American Eclipse

by David Baron

  106 A small graveyard lay nearby: Marked on “Ground Plan of Eclipse Parties at Creston, Wyoming,” by E. L. Trouvelot [USNO-NA Entry 18, Box 8].

  106 makeshift observatory: Skinner to William Harkness, July 9, 1878 [USNO-NA Entry 18, Box 8]; USNO (1880:30).

  106 ordered logistical help: USNO (1880:xiii).

  106 four-mule wagon: Special Order No. 66, July 13, 1878 [USACC Entry 8, vol. 4].

  106 fresh supplies of ice and hay: Major Thomas Tipton Thornburgh to William Harkness, July 23, 1878 [USNO-NA Entry 18, Box 8]; Lt. George N. Chase to William Harkness, July 22, 1878 [USNO-NA Entry 18, Box 8].

  106 “The ride to Harrisburg”: Diary of James E. Keeler, July 19, 1878 [JEKP Box 1]. After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Keeler rose to prominence as a respected astrophysicist. See Osterbrock (1984).

  106 “simply dreadful—I’ve never seen”: David Peck Todd to Mabel Loomis, July 10, 1878 [MLTP Series I, Box 2, Folder 76].

  107 “There is a pretty rough crowd”: Diary of James E. Keeler, July 21, 1878 [JEKP Box 1].

  107 “endeavored to get up a flirtation”: Chicago Daily Tribune, July 27, 1878, p. 5. For more on Texas Jack’s hunting party, see Omaha Daily Bee, July 22, 1878, p. 4; Burlington Daily Hawk-Eye, July 23, 1878, p. 8; Forest and Stream, Oct. 24, 1878, p. 241.

  107 “[J]ust think where I am”: David Peck Todd to Mabel Loomis, July 11, 1878 [MLTP Series I, Box 2, Folder 76].

  108 Special wheels—made of compressed paper: Helena E. Wright (1992). For more on Pullman’s opulent cars, see Husband (1917); Leyendecker (1992); Welsh, Howes, and Holland (2010).

  108 an exclusive “hotel car”: Wheeling Daily Register, July 17, 1878, p. 2.

  108 “We sip our oyster-soup”: Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Aug. 25, 1877, p. 422.

  109 celebrities, including the ubiquitous Texas Jack: Inter Ocean (Chicago), Aug. 9, 1876, p. 8.

  109 cavernous, frescoed lobby: Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, July 21, 1877, p. 344.

  109 felling not only people but also the horses: Chicago Daily Tribune, July 16, 1878, p. 1; Chicago Times, July 17, 1878, p. 1; Chicago Daily Telegraph, July 17, 1878, p. 1.

  109 a scrum of reporters: Chicago Times, July 16, 1878, p. 6.

  109 “Have you ever been in Chicago before?”: Inter Ocean (Chicago), July 16, 1878, p. 8.

  109 “How many patents have you now?”: Chicago Daily Tribune, July 16, 1878, p. 5.

  109 “The tasimeter is a heat-measurer”: Chicago Daily Tribune, July 16, 1878, p. 5.

  110 “Well, then, begin your fusillade”: Omaha Daily Bee, July 17, 1878, p. 4.

  110 “to ride on the Locomotive”: J. J. Dickey, July 17, 1878 [TAED D7802ZSW; also in TAEB vol. 4, p. 397].

  110 “without dust or anything else”: Dyer and Martin (1910:231).

  111 “Saw Pikes Peak. 160 miles away”: Henry Morton 1878 daybook, entry for July 18, 1878 [PSIT Box 3].

  111 “a big bridge for a small brook”: “Reminiscences,” by Hezekiah Bissell, p. 43 [WSA Microfilm H-36].

  112 cried “Hands up!”: Laramie Daily Sentinel, May 30, 1878, p. 4; Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil, May 31, 1878, p. 4; Laramie Daily Sentinel, June 11, 1878, p. 2.

  112 “Four Masked Men Clean Out”: Philadelphia Inquirer, May 31, 1878, p. 1.

  112 “The company will pay $1,112”: Laramie Daily Sentinel, June 4, 1878, p. 3.

  112 A posse soon captured the men: Cheyenne Weekly Leader, June 6, 1878, p. 1.

  112 final destination around midnight: New-York Times, July 26, 1878, p. 5; Barker (1878:104). Edison in later years recalled, incorrectly, that he had arrived in Rawlins at “about 4 P.M.” [Dyer and Martin (1910:227)].

  112 Superintendent Dickinson met the scientific party: J. J. Dickey to Edison [July 18, 1878] [TAED D7802ZSW1].

  113 “I will be at Rawlins on Sunday night”: Fox [to Draper?], [n.d.] [TAED D7802ZUD]. Fox likely sent this telegram on July 19, 1878, from Omaha, where he had stopped for a day or two. See Omaha Daily Bee, July 20, 1878, p. 4.

  113 “good fare and commodious rooms”: Carbon County News (Rawlins), July 13, 1878, p. 1 (advertisement).

  113 thirteen in all: Daily Independent (Laramie), Oct. 5, 1874, p. 3.

  113 jamborees, charity balls, and concerts: Laramie Daily Sentinel, April 17, 1875, p. 3; Laramie Daily Sun, Sept. 22, 1875, p. 4; Laramie Daily Sentinel, March 9, 1877, p. 4; Carbon County News (Rawlins), March 2, 1878, p. 1; Vivian (1879:323).

  113 stabbed a young man: Laramie Daily Sentinel, Aug. 19, 1876, p. 4.

  113 “the boss pistol-shot of the West”: As recalled by Edison in Dyer and Martin (1910:227). That Texas Jack made this statement rings true; see Burlington Daily Hawk-Eye, July 23, 1878, p. 8; Times (London), Aug. 27, 1878, p. 6.

  113 “The shot awakened all the people”: Edison in Dyer and Martin (1910:228). Edison made a similar statement in The New York Herald, May 7, 1916, First Section–Part 4, p. 5.

  113 Texas Jack was reportedly deep in debt: Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), Oct. 10, 1877, p. 2; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 17, 1878, p. 4.

  113 his marriage was suffering: Thorp (1957:90).

  113 “Both Fox and I were so nervous”: Dyer and Martin (1910:228). Edison seemed to recall that the encounter occurred on his first night in Rawlins, but that is not possible. He arrived with the Draper party the night of July 18. Fox reached Rawlins the night of July 21 [Laramie Daily Sentinel, July 22, 1878, p. 4]. Texas Jack did not get to town until the night of July 23 [Laramie Daily Sentinel, July 24, 1878, p. 4].

  114 “Rawlins Red”: “Lillian Heath, M. D.,” by Neal Miller, p. 13 [WSA Microfilm H-5]; Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, June 22, 1878, p. 1.

  114 “Rawlins presents to the curious eye”: Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Nov. 3, 1877, p. 138.

  114 lumberyard that moonlighted in coffins: Carbon County Journal (Rawlins), Feb. 28, 1880, p. 1 (advertisement).

  114 one-story stone structure with three small cells: Laramie Daily Sun, Sept. 27, 1875, p. 4.

  114 a horse thief and three of the four men: The horse thief was Richard Duff; the train robbers were W. A. Gibson, William Henry, and Dick Hill. See Cheyenne Weekly Leader, June 6, 1878, p. 1; “Jail Register, Carbon County, Wyoming Territory” [CCM]; Frye (1990:55–56).

  114 The fourth had turned state’s witness: This was John Thomas. See Laramie Daily Sentinel, June 4, 1878, p. 3; Frye (1990:56).

  114 “He looked like a ‘bad man’ ”: Dyer and Martin (1910:228).

  114 afternoon excursion to Brown’s Canyon: Henry Morton 1878 daybook, entry for July 22, 1878 [PSIT Box 3].

  114 from a merchant in Laramie: Receipt, “Ed. Dickinson Bought of Louis Miller,” July 20, 1878 [TAED D7807AA (image 11, bottom)].

  114 offered his house and yard: New-York Tribune, July 26, 1878, p. 8; Nature 18 (461), Aug. 29, 1878, p. 464; Galbraith (1922); Craig (1931:33).

  114 William Daley, a carpenter who owned the Rawlins lumberyard: Daily Independent (Laramie), Nov. 24, 1874, p. 3; Laramie Daily Sun, May 17, 1875, p. 4; Rawlins Republican, Sept. 28, 1922, p. 8; Bartlett (1918:144–49).

  115 Lillian Heath, an inquisitive twelve-year-old: “Lillian Heath, M. D.,” by Neal Miller, p. 11 [WSA Microfilm H-5].

  115 “to see the red man on his native heath”: Greeley Tribune, Aug. 7, 1878, p. 2.

  115 After the eclipse, he went camping: Laramie Daily Sentinel, Aug. 12, 1878, p. 4; Laramie Daily Sentinel, Aug. 13, 1878, p. 4.

  115 “The-chief-who-shoots-the-stars”: Harper’s Weekly, Oct. 25, 1879, p. 844.

  115 “You could throw a crumb of bread”: World (New York), Aug. 27, 1878, p. 1 [TAED SB032075a].

  115 barrel stave driven through his mouth: Dawson and Skiff ([1879]1980:56). For more on the background, unfolding, and aftermath of the Meeker Massacre and the Battle of Milk Creek, in which Major Thornburgh was killed, see Meeker ([1879]1976), M. D. Moody (1953), Emmitt ([1954]2000), Sprague (1957), M. E. Miller (1997), Decker (2004), Silbernagel (2011).


  117 in front of Fred Wolf’s saloon: Entry for “Parrot George” in “Jail Register, Carbon County, Wyoming Territory” [CCM].

  117 “some of the best people of the town”: Carbon County Journal (Rawlins), March 26, 1881, p. 4. Details of the lynching are from this article and from the coroner’s inquest of March 23, 1881 [WSA Parrott, George: RG1030, Carbon Co. Clerk of District Court, Series 07.01, Coroner’s Inquest].

  117 precociously assisted with the autopsy: Rawlins Daily Times, May 12, 1950, pp. 1 and 16; Rawlins Daily Times, May 13, 1950, p. 1; Denver Post, Aug. 28, 1955, Empire Magazine, p. 7; Montana: The Magazine of Western History, vol. 28, No. 1 (Winter 1978), p. 84; L. Brown (1995).

  118 fashioned into a pair of Oxfords: Rawlins Republican, Sept. 27, 1925, p. 1; Ridenour (2008). The shoes are on display at CCM.

  CHAPTER 11: QUEEN CITY

  119 three hospitals, eight banks: Corbett, Hoye and Co. (1878); “Thayer’s Map of Denver, Colorado,” 1879 [DPLWHC CG4314 .D4 1879 .T49].

  120 “Let the echo go out”: Denver Daily Times, May 20, 1872, p. 2.

  120 the owner of Denver’s successful Inter-Ocean Hotel: F. Hall (1895:440–41); Denver Post, Aug. 3, 1969, Empire Magazine, pp. 20–25.

  120 Chinatown-destroying riot: Wortman (1965).

  121 “Why, Coloradoans are the most disappointed”: Strahorn (1878:67).

  121 “Sir, Colorado can beat”: Times (London), Dec. 27, 1878, p. 8.

  121 “Tourists are coming into Denver”: Sunshine Courier, July 20, 1878, p. 2. See also Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 14, 1878, p. 4; Denver Daily Tribune, July 27, 1878, p. 4; Chicago Times, July 30, 1878, p. 1.

  121 bunked on a billiard table: Denver Daily Times, July 23, 1878, p. 4.

  121 judges, U.S. senators: Denver Daily Tribune, July 21, 1878, p. 4.

  121 petty thieves from New York: Laramie Daily Sentinel, July 26, 1878, p. 4.

  121 “thick as blackberries”: Vickers (1880:237).

  121 “A cannon shot fired in any direction”: Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), July 23, 1878, p. 2.

  121 arrived from stately Princeton: Details of the party and its activities are in Young (1878a); Ranyard (1881); C. G. Rockwood’s solar eclipse record book, 1878 [ASDR Box 7, Folder 8]; New-York Tribune, July 27, 1878, p. 2; Daily Rocky Mountain News, July 28, 1878, p. 4; Denver Daily Times, July 29, 1878, p. 4; Denver Daily Tribune, July 30, 1878, p. 4; The Princetonian, Oct. 10, 1878, pp. 83–84.

  122 Known affectionately to his students as “Twinkle”: Frost (1910:105).

  122 “We were all charmed with Prof. Young”: Sara Glazier Bates to Mrs. Hinchman, June 11, 1904 [MMM Reel 4, Item 34].

  123 Arthur Cowper Ranyard—stayed: Before departing England, Ranyard had received—and accepted—an invitation to join Charles Young’s camp at Denver. See Ranyard to Henry Draper, June 11, 1878 [HMAPDP]; Ranyard to Young, July 3, 1878 [CAYP Box 7].

  123 high school astronomy class: C. G. Rockwood’s solar eclipse record book, 1878, entry for “Wednesday 17th” [ASDR Box 7, Folder 8].

  123 Chief Colorow was, with reason, bitter: Silbernagel (2011:208–10).

  123 “The [Princeton] students were especially interested”: Rocky Mountain News (Denver), June 2, 1918, p. 12.

  124 “The eclipse will be total here”: Denver Daily Times, July 17, 1878, p. 2.

  124 “At the time of the eclipse the star Procyon”: Daily Rocky Mountain News, July 27, 1878, p. 4.

  124 “[I] will endeavor to show my patriotism”: James C. Pratt to Newcomb, July 1, 1878 [USNO-NA Entry 24, Box 6].

  125 invited volunteers to attend a class: Chicago Astronomical Society (1878); Denver Daily Times, July 26, 1878, p. 4; Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 26, 1878, p. 4; Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 27, 1878, p. 4; Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug. 2, 1878, p. 3; Chicago Times, Aug. 3, 1878, p. 2. Professions of class members found in Corbett, Hoye and Co. (1878).

  125 “Many persons went down to their graves”: Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 19, 1878, p. 2.

  125 “Wouldn’t it be an excellent idea”: Denver Daily Times, July 26, 1878, p. 1.

  126 “His name is Edison, the great inventor”: Denver Daily Tribune, July 25, 1878, p. 4.

  126 Rumors circulated that he would join the Princeton party: Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 10, 1878, p. 4.

  126 Denver Press Club planned a special reception: Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 9, 1878, p. 4.

  126 “After all the expectation”: Denver Daily Tribune, July 21, 1878, p. 4.

  126 “Mr. Edison is doubtless”: Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), June 30, 1878, p. 2.

  126 “hour after hour and day after day”: MMM Reel 4, Item 33. Transcribed in Kendall (1896:224).

  127 “One peculiarity in travelling from East to West”: Kendall (1896:57).

  127 “Thirty-three women and children”: Dall (1881:19).

  127 “at the expense of her future usefulness”: Van de Warker (1872:204). For more on women and nineteenth-century rail travel, see Richter (2005).

  127 “I am thirteen years old”: George M. Flick to Mitchell, Sept. 23, 1874 [MMM Reel 8, Item 68].

  128 fought in the courts and on the land: Athearn (1962).

  128 “We learned that there was a war”: MMM Reel 4, Item 33. Transcribed in Kendall (1896:226).

  128 The Denver & Rio Grande was refusing to carry: Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 6, 1878, p. 2.

  128 “[W]ar, no matter where or when”: MMM Reel 4, Item 33. Transcribed in Kendall (1896:226).

  128 Cora Harrison ’76 and Emma Culbertson ’77—who had arrived earlier: Denver Daily Tribune, July 24, 1878, p. 4.

  128 “This party adds peculiar interest”: Sun (New York), Aug. 4, 1878, p. 2.

  129 Colorado had considered a radical proposal: J. G. Brown (1898), B. B. Jensen (1973), Mead (2004).

  129 the indefatigable Susan B. Anthony: Gordon (1997:318–25).

  129 “How absurd and revolting”: Denver Daily Tribune, Jan. 23, 1877, p. 4. For more on Machebeuf, see Howlett ([1908]1954).

  129 “We must ‘keep pegging away’ ”: Woman’s Journal, Feb. 9, 1878, p. 45.

  130 the daughter of a New York abolitionist: Vickers (1880:306).

  130 “fear the physician”: Norris (1915:62).

  130 “I grind my teeth in despair over it”: Avery to Caroline Wells Healey Dall, Nov. 17, 1873 [CWHDP Reel 7 (Box 5, Folder 22)]. Also see J. W. Howe (1874:191–95).

  130 they pressed Vassar’s board: Booker (2007:322–26), Albers (2001:200–2).

  130 ten thousand dollars a year: Daily Graphic (New York), Oct. 25, 1877, p. 6 (vol. 14, p. 802).

  130 called upon to treat Josephine Meeker: Schurz et al. (1880:44).

  130 “Have you a bit of land”: MMM Reel 4, Item 33. Transcribed in Kendall (1896:224).

  130 gracious two-story home surrounded by a rose garden: Sweet (1894:637), Dall (1881:25).

  131 A frequent visitor was Helen Hunt Jackson: In diary entries from 1876 through 1878, Jackson recorded several visits to Avery’s house [HHJP Part 1, Ms 0020, Box 5].

  131 “[I]t is just lovely”: Gordon (1997:325). See also Harper (1899:493), and Anthony’s diary entries for Oct. 3–23, 1877 [SBAP Reel 2].

  131 “Homes of Single Women”: SBAP Reel 7.

  131 Avery now hosted the Vassar eclipse party: Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), July 28, 1878, p. 4; Daily Rocky Mountain News (Denver), Oct. 12, 1908, p. 4.

  132 the luggage containing the other tube and the lenses: MMM Reel 4, Item 33. Transcribed in Kendall (1896:225–26).

  CHAPTER 12: NATURE’S EDITOR

  133 “So many circumstances . . . have to be noted”: Smyth (1853:503).

  134 America’s foremost manufacturer of optical instruments: Warner and Ariail (1995).

  134 “[T]heir artistic execution is excellent”: Walker (1880:497). For more on Trouvelot and his drawings, see Trouvelot (1882), Corbin (2007).

  134 As he later tol
d Alvan Clark: Kirkland (1906:9).

  134 one of the most devastating insect invasions: Spear (2005).

  134 At Creston, life for Trouvelot, Clark: Details of camp life are in The New York Herald, July 30, 1878, p. 3 [OBSERVATIONS OF THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY PARTY IN WYOMING . . .]. This article was evidently written by William Harkness; see similar language in his eclipse report in USNO (1880:29–73).

  137 “a barren wilderness of sand”: Newcomb to his wife, July 21 [1878] [SNP Box 12]. Newcomb further described the camp, its activities, and setting in his eclipse report in USNO (1880:99–116) and in his 1878 eclipse expedition notebook [SNP Box 2].

  137 surveyors plotting the transcontinental railroad parted ways: Crofutt (1878:102), Shearer (1882–83:94).

  137 The rough building, sixteen feet long: New-York Tribune, July 26, 1878, p. 8. See also Barker (1878); Nature 18 (461), Aug. 29, 1878, pp. 462–64.

  137 “The preparations for observing”: New York Herald, July 29, 1878, p. 5 [TAED MBSB10799X].

  138 the Draper party took time out for an excursion: The Draper party’s visit to Separation occurred on Wednesday, July 24, as noted by Newcomb in his 1878 eclipse expedition notebook [SNP Box 2] and by Morton in his 1878 daybook [PSIT Box 3], although Morton miswrote, “Went to Division [rather than Separation] to see Prof. Newcomb.” Many years later, Edison vividly recalled the excursion [Dyer and Martin (1910:229–30)] but claimed, incorrectly, that it occurred two days before the eclipse; i.e. Saturday, July 27. J. J. Clarke (1929) also colorfully recounted the visit but miswrote that it occurred after the eclipse. Other descriptions on which this scene is based are in The World (New York), Aug. 27, 1878, p. 1 [TAED SB032075a]; Sun (New York), Aug. 29, 1878, p. 3 [TAED SB032060a]; Frank Leslie’s Budget, March 1888, p. 75; Rawlins Republican, Sept. 28, 1922, p. 8; Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock), Nov. 1, 1931, Features Section, p. 1. The day after the gathering at Separation, Newcomb wrote in a postcard to his wife: “Yesterday we were honored with a visit from the Rawlins party comprising Draper, Barker, Edison & Morton. Showed them how to eat lunch with a chisel and drink out of a tin dipper & wooden pail. Dined them in our best style.” [SNP Box 13]

  139 “Well, that’s one on me”: F. A. Jones (1908:303).