The 'Gold Mine' of the Indian Wars
In 1891, a sensational book about the life of Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Bighorn hit the Seattle market, promising agents a 'gold mine' of sales.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Wanted—Agents: 'Sitting Bull and the Indian War Book,' now ready; History of General Miles, Buffalo Bill and the famous Seventh cavalry; Sitting Bull's own story of the massacre of General Custer and his command, a thrilling, exciting, quick-selling book, rivaling in substantial interest and sale Stanley's great work; a million copies will be sold during the next three months; a regular gold mine for agents; the book is profusely illustrated: extra liberal terms, and the grandest selling book of the day; the interest and excitement is intense; send 50 cents at once for an agent's complete canvassing outfit. Address John Van Aunn, Seattle, Wash., Room 10 Llewellyn-Dodge building; P. O. box 812.
“A regular gold mine for agents; the book is profusely illustrated: extra liberal terms, and the grandest selling book of the day; the interest and excitement is intense.”
This ad captures the 19th-century American obsession with the 'Frontier,' packaged as mass-market, sensationalized history. It serves as a stark reminder of how the trauma of the Indian Wars was commodified in the 1890s, much like the way modern media continues to grapple with and monetize the myth-making of the American West.
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