AB-SA-RA-KA, HOME OF THE CROWS
First edition of this narrative of "an officer's wife on the plains," published in an effort to clear her husband's name in the wake of his defeat at Fetterman's Fight.
Very good.
Price: $750.00
AB-SA-RA-KA, HOME OF THE CROWS
"As there was no one to contradict, and no one who knew the truth, a large margin was left for the play of the fancy, and the imagination was drawn upon with great freedom and success."
Part memoir, part geography lesson, and part amateur anthropological work, AB-SA-RA-KA, HOME OF THE CROWS reflects the experiences of Margaret Irvin Carrington, the wife of Colonel Henry B. Carrington. Its publication was meant in large part to provide support for her husband's actions leading to the Fetterman Massacre, in which the Sioux ambushed and soundly defeated a force sent out by Colonel Carrington. The book "took advantage of Victorian-era middle-class gender roles" to lend weight to Colonel Carrington's version of events (Calitri, 52). Historian Shannon Smith Calitri notes that "the officers' code of honor required men to be loyal to the women of their regiment," meaning that none of "the officers who had so recently worked to cast Carrington as incompetent" were able to disagree easily with his wife's account (53).
One of the "best known" published memoirs of the wives of US American army officers, this title describes Carrington's experiences in the northern plains states as her husband led efforts to militarize the Bozeman Trail, with an emphasis on the interactions with their Crow allies (Baker, 21). General William T. Sherman encouraged officers to bring their wives and families to western posts, and further suggested that the wives "keep journals to record their adventures for posterity"; Carrington dedicated AB-SA-RA-KA, HOME OF THE CROWS to him (Calitri, 46). A history-making work, rather scarce on the market complete and in the first printing.
Read more: Anni P. Baker, "Daughters of Mars: Army Officers' Wives and Military Culture on the American Frontier," The Historian vol. 67 no. 1; Shannon Smith Calitri, "'Give Me Eighty Men': Shattering the Myth of the Fetterman Massacre," Montana: The Magazine of Western History, vol. 54 no. 3; Wright Howes, U.S.iana, item C175; Joseph Sabin, A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, item 11061.
The Object
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co, 1868. Full title: Ab-Sa-Ra-Ka, Home of the Crows: Being the Experience of an Officer's Wife on the Plains, and Marking the Vicissitudes of Peril and Pleasure During the Occupation of the New Route to Virginia City, Montana, 1866-7, and the Indian Hostility Thereto. 7.5'' x 4.5''. Original purple cloth boards with gilt lettering to spine. Brown coated endpapers. Fold-out map frontispiece with several in-text black-and-white illustrations. xii, 284 pages. Bookplate of David John Holton to front pastedown. Contemporary ink note to title page, identifying the husband of the author. Binding with some wear, bumping to corners and spine ends; slight lean and light sunning to spine. Leaves with infrequent spots of soil to margins, map with two tiny closed tears at folds; 3.5" closed tear to rear flyleaf. A sound copy, the cloth retaining its deep plum color.
The Fine Print
We work hard to meet our ethical responsibility to describe our material accurately. All items are guaranteed as described and may be returned for any reason within 30 days. Please notify us before mailing a return.
We guarantee the authenticity of our items. All materials are original (meaning not facsimiles or reproductions) unless otherwise noted. First editions (meaning first edition, first printing) are explicitly stated. TPM is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.
All photographs are of the actual item for sale. We're happy to provide additional images on request.
All domestic orders ship gratis. For orders under $250, free USPS media mail shipping is included; orders $250 and over ship USPS Priority. International orders over $500 also ship gratis. Expedited, overnight, as well as other carriers (UPS, Fed-Ex, etc.), may carry additional costs beyond quoted rates. All orders receive tracking information and a direct contact in case of any questions.
International buyers are responsible for any customs, taxes, and related import fees. Please note that we are unable to accomodate requests to misrepresent, misdeclare, or otherwise falsify customs documents when shipping internationally. We appreciate your understanding.
We accept all major credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, check, money order, and bank wire. We are happy to bill institutional buyers' needs. Sales tax will be added to applicable purchases. Items subject to prior sale.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, please contact us. We prioritize our long-term relationships far above any individual purchase, and we want you to love your item as much as we loved cataloguing it.
