Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher (49 page)

“no earthly thing” without mortgage, Curtis letter to Hodge, September 18, 1908, Hodge
papers, Southwest Museum.

Film history, from
Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film,
edited by Ian Aitken, Routledge, 2005.

Description of Kwakiutl, from
NAI,
Vol. X.

Film company prospectus, and Curtis on documentary, in
Edward S. Curtis in the Land of the War Canoes,
by Bill Holm and George Irving Quimby, University of Washington Press, 1980.

Hunt background, from Curtis recollections in “As It Was,” and his description of
Hunt in
NAI,
Vol. X.

Details of Morgan’s death and funeral, from Strouse,
Morgan: American Financier.

Curtis’s future, and apprehension, from various Curtis letters to Leitch, SPL.

Curtis letter to Greene, April 6, 1913, Morgan Library archives.

13. MOVING PICTURES

Writings and descriptions of Coast Salish Indians, from
NAI,
Vol. IX.

Morgan tribute from Curtis, from
NAI,
Vol. X.

New agreement with Jack Morgan, from various Curtis letters to Leitch, SPL, and from
Strouse,
Morgan: American Financier.

Hopi, back in Arizona, from Curtis letter to Meany, undated, Meany papers.

Hopi, on how they’d changed, from
NAI,
Vol. XII.

Curtis on religion, from random writings, UW Library, Special Collections.

Curtis arguing his point on vanishing race, from lecture notes in Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian Project in the
Field.

Curtis citing Geronimo, from his autobiography, first published in 1906 as
Geronimo’s Story of His Life,
revised edition, Plume, 1996.

Curtis on Muhr, from his
NAI
tribute, Vol. X.

Muhr’s death, and comment on eternity, from
Seattle Times,
November 3, 1913.

Curtis on Kwakiutl women, from “As It Was.”

Curtis on gloomy Kwakiutl men, from
NAI,
Vol. X.

Hunt and missionaries anecdote, Curtis lecture in Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian Project in the
Field.

Curtis letter to Hodge, June 20, 1914, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Description of North Vancouver Island, from several of the author’s visits to the
island.

Film crew on Devil Rock at high tide, from a story Curtis told in “As It Was.”

Film’s run time, reels, tinting, posters, etc., from movie memorabilia on file at
Seattle Public Library.

Reviews, first two, in Holm and Quimby,
Edward S. Curtis in the Land of the War Canoes.

New York Times
appraisal of film’s merits, March 28, 1915.

New York Times review of opening, praising use of color, December 2, 1914.

Variety
review, December 25, 1914.

Mr. Skinner note to Curtis, December 14, 1914, from Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
review, December 6, 1914, written after a screening, before the opening.

Film gross, from later assessment in
Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
July 9, 2008.

Curtis letter to Hodge, December 10, 1914, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

“Nanook,” from Holm and Quimby,
Edward S. Curtis in the Land of the War Canoes.
This was based on Flaherty’s diary.

Nanook, from Flaherty’s own account,
www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm /bookshelf/23_rf1_2.htm
, and “Nanook,”
Wikipedia.org
.

Curtis sold rights for $1,500, from Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated.
In
Post-Intelligencer
article, July 9, 2008, the figure given is $1,000.

14. LOST DAYS

Divorce details, from
Curtis v. Curtis,
on file at King County courthouse, Seattle.

Destroyed letters, from
Edward S. Curtis—the Life and Times of a Shadow Catcher,
by Barbara A. Davis, Chronicle Books, 1985.

Divorce, headline and main news information,
Seattle Star,
October 6, 1916.

Quotes from Curtis’s grandson, James Graybill, on how divorce affected the children,
from author interview with Graybill, February 15, 2012.

Great War hurting sales, Curtis letter to Jack Morgan, August 2, 1915, Morgan Library
archives.

Descriptions of Makah, from
NAI,
Vol. XI.

Curtis quotes on history, baseball, from
NAI,
Vol. XI.

Letters between Curtis and Schwinke quoted in Holm and Quimby,
Edward S. Curtis in the Land of the War Canoes;
alas, the complete correspondence is now lost, according to the Burke Museum in Seattle.

Leslie’s
work, from Curtis letter to Meany, April 22, 1915, detailing the coming year, Meany
papers.

Myers letter to Hodge on Curtis and work trains in New Mexico, August 5, 1919, Hodge
papers, Southwest Museum.

Greene quote, from
The Incredible Pierpont Morgan: Financier and Art Collector,
by Cass Canfield, Harper & Row, 1974.

Cobb Building, from
HistoryLink.org
essay 7872.

Beth Curtis in charge of studio, details of fights between Clara and family, from
Curtis v. Curtis,
on file at King County courthouse, Seattle.

Smashed plates, as noted in later court papers on the divorce and legal proceedings
filed by Curtis’s creditors.

Death of T.R., from
Colonel Roosevelt,
by Edmund Morris, Random House, 2010.

Curtis letter to T.R., February 12, 1915, Roosevelt letters at Library of Congress.

Curtis in Hollywood, letter to Meany, January 25, 1922, Meany papers.

More Curtis in Hollywood, from “As It Was,” and Curtis’s account in letters to Leitch,
SPL.

Meany and his achievements, from a short biography of Meany at the start of the Meany
papers.

Meany letter to Curtis on Hill suggestion, December 11, 1921, Meany papers.

Curtis letter to Meany on Hill and Frenchman, January 25, 1922, Meany papers.

15. SECOND WIND

Population of California in 1920s, from census of 1920.

Indian population of California, over time, from
The Indian Heritage of America,
by Alvin Josephy, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1991.

Hopi, all from
NAI,
Vol. XII.

Population of San Francisco County and Trinity County, census of 1920.

Curtis and the whale. He told this story to his children, as Florence recorded in
her book,
Edward S. Curtis: Photographer of the North American Indian,
but there was no evidence of this. He never mentioned it in descriptions of his fieldwork
with the Kwakiutl.

Florence Curtis Graybill on “gentle sensitive father,” from the recollection in her
book. Also, being with her father, what he cooked, how he worked, from her remembrances
in the Graybill papers at UW, and in Boesen and Graybill,
Edward S. Curtis: Photographer of the North American Indian.

Adventures and pictures taken in northern California, from Florence, and from long
Curtis letter to Meany summarizing summer, October 8, 1922, Meany papers.

Curtis on treatment of Indians, letter to Meany, October 8, 1922, and in
NAI,
Vol. XIII.

Descriptions of Klamath, Crater Lake, northern California, from several visits to
the region by the author.

Tribal holdings shrinking, from Josephy,
The Indian Heritage of America.

Curtis speech on behalf of Indian Welfare League, from Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated.

Curtis letter to Meany, “hold a little faith,” February 22, 1924, Meany papers.

Curtis and Myers in New Mexico, based on Myers correspondence to Hodge in that year,
Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Matilda Coxe Stevenson takes issue with Curtis’s methods, detailed in excerpts of
letters in Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated.

Myers letter to Hodge, “pumped it dry,” November 1, 1925, Hodge papers, Southwest
Museum.

Descriptions of Alberta plains, from the author’s visit to the province.

Myers quits, letter from Myers to Curtis, no date, but quoted in an April 9, 1926,
letter from Curtis to Hodge, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Curtis on Myers, his work habits, from “As It Was.”

Curtis on relationship with Myers, “never had a word of discord,” from unpublished
Curtis memoir, “As It Was.”

Curtis letter to Hodge, “bolt of lightning,” April 9, 1926, Hodge papers, Southwest
Museum.

Curtis tribute to Myers, from
NAI,
Vol. XV.

Eastwood correspondence to Hodge, in Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated.

Description of Indian country in Oklahoma, from the author’s visit to Fort Sill and
surrounding area, where the Comanche were relocated.

Background on the fall of the Comanche, from
Empire of the Summer Moon,
by S. C. Gwynne, Simon & Schuster, 2010.

Myers letter to Hodge, no date, but received May 28, 1927, Hodge papers, Southwest
Museum.

Curtis letter to Hodge, Eastwood getting better, October 8, 1926, Hodge papers, Southwest
Museum.

Curtis letter to Hodge, “bum diplomat,” May 11, 1927, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Hodge letter to Curtis, “thin-skinned,” May 19, 1927, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Curtis letter to Hodge on weak material of the Comanche, December 7, 1927, Hodge papers,
Southwest Museum.

Myers letter to Hodge, “I wish I were going,” no date, but received on May 28, 1927,
Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

16. THE LONGEST DAYS

All quotations from Curtis log in Alaska on file at UW Library, Special Collections,
Curtis papers.

All Beth quotations from her log, Curtis papers.

Population figures on Nome, from census of 1920 and 1930. Personal observations of
Nome, from the author’s visit to the area.

Eastwood letter to Hodge on dirty Hooper Bay, August 1, 1927, Hodge papers, Southwest
Museum.

The rest of the journey, from Curtis log in Alaska, dates as noted in text.

The arrest of Curtis, details from
Seattle Times,
October 10, 1927.

More on Curtis’s arrest, from
Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
October 12, 1927.

Warrant and court papers, from
Curtis v. Curtis,
on file at King County courthouse, Seattle.

17. FIGHT TO THE FINISH

“Startling, if humiliating,”
Seattle Times,
October 10, 1927.

Clara in court, from
Curtis v. Curtis,
on file at King County courthouse, Seattle.

“shabby, hunched,” from
Post-Intelligencer,
October 12, 1927.

$2.5 million figure, from
Seattle Star,
October 12, 1927.

“one of those fanatical persons,”
Seattle Star,
October 12, 1927.

Curtis crying like a child, from Meany letter file, undated, appears to be from 1920s,
Meany papers.

Document ceding copyright, from Morgan Library archives. There are several documents
leading up to it, beginning in 1924. Also later, in a March 1, 1937, letter to a Mrs.
Gardner of Seattle, Curtis notes, “The negatives and the copyrights as a whole were
transferred to the NAI Inc., and passed completely from my hands,” this on file at
UW Library, Special Collections.

Curtis letter to Hodge on Christians and Indians, December 7, 1927, Hodge papers,
Southwest Museum.

Curtis letter to Hodge, lame hip, January 28, 1928, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Writings on Peyote Society,
NAI,
Vol. XIX.

Quote from Comanche chief Parker on peyote, from Gwynne,
Empire of the Summer Moon.

Writings on Eskimos, description of pictures, from Gwynne,
Empire of the Summer Moon.

Curtis letter to Hodge, “my bed,” February 20, 1930, Hodge papers, Southwest Museum.

Meany letter to Curtis, January 15, 1932, Meany papers.

Curtis letter to Greene, from Morgan Library archives, April 20, 1932.

18. TWILIGHT

All of Leitch, from correspondence between Leitch and Curtis, SPL.

Letter from Curtis to Meany, down but not out, January 19, 1932, Meany papers.

Death of Clara J. Curtis, from
Seattle Times,
October 22, 1932.

Clara hiding letters from Katherine, as alleged in divorce files,
Curtis v. Curtis,
on file at King County courthouse, Seattle.

Family reunion at Thanksgiving, from Boesen and Graybill,
Edward S. Curtis: Photographer of the North American Indian.

Last letters from Curtis to Meany, May 12, August 13 and August 18, 1934, Meany papers.

Meany summary of his life achievements, from
HistoryLink.org
essay 7885.

Sale of
NAI
by Morgan to Lariat, from archival notes in Morgan Library.

Movie
The Plainsman,
from single Curtis mention of it in undated letter, reprinted in Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated.

The curious Mrs. Gardner letter, undated, and Curtis’s reply to her, March 1, 1937,
from UW Library, Special Collections.

Notes on Asahel Curtis, from
HistoryLink.org
essay 8780.

Myers’s death, from Gidley,
Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated.

Death of Belle da Costa Greene, burning of personal papers, from Ardizzone,
An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege.

Seattle Times
obituary of Curtis, October 21, 1952.

New York Times
obituary of Curtis, October 20, 1952.