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The hammer and the horn
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Impossible to forget : the Nazi camps fifty years after
Rare Books
"Michael Kenna photographed Nazi concentration and extermination camps from 1988 to 2000, subsequently donating all negatives, prints and their respective rights to the French Government and the Caen Memorial. Kenna first visited the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France in 1986. Two years later he returned, still marked by the initial emotional impact, no doubt the key to his decision to develop a project about the Holocaust. Since then, he has repeatedly returned to Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Lublin-Majdanek, Ravensbruck, Buchenwald and many other camps to photograph their restless emptiness. Overwhelmed by the abomination of the gas chambers and by the inexpressible suffering of the victims, Kenna wanted to share a memory that he found impossible to forget. Knowing that a work of art can be an invitation to meditation, he went to the concentration camps to photograph what they had become: sites of contemplation. The photographs in 'Impossible to Forget' are directly opposed to the evil that continues to live in the camps, to nihilism and to revisionism; they are bearers of peace and compassion"--Publisher's description.
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![Reminiscences of John Langston [microform] : 1877](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Frail.huntington.org%2FIIIF3%2FImage%2F22APN451J7E5%2Ffull%2F%5E360%2C%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=750&q=75)
Reminiscences of John Langston [microform] : 1877
Manuscripts
Microfilm of the autobiography of John Langston, covering his childhood through 1875. Langston recalls growing up in England and briefly moving to the United States before his father's interests failed and the family returned to England. Langston worked at iron works in Staffordshire and Wales before returning to the United States at the age of sixteen. He writes of working at iron works in New Jersey and Pittsburgh, and of spending the early 1840s looking for work in Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. He eventually got hired as a steamer fireman in St. Louis and settled in Independence, Missouri, in 1844. Langston then describes a serious illness he suffered and his subsequent decision to join the Carmelite Church. He briefly covers his time in California, his journey to Council Bluffs, and his decision to join the Mormon Church after much internal debate over the practice of polygamy. After briefly writing of his overland journey to Utah, Langston focuses on the Utah War of 1857-1858, including his time in the Alpine militia at Echo Canyon. He believed that the U.S. Army was "sent out ... with the intent of hanging and killing all the leading Mormons." The last few pages of the volume trace Langston's move to Rockville and his cotton growing experiences through about 1875.
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![A life sketch of Ida Frances Hunt Udall [microform]: 1941, July](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Frail.huntington.org%2FIIIF3%2FImage%2F22APN45RQ0TQ%2Ffull%2F%5E360%2C%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=750&q=75)
A life sketch of Ida Frances Hunt Udall [microform]: 1941, July
Manuscripts
Microfilm typescript of Pauline Udall Smith's biography of her mother, Ida Frances Hunt Udall (1858-1915). Ida was born at Hamilton's Fort near Cedar City, Utah, and was a granddaughter of Jefferson Hunt and Addison Pratt. She lived in San Bernardino, California, as a child before returning to Beaver, Utah, at the age of 5. Smith's account traces Ida's childhood, including notes on her schooling and her family's move to Savoia, one of the settlements at Little Colorado, Arizona. Her father was appointed bishop of Snowflake in the late 1870s, and Ida lived with her grandmother in Beaver, Utah, until 1880. Pauline writes that on returning to Arizona with the Jesse N. Smith Company Ida was inspired to pursue a life of polygamous marriage. She taught school in Taylor and Snowflake, Arizona, until meeting Bishop David K. Udall (1851-1938) in 1881. He offered her a position at the St. Johns cooperative store, and she became his plural wife in 1882. Smith's account describes how Ida, along with her sister-in-law Eliza Tenney and Catherine and Annie Romney, were forced to flee after her brother-in-law Ammon Tenny was arrested for polygamy. Polygamy charges were brought against David Udall in 1884, but were dropped as Ida could not be found to testify. In 1885 he was indicted for perjury in a case involving a land claim, and sentenced to 3 years in the Detroit House of Corrections (he was released by presidential pardon in December 1885). Smith describes the difficulty of the situation for Ida, and her unsettled life in Eagar, Snowflake, St. Johns, and finally Hunt, Arizona, following her husband's release. Included are the typescripts of several letters sent by Ida to David Udall.
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![Letters of Hiram Dwight Pierce and related documents [microform] : 1849-1850](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Frail.huntington.org%2FIIIF3%2FImage%2F22APN4SEFHYT%2Ffull%2F%5E360%2C%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=750&q=75)
Letters of Hiram Dwight Pierce and related documents [microform] : 1849-1850
Manuscripts
Microfilm of typescript letters from Hiram Dwight Pierce to his wife Sarah Jane Palmer, letters from Sarah to Hiram, notes from the Geneva Gazette, portions of Pierce's 1850 diary, and biographical notes and anecdotes by his grandson. The first few frames are of extracts of the Geneva Gazette from 1848-1849 recounting gold digging in California, specifically mentioning the Ontario Trojan Band and the Rensselaer County Exploring Company. The next portion of the film is entitled "Letters of a Forty-Niner, Hiram Dwight Pierce of Troy, N.Y. to his wife, Sarah Jane Pierce." The letters, written from March 1849-October 1850, recount Pierce's experiences traveling to California and digging for gold in the Maricopa area. Pierce gives detailed descriptions of sailing along the coast of Florida to Havana on the mail steamer Falcon; of stopping in New Orleans; of departing Chagres, Panama, on the steamer Orus, traveling across the Isthmus, and staying for several weeks in Panama while waiting for the Falcon to return (he eventually sailed to San Francisco on the Sylph in late July); of his stay in San Francisco, where he reflected on his religious convictions and noted the plurality of cultures around him ("You cannot name a County or an Island that is represented with all their peculiarity of dress and custom," he wrote to Sarah, "Some of them most ridiculous in the extreme"); mining for gold at Mormon Island in August 1849; going to Maricopa in January 1850 ("I have felt very uneasy about being 7 1/2 months from home and yet having done nothing for myself worth naming," he lamented); of gold mining at Washington Flat and Long Canyon; and of returning to San Francisco in October 1850 and planning his voyage home. The next portion of the microfilm is entitled "Letters of Sarah Jane Pierce to her Husband, Hiram D. Pierce," and includes several letters Sarah sent to Hiram from May 1849-August 1850, mostly recounting conditions at home. The "Story of Grandfather's Diary" by Pierce's grandson Warren Travell (son of his eldest daughter Elvira) gives biographical notes on Pierce, an account of finding his diary, and an anecdote on Pierce's homecoming in 1851. The "Diary of H.D. Pierce" is incomplete, and although it includes some brief daily entries from about 1850, it mainly consists of extracts such as the prices of goods in California ("Forty-Niner Prices") and a list of people named in the original diary. The microfilm ends with an 1849 letter from Geneva Gazette writer George R. Parburt (who went by the pseudonym LUOF) to Gazette editor S.H. Parker, which recounts Parburt's voyage of the ship Sylph and a brief account by physician James L. Tyson of conditions in the gold fields in 1850.
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Johnson County War Collection
Manuscripts
The collection consists of primary and secondary source material on the Johnson County War of 1892, focusing on and around the town of Buffalo, Wyoming. It includes manuscripts related to the Johnson County invasion, alleged cattle rustling, the death of George Wellman and the case against Thomas Hathaway, the 1892 fire at Fort McKinney, and various financial and social issues facing Johnson County in the 1890s. The original material includes correspondence, legal papers, Pinkerton's National Detective Agency reports, newspaper clippings, and some photographs. The secondary material consists of essays, articles, and ephemera relating to Wyoming history. Charles H. Burritt Correspondence Box 1 contains the correspondence of Charles H. Burritt, including 47 letters to Fred G.S. Hesse dated January 1892 to February 1893; 6 letters to attorneys John Lacey and Willis Van Devanter dated June 1892; 11 letters to Van Devanter dated July 1892; 2 letters to W.R. Stoll (1892); and a 79-page typescript of letters to various correspondents including C.N. Potter, H.R. Mann, M.C. Brown, J.W. Blake, S.M. Allen, and Henry B. Blair (1892). The letters focus on the Johnson County invasion and subsequent trial; the fire and alleged theft of weapons by rustlers at Fort McKinney; the death of George Wellman and the investigation of Thomas Hathaway; the financial situation in Buffalo; the elections of 1892; and various criminal trials, including those for cattle theft. Some of the letters are facsimiles (see the container list for more information). Some notable items include: A letter to Hesse mentioning the illness of Frank M. Canton's wife and the death of his daughter (1892, Jan.26). Photocopies of letters to Hesse describing the boycott of Burritt's businesses and his fear of assassination (1892, May). A letter describing the upcoming trial of Frank Canton and other Johnson County defendants, including an "attempt made to avoid the provisions of the constitution of the State of Wyoming" in illegally calling in debts and a certificate of indebtedness for $12,000.00 that was to be transferred to Robert Foote "as security for expenses incurred in the case" as soon as "it shall be decided what Co. the case of the State against Canton and the others is to be tried in" (1892, July 18) A letter describing the trial of Robert C. Dalton and Moise Ganyon, who were accused of killing a T.A. Ranch steer. Burritt writes that "I never wanted to go into the trial of a case so badly in my life," but as an election was approached he was advised to "stay in the background and instruct the officers…as to what they should do…In the circle of parties where the knowledge as to the real author of the case will do the most good, the facts are sufficiently known." He writes that the "plan worked better than I anticipated" because of the "bungling" of the prosecution and the defense, and that "it made [Sheriff William "Red"] Angus so mad to see the poor work that [Johnson County attorney Alvin] Bennett was doing" that he vowed to work against him in the next election. "I have had hard work to keep Angus in line," concludes Burritt, "and I believe that the money I have expended in this case has been well spent" (1892, Nov.2). A letter to Hesse in which Burritt laments his circumstances, wondering "what I shall do to be saved." He writes that he can no longer live in Buffalo "unless there is a change," and that the "blasted jury are now going in the opposite extreme – are convicting everyone whether there is evidence or not." The recent elections had caused Burritt to be appointed as a criminal defense attorney, which he said he would not do except in the case of "a soldier for shooting a nigger Barney" and Ira E. Walker for killing the desperado Hank Lovett (1892, Nov.17). A letter to Hesse in which Burritt records that he has almost "gone broke," and that "it is enough to break a man's heart to see the places of so many good men filled by the 'scum of the Earth' and pure 'dead-beats' after the election. "We must have a 'snich' when we go down after a man for stealing cattle," Burritt writes, "a case where the jury are obliged to convict even against their will" (1892, Dec.22). A letter to Hesse in which he describes discussions with John Nolan, who wished to bring charges against the "stock men" for the "destruction" of the T.A. Ranch during the Johnson County invasion. Burritt refused to take the case and hoped that with Hesse "some steps might be taken to prevent the bringing of this suit." He warned Hesse to "head Nolan off" as soon as possible since some in Johnson County were willing to support the suit "for the purpose of keeping alive the recent troubles in this vicinity" (1893, Feb.25). A letter to John Lacey and Willis Van Devanter noting that a mass meeting did not materialize and that any resolutions supposedly coming from Johnson County citizens were "Bogus" (1892, June 24). A letter to Lacey and Van Devanter noting that indictments had been brought against Dr. Charles Penrose for first degree murder and against Frederick W. Coats for burglary with intent to commit a felony, although "there are no informations against any of the stockmen for arson" (1892, June 27). A letter to W.R. Stoll reporting that Burritt had been receiving death threats (1892, Sep.14). A series of letters to Willis Van Devanter describing the fire and alleged weapon theft at Fort McKinney, beginning with Burritt sending Lieutenant Gray to Fort Russell to report the fire at Fort McKinney (1892, July 22). Burritt writes of getting a confession from Private Andrew Keiser, a blacksmith in Troop H, 6th Cavalry, "which implicates a large number of soldiers and also a large number of citizens" in the alleged theft of weapons from the Fort (1892, July 23). After visiting Fort McKinney, Burritt writes "it looks now as if we had unearthed the most diabolical plot that was ever conceived by mortals," and that he hoped to convict Robert Foote and Henry Smith for supposedly engineering a plot to "blow up a building at Fort McKinney," and "in that way make away with all the stockmen at once." Burritt claims Smith paid Keiser $500 to blow up the Fort's bath house with dynamite (1892, July 24). Further investigations into the incident yielded "disclosures" that "bring out some irregularities also in the Q.M. Department and place the A.A.G.M. in a rather critical light and incidentally involves some of our best friends. There is nothing so far actually criminal but they are very unpleasant irregularities and I am mich afraid that these things are helping to shield Robert Foote so that we can not make a case against the old scamp" (1892, July 26). A 79-page typescript of letters to W.R. Stoll and others include frequent references to Burritt's desire to "start an undercurrent of opposition to cattle thieves and so far as possible…divert public opinion from the recent invasion" (1892, May 8). General CorrespondenceBox 2 contains general correspondence related to the Johnson County invasion, the death of George Wellman, the financial situation in Buffalo, and various political and social events. There are also several threatening notes allegedly sent by cattle rustlers, as well as 20th century correspondence regarding Wyoming history. Correspondents include Frank Canton, Joseph M. Carey, Fred G.S. Hesse, Frank A. Kemp, G.W. Munkres, and O.P. Witt. Some notable items include: 8 letters from Senator Joseph M. Carey to Louis Kirk dated 1892, and which include questions on the origins of the Johnson County invasion ("Nobody understands the purpose and object of the Cattlemen…Why did they go to Buffalo or start there?....What were they trying to do?...How could the people of Johnson County feel otherwise than they did?...Everybody got crazy. Such conditions always suit men like Angus and Kimball. They prefer anarchy to law and order"); the potential implementation of martial law ("I had made it as plain as I possibly could in my previous letters. The government of the United States has nothing to do with martial law in the State…"); and his annoyance that his suggestions were not being carried out in Wyoming and that he was being blamed for the lack of action ("I understand…that I receive lots of abuse from [the cattlemen] confined at Ft. Russell, as if it were in my power to do anything except upon an actual statement of facts"). A letter from W.H. Haynes to Fred G.S. Hesse in which in write of Buffalo: "I tell you…that this country is in a hell of a fix. A man is not safe to spit" (May 20, 1892). 7 letters from Fred W. Hesse (son of Fred G.S. Hesse) to Jena Carey (widow of Joseph M. Carey) dated 1965-1967, in which Hesse criticizes the books on Johnson County written by Marie Sandoz and Helen Huntington Smith, which he describes as "disgusting to me because I put in so much time trying to get a little sense into her ignorant idea of what this country was like" (June 1, 1966). 7 letters from Frank A. Kemp to Fred G.S. Hesse dated 1892. Kemp laments the lack of action in Buffalo ("I don't see how the hell we can do anything, as…the opinion is so strong against violent measures…I don't see the…use in declaring martial law, or calling out the troops, without they are willing to do what the late expedition failed in doing…exterminate the rusters" (May 24, 1892) and the handling of the cattle situation ("we have been fooled by a lot of politicians…I have been furious at the way in which this cattle trouble has been handled. The childishness and duplicity displayed by our great men makes me so mad that I hate to speak, think, or write about it…" (June 30, 1892). Notes from alleged cattle rustlers, including those to William Irvine ("We will give you 30 days to leave this country and if you don't we will get you") and the "hired girl at Whitcomb's place" ("You are warned and will not be notified again…warn them at your peril!"). A letter from Frank M. Canton from his father-in-law W.H. Wilkerson, in which he writes of "the indignities the people that have taken no part in this affair have been subjected to [for being related to the invaders]. Women have been insulted [and] men have been slapped in the face…" (Apr.17, 1892). A letter from an unknown correspondent to Frank Canton informing him of the death of George Wellman and the story of Tom Hathaway (May 10, 1892). Legal Statements and Documents Box 3 consists of witness statements, legal documents, and other papers related to events in Johnson County in 1892. Notable items include statements made by Henry E. Johnson and Andrew Keiser at Fort McKinney regarding their participation in the alleged dynamite plot (1892); various statements made by invasion participants Ben Jones and William Walker, including affidavits taken after their arrival in Rhode Island (1892); statements in the death of George Wellman made by Mary Linville, William Linville, Austin B. Read, Ed Morse, and W.P. Ricketts, as well as maps and testimony by Thomas Hathaway; and various witness lists for the prosecution in the dynamite plot, Wellman murder trial, and cases vs. Robert Foote, John Hill, and Frank Smith. Pinkerton Reports Box 4 contains reports from Pinkerton National Detective Agency field agents sent to W.R. Stoll between June and November of 1892. All of the reports are signed by William A. Pinkerton. The reports include: 38 reports from agent M.E. Cox, who posed as a physician in Buffalo while gathering information on the cattle invasion. Cox noted that "my bearing served as a guarantee of friendship to rustlers," while his position as a physician made him privy to a variety of personal information on the private lives of Buffalo's citizens. He reports on public opinion (including a great deal of information gleaned from local prostitutes), summarizes newspaper reports, reports on a recent railroad survey, and writes of the uneasiness in Buffalo caused by the presence of U.S. Marshals. Cox also reports from Portland, Custer, and Sheridan, Wyoming. 5 reports from agent J.C. Frazer, who gathered information on various individuals and proceedings regarding Johnson County in Denver, Las Vegas, and Clayton, New Mexico. 51 reports from agent T.H. Hale, a deputy U.S. Marshal working in Buffalo and Suggs, Wyoming. Hale reports on getting acquainted with alleged rustlers at roundups, staking out John A. Tisdale's ranch for "armed men," and tracking outlaws Frank Smith, Charles Taylor, and Ed Starr (who were suspects in the murder of Marshal George Wellman), including a near shootout with Long and Starr and the capture of their accomplice Jack Long, who escaped from jail a few days later (July 23, 1892). Hale writes that despite such setbacks the Marshals would "devise some means of getting at the men we want," and to "try and not get murdered" in the process. Notes, Essays, and Miscellaneous Manuscripts Box 5 contains miscellaneous notes and essays on Fred G.S. Hesse, John A. Tisdale, the Fetterman Massacre, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Hole-in-the-Wall, and general Wyoming history; a bound copy of Asa Mercer's "The Banditti of the Plains" (1894); a resolution in the Wyoming Derrick Extra (May 3, 1892) by the people of Natrona County condemning the invasion of Johnson County and calling Governor Amos W. Barber's apparent knowledge of the act "treasonous;" a photograph of Fred W. Hesse at a rodeo in Buffalo (1913) and a reproduction of a photograph of the T.A. Ranch; and various research notes, ephemera, and photographs of "Uncle Jim" and Johnson County in a binder belonging to Jena Carey, among other items. Publications and Printed Ephemera Box 6 contains copies of various Western history and news magazines (c.1960s-1970s), 14 copies of The Westerners Brand Book (1948-1952), pamphlets by Herbert O. Brayer and Charles B. Penrose, and various other pamphlets related to Wyoming travel and history. Newspapers and Newspaper ClippingsBox 7 contains newspapers and newspaper clippings on Johnson County history, and primarily date from the 1940s-1960s. Included is a 1960s series of articles on 1890s Buffalo from the Buffalo Bulletin. Photocopies of Articles Box 8 contains photocopies of essays and articles on Johnson County and Wyoming history by Herbert O. Brayer, J. Elmer Brock, Frank Canton, Arthur Chapman, Jack Flagg, and others. Subjects include the death of George Wellman, the Johnson County war, and cattleman Moreton Frewen. Tape Recordings Box 9 contains cassette and reel to reel tapes recordings of interviews with Garvin Taylor, Fred Hesse, Bill Brock, Kay Hibdon, and J.L. Night. These items may be inaccessible. Please contact the appropriate curator. Oversize The collection includes one oversize roll containing photostats of the Cheyenne Weekly Sun from 1892.
mssJohnsonCountyWar