Zane Grey
Page 44
99. Catalina Islander, June 28, 1921, 1. Because Grey’s catch came so close to publication, the Islander offered only a brief notice. See Catalina Islander, June 21, 1921, 6. The long March 22 account of the Gladiator was authored by “Lone Angler,” who was Grey’s friend, J. A. Wiborn. Although the author of this account is not identified, the style is typical of Wilborn.
100. This was not the first time that Grey salvaged a big story from a lost broadbill. Back in 1919 he hooked an even larger broadbill calculated to weigh 600, perhaps even 1,000, pounds and lost it after an epic twelve-hour fight. This incident received front-page coverage in the Islander and Grey described it in “Record Fight with a Swordfish” that was published in the August 1920 issue of Country Gentleman. Grey even got the Islander to offer a third account of the broadbill he lost in 1921. See Catalina Islander, August 2, 1921, 1.
101. Catalina Islander, October 18, 1920, 1 and 7.
102. New York Times, June 26, 1961, and Santa Paula (California) Chronicle, June 26, 1961.
103. Catalina Islander, August 20, 1920, 1.
104. Ibid., June 21, 1921, 6.
105. Los Angeles Examiner, October 14, 1921, 1.
106. Romer C. Grey, “Sea Fishing for Women,” 261.
107. This article brought Dorothy publicity to match that which Lillian and Claire received from the photograph of them, Zane, and several large barracuda that appeared in the New York Herald two years before. New York Herald, Graphic Section, December 14, 1919, 1.
108. Grey, “Resignation from the Tuna Club,” 3. Grey’s interpretation of Mrs. Spalding’s catch is consistent with what the Islander reported in its October 14, 1921, story.
109. Memorandums of Tuna Club meetings, July 1, 1922, and July 3, 1922.
110. Grey, “Resignation from the Tuna Club,” 3.
111. Ibid.
112. Ibid.
113. Memorandum of Tuna Club meeting, March 31, 1923 (Archives, the Tuna Club). The Islander reported that Grey was still attending social functions at the Tuna Club weeks after its board demanded that he apologize. See Catalina Islander, July 26, 1922, 7.
114. Grey, Tales of Fishes, 252 and 187.
115. Ives, “Small Woman and a Big Swordfish,” 270. Three years later, Dilg and his feminist wife parted in an acrimonious divorce and her article may have been a contributing factor.
116. Catalina Islander, July 19, 1922, 6.
117. Zane Grey, “Gulf Stream Fishing on Light Tackle,” 205–9. This was converted into the conclusion for “Sailfish” when it was included in Tales of Fishes. Also Grey, “Light Tackle,” 747. This was reprinted in the Catalina Islander, February 4, 1919, 1, and it concluded “Avalon, the Beautiful” in Tales of Fishes.
118. Grey’s articles on fishing from before 1923 contain several mentions of his disappointment with the B-Ocean reel. In one instance, his companions frantically poured buckets of water onto his smoking reel in a doomed attempt to prevent its stressed gearing from melting. In another instance, the pressure exerted by the running fish caused the gearing to jam and break it free. Grey, Tales of Fishes, 33 and 57.
119. Catalina Islander, September 19, 1923, 6.
120. Grey “Heavy Tackle for Heavy Fish,” 1. During the period 1920–24, the price of a Ford Model-T fell to $260. Derks, Value of a Dollar, 136.
121. Catalina Islander, April 23, 1923, 10.
122. Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Tuna Club, February 12, 1923 (Archives, the Tuna Club).
123. Ibid., March 15, 1923.
124. Ibid., May 31, 1923. On August 5, [1923], Zane wrote Dolly, “The Tuna Club mess I got out of by just pulling out, and making R. C. & Wiborn do the same. The faction opposing the present regime wanted us to do the fighting” (BY-G2). Wiborn did not resign.
125. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, June 11, [1923] (CK).
126. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, June 30, [1923] (BY-G2).
127. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, July 8, [1923] (BY-G).
128. Ibid.
129. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, June 30, 1923 (BY-G2).
130. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, July 8, [1923] (BY-G).
131. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, August 4, [1923] (BY-G).
132. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, July 18, 1923 (BY-G).
133. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, July 30, 1923 (BY-G).
134. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, August 1, [1923] (CK).
135. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, August 14, 1923 (BY-G).
136. Ibid.
137. Grey, “Herculean Angling,” in Tales of Swordfish and Tuna, 159.
138. Grey described these catches in “Three Broadbill Swordfish.”
139. Zane Grey, Letter to Lena Grey, September 2, 1923 (BY-G), and Sierks-Over-holt, “New World’s Record,” 804–5.
140. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, February 21, [1923] (BY-G2).
141. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 3, [1921] (GH).
142. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, October 22, 1922 (GH).
143. Coconino Sun, September 14, 1923, 1.
144. Ibid., September 21, 1923, 1; October 12, 1923, 1.
145. Louise Anderson, Letter to Zane Grey, September 4, 1923 (CK).
146. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, October, 15, 1923 (GH).
147. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, December 15, 1923, 58 (MIC 172, OHS).
148. Ibid., December 21, 1923, 60.
149. Ibid., December 24, 1923, 69.
150. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, “Christmas night, 1923” (GH).
Chapter 7: Movin’ On: 1924–25
1. Grey, “Heavy Tackle for Heavy Fish,” Catalina Islander, January 2, 1924, 1 and 2.
2. Ibid., April 23, 1924, 1.
3. Ibid., January 26, 1924, 1.
4. Ibid., May 21, 1924, 1. See also May 14, 1924, 1.
5. Ibid., August 13, 1924, 1.
6. Los Angeles Examiner, August 10, 1924, 3.
7. Grey, “Xiphias Gladius,” Country Gentleman 89 (February 9, 1924), 10–11. This essay was published as “Xiphias Gladius, 418 Pounds” in Tales of Swordfish and Tuna.
8. When Dolly informed Zane of Mallen’s catch, he wrote back, “For a novice to catch a fish like that in less than an hour is appalling. I’m afraid the aero-plane wire leader, that tangles these broadbills’ tails and kills them without a fight, has ruined the sport.” Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, August 17, 1924 (BY-G2).
9. Grey, “The Deadly Airplane Wire-Leader,” in Tales of Swordfish and Tuna, 193 and 195.
10. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 2, 1924 (BY-G).
11. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 9, 1924 (BY-G2).
12. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 14, 1924 (BY-G2).
13. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 19, 1924 (Bmms).
14. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, January 18, 1924 (Bmms). Dolly wrote an even longer letter on January 28 that offered more explanation and more solace.
15. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, January 23, 1924, 67 (MIC 172, OHS).
16. Zane Grey, Telegram to Lina Grey, January 24, 1914 (BY-G2).
17. New York Times Book Review, January 27, 1924, 2 and 4.
18. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, January 29, 1924, 70 (MIC 172, OHS).
19. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 28, [1924] (BY-G2).
20. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, January 31, 1924, 71–72 (MIC 172, OHS). Also Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 31, 1924, Zane Grey Review 12 (December, 1996), 7.
21. Grey described this trip in “Rivers of the Everglades,” in Tales of Southern Rivers, 41–134.
22. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, April 26, 1924, 80 (MIC 172, OHS).
23. Ibid., May 25, 1924, 84.
24. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, June 14, [1924] (BY-G2).
25. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, [May, 1924] (BY-G2).
26. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, June 5, [1924] (BY-G2).
&nbs
p; 27. Zane Grey, Letter to Robert Davis, January 10, 1919 (NYPL).
28. Obituary for L. D. Mitchell, New York Times, June 19, 1931, 33.
29. Mitchell-Henry, Tunny Fishing, 17.
30. Mitchell-Henry, Tunny Fishing, 17. Mitchell-Henry, who went fishing with Mitchell before the war, reports that Mitchell was then in charge of “a bungalow-hostel established for the accommodation of fishermen” on Great Island near Port Medway.
31. Heilner, Salt Water Fishing, 143. Also Grey, “Big Game Fishing,” II.
32. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, February 6, 1922 (mss. 1262, OHS). This letter seems misdated and probably should be 1924. Grey believed that his boat could be built more cheaply and better in Canada, and he estimated its cost at $2,000.
33. Grey, “Giant Nova Scotia Tuna,” in Tales of Swordfish and Tuna, 14.
34. Lillian Wilhelm Smith, Letter to Claire Wilhelm Carlin, July 14, 1924 (PF).
35. Farrington, Atlantic Game Fishing, 23.
36. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, July 22, 1924, 90 (MIC 172, OHS).
37. Ashworth, Arizona Triptych, 232.
38. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, July 30, 1924 (BY-G2).
39. Obituary for Mildred Smith Johnson, Arizona Republic (Sedona), January 12, 1974, C, 7.
40. Despite the intensity of his initial involvement with Louise, Grey already had had misunderstandings and feuds with her by the summer of 1921. His journals and letters hint that his relationship with Mildred was intensifying more than a year and a half before his final break with Louise.
41. This album was sold at the Waverly auction on February, 6, 2002, lot no. 130.
42. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, June 15, 1923 (BY-G).
43. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, August 4, 1923 (BY-G2).
44. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, January 28, 1924 (BY-G2).
45. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, January 18, 1924 (BY-G2).
46. For more discussion of Grey’s pursuit of Nola and her cautious response, see Van Grondelle, Angel of the Anzacs, 66–78.
47. Grey, “Giant Nova Scotia Tuna,” in Tales of Swordfish and Tuna, 79–86.
48. Catalina Islander, August 27, 1924, 6. A decade later, Mitchell-Henry refused to acknowledge Grey’s record because he fished from a power launch. Mitchell-Henry, Tunny Fishing, 19.
49. “World’s Record Tuna,” Field and Stream 29 (November, 1924), 17.
50. Bookman 60 (November, 1924), 373.
51. Grey, “My Adventures as a Fisherman,” 168–79.
52. “Zane Grey’s World Record Tuna,” Outdoor America 3 (February, 1925), 16.
53. Mitchell, “World’s Record Tuna,” 22–24.
54. Nichols and Heilner, “World’s Record Catches,” Field and Stream (October, 1924), 17.
55. File LB58 (Library, International Game Fish Association).
56. Reiger, Profiles in Salt Water Angling, 182–83.
57. Field and Stream 33 (October, 1928), 32–33, and 40 (January, 1936), 26–27.
58. Heilner, Salt Water Fishing, 319. I have searched unsuccessfully for the pages from this important book. A few from late 1930s are held at the library of the International Game Fish Association. Apparently, the early ones were never saved, but were they ever to turn up, they would provide an invaluable accounting of record catches from 1924 to 1939. Currently, one has to rely on the limited information from the intermittent lists in Field and Stream.
59. New York Times, July 13, 1970, 31.
60. Heilner, Salt Water Fishing, 7. Heilner states that he fished with Grey out of Seabright from 1912 to 1916, 146–47. See also Reiger, Profiles in Salt Water Angling, 182–83.
61. Lillian Wilhelm Smith, Letter to Claire Wilhelm Carlin, August 11, 1924 (PF).
62. Information provided by the Ralph Getson Maritime Museum, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
63. Lillian Wilhelm Smith, Letter to Claire Wilhelm Carlin, August 11, 1924 (PF). The New York Times reported that Grey purchased the vessel for a long-distance voyage to South America. Both Smith and the Times referred to the ship’s name as Mapleland, which was probably correct even though this name was never officially registered. See New York Times, August 20, 1924, 11.
64. New York Times, August 21, 1924, 11.
65. Grey, Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas, 3–4.
66. Wilhelm, Journal, 1925—South America (PF).
67. Grey, Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas, 4.
68. Gruber, Zane Grey, 186.
69. Wilhelm, Journal, 1924—Oregon, September–October, 1924, n.p. (PF).
70. Outdoor America 3 (November, 1924), 14.
71. Clippings and Testimonials, “Deer Drive of 1924” (Archives, Grand Canyon National Park). The Rotary address of August 14, 1964, presented by James A. Blaisdell quotes many governmental memorandums and documents from the period and is the single best source of information about this event.
72. Outdoor America 3 (November, 1924).
73. Quoted in Blaisdell’s address.
74. Unidentified clipping, Zane Grey, scrapbook of newspaper clippings (OHS).
75. When reviewers commented upon the resemblance of The Thundering Herd to these two earlier films, they were noticing not only the repetitious casting of Lois Wilson, Jack Holt, and Noah Beery in the lead roles, but also the same panoramic display of animals and action. See “A Buffalo Stampede,” New York Times March 3, 1925, 20; “Western Movie of the Best in ‘The Thundering Herd,’” New York Daily News, March 3, 1925, 25; and “The Miracle of the Bisons,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 2, 1925, 8.
76. New York Times, January 12, 1925, sec. 7, 5.
77. Grey, The Vanishing American (1925), 113.
78. This quote and the one above are the same in the original manuscript, except for the bracketed final phrase, which was eliminated for publication.
79. Loren Grey, “Introduction,” in Grey, The Vanishing American (1982), v.
80. Grey, The Vanishing American (1982), 340–41.
81. Grey, The Vanishing American (1982), 342. This original ending was even altered for the serialized version of The Vanishing American in Ladies’ Home Journal.
82. Zane Grey, Letter to William Briggs and Henry Hoyns, May 25, 1925. Quoted in Loren Grey, “Introduction,” in Grey, The Vanishing American (1982), vi–vii.
83. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, February 16, 1924 (GH).
84. Zane Grey, Letter to Claire Wilhelm Carlin, June 11, 1924 (PF).
85. Zane Grey, Letter to Claire Wilhelm Carlin, March 5, 1924 (PF).
86. Grey, Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas, 2.
87. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, January 24, 1916 (LG).
88. Interview with Loren Grey, January 21, 2002.
89. Beebe, Galapagos, 235.
90. Ibid., 237.
91. Ibid., 238.
92. Grey, Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas, 7–8.
93. Wilhelm, Journal, 1925—South America, February 16, 1925, 117.
94. Ibid., February 17, 1925, 119.
95. Beebe, Galapagos, 235.
96. Wilhelm, Journal, 1925—South America, February 24, 1925, 156.
97. Ibid., March 20, 1925, 223.
98. On page 159 of Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas, Grey says that the fish weighed 135 pounds; a photograph of him and this fish appears opposite page 105. Spalding’s record is noted in “World’s Record Catches,” Field and Stream 29 (October, 1924), 17.
99. Wilhelm, Journal, 1925—South America, March 23, 1925, 243.
100. Ibid., March 27–30, 1925, 246–49 and 263.
101. Ibid., April 11, 1925, 298.
102. Ashworth, Arizona Triptych, 242–49, 258.
103. Lawrence Mitchell, Letter to Claire Carlin, May 26, 1925 (PF).
Chapter 8: Fresh Starts and Farewells: 1925–30
1. Hart, “Most Popular Authors of Fiction,” 619–20.
2. Hart, “Most Popular Authors of Fiction,” 473–77.
3. Publishers Weekly 107 (February 21, 1925), 633.
4. Pub
lishers Weekly 107 (March 21, 1925), 1130, and (April 18, 1925), 1373. For the annual list for 1925, see Publishers Weekly 109 (January 23, 1926), 228.
5. Publishers Weekly 109 (February 13, 1926), 519 and (March 20, 1926), 1065.
6. Bookman 61 (April–August, 1925), 240, 365, 494, 609, 717, and Bookman 62 (September, 1925), 98.
7. Zane Grey, Financial Notebook (GH).
8. Gruber, Zane Grey, 189–90.
9. Publishers Weekly 107 (February 21, 1925), 630, and (March 21, 1925), 1130.
10. Zane Grey, Financial Records (DB).
11. Zane Grey, Financial Notebook (GH).
12. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, January 19, 1925, 97 (MIC 172, OHS).
13. Ibid., December 7, 1925, 107.
14. Zane Grey, Financial Records (DB).
15. Whipple, “American Sagas,” 505.
16. Ibid., 505–6.
17. Ibid., 506.
18. For interesting discussions of this aspect of Grey’s work, see Bloodworth, “Zane Grey’s Western Eroticism,” 5–14, and Nesbitt, “Uncertain Sex,” 15–27.
19. Farrar, “Clean Fiction,” 115–16.
20. Bookman 60 (November, 1924), 373–74.
21. Farrar, “Zane Grey and the American Spirit,” 2. This short article was run as an introduction for the serialization of Grey’s Stairs of Sand and then incorporated into Zane Grey: The Man and His Work, 20.
22. New York World, September 30, 1925, 15.
23. Ibid., 17.
24. Ibid., December 17, 1925, 15. See also October 15, 1925, 11; November 2, 1925, 13; and November 4, 1925, 13.
25. Grey, “My Answer to the Critics,” 6. Gruber first cited this quote in Zane Grey, 164, and he is the source for the others who have repeated it.
26. Lee, Hidden Public, 29–30.
27. Catalina Islander, March 25, 1925, 8. See also March 18, 1925, 7; and January 7, 1925, 7.
28. Zane Grey, Diary, 1923–39, July 20, 1924, 89 (MIC 172, OHS).
29. Lina Grey, Letter to Zane Grey, August 25, 1924 (mss. 1262, OHS).
30. Catalina Islander, September 2, 1925, 1.
31. Grey, “Log of the Gladiator,” 9–11, 56–62.
32. Catalina Islander, August 26, 1925, 6.
33. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, July 27, 1925 (BY-G).
34. Zane Grey, Letter to Lina Grey, August 4, 1925 (Bmms).