My daughter spends many weeks during her summer salmon fishing on Alaska’s Bristol Bay tides. I enjoy hearing about the sights she sees while working: foxes living under her box-car cabin, cubs playing on the arctic tundra, seals frolicking in the water trying to steal her hard earned catch, even bloated whales laying in the sand. When she tells me this I immediately think about the one author that personally experienced the images I associated with Alaska - Jack London, albeit his adventures took him deep into Canada’s Yukon Territory. As a teenager I fell in love with Call of the Wild and White Fang, both stories that take place in the Yukon Territory. Before my daughter left that first summer, I read his realistic and prophetic short story “To Build a Fire” and it terrified me… I had visions of my daughter’s dry suite ripping, her clothes soaking in salt water, and then her freezing to death. How would she survive? Jack London left the Yukon Territory scarred for life: the loss of his four front teeth from scurvy, chronic pains that gnawed at his leg muscles, and a permanently marked face from frost bite. Just envision the image I had of what my daughter would look like when she returned home! But alas, she calmed my nerves with the reality of her circumstances which included camp-cooked meals, warm and protected sleeping quarters, and close to a thousand miles west of the Yukon Territory versus that of London’s dire circumstances. Although I would love to visit Alaska by way of the Yukon Territory (traveling there tops my bucket list) and honor Jack London’s writing legacy, there is an alternative to frostbite…
Situated along the waterfront in the crowded Port of Oakland, California still stands Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon, built in 1883 from the timbers of a whaling ship. It is within these walls that a studious ten-year old Jack London sat at the tables and read, that as an eager young man he sipped his last John Barleycorn (his moniker for alcohol) before boarding his sloop to pirate oysters and gulped his first spirit after returning to maintain the manly camaraderie with the salty bar patrons, that as an envious adventurer he met and listened to Alexander McClean’s whaling stories, and that as the dedicated writer he penned notes for his upcoming works of art – including his novel Sea Wolf – a psychological adventure at sea, which Jack took inspiration from McClean to create the hellish and amoral main character Wolf Larson. With this much history with the old pub, it is no wonder it is even now known as Jack London’s Rendezvous. After enjoying your choice of John Barleycorn within these rustic walls that haven’t changed in over 100 years, step outside to absorb the other sites honoring London. On the square as if guarding this historic pub, stands a statue of a grey wolf which could represent Buck from Call of the Wild or White Fang from his namesake novel. Catch him in the right light and you’d swear he has caught the scent of a delicious meal. He has left a trail of his paw-prints for you to find your way to the recreated cabin that London occupied while living in the Yukon Territory. By peering into the window you can imagine London heating his water for meals on the crude stove, sitting at the basic wooden table determining his actions for the day, or snuggling beneath the furs on the rudimentary bed trying to stay warm as the Yukon wind whispered through the cracks between the cabin’s log walls. Continue to follow the paw-prints and they’ll bring you to Jack London himself… at least a bronze statue of him. Take a moment to observe him and you’ll think that the artist has caught him in the act of begging you to come hither, as if saying “follow me and I’ll lead you on an adventure you’ll never forget.” I did follow him; I followed him as a teenager by reading Buck and White Fang’s journeys, I followed him as an adult when I read Sea Wolf, and I plan to continue to follow him because he created unforgettable adventures about discovery – discovery about yourself and nature. So when the sounds of the city become overbearing, pick up a London novel and he’ll lead you on an adventure over land or sea so that you too can discover your call of the wild.
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While exploring the Denver area of Colorado, I’d like to say that I came across this interesting museum, but one can’t simply “come across” this site. You have to drive miles on this winding road consistently increasing in altitude leading to Lookout Mountain – and it’s appropriately named too. Views in one direction overlook the Denver valley and views in the other direction span across beautiful snow-covered Rocky Mountains. And I’m sure that hundreds of mountaintop views exist throughout this magnificent part of our country, but why does this one mountaintop have a museum housed there? It is the burial site of “Buffalo Bill.” Now I’m not referencing Jame Gumb, aka Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs who earned his nickname from skinning his victims like one would a buffalo hide; although I’m sure his type of museum exist somewhere in the world, looking at serial killer memorabilia does not hold any particular interest for me. No, I’m talking about the symbol of the American West – William F. Cody. After witnessing these same breath-taking views himself, he told his wife to bury him there. And amidst much controversy, she did.
But before visiting his gravesite, to truly appreciate his legacy, I stepped into the museum that honors his accomplishments. William Cody, who after supplying the Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat in 1867 became known as “Buffalo Bill,” lived a life donning many figurative hats in addition to the broad-brimmed Stetson he often wore. At the age of eleven he took a job as a “boy extra” with a freight carrier delivering messages on horseback up and down the track. At fourteen he started riding for a Pony Express affiliate. At the age of seventeen, he enlisted as a Private in the Union Army. The army kept him busy scouting for Indians, fighting several battles and as a hunting guide for worldly dignitaries. Seeing Cody’s talent with a gun, author Ned Buntline wrote a dime novel about “Buffalo Bill” which was then converted into a theatrical production. Later Buntline convinced twenty-six year old Cody to star in this production in Chicago. Audiences immediately loved Buffalo Bill, and Buffalo Bill enjoyed the limelight. In the mid-1880s Buffalo Bill created his own “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” and some version of this show (usually growing more and more extravagant) continued across the United States and even Europe until 1913. Our great-grandparents probably donned Buffalo Bill’s persona (and young girls donned his fellow star Annie Oakley’s persona) and pretended to “shoot ‘em up” and showcase their rifle-handling abilities. After all, this is what made Cody famous. So why am I interested in him for The Literary Hive? He was also a writer! Yep, during his mid-thirties through his early forties, Buffalo Bill, desiring to reach a broader demographic to pull in larger crowds for shows, wrote dime novel stories about the Great American West. And although the literacy rate had increased around this time, the working class didn’t have time to leisurely read long novels. They enjoyed these quick reads which did what Buffalo Bill desired and piqued their interest so that when his show came to town, he performed to sold-out audiences. And since the stories in dime novels were often serialized and repeated, he maintained their interests so that he’d have repeat audience members when his show returned. Great marketing on his part. So as I walk through the museum, founded by his foster son and fellow star, Johnny Baker, I am in awe of the elaborate western costumes he worn and the well-worn leather saddle he rode in during performances, his favorite rifle a Springfield Model 1866 which he called Lucretia Borgia, the hundreds of cities where he toured with his show, the diversity of the performers which included Native Americans and women. This one man influenced every American president from Grant to Wilson when they consulted him on matters of the American West. This one man not only inspired great Americans such as writer Mark Twain, artist Frederic Remington, and composer Antonin Dvorak, but also other world-renowned greats such as Italian librettist Giacomo Puccini and Irish author Bram Stoker. Imagine these without the influence of Buffalo Bill. And it is with this new appreciation that I step up to his gravesite and give this legend a moment of silence that he deserves. For me, it’s not because of his awesome gunmanship, but for his desire and ability to bring the American West alive through literature and entertainment for everyone. Although it may be difficult if not impossible to find copies of Buffalo Bill’s dime novel stories online because libraries and museums house most of them (like the copy of “Death Trailer, The Chief of Scouts or Life and Love in the Frontier Fort” (1878) which his museum proudly displays), Northern Illinois University is addressing this challenge by constantly uploading digital images of these rare literary treats. Lose yourself in the Great American West with one or two epochal dime novel stories at http://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu. Buffalo Bill’s Dime Novel Stories: Death Trailer, The Chief of Scouts or Life and Love in a Frontier Fort (1878) Gold Bullet Sport or the Knights of the Overland (1879) The Pilgrim Sharp or the Soldier’s Sweetheart (1883) Texas Jack, The Prairie Rattler or the Queen of the Wild Riders (1883) Wild Bill, The Whirlwind of the West (1884) The One-Armed Pard or Red Retribution in Borderland (1886) The Wizard Brothers or White Beaver’s Trail (1886) White Beaver, The Exile of the Platte or A wrong Man’s Red Trail (1886) Red Renard the Indian Detective or the Gold Buzzards of Colorado (1886) The Dead Shot Nine or My Pards of the Plains (1890) The Gold King or Montebello the Magnificent (1891) |
AuthorLet me introduce myself. I am Julie Blasofsel. While teaching high school English for the past dozen years, my appreciation for works of literature increased after visiting several locations associated with the authors and their texts. You can't help but feel the presence of Ralph Waldo Emerson as you stand on the shores of Walden pond, the despair of Henry Longfellow as you stand in his house, the loneliness of Edgar A. Poe as you descend into his walled basement, the candor of Samuel Clemons as you reach his men-only study. My goal is to gather information and relate my experiences about these places of literary significance in this literary hive. Please add your literary travel experiences and recommendations. Together we can bring these authors to life and light the flame of passion for reading in others. Enjoy! Archives
October 2018
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