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    [Indian Affairs] and [Texas Rangers]. Reading W. Black Letter Signed...

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    • Autographs:Military Figures, [Indian Affairs] and [Texas Rangers]. Reading W. Black LetterSigned...
    • Autographs:Military Figures, [Indian Affairs] and [Texas Rangers]. Reading W. Black LetterSigned...
    Autographs:Military Figures, [Indian Affairs] and [Texas Rangers]. Reading W. Black LetterSigned... Autographs:Military Figures, [Indian Affairs] and [Texas Rangers]. Reading W. Black LetterSigned... View More >
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    [Indian Affairs] and [Texas Rangers]. Reading W. Black Letter Signed as "R. W. Black / U.S. Military Agt in Command." One leaf of lined paper, 7.75" x 9.75", Fort Duncan [Texas], September 10, 1865, in Spanish to Jesus de la Garza at Santa Rosa [Mexico]. Reading Black (1830-1867), a landowning Quaker from Uvalde County known for his sympathies toward Indians, writes this letter attempting to bring the Kickapoo from Mexico to their reservation in Missouri. On lined paper in bold ink. Weakness and some separation along the central fold. Dampstaining along the right margin has also produced some weakness. In part:

    "I have been sent by the Commanding General of the military department of Texas to enter into talks with the Kickapoo Indians, who are now living in the neighborhood of Santa Rosa, with the object of seeing if they wish to return to the lands given to them by the government of the United States, situated in Missouri. . . . Wishing well to both sides of the Rio Bravo, I would like to see which amicable way they could be removed, because the way they are living now is very harmful to you as it is to us, and to let them live, and continue the depredations, it is impossible to support. . . . If measures are taken to punish or exterminate these Indians, there will always be some left (the same thing that happened with the Lipans." Black further offers to meet with the Kickapoo and to give them a "proper escort" to Missouri if they wish.

    Though Reading Black was known for being friendly to Indians (as exemplified in this letter), he also thought that Texas settlers needed protection. So, earlier in 1856 during the Callahan Expedition, he commanded a company of Rangers - the Volunteer Mounted Minute Men, whose ranging district was Uvalde County. Later in 1866, Black was elected as the Unionist representative to the U.S. Congress. He also had sympathies for freedmen, for which he was murdered in 1867. Fort Duncan was established during the Mexican War on the Rio Grande in Maverick County to protect West Texas settlers from Indians and bandits. The Confederates controlled the fort during the Civil War.

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    Auction Dates
    March, 2015
    14th Saturday
    Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 1
    Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
    Page Views: 478

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    We had a wonderful time in New York during the October 2013 Historical Manuscripts auction that featured my mother’s papers collected during her tenure as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s secretary. In fact, the entire experience from beginning to end has been a pleasure.
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