Captain North Writes Regarding Recent Inaccurate Western Articles By Doc Carver

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/21/2018

NORTH, Luther H. (1846-1935) In 1862 Luther enlisted in the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry, newly organized under Robert Furnas to fight the increasingly hostile Sioux, and in Spring of 1863, they made their first campaign which was marked by the battle of White Stone Hills. The 2nd Nebraska was mustered out in December, and Luther farmed the Columbus homestead until 1866 when he joined his brother's Pawnee Scouts. When the Scouts were re-organized in 1867 he was commissioned a Captain, and they patrolled the Union Pacific railroad through 1868. Luther was out of Scouts from time to time, clerking at the agency and guiding trail herds. In 1871 he became one of the first three County Commissioners of Howard County, Nebraska. Luther was with the Scouts when they were mustered out for the last time in 1876 after General Crook's campaign. He then went into partnership with his brother Frank, and William F. Cody at Dismal River Ranch. After sale of the ranch in 1882 he served as Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, staying in the Black Hills until 1890. He then lived in Omaha until 1898 when he married Mrs. Elvira Sprague Coolidge, and they stayed there until 1917. They returned to Columbus, living in semi-retirement until his death in April 1935.Autograph Letter Signed “Uncle Lute” (his nickname), 4pp., Columbus, NE, March 28, 1930, to Guy & Betty Forshey. The letter begins with North mentioning that he has been ill, and inquiring whether they sent a picture or not. “Dr. Tanner wrote me something about Pawnee Bills celebration but I don’t know what it is. I have no doubt you could get a good story out of it. ... I wonder if you might have seen the April number of Outdoor Life a magazine published in Denver. Raymond Thorpe is publishing a series of letters left him by Doc Carver and the first installment is in the April number. It made me so mad that I wrote Outdoor Life and now I’m sorry I did .... Doc tells in his letter how he beat Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack out of their Buckskin Suits in a Shooting match; then he shot a match with Belden the white chief and won all his horses and sent him off on foot. [T]his all happened at Fort McPherson. ... Now Belden came to McPherson in 1869. He was a Lieutenant in the Regular army and was stationed there until he was courtmarshalled [sic] and dismissed in the fall of 69 – or the winter of 1870, when he left there and never went back there afterward. Doc Carver never was at McPherson until 1872 so of course never saw Belden there and I have good reason to believe he never saw him in his life. The whole article is fill of just such wild statements as that and I wrote the magazine the truth.....I wish you was here to keep your uncle from doing these darn fool things. It won’t of course do any good. When Doc was here just a short time before his death I told him about having been ordered by General Emery to arrest Belden and bring him to McPherson. I said I followed Belden to the Republican [River] and couldn’t find him. Doc said oh yes, Belden was in my camp. We knew you was after him and kept track of you all the time. I asked him when it was and he said 1872. I then told him it was 1870 and that there was no Pawnee scouts between 1870 and 1876. He didn’t know what to say and I told him he couldn’t publish that stuff as there was people still living on the medicine that knew when he come there and all about him….”

Click on a thumbnail above to display a larger image below
Hold down the mouse button and slide side to side to see more thumbnails(if available).