Our Wild Indians – Richard Irving Dodge – 1890 | Chromolithographs, Terra Cotta Cloth

Richard Irving Dodge’s Our Wild Indians appeared in 1890 and captures decades of firsthand encounters with Native nations across the American frontier. Published in Hartford by A.D. Worthington & Co., the book begins with a contribution from William Tecumseh Sherman and reflects Dodge’s long tenure in the western territories. The volume includes six chromolithograph plates along with other black-and-white illustrations.

Dodge’s work documents practices among the Apache, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, and Comanche. Topics range from ceremonial rituals and traditional shelter to conflict, gambling, and intoxication customs. The observations come from direct military postings and give a broad view of cultural and territorial life across shifting landscapes in the late 19th century.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Our Wild Indians: Thirty-Three Years’ Personal Experience Among the Red Men of the Great West
• Author(s): Richard Irving Dodge
• Contributor(s): William Tecumseh Sherman (Introduction)
• Publisher: Hartford, Conn: A.D. Worthington & Co.
• Edition: 1890
• Format: Octavo (8vo), single volume
• Binding: Terra cotta cloth, gilt titling
• Size:  9 in x 6.25 in (23 cm x 15.5 cm)
• Collation: xxxix, [1], 29-653, [9]
• Illustrations: 6 chromolithograph plates and numerous black-and-white illustrations
• Contents Include:
  • Introduction by William Tecumseh Sherman
  • Observations on tribal customs and social life
  • Teepee construction, sacred rites, self-torture practices
  • Encounters with stagecoaches and ceremonial scalping
• Provenance: Ex-library bookplate of Londonderry Library Association
• Reference(s): Howes D 403; Graff 1114

Condition:

Good overall. Gilt title remains visible on the terra cotta cloth cover, though faded on the spine. Binding remains intact, though not fully secure. Pages are complete and illustrations remain intact. Moderate wear and fraying are present, especially to extremities.

Why Collect This?

• Significant ethnographic source by a military officer
• Features a preface by William Tecumseh Sherman
• Relevant to collectors of Native American history and frontier accounts

Item Number: # 28851