SUPERB COPY OF ON THE BORDER WITH MACKENZIE
63. CARTER, Robert G. On the Border with
Mackenzie or Winning West Texas from the Comanches.
Washington: Eynon Printing Company, 1935. xviii, 542 pp.,
frontispiece portrait. Thick 8vo, original red cloth with
gilt title on cover and backstrip. Original owner’s
name in ink on front paste-down. Slight edge wear, else a
fine, crisp copy, preserved in red cloth slipcase.
First
edition of a great modern military rarity. Basic
Texas Books 25: "One of the best sources on the Federal
cavalry campaigns against the Indians in the 1870s. Jeff
Dykes described it as ‘the most complete account of
the Indian wars of the Texas frontier in the
seventies.’ John M. Carroll wrote that
‘Carter’s enormously important writings on
frontier military history will be recognized as source
material for all future historians.’ L. F. Sheffy
called it ‘a splendid contribution to the early
frontier history of West Texas....It is a story filled with
humor and pathos, tragedies and triumphs, hunger and
thirst, war and adventure’....[Carter] pulls no
punches in this outspoken narrative....This is best
exemplified in his vilification of his old enemy, Quanah
Parker....Some chapters of the book...were printed as
separate pamphlets in 1919-1920, each limited to 100 copies
for private distribution to friends [these pamphlets are
now very rare and costly]." Campbell, p. 177.
Decker
48:45: "This important historical work, the original
edition of which was issued in a very limited number, has
been most elusive since its first publication in 1935."
Dykes, Western High Spots ("Western
Movement—Its Literature"), p. 18. Howes C195. Rader
611. Tate, The Indians of Texas: An Annotated Research
Bibliography 3002: "Perhaps the best first-hand
description of Texas military life and campaigns against
Comanches and Kiowas during the turbulent 1870s. As a
captain in Ranald Mackenzie’s Fourth Cavalry, Carter
participated in some of the most important events, and he
describes these in great detail. No one researching this
phase of Comanche and Kiowa history can afford to overlook
this source." Pingenot: Forty years ago, the late J.
Marvin Hunter told me that when he met Captain Carter in
early 1935, Carter told him he was going to have 500 copies
printed. Hunter counted himself lucky to own the copy in
his own collection and doubted that more than 200 copies
were actually produced. See Jeff Dykes’ foreword to
the reprint edition for an interesting account of this
book’s publishing history.
($1,500-$3,000)