Sketch of the Navajo Tribe of Indians, Territory of New Mexico

Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. Very Good. 1856. First Edition. Removed Document. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution; [283]-297; 16 pages; Removed document published in the Annual Report for the Smithsonian Institution. Disbound - 8 leaves (16 pp.). No markingsbut a faint tidemark midway horizintally. OCLC 27414454 Major Jonathan Letherman (1824 – 1872) was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of a well-known surgeon. His studies were directed by a private tutor until he entered Jefferson College. He graduated from Jefferson in 1845 and Jefferson Medical College in 1849. That same year he was given the position of assistant surgeon in the Army Medical Department. Letherman served in Florida during military campaigns against the Seminole Indians until 1853. He then spent a year in Fort Ripley, Minnesota. He was then ordered to Fort Defiance in New Mexico Territory to aid the campaign against the Apache. He was transferred to Fort Monroe in Virginia. From 1860 to 1861 he was engaged in California against the Utes. Excerpt from Alwin J. Girdner. Diné Tah: My Reservation Days 1923–1939; pub. 2015. "Hundreds of books have been written about Navajo legends, customs, and ceremonies, beginning with the early reports of army personnel stationed near Navajo country. One of the first written by Dr. Jonathan Letherman, who spent three years at Fort Defiance. His impressions, published in 1855, were neither particularly well informed nor very complimentary, either of Navajo ceremonies or of their religious practices. "Of their religion," he wrote, "little or nothing is known, indeed all inquiries tend to show that they have none." He went on to report that Navajo had frequent gatherings for dancing but described their singing as "a cussession of grunts and anything but agreeable." Although Major Letherman was ignorant of Navajo culture, he had a very successful career after leaving New Mexico. He changed his name to Letterman, served as medical director of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, and later as a professor of chemistry at West Point Military Academy. The largest army hospital at San Francisco during World War II was also named for him. .