More than a dozen personal things, once belonged to Christopher Houston, Kit Carson, an American frontiersman and Indian fighter will be offered on August 11-12, at auction at the Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, N.M. The highlight of the upcoming auction will be Simeon North U.S. Model 1816 flintlock pistol, which this respected courier and scout used during the Mexican-American war from 1846 to 1848, which is expected to fetch $25,000.
This Simeon North 9-inch .54 caliber barrel U.S. Model 1816 flintlock pistol is one of 20,000 pistols made between 1817 and 1820. It has iron mountings and bands and a brass front sight inserted into the barrel band. Originally equipped with a hickory ramrod and cleaning tool, Carson’s is made of brass. The stock is walnut and the brown case-hardened finish has held up well enough, such as it is. Other Kit Carson’s memorabilia includes his personal document bag, saddles, bridles, snowshoes, a cupboard, tin box, wooden bench and other important items covering his life.
Owner of Santa Fe’s Manitou Galleries, Bob Nelson and the sponsor of the auction, Cheyenne, Wyo. stated that they obtained most of the Kit Carson’s personal items from Ouray Mayers’ informal museum he had in his art gallery basement in Taos.
This historic auction in Santa Fe will feature more than 600 items, with a total of 300 American Indian collectibles, including baskets, beadwork, weaponry, beaded and quilled bags and dozens of weavings. Highlights include a Margaret Tafoya blackware bear fetish pot, several Germantown weavings, an Apache mountain lion quiver and arrows, a Helen Cordero male drummer figurine and more.
