Lot 499
Carson, Christopher "Kit" (1809-1868) Trapper, scout, Indian agent, and soldier. John C. Fremont hired him as a guide in 1842 and Carson guided him to Oregon and California and through much of the Central Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin. Fremont's reports, which were widely read, made Carson a national hero, the consummate mountain man whose exploits were exaggerated and made into frontier legend.
Document signed ("C. Carson / Indian Agent"), 1 page (6 5/8 x 7¾ in.) on a half sheet of blue-ruled paper, written in a clerical hand, Taos, New Mexico, Utah Territory, March 31, 1859. Being a "Statement of Persons employed within the Utah Agency, Taos, N. Mex: during the 1st Quarter of 1859," docketed on verso; a few marginal stains, neat repair to fold separation. Certifying that John Mostin, employed as an interpreter, at a salary of $500 per year, "is, in all respects, capable of performing the duties for which he is employed." Mostin was Carson's secretary, and had taken down his dictated autobiography in 1856. His official appointment as "interpreter" was in 1857. A rare autograph of the legendary mountain man. Carson never learned to read or write, other than signing his name to documents.
Carson spoke Spanish and several Indian languages and his first two wives were from the Arapahoe and Cheyenne tribes; the third was Mexican. During the Mexican-American war Carson was a scout and courier, celebrated for his rescue mission after the Battle of San Pasqual and for his coast-to-coast journey from California to Washington, DC to deliver news of the conflict in California. He was appointed as the Indian Agent to the Ute and Jicarilla Apaches in the 1850s, during which time he signed this document. During the Civil War, he led a regiment of mostly Hispanic volunteers, the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Infantry, at the Battle of Valverde. After the Confederates were driven from New Mexico, he led forces to suppress the Navajo, Mescalero Apache, and the Kiowa and Comanche Indians. Carson was breveted a Brigadier General and took command of Fort Garland, Colorado until poor health forced his retirement from military life.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000.
Frank T. Siebert, Sotheby's, Oct. 28, 1999, lot 908.
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| Realized $10,800 |
