grabhorn Press. $122.50
More From The American West From Arthur H. Clark none Some first editions are a long time coming. Jacobo Sedelmayr was a Jesuit missionary to the Pima Indians of northern Mexico and southern Arizona in the middle of the 18th century. From 1744-1751, he wrote a series of letters and reports about his mission. It took 200 years for these to finally be gathered together and published, in Jacobo Sedelmayr Missionary, Frontiersman, Explorer in Arizona and Sonora, published by the Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society in 1955. Interestingly, Clark points out that Sedelmayr's reports show no indication of resentment among the Pimas, who would engage in a bloody revolt in late 1751. Around 100 Spanish settlers and a few missionaries would be killed before it was put down. $75. You may find the Arthur H. Clark Company and a downloadable version of this catalogue on the web at www.ahclark.com, or you may call them at 800-842-9286.

More From The American West From Arthur H. Clark

Catalogue #919 from Arthur H. Clark.

By Michael Stillman

The Arthur H. Clark Company has issued A Catalog of Fine Books, number 919 for this century-old bookseller. This catalogue includes a memorial to Arthur H. Clark, Jr., son and namesake of the company founder, who died on March 27, 2005, at the age of 92. Mr. Clark had worked for the family business, selling and publishing books, since his graduation from college in 1934. That's a career of over 70 years.

The catalogue begins with a dozen pages of recent books published by Clark. Arthur Clark is one of the premier publishers of Western Americana, and has been for almost a century. However, since our focus is on older books, we'll move on after making one exception. Item 618 is Tom Custer: Ride to Glory, By Carl F. Day, published by Clark. The name, at least the first name, may not be instantly recognizable, but Tom Custer was General George Armstrong Custer's little brother. Some people, perhaps even George, felt Tom was the one who should have been the general. However, Tom would not likely have been among them, for he idolized his brother. When the Civil War broke out, George had already graduated from West Point and was an officer in the military. Tom was just a boy of sixteen, but he lied about his age so he could join his older brother in service to the Union. He would serve under his brother late in the war, and along the way, Tom earned two medals of honor. He was the first Civil War soldier to do so. Tom would serve in South Carolina for awhile after the War, chasing down the KKK, but most of his time was spent serving as a lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry under George. Eventually, this would be his downfall, as Tom, and yet another brother, Boston, would die at the Little Big Horn with George. This was a close-knit family, and George's widow, "Libbie," would write complimentary words about Tom, just as she did about her husband for the next 57 years. This book is priced at $38.50.

Speaking of the Custers, here is an unusual item pertaining to General George: Sitting Bull - Custer, by Reverend Aaron McGaffey Beede, published in 1913 by the Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune. Along with being an Episcopal minister, Beede at various times was an educator, lawyer and judge. He grew up in northern New England, where he graduated as Valedictorian of his class at Bates College in Maine, and later received his Divinity degree from Andover Theological Seminary. Then, after three years as Superintendent of Schools in Alfred, Maine, Beede picked up his family and moved to South Dakota, and from there to North Dakota. He had already learned the Sioux language, and served as a missionary to the tribe. It was this connection that enabled him to gather the material for his book. Eventually, Beede would become disenchanted with the Church's insufficient concern for social issues, which turned him to the legal profession later in his career. His book on the Indians is item 88 in this catalogue. $150.

More From The American West From Arthur H. Clark

Tom Custer (standing) along with brother General George, and George's wife Elizabeth.

Frederick Remington was one of the greatest artists of the American West. His drawings captured the land in the days before the West itself was captured. Item 36 is Done in the Open, published in 1902, and consisting of Remington's drawings and verses by Owen Wister and others. This is a first edition, first issue of this large (elephant folio) book. $300.

Item 52 is an interesting biography, Miles Goodyear: First Citizen of Utah; Trapper, Trader and California Pioneer, by Charles Kelly and Maurice Howe. I don't know whether Goodyear was actually the first, but he was certainly one of the earliest white settlers of Utah, having set up shop before the Mormons arrived. An orphan, Goodyear traveled west with the Whitman-Spaulding missionary party in 1836 at the age of 19. However, he would leave the party to head off into the Rocky Mountains alone as a trapper. He was one of the "mountain men" of the era, and participated in the famed rendezvous of 1843. However, by then he had already married the daughter of a Ute chief and had two children. It was time to settle down. He began building a fort, "Fort Buenaventura," along the Weber River in what is now Ogden, Utah, in 1845. He planned it to be a base for trappers and others, as well as serving emigrants. When the Mormons first began to arrive, he encouraged them to settle along the Weber River, but they opted for Salt Lake City. In 1847, the Mormon High Council negotiated a purchase of Goodyear's fort for a price of $1,950. The settlement became known as Brownsville and then Ogden. Goodyear moved on to California. He became involved in trading, and then discovered gold. Unfortunately, he never had much chance to enjoy it, becoming ill and dying in 1849 at the age of 32. Goodyear's Utah home has since been reconstructed and can be seen in Fort Buenaventura State Park in Ogden. Kelly and Howe's book was privately printed in 1937, and this copy is number 3 of a limited edition of 350, inscribed to Hoffman Birney (the western writer?) by Kelly. $350.

Item 87 is a reprint of A.S. Mercer's The Banditti of the Plains: or the Cattlemen's Invasion of Wyoming in 1892 - "The Crowning Infamy of the Ages." This is the story of Wyoming's "Johnson County War." In the 1880s, much of northeastern Wyoming was open range, used primarily by large cattle barons for running their herds. However, homesteaders, many former ranch hands, began settling the area around Buffalo and forming their own small herds. Some of them formed their herds by picking up young, unbranded cattle that had strayed from the large roaming herds. The large cattle owners were not pleased, and in 1892 sent a mission to the area to deal with the rustlers. They recruited a couple dozens hired guns from Texas to kill and run off the rustlers, expecting most people in the area would be sympathetic. They were wrong. At their first stop, a small rural cabin, they killed two of their enemy. However, one managed to hole up most of the day, before being burned out. Meanwhile, the cattlemen's activities were spotted by others, who sounded the warning in Buffalo. The tables were quickly turned, and it was the cattlemen who found themselves surrounded. However, the cattlemen had friends in high places, including not only Wyoming's political leaders, but President Benjamin Harrison. Federal troops were sent out to protect them, and while many were arrested, no one was ever convicted in this episode. Most were simply allowed to return home. Mercer's book was first published in 1894, but that edition is rare, many copies apparently having been suppressed by the cattle interests unflatteringly portrayed. This is a 1935 reprint of the book published by San Francisco's famed Grabhorn Press. $122.50

More From The American West From Arthur H. Clark

none

Some first editions are a long time coming. Jacobo Sedelmayr was a Jesuit missionary to the Pima Indians of northern Mexico and southern Arizona in the middle of the 18th century. From 1744-1751, he wrote a series of letters and reports about his mission. It took 200 years for these to finally be gathered together and published, in Jacobo Sedelmayr Missionary, Frontiersman, Explorer in Arizona and Sonora, published by the Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society in 1955. Interestingly, Clark points out that Sedelmayr's reports show no indication of resentment among the Pimas, who would engage in a bloody revolt in late 1751. Around 100 Spanish settlers and a few missionaries would be killed before it was put down. $75.

You may find the Arthur H. Clark Company and a downloadable version of this catalogue on the web at www.ahclark.com, or you may call them at 800-842-9286.