Mainly correspondence, 1870-1891.

There are 18 letters written by C.H. Barstow at the Crow Agency in the Montana Territory to his sister Eliza, his brother Rogers L. Barstow, and his cousin Sarah, in Massachusetts. Of the other 14 letters, there are several from Barstow’s wife Lizzie to his sister and brother, and a few other miscellaneous letters among family members and friends. Also, three small clippings and a November 10, 1887 issue of The Montana Stock Gazette reporting a skirmish at the agency between the Crow Indian followers of Crow-Bannock Indian, Sword Bearer, and the U.S. Army.

Subjects covered in Barstow’s letters include the observance of the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Little Bighorn and a visit by battle participant Frederick William Benteen; Barstow’s heavy workload; arson attempts at the agency’s Rosebud location prior to its 1884 move to the Little Big Horn Valley; Indian Service politics and officials; agency appointments and Barstow’s own job problems; his marriage and Lizzie’s illness and the care of their daughter after Lizzie’s death; and legal transfers of Barstow Kansas farm property.