2 Letters And 2 Photographs Related To The Old Plainsman, S. D. "Antelope Bill" Martin

E. A. BRININSTOOL and S. D. MARTIN

Publication: 1920,

Two Letters and Two Photographs. Photographs are of E. A. Brininstool and "Antelope Bill" Martin, and also of "Antelope Bill" alone. One of the letters is to E. A. Brininstool from S. D. Martin, and the other is from E. A. Brininstool to "Old Top", a friend of Brininstool's in Pennsylvania. Letter 1-October 5, 1920. 1-page, Handwritten in pencil on plain paper, Signed. To E. A. Brininstool, from S. D. Martin. Martin tells of good duck hunting, and boasts of having dug 116 bushels of potatoes in the past 2 days. He tells of "oilmen" that are going to drill a little over a mile from his place. "If they strike oil I will be strictly in it". He goes on to say that he's allowed to be away from his claim for 5 months. Letter 2-"Sunday the 17th, 1920(?). 4-pages, Typewritten. To "Old Top" (Mr. S, a friend of Brininstool's residing in Pennsylvania), from Jim (Earl Brininstool written underneath). Brininstool's letter is packed with interesting news and information. It starts with "Well, the book has been accepted and will be brought out in two volumes this fall, on rough-toned hand-made paper and Japan plate paper for the illustrations. Some class, eh? It will be a work of art righto! They will allow us but twenty illustrations, but the Doc (Grace Raymond Hebard, co-author) says she is going to have all those maps that she had drawn and pay for it herself --- about $30 each extra. Expect they will get right at it. They are going to get out the circular for mailing the first thing. (Brininstool is referring to THE BOZEMAN TRAIL, which he co-authored with Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard, published by The Arthur H. Clark Company in 1922.) Brininstool goes on to say, "Did I tell you about old Antelope Bill, the old hunting pard 40 years ago of my friend Cook in Nebraska? (Jim/James Cook, rancher on the Niobrara River in far western Nebraska and author of FIFTY YEARS ON THE OLD FRONTIER, published by Yale University Press in 1923). I got them located after 40 years, and "antelope" is now rigging up his old camp wagon and mules and starts back over the Overland trail this week sometime to stay with Cook --- probably for the rest of his days...Typical old plainsman, and ready to shoot at the drop of the hat if molested. He goes through Reno, and straight across Nevada --- 20 miles a day is his limit --- and strikes the Sweetwater in Wyoming and right across the state to old Fort Laramie... It's about 1800 miles on the road for him, and three months or so to make it... He made one alone last year of 2000 miles with this same outfit. He don't drink or smoke, and he can tell stories that would make your hair stand on end of the scraps he has been in with grizzly bears and Injuns as well as bad men... He has his wagon all fixed for sleeping in, with white canvas top and a stove inside to cook on, and has his Winchester, six shooter, 22 rifle and a 16 gauge shotgun as an arsenal...He is a little fellow of about 120 lbs, 70 years old, as keen as a hawk, five feet four or five, and can run like a deer even now. Cook says he was the greatest shot on the Plains in his day. They hunted together for the market out of Cheyenne." The letter goes on to give a large amount of information about Antelope Bill and Jim Cook. Brininstool tells of him asking Antelope Bill if he ever knew a hunter named James H. Cook. "What! Winchester Jim Cook? was his quick reply. "I reckon I did: he used to be my hunting partner!" One horizontal fold and two vertical folds with short tears at intersections of folds on 3 of the 4 pages. Paper dry and fragile. PHOTOGRAPHS-Circa early 1920's. Both 5.375" x 4." In one E. A. Brininstool and "Antelope Bill" Martin stand side-by-side, with arms around each other's shoulder. An excellent photograph with a wagon, an old building, and a horse or mule in the background. Both men identified in ink on verso of photograph. The other photograph is of "Antelope Bill" Martin, standing next to an old building, in a white shirt, vest, pants, belt, boots, and holding his rifle at his side, with its butt on the ground. Sunlight makes this photograph a little darker in some areas. On verso of this photographs is typed: "Antelope Bill" Martin, old time frontiersman, big game hunter, Indian fighter and trapper, who is making an overland trip of 1800 miles, to join his old hunting pal, James H. Cook, at the latter's ranch on the headwaters of the Niobrara River, Sioux County, Nebr. The start was from Sawtelle, Cal., near Los Angeles. Also included are 5 negatives of photographs of Antelope Bill taken at the same time as the others, at Antelope Bill's place in Sawtelle, California, near Los Angeles. They appear to be in good condition and capable of producing more interesting photographs. Uncommonly interesting letters and nice photographs.

Inventory Number: 53211