Kansas Historical Quarterly
The Pictorial Record of the Old West
I. Frenzeny and Tavernier
by Robert Taft
February, 1946 (Vol. 14 No. 1), pages 1 to 35.
Transcribed by lhn;
digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
IN beginning this series, it seems advisable to
consider how we can determine the value of a picture as a document or a record of
the past. Doubtless no one will question that pictorial records are important,
although professional historians in general have not often made them a matter of
serious study. In fact, the most surprising circumstance is that many historians,
professionals and amateurs alike, who are most meticulous about documenting their
written manuscripts with source notes and arguments, use illustrations without
the least attempt at documenting the source or the authenticity of the
illustrations used. This practice is so common that it seems invidious to single
out any one case for criticism.
Of the various types of illustrations available
in modern times for the historian's use, the photograph is regarded by the author
as the most important and I have treated it at length elsewhere. [1]
This
series of articles deals with the work of the artist, i. e., the illustrator or
painter, as he has left us a pictorial record of the past. The past which is here
re-presented is chiefly that of the plains and the Rocky Mountain area, although
an occasional excursion will be made to the region still farther west. Further,
the time period considered will be restricted to the nineteenth century, a
century which saw the development and the disappearance of our Western frontier.
The type of hand-executed picture with which we shall concern ourselves is that
which is of interest to the social historianrealistic scenes from everyday life
of the past and usually called by the artistic profession "genre" drawings or
paintings, as distinguished from purely portrait, still life, or landscape
work.
(1)
2 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
From the standpoint of merit these pictures
portraying the life and growth of the old West, may be divided into several
groups according to the standard of evaluation used:
(1) Illustrations, sketches, drawings,
paintings, made by eyewitnesses of a given scene; (2) illustrations that are
imaginary but which have been made by contemporary artists who have observed and
studied the environment, the characters, and the incidents depicted; (3)
illustrations made by modern artists who have based their work on study of
contemporary literature and pictures, either hand executed or photographic (this
group lies outside the present study) ; (4) and lastly, illustrations made by
contemporary artists which are purely imaginary with little utilization of fact
or study. All of these various types may have value but for present purposes they
are ranked in importance in the order given. Of course, it should be realized
that the artist, unlike the photographer, frequently selects, excludes, and
introduces detail at his discretion for the purpose of giving unity and emphasis
to the subject depicted. Such artists, chiefly those included in the second of
the above groups, can produce pictorial records of very real value if they convey
the impressions of the place and time that are the contemporary prevailing ones.
Thomas Moran, well known for his landscapes of the West in the period we are
considering, has discussed this point and it is worth repeating here:
I place no value upon literal transcripts from
Nature. My general scope is not realistic; all my tendencies are toward
idealization. Of course, all art must come through Nature: I do not mean to
depreciate Nature or naturalism; but I believe that a place, as a place, has no
value in itself for the artist only so far as it furnishes the material from
which to construct a picture. Topography in art is valueless. The motive or
incentive of my Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was the gorgeous display of color
that impressed itself upon me. Probably no scenery in the world presents such a
combination. The forms are extremely wonderful and pictorial, and, while I
desired to tell truly of Nature, I did not wish to realize the scene literally
but to preserve and to convey its true impression. Every form introduced into the
picture is within view from a given point, but the relation of the separate parts
to one another are not always preserved. For instance, the precipitous rocks on
the right were really at my back when I stood at that point, yet in their present
position they are strictly true to pictorial Nature; and so correct is the whole
representation that every member of the expedition with which I was connected
declared that he know the exact spot which had been reproduced. My aim was to
bring before the public the character of that region. The rocks in the foreground
are so carefully drawn that a geologist could determine their precise nature. I
treated them so in order to serve my purpose. [2]
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 3
Or, to quote another artist, the philosophical
Kurtz, who spent several years in the frontier trading posts of the upper
Missouri river during the early 1850's:
The artist's task is to improve nature's forms,
make perfect her imperfections, strive not only to emulate but to excel her in
the creation of beauty. Nature achieves nothing in ideal perfection, but the
artist's mind can conceive of ideal beauty and clothe his ideas with
correspondingly lovely forms, i. e., idealize them. [3]
The psychological effect of the attitudes
expressed by Moran and by Kurtz upon the historian interested in precision of
fact is to produce skepticism of the pictorial record as a document of history.
The work of such artists, however, does have value and frequently it is of higher
artistic merit than that of the literal transcribers included in the first group.
Possibly our judgment can best be expressed by stating that if the subject
depicted is of an actual event, the historian prefers as literal a transcript as
the artist can render. For general impressions of behavior and of place the
second group listed above does have important value. In either case it should be
remembered that we are seeing, or attempting to see, past life through other
skills and from a different viewpoint than that of the written record.
This discussion may have suggested to the reader
that still another set of criteria should be made in judging these pictures of
the past. In any one class, differences between artists are to be observed and
such questions, especially in the first class, as "Was the artist a careful and
honest observer (or student)?" and "Was he a competent and satisfactory
draughtsman?" must be answered to our satisfaction. The knowledge necessary to
answer the first question can be secured by seeking information concerning the
artist, his training, his method of work (water color, pencil sketch, etc.),
[4] the
judgment of his contemporaries, especially those who witnessed an original
incident or scene, and were able to compare it with the artist's record of the
event.
It is, of course, recognized that different
artists in viewing the same scene will reproduce their impressions in different
styles and manners. As Audubon philosophically (and resignedly) remarked on
comparing George Catlin's paintings of the upper Missouri river with Audubon's
own observations as he proceeded up the same river in 1843 "different travelers
have different eyes." [5]
4 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
In answering the second question, even the least
artistically trained individual can distinguish between a crude drawing and a
well-finished one and certainly the well-finished one is to be preferred to the
cruder drawing. Even crude drawings, it should be pointed out, can, at times, be
tremendously important, as witness the Bruff sketches. [6] These drawings, crudely
done and with little sense of perspective, were executed with meticulous
attention to detail and portray one pioneer's experience on the overland route to
California in 1849. Their importance lies in the fact that they were drawn in
detail and are practically the only direct pictorial record extant of this most
important and dramatic migration in American history.
Unfortunately, seldom is there available all the
information which we would desire in forming a complete and competent judgment on
any artist's work so far as its value to the social historian goes. The same
comment, of course, can be made on the written record upon which our present
histories are based. The same procedures, therefore, in passing judgment on the
pictorial record must then be employed as is employed in the examination of the
written record, namely, to utilize the information that is available to the best
of our ability and intelligence.
The question of passing final judgment in the
case of pictorial records, too, is complicated by the fact that many times the
original work of the artist is not available if the only record of the artist is
a reproduction in the form of a lithograph, a woodcut print, or an engraving.
These and other forms of reproduction necessitated the hand of at least one
intermediary (and usually more) who reproduced the original drawing (or painting)
on stone, wood, or metal, and the faithfulness to the original must often be
taken into account. Our problem is, therefore, a complex one and we can only make
an attempt to open up the field and leave to future historians a more complete
judgment as additional data and sources of information are added to our store of
knowledge.
We should again keep clearly in mind that our
chief concern is not with the artistic merit of any picture in which we are
interested but rather with its value as an authentic record of our past life. As
Isham has so pertinently pointed out in connection with his discussion of artists
of the old West: "The subject is more [important] . . . than the purely artistic
qualities displayed in its representation." [7] In fact, many of the
artists we shall consider are so obscure
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 5
and their work so poor (from an artistic point of view) that modern artists
and art historians daintily hold their nose by thumb and forefinger when these
"artists" are mentioned or their work examined. [8]
The series, of which this article is the first,
will be followed by studies of other Western artists-from the standpoint of the
social historian. The work of collecting data in this field was begun nearly 20
years ago and has been followed more or less persistently ever since. As a
result, thousands of notes, letters, photographic copies of Western "pictures"
have been accumulated from a group of nearly 200 artists.
As not all of these artists are of equal
importance and as a few have been dealt with individually in biographic form,
some selection will be made of the remaining individuals. The only plan followed
in making the selection will be that of the author's convenience. It is hoped
eventually to publish the material given in this series in monographic form and
with a more logical order of presentation. The first artists selected for
consideration are Paul Frenzeny and Jules Tavernier.
FRENZENY AND TAVERNIER
In the fall of 1873 Harper's Weekly
commissioned two artists, Paul Frenzeny and Jules Tavernier, to make a
series of sketches on an expedition that took them from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. Their Western trip probably began early in September, 1873, in New York
City and was finished in San Francisco sometime in the summer of 1874.
Illustrations made on the expedition, however, are found in the Weekly for
the years 1873, 1874, 1875, and 1876. The Weekly, modestly subtitled
A [not The] Journal of Civilization, announced the expedition by
stating:
. . . our artists, Messrs. Frenzeny and Tavernier,
will tell the story of an extensive tour, commencing at New York and intended to
include the most interesting and picturesque regions of the Western and
Southwestern portions of this country. These gentlemen will not restrict
themselves to the ordinary routes of travel. They will make long excursions on
horseback into regions where railroads have not yet penetrated, where even the
hardy squatter, the pioneer of civilization, has not yet erected his rude
log-cabin; and the pictorial record of their journeyings will be a most valuable
and entertaining series of sketches. [9]
6 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Weekly was correct, for the
illustrations are still "a most valuable and entertaining series of sketches" and
give us pictorial records of the West-towns, living conditions, transportation,
industries of plain and mountain, emigrant life, Indian troubles and affairs, and
minor but revealing incidents of Western life-that are nowhere else available. It
is true that most of them are crudely rendered because of the medium employed for
reproduction (the woodcut) ; one original pencil sketch, however, signed by
Tavernier alone, has been found and will be discussed later. Sufficient evidence
has been assembled to show that most, if not all, of the illustrations are
authentic and were made from direct observations of the scenes depicted.
Jules Tavernier at the time of the overland
expedition was a young French artist of 29. Born in Paris in 1844, he was for a
time a student of Felix Barrias and had achieved some artistic reputation in
France before the Franco-Prussian war in which he fought. One account has it that
he was Communist and was exiled from France a few months after the conclusion of
the war. [10]
Tavernier came to this country in 1871 and soon
was illustrating for the newly-established New York Graphic and for
Harper's Weekly. [11]
Of Paul Frenzeny less biographical information
is available save that deducible from his published illustrations and a few
scattered newspaper references. [12]
Presumably Frenzeny was, like Tavernier, a
Frenchman. Presumably, too, he was a comparatively young man, if we may judge by
his willingness to undergo the long and arduous Western trip. Frenzeny had been
in this country longer than Tavernier for his first published sketches in
Harper's Weekly appeared in 1868. [13] Between this date
and
1873, about 20 Frenzeny sketches appeared in the Weekly, and were of
varied character but included a number of
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 7
New York City views and sketches made in the Pennsylvania coal belt. [14]
One of these illustrations (Harper's Weekly, 1869, p. 4) is titled "A
Curious Custom Observed by the Greek Church in Russia," which might suggest that
Frenzeny was a Russian or at least lead visited Russia.
Frenzeny's partnership with Tavernier began
before the Western trip, for there are two illustrations with their joint
signatures in the Weekly prior to September, 1873. One was a double-page
and fanciful group of drawings devoted to "Spring" and the other a fullpage
illustration, "Circus Coming to Town." [15]
The division of labor in this partnership can
only be guessed at. Comparison of the sketches by the individuals with those
bearing the joint signatures is of little aid as the wood engraver reduced nearly
all illustrations to the same level. The work of Winslow Homer, C. S. Reinhart,
T. S. Church, Sol Eytinge, Jr., and many others whose illustrations appeared in
the same years as those of Frenzeny and Tavernier might all have come from the
same pencil as far as the draftsmanship was concerned, after the engraver was
through with them. Only the bold lines and grotesque figures of man and animal in
the cartoons of Thomas Nast bear any individuality during this period. The
magnificent wood engravings that appeared in the 1880's had few counterparts in
the middle 1870's.
As the woodcut reproductions of the work of
Frenzeny and Tavernier are of little aid, other information must be sought. It is
known that Frenzeny was an excellent pencil artist and Tavernier a "colorist"
interested in large masses, abilities which suggest that Tavernier was
responsible for background and composition and Frenzeny for the foreground
detail. [16] It is probable, too, that many of the
illustrations used by the Weekly were drawn directly on the wood block by
the artists before being sent to New York. In fact, one Denver paper reported
"The artists draw their sketches on wood before sending them to the engraver."
[17]
If this procedure was the one followed, probably Frenzeny with his skill with the
pencil drew the major portion of the sketch on wood, using a mirror as an aid
8 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to transpose the necessary reversed sketch on wood. The usual signature that
appears in many of their reproductions is "Frenzeny & Tavernier," although at
times the signature is reversed or changed in other ways. That the artists redrew
their Sketches on wood is borne out by an examination of their Signatures, for
rather frequently a letter, either n or z, is reversed. [18] The reversal would
be
one more readily made by artists unaccustomed to drawing in reverse than by
professionals trained for such work in the wood engraving plant. For their
combined efforts the Harper brothers are said to have paid the two artists $75
for a full-page illustration and $150 for a double-page one. [19]
As we
shall see, they sold sketches to other concerns and to individuals as they
traveled westward.
In many ways, Frenzeny and Tavernier were alike.
Volatile and excitable, susceptible to their surroundings, imaginative and
extravagant, they were a queer pair to send on a westward journey to a country
about as foreign to Paris and New York as could be imagined. Frenzeny soon after
he reached the plains, acquired a pointers Judy, by name. He became greatly
attached to the dog and although she was not particularly intelligent, she had a
valiant defender in her owner. One can but wish that a good observer and reporter
had been in the background as these two eccentric characters and their dog
traveled by train, by stage coach and by horse over the plains and mountains of
the West and in localities where it was still wild and woolly. Despite their
highly individual personalities, their pictorial reporting is surprisingly
complete. The commonplace in the West was unusual to them and they recorded it as
they saw it. It might also be pointed out that they possessed an unusual sympathy
for the humbler class of individuals seen on their trips; workers, emigrants,
pilgrims of the plains in search of new homes, were all treated pictorially with
kindness and understanding. [20]
The first two illustrations in the Frenzeny and
Tavernier series were made in New York City itself but dealt with Western
emigration which was then rapidly increasing. "An Emigrants' Boarding House in
New York," a double-page illustration of one of "the
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 9
better class" houses, and "The Emigrant Wagon-On the Way To the Railway
Station," a single-page illustration depicting the transportation of emigrants
from the boarding house to the cars for the Western migration, were the Subjects
treated: [21] It was the custom of the Weekly to
make comment on its illustrations, the citation to such a comment being included
with the legend beneath the illustration. Occasionally the comment gives useful
additional information concerning the subject of the Sketch, especially when it
is apparent that the information was supplied by the artists themselves.
The two initial views were followed by
illustrations in and around Pittsburgh dealing with the manufacture of iron [22]
Included in this same series was an illustration depicting a secret meeting of
coal miners-the locality not specifically stated, other than "in Pennsylvania."
[23]
The first of the trans-Mississippi sketches
appears in the issue of Harper's Weekly for November 8, 1873, but
to aid in understanding the work of the artists, their general route west from
the Mississippi should be traced before giving consideration to the individual
illustrations. They apparently crossed the Mississippi river at Hannibal, Mo.
From Hannibal, the pair traveled on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway across
Missouri to Fort Scott and Parsons, Kan. They proceeded on the ame railroad
across Indian territory to Denison, Tex., the terminus of the railroad.
Construction of the line to Denison had been completed only a few months before
the arrival of Frenzeny and Tavernier. After their visit at Denison, the artists
turned northward across the Indian territory and eventually reached
Wichita-probably accompanying a cattle drive at least part of the way. From
Wichita the general route was west along the Santa Fe railroad through southern
and western Kansas to the railroad terminus at Granada, Colo. By stage they then
traveled to Pueblo, Colo., and then by rail to Denver. They remained in Denver
during the winter of 1873-1874, then visited Fort Laramie in Wyoming territory,
the Red Cloud Agency in Nebraska and finally returned to the Union Pacific
railroad traveling west to San Francisco, after a side trip to Salt Lake City [24]
The sketches for the November 8 issue of the Weekly include eight
10 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
illustrations, one of them being a left-over from the iron manufacturing
scenes at Pittsburgh, previously mentioned. The seven remaining views are
obviously scenes in southeastern Kansas, "A Sunny Home on the Neosho River,"
"Herding with Comfort" (depicts a settler with an umbrella herding a few
cattle on the prairie), a street scene entitled "A Market Day in Parsons City-18
Months Old," "Taking Water in the Prairie" (locomotive and train on a treeless
plain), "Prairie Chickens for Sale," "A Surprise Party," and "Going to
Church"-the last three illustrations depicting various incidents of settler life.
Unfortunately there are no Parsons' newspapers available for this period as
newspaper comment is one of the valuable methods for checking on the accuracy of
the scenes depicted. The next group of sketches (four on one page) belong
geographically to the above group of seven. [25] They include "In the
Emigrant Train," "Switched Off," "Building the Log-Cabin," and "Laying the
Fences." The first two are emigrant scenes and were probably made along the
Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway. The first shows the interior of a passenger
car at night filled with emigrants and their belongings; the second, "Switched
Off," depicts a group of emigrants "sketched from an actual scene," the text
tells us, huddled about a closed depot waiting in the rain for their connecting
train. "In this case," the description reads, "the emigrant party, which included
old people, delicate women, and children, were compelled to remain all night
exposed to a cold, drenching rain." The pictured plight of the distressed
travelers may have been due to the lack of coordination in the recently organized
M. K. & T. (a combination of many smaller systems) or to the fact that
"emigrant cars" were frequently attached to freight trains and the emigrant cars
switched off at way stations so that additional freight could be added to the
trains; emigrant travel apparently being regarded as a third or fourth-class mode
of transportation. [26]
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 11
The Frenzeny and Tavernier sketches listed below
are those found in the Weekly showing scenes in Indian territory and Texas
and secured as the artists traveled by the M. K. & T. to Denison, Tex. [27]
As can
be seen, they are not arranged according to the chronological order of their
appearance in the Weekly but are grouped geographically. The appearance of
the sketches in the Weekly undoubtedly would be determined solely by the
availability of the sketches (dependent upon the promptness of the artists in
sending them to New York), and the needs of the individual issues of the
Weekly.
1. "United States Signal Service-Watching the Storm," Fort Gibson, I. T.
(about 2/3 p.), Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (March 21, 1874), p.
267.
2. "In the Indian Territory," seven outline sketches on one page, including Fort
Gibson, ibid., v. 19 (May 15, 1875), p. 396. The sketches are not signed
but p. 406 of the text credits them to Frenzeny and Tavernier.
3. "Vigilance Court in Session" (full page), ibid, v. 18 (April 11, 1874), p.
326.
4. "An Oasis Along the Track" (the cover page), ibid., v. 18 (March 21, 1874), p.
249.
5. "Arkansas Pilgrims," from Arkansas to Texas through Indian territory (about
1/2 p.), ibid., v. 18 (April 4, 1874), p. 306.
6. "Arkansas Pilgrims in Camp" (about 1/2 p.), ibid., v. 18 (April 25, 1874), p.
361.
7. "A Freshet in the Red River, Texas" (about 1/2 p.), ibid, v. 18 (April 25,
1874), p. 361.
8. "Sugar-Making in Texas" (about 1/2 p.), ibid., v. 18 (April 4, 1874), p.
307.
9. "A Deer Drive in the Texas 'Cross-Timber"' (double page), ibid., v. 18
(February 28, 1874), pp. 206, 207.
10. "A Saturday Noon in a Southwestern Town" (the cover page), ibid., v. 18 (July
25, 1874), p. 613.
11. "The Texas Cattle Trade-Guarding the Herd" (about 1/2 p.), ibid., v. 18
(March 28, 1874), p. 272.
12. "Calling the Night Guard," interior of bunk house (about 1/2 page), ibid., v.
18 (March 28, 1874), p. 272.
The M. K. & T. ran in a line southwesterly
across eastern Indian territory, Fort Gibson being nearly half-way to the Texas
line. [28] The U. S. army, then in charge of weather
reports and surveys through its signal service, maintained a weather station at
Fort Gibson, the only one in the southern plains region until Santa Fe,
12 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
N. M., was reached. The first illustration on the list depicted observers on
the tower of the station watching the approach of a storm; a small vignette
showed the interior of the station.
"An Oasis Along the Track," probably also
sketched in Indian territory, shows a mule-powered pump at a lone way station,
storing water in a reservoir for future train use.
The end of the M. K. & T. track, as already
has been pointed out, was in Denison, Tex., when Frenzeny and Tavernier traveled
west in 1873. Denison was four or five miles south of the Red river, the boundary
between Indian territory (Oklahoma) and Texas, and on the Old Texas road that
came down from Fort Gibson. Before the coming of the railroad, the Old Texas road
was the highway of travel for southern-bound emigrants and still earlier for the
Forty-niners. [29] These facts, together with the Denison
illustration previously noted (Footnote 26), indicate that several of the
remaining sketches listed above were made in or near the vicinity of Denison.
There is no precise information now available, save that furnished by the
Weekly illustration themselves, how much farther into Texas the artists
traveled than the border town of Denison. They apparently spent little time in
the town of Denison itself as Mr. E. R. Dabney of the University of Texas library
has searched for me the files of the Denison News for 1873 and 1874
without finding any mention of the names of Frenzeny and Tavernier.
"A Freshet in the Red River, Texas," the two
"Arkansas Pilgrims," the "Vigilance Court in Session" (locality stated as near
the Indian territory-Texas boundary)-all, it is reasonable to assume, fall in
such a group. Denison, too, or the nearby country, marked the beginning of some
of the important northward cattle trails, [30] and the two sketches
of the Texas cattle trade may have been sketched not far from Denison. "Calling
the Night Guard" is more than faintly suggestive of Remington's illustrations
made many years later. "A Saturday Noon in a Southwestern Town" is not identified
save that it was "a border town" but the watermelons and the negroes in the
sketch fix its locality as Texas without much doubt. It possibly may be a view of
Denison itself. Unfortunately the store signs do not yield a positive method of
identification.
The most impressive illustration of this group
is the double-page "A Deer Drive in the Texas 'Cross-Timber'." As Denison is near
the western edge of the Eastern Cross Timbers, this sketch also
PICTORIAL RECORD of OLD WEST 13
could have been based on the artists' impressions of the vicinity near
Denison. An exceptionally good word description of the Cross Timbers and of deer
hunting accompanies the illustration which strongly suggests that part of the
material was a report of the artists' own experience.
"The camps at night," the report reads in
describing a deer hunt of several days, "present a very picturesque appearance.
Bright fires illuminate the scene, the horses are picketed in the rich grass,
hunters and hounds gather in groups about the fires, and songs and stories and
feasting are kept up till late in the night. Then, rolled in blankets, the men
lie down to sleep, and silence reigns in the great forest."
Upon the completion of the Texas part of the
Frenzeny-Tavernier "expedition," the artists turned north again and returned to
Kansas. Their first sketches on their return were probably made in and near
Wichita, then the cattle-shipping center of this Western industry. The complete
list of Kansas sketches, with the exception of those described on page 10, and
again arranged geographically, include
1. Nine sketches on pages 386 and 387, Wichita and the cattle trade,
Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (May 2, 1874). [Several in this group are
reproduced in the picture supplement accompanying this article which will be
found between pp. 32 and 33.]
2. "A Kansas Land-Office" (cover page), ibid., v. 18 (July 11, 1874), p. 573.
[Reproduced in the picture supplement.]
3. "Fighting the Fire" (about 1/2 page), ibid., v. 18 (February 28, 1874),
p. 192.
4. "A Prairie Wind-Storm" (full page), ibid., v. 18 (May 30, 1874), p. 460. 5.
"Limestone in Kansas" (about 1/2 page), ibid., v. 18 (September 12, 1874), p.
760.
6. " `Busted 1'-A Deserted Railroad Town in Kansas" (about 1/2 page), ibid., v.
18 (February 28, 1874), p. 192. [Reproduced in the picture supplement.]
7. "Curing Hides and Bones" (about 1/2 page), ibid., v. 18 (April 4, 1874), p.
307. [Reproduced in the picture supplement.]
8. "Slaughtered For the Hide" (cover page), ibid., v. 18 (December 12, 1874), p.
1013.
9. "An Under-Ground Village" (about 1/2 page), ibid, v. 18 (April 4, 1874), p.
306. [Reproduced on the cover of this issue.]
Fortunately, for the first group of sketches
listed above, we have valuable contemporary comment which appeared in the Wichita
Eagle for April 30, 1874 (p. 3, col. 2). The comment reads:
14 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Wichita and her trade has been immortalized by
illustration. For some months past Harper's Weekly has contained
pictorial sketches of the west and southwest, drawn by Frenzeny and Tavernier.
Many of these delineations were of scenes connected with the life of the cowboy
and the hunter. The supplement of that paper for May 2nd contains nine pictures,
all relating to the cattle trade. No. 1 shows the process of branding with a hot
iron the initials or the monogram of the owner. No. 2 represents a long winding
herd enroute for Wichita. No. 3 represents Clear Water on the Ninnescah, in this
county, with John Dunscomb's store in the foreground, and Ward, McKee and Co's
grocery store in the back, with a lot of boys scattered around in conversation,
while their horses are feeding out of a trough in front of the awning of John's
place. No. 4 represents the milling process, or a "rodeo" in which thousands of
head of cattle are rounded up and circled around and around,-so often witnessed
here. No. 5 shows the process of "cutting out" cattle from the main herd. No. 6
shows a camp of cattle men out on the herd grounds, west of Wichita. The sun is
just rising as the boys are taking their breakfast. In the dim distance is the
herd. Two are coming off the night-watch, and others in camp are preparing to
take their place through the day. No. 7 shows the cars, pens, and the way the
cattle are loaded for eastern markets. No. 8 is a view of Main street, Wichita,
from its intersection with Douglas avenue looking north. While it does not do
that street justice it is nevertheless recognizable. The last cut represents a
party of drovers who have sold out their cattle, bought a Moser wagon, loaded in
their outfit and are bidding the Wichita boys good bye until another season. The
illustrations are vivid and true to life and to the character of the scenes
represented, showing that the artists had studied their
subjects.
Comment on this group of pictures, possibly the
most important set of the entire series, also was made in the Weekly which
called Wichita "the grand central station for the cattle trade" and pointed out
that the drive from Texas through Indian territory took four to five months.
The second of the Kansas sketches, the "Land
Office," is a most interesting one as it represents a typical "industry." It also
was made at Wichita, for the map in the background bears the legend "Sedgewick
[sic] County." Wichita, it should be remarked for non-Kansans, is located in
Sedgwick county. It will be noted that it was published much later than the other
Wichita sketches, a fact supporting our argument on page 11.
It has been possible to determine with
considerable exactness from two sources when these Wichita illustrations were
actually sketched. The Emporia News of October 17, 1873 (p. 3, col. 2),
reported on that day:
Paul Frenzeny, and Jules Tavernier, representing
Harper's Weekly, are here for the purpose of making sketches of the
scenery here for the pages of the great illustrated paper. They have been to
Wichita for some days taking
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 15
various views of that city, and of droves of Texas
cattle, etc. We trust every favor will be shown the talented artists during their
stay with us. The enterprise of the Harpers in sending artists this far
into the west to make sketches for their great favorite illustrated paper is
worthy of special note, and we are glad that the Weekly is well patronized
here.
From this comment, it appears that Frenzeny and
Tavernier were in Wichita during the first few weeks in October, 1873, but we can
be more precise about the date than "the first few weeks." The Wichita Public
Museum possesses an original pencil sketch signed only by Jules Tavernier in the
lower right corner of the sketch; dated in the upper left corner "Oct. 6, 1873";
and in script on the lower left corner is the notation "Maine [sic] Street from
Eagle Bloc [sic]." The view is of Wichita and is the only original sketch
included in the Frenzeny-Tavernier portfolio of 1873-1874 which has been located;
a portfolio which must have contained hundreds of sketches which would now be
priceless. [31]
This Wichita sketch was probably bought by some
interested citizen of Wichita as there is additional evidence that the artists
sold sketches locally as they made'their way West. The existence of the lone
Wichita sketch and the fact that no Emporia sketches appeared in Harper's,
although the News comment indicates that the artists were at work in that
town, shows this fact quite clearly.
Although no sketches of Emporia appeared in the
Weekly it is quite possible that sketches three and four of our Kansas
list were made near Emporia. Prairie fires were of common experience in the days
when much of the open country was unplowed and grass-covered. Autumn fires when
the grass was tall and dry at times reached magnificent and terrifying
proportions. Indeed, the Emporia News reports prairie fires in nearly
every issue during October and November in 1873 and on November 14 reported,
"Prairie fires have blackened the prairies almost all around us. . . ."
"A Prairie Wind-Storm," depicting a pioneer
woman in a horsedrawn wagon, her husband attempting to calm the terror-stricken
horses at the approach of a dark and violent storm, is again an incident that was
common in the fall on the open prairies. The illustration recalls the far from
easy life that our early settlers experienced.
The locality of "Limestone in Kansas" I have not
been able to identify with certainty but I believe that it must be either Fort
Scott or Florence. The illustration shows a row of huge lime kilns
16 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
where "was made two-thirds of all the lime used in the state." Statistical
data is lacking that would enable us to determine which of the two towns was
meant but more probably it was Fort Scott. [32]
The next four sketches on our Kansas list (Nos.
6, 7, 8 and 9) are to my mind the most interesting of the entire Frenzeny and
Tavernier series. They were made as the artists traveled west from Emporia on the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (which as all Westerners know, does not start from
Phil-i-del-fee-aye, as the current popular tune has it). Our evidence for this
statement must be proved as no localities are given in the Weekly for
these illustrations. In the first place the scenes are those of southwest Kansas
through which the Santa Fe, in local parlance, made its way. In the second place,
the Denver papers, in noting their arrival in that city, state that the artists
came from southern Colorado, [33] as they would if they traveled the Santa
Fe. The only other route to Denver would be by way of the Kansas Pacific which
would have brought them into Denver directly from the east. Emporia was on the
main line of the Santa Fe and not the Kansas Pacific. The trip west from Emporia
would mean retracing their "steps" as far as Newton, [34] for we have seen
that
Emporia was reached after the artists had been in Wichita. To clinch our
argument, that the trip was made through southwest Kansas on the Santa Fe, we can
point out that the two artists registered at the American House in West Las
Animas, Colorado territory, early in November, 1873. [35]
West Las Animas was on the stage route from the
end of the Santa Fe rail (which in the fall of 1873 was at Granada, C. T., 12
miles west of the Kansas-Colorado line) and Pueblo (133 miles west of Granada),
in southern Colorado, where rail connections could again be made on the Denver
and Rio Grande to Denver, [36]
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 17
some 100 miles or more north of Pueblo. Therefore, there can be little doubt
that the Santa Fe was the route traveled by the artists to railhead.
"Busted," I am assuming, was the first of these
sketches made on the westward trip from Emporia. As can be seen (see picture
supplement) it is at least partly imaginative but the sense of haunting
forsakenness created by the illustration makes it one not easily for gotten. I
first saw the picture over 15 years ago and its image has frequently flashed
across my memory in the intervening years. It was in fact, the illustration that
started my first work on these artists. Goldsmith in nearly 400 lines was not
able to produce the feeling of utter desolation that can be obtained by a single
glance at this illustration of the Great Plains' version of "The Deserted
Village."
The deserted town may be a composite view based
on several such towns seen by the artists-for Kansas has had its share of
"busted" towns-but there is record of a town whose description fits surprisingly
well with the illustration. In July, 1872, the town of Zarah, Barton county, was
quite a little village and the first town in the county. It was about a mile east
of a military reservation on which
was located Fort Zarah. [37] The Santa Fe railroad reached Great Bend,
about three miles west of Zarah, on August 5, 1872, [38] but missed Zarah by
about a mile and Zarah disappeared within a year or so.
"Curing Hides and Bones," I am reasonably sure,
was drawn at Dodge City late in October, 1573, for it compares with considerable
exactness to the description given by Robert M. Wright, one of the founders of
Dodge City and the author of Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital (Wichita,
1913, p. 156), which reads:
One of Dodge City's great industries was the bone
trade. It certainly was immense. There were great stacks of bones, piled up by
the railroad trackhundreds of tons of them. It was a great sight to see them.
They were stacked up way above the tops of the box cars, and often there were not
sufficient cars to move them. Dodge excelled in bones, like she did in buffalo
hides, for there were then ten times the number of carloads shipped out of Dodge,
than out of any other town in the state, and that is saying a great deal, for
there was a vast amount shipped from every little town in western
Kansas.
The fall and winter of 1872-1873 saw
professional buffalo hunting reaching its height,[39] and in the fall of
1873, Col. R. I. Dodge,
18 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
after riding out from Fort Dodge, some four or five miles from Dodge City,
wrote:
Where there were myriads of buffalo the year
before, there were now myriads of carcasses. The air was foul with sickening
stench, and the vast plain, which only a short twelvemonth before teemed with
animal life, was a dead, solitary, putrid desert. [40]
The buffalo were not yet gone in the fall of
1873 but they were farther removed from the lines of the railroads; and the
illustration, "Slaughtered for the Hide," shows a scene of wholesale slaughter of
the buffalo almost as bad as that suggested by Colonel Dodge. "Our artists spoke
with hunters on the plains, who boasted of having killed two thousand head of
buffalo apiece in one season. At this rate of slaughter, the buffalo must soon
become extinct," read the description accompanying "Slaughtered for the Hide."
[41]
The last of the group of Kansas sketches, "An
Under-Ground Village," is unique. I know of no other illustration by any artist
which depicts this aspect of town life on the Great Plains. At first glance, one
might think that the illustration was the result of the fantastic imagination of
the artists but evidence is available which shows that the illustration was
probably based on fact. The dugouts which constitute the underground village,
were common habitations of the early settlers on the plains. Illustrations of
individual dugouts are fairly common; it is the collection of a number of these
dugouts together that constitute the uniqueness of the illustration in question.
[42]
In a country devoid of timber, yet supplied with
an endless quantity of "moving" air, the dugout at first was almost a necessity.
If the reader wonders about the nature of a dugout, the following description by
a traveler, who made a Western trip but a short time before Frenzeny and
Tavernier, can be quoted. The dugout, he reports, "is simply a burrow with a
pitched roof of sod, seldom having a window, the door answering this purpose,
however inelegant in appearance, is truly a snug place in which to spend the
blustery winter days. There your plainsman can lie back at his ease on his bed of
robes, and think it a bed of roses and hear with philosophic
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 19
calmness the peltings of the rude storm without." [43] The plainsman's
philosophic calmness was no doubt rudely interrupted from time to time as he
scratched vigorously, for dugouts soon became the habitation of insect as well as
human population. "The land of the free" went the ditty of the dugout dwellers of
the 1870's:
The land of the bedbug, grasshopper and flea,
I'll sing of its praises, I'll tell of its fame
While starving to death on my government
claim.
Another observer who traveled west from Dodge
City on the Santa Fe also saw dugouts along the line of the railroad. "On the
morning after my arrival in Dodge City," he wrote late in 1872, "I got into a
caboose car and went eighty miles further, within a very short distance of Fort
Aubrey. [44] . . . Twenty miles apart, out in this wild
country, there are stations, consisting of a water-tank and a dugout. The dugouts
are simply holes in the ground, or cellars with roofs over them. They are the
most convenient houses for this windy country that can be built, and are
exceedingly warm; they are used as boarding houses for the section hands, and at
present for eating houses for those who may travel on construction trains." [45]
Subsequent newspaper accounts, written a few
years later, report dugouts at Dodge City, Larned and Kendall; the last two towns
being west of Dodge City on the Santa Fe. [46]
There is thus ample evidence that dugouts
existed along the line of the Santa Fe westward from Dodge City and the question
naturally arises as to whether the illustration depicted any of the towns along
the railroad. If it does, the town must be one of three: Dodge City, Sargent (now
Coolidge), Kan., or Granada, Colo., the
20 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
end of rail. Our reason for this conclusion is that the illustration, as can
be seen, depicts a depot and these three towns were the only ones that possessed,
at the time of the artists' visit, frame buildings as depots. [47]
I do
not believe that the underground town could be Dodge City as Dodge had a hotel
and dance hall by 1873 (see Footnote 45), and these were probably above ground.
It is possible, of course, that more of the town than is actually depicted in the
illustration existed but did not appear in the viewpoint that the artists
selected.
I believe, too, that the illustration was
probably not Granada for a contemporary newspaper account states that the town
contained in August, 1873, "about fifty buildings, [48] built mainly in a row
about 80 feet north of the railroad track." [49] If the artists did not
purposely foreshorten the foreground, the illustration could not represent
Granada as the distance from tracks to "town" in the illustration is quite
obviously less than 80 feet.
The only remaining alternative then is that the
illustration shows the town of Sargent and we will therefore tentatively assign
the illustration to this locality. [50] Some reader, I trust, will be able to
produce evidence that will establish the locality of the "UnderGround Village"
with certainty.
COLORADO TERRITORY
The Frenzeny-Tavernier sketches made in the
centennial state, as these artists continued on from Kansas, can be listed as
follows:
1. "Staging in the Far West."-Four illustrations on one page entitled:
"Throwing Out the Mail"; "Taking the Morning `Slumgullion"'; "Calling For the
Relays," and "Home Station on the Plains," Harper's Weekly, v. 18
(July 4, 1874), p. 556.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 21
2. Mining in Blackhawk, Colo. (nine illustrations on two pages), ibid.,
v. 18 (May 30, 1874), pp. 456, 457.
3. "Gold and Silver Mining, Colorado-A Honey-Combed Mountain" (about 1/3 page),
ibid., v. 18 (July 18, 1874), p. 597.
4. "On the Way To New Diggings-Halt in a Rough Pass of the Rocky Mountains"
(double-page), ibid, v. 19 (May 1, 1875), pp. 360, 361. [Reproduced in the
picture supplement.]
5. "Irrigation in Colorado-Letting Water Into a Side Sluice-Way" (cover page),
ibid., v. 18 (June 20, 1874), p. 509.
6. "Trout-Hatching in Colorado" (about 1/3 page), ibid, v. 18 (July 4,
1874), p. 565.
7. "A Bear Hunt in the Rocky Mountains" (January 15, 1876), p. 45.
8. "Returning To Camp From a Bear-Hunt" (about 1/3 page), ibid, v. 19 (May
29, 1875), p. 444.
9. "Shooting Antelopes From a Railroad Train in Colorado" (full page),
ibid, v. 19 (May 29, 1875), p. 441.
10. "A Bird Colony [Swallows] on Lake St. Mary" (about 1/3 page), ibid.,
v. 18 (July 18, 1874), p. 604. (about 1/3 page), ibid., v. 20
Although the individual sketches of "Staging in
the Far West" are not identified as to locality I have assumed that they belong
to the Colorado group. If I am correct, the originals were then made on the stage
route between Granada, the railhead of the Santa Fe, and Pueblo. As we shall see,
the two artists made at least one other stage trip (from Cheyenne to Fort
Laramie) but the architecture of the building seen in "Throwing Out the Mail" is
so distinctly of the Mexican type that southern Colorado seems surely
indicated.
The stage route between Granada and Pueblo was
well over 130 miles. [51] The trip between the two towns was made
three times a week in both directions so that several days were required for the
passage. [52] As is evident from Footnote 35, Las Animas
or more exactly West Las Animas, was one of the way stations. Possibly the sketch
"Home Station on the Plains" was that at Pueblo but the mountains in the
background seem somewhat exaggerated if this is the case. The artists do not seem
to have stopped at Pueblo (or at least no mention is made of them in the Pueblo
Chieftain), but went directly to Denver on the narrow-gauge Denver and Rio Grande
which had been completed in June, 1872. [53]
The artists were at West Las Animas sometime
during the week of November 1-8, 1873, from the record in the Las Animas
Leader,
22 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
but they arrived in Denver on November 5, 1873. [54] These dates would
mean
that, at the longest, four days were required to make the trip from West Las
Animas to Denver, but the time of course might be less-depending on their arrival
and stay at West Las Animas. Further, since they were at Emporia on October 17
and in Denver on November 5, the entire trip from Emporia was made in slightly
less than three weeks. How much of this time was employed in stop-overs to make
sketches and how much in traveling we do not know for certain but the travel
alone could probably have been accomplished in a week or less.
The artists spent the winter in and around
Denver, for there is frequent mention of them in the Denver press, the first
notice appearing the day after their arrival and the last on March 20, 1874. They
were in and out of Denver on numerous side excursions but rented a studio in
"Schleier's block" for much of their work. [55]
All of the sketches which are included in the
Colorado list, with the exception of the first group, were probably made on these
side excursions. The second, "Mining in Colorado," is identified in the text as
the works of the Boston and Colorado Smelting Company at Blackhawk, some 25 or 30
miles west of Denver. The text of nearly a column in the Weekly describes
at some length the details of the smelting process. [56] The third illustration
is not identified as to locality but shows many individual miners with their own
shafts literally honeycombing the side of a mountain; a sight that the author saw
repeated some dozen years ago when "the great depression" brought back again the
individual "miner."
"On the Way To New Diggings," a long mule train
in the bend of a mountain road, is the best engraved of all the FrenzenyTavernier
illustrations and is most realistic in its appearance. "Our artists," wrote
Harper's Weekly in its comment, "traveled for several days with
such a party, and the picture we give is an accurate transcript of an actual
scene, both as regards the picturesque and romantic pass where the halt has taken
place and the figures and costumes of the miners." [57]
That the artists recorded many phases of the
life and activities through which they passed is shown again by the illustration,
"Irrigation in Colorado." Again not identified as to locality it could
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 23
represent many of the irrigation projects of that day which directed water
from the Front Range down into selected areas on the plains. The illustration,
"Trout-Hatching in Colorado," is not signed nor is it credited to Frenzeny and
Tavernier in the text of the Weekly. I have assigned it to these artists,
however, not only because it fits naturally in the group but because an item from
a Denver paper (Daily Times, March 20, 1874) reads:
A number of invited guests, making all together
quite a good-sized party, among whom were Messrs. Paul Frenzeny and J. Tavernier,
of Harper's Weekly, made a flying visit, yesterday, to Alderman
James M. Broadwell's artificial trout ponds, situated some ten miles down the
Platte.
The illustration, "Returning To Camp From a
Bear-Hunt," identified as "a lake in the Rocky Mountains," possibly may depict
one of the artists, for one of the three figures is arrayed in a costume quite
obviously different from the other two. The action of "Shooting Antelopes From a
Railroad Train" took place on the plains near Kit Carson, Colo., some 150 miles
east of Denver on the Kansas Pacific. Incidentally, this full-page illustration
is unique in that it is the only one with which I am familiar which shows the
destruction (not hunting) of antelope from a train. There are many sketches and
illustrations showing the destruction of buffalo from passenger trains of the
Kansas Pacific, but no other one showing similar "sport" in the case of the
antelope.
The last illustration on the Colorado list, No.
10, shows that the artists visited Estes Park during their stay in Colorado, for
the text so locates the lake. [58]
A number of other sketches were made in Denver,
according to newspaper accounts. A double-page illustration was actually prepared
on the wood block, ready for the Weekly's engravers, but it never was
published. The several views drawn on the block included a view of Denver, one in
Clear creek canyon, a street scene showing "Larimer street from Sixteenth street
west, with the distant foothills in the background" and lastly a view in the
Garden of the Gods at Colorado Springs. [59] "The whole presents
a
fine grouping of views, and will do more to give easterners an intelligible idea
of this section than would half the letters written upon them," comments the
reporter for the Rocky Mountain News who saw the sketches.
24 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The view of Denver mentioned above was a
reduction of a large water color prepared by the artists, a "view taken from near
General Bearce's residence, and Cherry Creek, the water works, the full sweep of
the city, the plains beyond, and the mountains-showing Pike's Peak and the
Buffalo back to the left. The sketch is finely touched with water colors." [60]
The
water color was offered for sale at $250 and was on exhibition at "Richards and
Co.'s." "The blue of the mountains is most artistically rendered, while Denver is
given the air of a metropolis," reports another Denver paper. [61]
WYOMING AND NEBRASKA
In this group there are but three illustrations
that were published in the Weekly. Records of other work of the artists,
however, are
available. The three in the Weekly are:
1. "Driven From Their Homes-Flying From an Indian Raid" (about page),
Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (April 11, 1874), p. 321.
2. "An Indian Agency-Distributing Rations" (about 1/3 page), ibid, v. 19
(November 13, 1875), p. 924.
3. "Indian Sun Dance-Young Bucks Proving Their Endurance by SelfTorture" (double
page), ibid., v. 19 (January 2, 1875), pp. 8, 9.
Although, aside from the illustrations
themselves, there is no contemporary and direct evidence of the Wyoming-Nebraska
excursion of the artists, there is considerable indirect evidence. "Driven From
Their Homes" is described by the Weekly as an incident of the Indian
troubles of early 1874 and depicts settlers in wintry weather seeking army aid on
the road between Fort Russell (near Cheyenne, Wyoming territory) and Fort
Laramie. The illustration appeared in the issue of April 11, 1874; the action
shown occurred "a few weeks since." These statements agree with the known facts
about the Indian troubles around Fort Laramie in February and early March of
1874. [62] However, if the scene depicted was an
actual one,
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 25
it meant that the artists made the trip to Fort Laramie and then returned to
Denver, for, as we have seen, they were in Denver on March 20. As there is
evidence that the artists were in Fort Laramie and the Red Cloud Agency in
Nebraska in May and June of the same year, there may be some doubt whether the
scene was actually witnessed by the artists. It is possible, of course, that the
artists made the relatively short trip from Denver to Cheyenne by rail and were
on the trail from Fort Russell to Fort Laramie for only a short distance and then
returned to Denver, a second trip northward being made later in the year.
The second and third of the illustrations listed above were made at the Red Cloud
Agency, Nebraska, some 145 miles northeast of Cheyenne and 75 miles northeast of
Fort Laramie. [63] Presumably they were drawn in May or June
of 1874 and I believe were sketched on the spot. "The Indian Sun Dance," one of
the earliest illustrations of this ceremonial I have seen, was that of the Oglala
Sioux which in the early 1870's was held near the Red Cloud Agency. [64]
The
description and the illustration of the dance given in the Weekly
corresponds in general with that given in the standard authorities. [65]
The self-torture, as part of the public
ceremony, the large and roofless enclosure, the tall center pole and auxiliary
side ones, the time of occurrence (June), and the earpiercing of children are all
well-known facts of the ceremonial and are shown in the illustration or stated in
the text of the Weekly. The great number of spectators of the dance is
also in agreement with the fact that the Red Cloud Agency was one of the largest
of its day. Its reported population in the middle 1870's ranged all the way from
9,000 to 16,000 individuals. [66] Schwatka who saw the sun dance the
following year reported that it was "the grandest sun-dance within the memory of
the oldest warrior" and that 15,000 to 20,000 spectators witnessed it.
26 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Schwatka also reported that the enclosure for
the dance "looked not unlike a circus tent, the top of which had been ruthlessly
torn away by a cyclone," certainly an apt description of the enclosure depicted
by Frenzeny and Tavernier. [67]
The original sun dance sketch made by Frenzeny
and Tavernier in 1874 was in the possession of "Deejay" Mackart of San Francisco
as late as 1892. [68] Its present location, if still in
existence, is unknown.
"Distribution of Rations" is another sketch not
signed or credited, but since the Weekly stated that it was an occurrence
at the Red Cloud Agency, I feel certain that it was drawn by Frenzeny and
Tavernier. [69] There are several newspaper references in
later years to Frenzeny and Tavernier's experiences in the Indian country of
Wyoming and Nebraska, for apparently Tavernier was fond of recalling them. [70]
Not
only was he fond of recalling them but the material gathered in 1874 was later
used by Tavernier in a number of paintings which include:
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 27
1. Store of Post Trader, Fort Laramie, 1874. [71]
2. Attacked by the Indians. [72] [Reproduced in the picture supplement. The
portrait of Tavernier which appears as a vignette in this illustration was first
published in the Annals of the Bohemian Club, 1898.]
3. Meeting Between Spotted Tail and Red Cloud [73]
4. Gathering of the Clans at Red Cloud Agency [74]
5. A Sioux Encampment [75]
UTAH AND CALIFORNIA
1. "Mormons at the Communion Table" (about 1/3 page), Harper's
Weekly, v. 18 (September 26, 1874), p. 793.
2. "Brigham Young's Wives in the Great Mormon Tabernacle" (about 1/a page),
ibid., v. 18 (September 26, 1874), p. 793.
3. "Quarrying Stone For the New Mormon Temple" (about 1/3 page), ibid, v.
18 (December 12, 1874), p. 1024.
4. "A Fresh Supply of Wives-Going Out to the Settlements" (full page),
ibid, v. 19 (January 30, 1875), p. 97.
5. "Reading a Ukase in a Mormon Settlement" (about 1/3 page), ibid., v. 19
(February 6, 1875), p. 109.
6. "Indians Trading at a Frontier Town" (about 1/3 page), ibid., v. 19
(July 3, 1875), p. 537.
7. "Two Bits To See the Pappoose" (about 1/3 page), ibid., v. 18 (October
24, 1874), p. 880.
8. "Chinese Fishermen in San Francisco Bay" (1/2 page), ibid., v. 19
(March 20, 1875), p. 240.
9. "Sketches in 'China-Town,' San Francisco" (six illustrations on one page),
ibid., v. 19 (May 22, 1875), p. 421.
10. "The Suburbs of San Francisco" (six illustrations on one page), ibid.,
v. 19 (May 29, 1875), p. 440.
"Two Bits To See the Pappoose" and the Mormon
sketches give us the clue to the continued westward journey of the partners. The
first sketch (the "pappobse" was a Shoshone) shows the "Union Pacific Hotel" in
the background and suggests that possibly the stopping place was either Ogden or
some point east of Ogden, as the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific still had
a junction at Ogden
28
in 1874. "Indians Trading at a Frontier Town" is in the same category as the
above illustration, for the text indicates that it was drawn at a railroad town;
the Indians depicted, however, are Utes and the locality of the scene may have
been east of Ogden as the large Ute reservation in 1874 was in western Colorado.
[76]
The first two of the Mormon sketches listed
above are not signed nor are they credited in the text accompanying them to
Frenzeny and Tavernier. Nevertheless, I am assuming that they belong to these
artists as they fit naturally into the series both with respect to time and
place. A side excursion from Ogden to Salt Lake City on the Utah Central Railway
is obviously also indicated. Although the Mormon sketches themselves are not
unsympathetic, the text accompanying the five illustrations is anti-Mormon; a
reaction, of course, which was well nigh universal throughout the rest of the
United States and which was very freely stated in the highly moral
Harper's Weekly. It is possible that the first sketch, "Mormons at
the Communion Table," was imaginary, for it is doubtful if the artists would be
permitted to view such a religious ceremony. Possibly, too, this fact accounts
for the lack of signature or of credit for the illustration, and for "Brigham
Young's Wives in the Great Mormon Tabernacle" which appeared on the same
page.
The three California sketches mark the
illustrative conclusion of the transcontinental tour of Frenzeny and Tavernier.
[77]
Both artists obviously had arrived in San Francisco very considerably in advance
of the publication date of even the last of the San Francisco sketches. Although
no newspaper comment has been found as yet on their arrival in San Francisco,
Frenzeny had been elected a member of the famed Bohemian Club of San Francisco on
August 4, 1874, and Tavernier on October 6, 1874. [78] As the reputation of
these artists, based on the extensive series of illustrations in the
Weekly, was already established, I am inclined to think the difference in
election dates means that Frenzeny arrived in San Francisco before Tavernier. At
any rate, both were on the Pacific coast by the fall of 1874, and by spring of
the following year mention of both artists' work, especially Tavernier's, was
fairly common in the San Francisco press. [79]
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 29
UNCLASSIFIED ILLUSTRATIONS
Two of the Frenzeny-Tavernier series we have not
discussed as yet. The first, "Temperance, Industry, and Happiness," is easily
disposed of. [80] It is one of a pair of those contrasting
"moral" illustrations in which the Weekly frequently indulged. It is
possible that the subject, a farmer, his family and his homestead, was a topic
suggested by the artists' Western trip. Its opposite, in case the reader is
interested, was a scene in a tavern, "Intemperance, Idleness, and Misery." It was
not drawn by Frenzeny and Tavernier.
The second illustration, "Watching For
Montezuma," is said to have been based on a legend of the Moquis (Hopi) Indians.
[81]
As the scene depicts the pueblo-dwelling Hopi of northwestern New Mexico or
northeastern Arizona, I doubt if it was based on actual observation. I have
found, as yet, little evidence of a visit to this region by the artists. [82]
It
should be remembered, however, that the two men are known to have been in Denver
nearly five months and possibly longer, and I have by no means accounted for all
of their time while in that city. An excursion of two or three weeks from Denver
would be a possibility. If such a trip occurred, the scenes of "Staging in the
Far West" might be assigned to this suggested period. Tavernier, later in life,
produced a painting of nearly the same title, "Waiting For Montezuma," [83]
and
still later, another one, "The Coming of Montezuma." [84] Both of these, however,
were imaginative, as they depicted life of the ancient Aztecs. Photographs,
without doubt, of the New Mexico-Arizona region were available in Denver and
these may have served as the basis of the original illustration and the Tavernier
paintings.
LATER LIFE OF THE ARTISTS
The Bohemian life of San Francisco and the
California country itself held both artists in that region for some years;
Tavernier for nearly the remainder of his life and Frenzeny for some five or six
years.
30 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Tavernier soon became the boon companion of many
California and San Francisco artists of note, including Julian Rix, Joe Strong (a
brother-in-law of Robert Louis Stevenson), Amadee Joullin and others. He was, in
fact, from the newspaper accounts of his day, the Bohemian of Bohemians and the
tales of his behavior have been retold many times in more recent times but in
many scattered sources. His most striking characteristic was a detestation of
work. "He painted grand pictures in the air with his thumb and grew quite
enthusiastic over their value, but it was not until the screws of material
existence had tightened upon him to the last thread that he would put these
inspirations on canvas," reported one of his friends. The sheriff was continually
at his heels, for he was always in debt and to escape them he finally made his
way to Hawaii in 1884. [85] Here he painted Mauna Loa and the colorful
landscape of the islands but he again became so deeply in debt that he was not
permitted to leave. He died in Honolulu on May 18, 1889, of alcoholism. [86]
"Poor Tavernier!" wrote one of his Bohemian Club
friends. "The sheriff was continually taking possession of his studio so that he
lived more or less in a state of siege. His friends had to go through mysterious
rites, give certain knocks on the door and be inspected through peep holes before
they could get in. Finally the sheriff made a clean sweep, and Jules' friends, of
whom he had many, and none stauncher than fellow-artists as poor as himself,
raised the money to send him to the islands. He died there a few years after and
the Club erected a granite shaft over his grave in memory of their love for him
personally and for his great genius." [87]
Although Tavernier was adverse to work many
paintings in the period 1874-1884 are known to have been made. They include
landscapes, cartoons, portraits, figure pieces, etc. Among them, in addition to
those already listed, are a number which are of interest in the history of the
West, some probably based on the trip of 1873-1874. [88] They include the
following:
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 31
1. The Pioneer, 1877. [89]
2. The Indian Dance, 1878. [90]
3. Frontier Man (unfinished), 1879. [91]
4. Sketches of Northwest Indians, 1882 [92]
5. The Rodeo (1884-1885) [93]
Of Frenzeny's final years we know less than of
Tavernier. He took an active part in the affairs of the Bohemian Club of San
Francisco up until 1878. [94] His companionship with Tavernier con tinued
apparently as long as he stayed in Calif ornia. [95] A number of his
own
illustrations (that is, signed by himself alone and not joint work with
Tavernier) appeared in Harper's Weekly for the years 1876, 1877 and
1878. They all deal with aspects of life in California and Nevada. The Chinese
several times received Frenzeny's attention and one illustration in particular is
notable, "A Chinese Reception in San Francisco." It appeared as a doublepage
drawing in the Weekly for June 9, 1877. The Nevada sketches may have been
obtained on his westward trip to the coast with Tavernier. The most interesting
one of this group is an illustration of a "Camel Train in Nevada" showing
remnants of the camel herd introduced into this country in 1856. Several of the
Frenzeny sketches depict southern California, one, "Sunday Sports in Southern
California," shows a version of the rough and callous pastime of the frontier,
"The Gander Pull." [96]
In 1879 Frenzeny began a series of sketches in
the Weekly depicting Central America. [97] As a sketch of
Coney
Island appears in the same year it seems reasonable to assume that he returned
to
32 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
New York City by way of Central America in 1879. [98] From 1880 to 1887
about 30 of his sketches appear in Harper's Weekly. Some of these
illustrations are of New York scenes, others of California, and there are still
others which are apparently based on his trip of 1873-1874. A number of the
illustrations, as the 1880's advanced, are exceptionally good. The art of wood
engraving was rapidly reaching its heyday and the individual character of the
artist becomes more and more apparent. The Western sketches of Frenzeny appearing
in the Weekly during the 1880's are of sufficient importance to list:
1. "Muster-Day on an Indian Reservation," from a scene which the artist
witnessed on the plains (1/2 page), Harper's Weekly, v. 24 (July
24, 1880), p. 476.
2. "Winter Life on the Plains" (two illustrations on one page), ibid., v.
26 (February 11, 1882), p. 89. [One scene is reproduced in the picture
supplement.)
3. "After the Thaw-Victims of a Prairie Snow-Storm" (about 1/3 page),
ibid, v. 26 (June 10, 1882), p. 365.
4. "Fresh from West Point" to the plains (1/3 page), ibid, v. 26 (November
18, 1882), p. 733.
5. "Taming and Training the American Mustang" (11 illustrations on double page),
ibid., v. 26 (November 25, 1882), pp. 744, 745.
6. "An Indian Funeral-Off for the Happy Hunting Ground" (double page),
ibid., v. 28 (July 26, 1884), pp. 480, 481.
7. "On the Rio Grande-Surrendering a Prisoner To the Mexican Authorities" (1/2
page), ibid., v. 30 (August 28, 1886), p. 556.
8. "Smuggling on the Rio Grande" (about 1/2 page), ibid, v. 30 (September
4, 1886), p. 565.
I have no data on Frenzeny illustrations for the
years 1887 and 1888, but in 1889 he illustrated Harrington O'Reilly's book,
Fifty Years on the Trail; A True Story of Western Life, recounting the
Western experiences of John Nelson, a character of considerable fame in his day.
[99]
Over 100 illustrations appear in the book, and in the introduction, dated May,
1889, O'Reilly quotes Frenzeny as saying "[Illustrating this book] has given me
more pleasure than any work I have ever undertaken for it is so graphic that it
recalls, without any effort on my part, scenes which I am able to draw, not from
imagination, but from personal observation;" the only direct quotation now
available from either Frenzeny or Tavernier. After the publication of the
O'Reilly book Frenzeny drops completely from view and although my search has been
extensive no
On the Cattle Trail to Wichita, October, 1873.
Wichita, October 1873. Looking North on Main Street Where It Crosses
Douglas Avenue.
A thriving Kansas industry in the 1870's -- the Land Office in Sedgewick
County as sketched in October 1873.
Texas cattle-men encamped on the herd grounds West of Wichita
October 1873.
The grocery stores of Dinscoom and McKee at Coldwater, fifteen
miles southwest of Wichita in October 1873.
"Busted" A deserted village on the Great Plains.
Probably Zarah, Barton County, Kansas, October 1873.
Curing buffalo hides and collecting bones,
possibly at Dodge City, October, 1873.
A rough mountain road on the way to the mines.
Probably sketched in Colorado in the Spring of 1874.
Supply train of the plains in winter.
Sketched by Paul Frenzeny in 1882.
Attack by Indians on the Overland Trail near Chimney Rock Nebraska.
Painting by Jules Taverner.
The inset is a photograph of Taverner taken about 1878.
Both illustrations courtesy of the Bohemian Club, San Francisco.
PICTORIAL RECORD of OLD WEST 33
further information is available at present
concerning him. I trust these lines will be read by some individual who can
supply me with additional facts concerning Paul Frenzeny. [100]
CONCLUSION
We have presented evidence the majority of which
shows (1) that the two artists whose work we have described observed the scenes
they depicted; (2) that contemporary statements concerning the work of the
artists agree that their illustrations were good representations of the subjects
depicted; and (3) that comparison of written contemporary accounts, or of
subsequent research, is in satisfactory agreement with the record and information
imparted by other illustrations of the artists. We can again repeat, therefore,
that the Frenzeny-Tavernier illustrations as a group are important and reasonably
authentic pictorial documents of Western history; one can but regret that their
medium of reproduction was so crude and that the original drawings apparently no
longer exist. It is unfortunate, too, that we can here reproduce only a few of
the Frenzeny-Tavernier series. The interested reader and student will, of course,
wish to examine the illustrations as they appear in the files of
Harper's Weekly for the years 1873-1876.
The influence which these illustrations exerted
is difficult, if not impossible, to trace. Harper's Weekly was one
of the most widely read journals of its day; a very real "force in American life"
as one student of American journalism has said. [101] The illustrations
of Frenzeny and Tavernier were, therefore, well known in their day not only
because of the medium of publication, but because their illus
34 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
trations were numerous and unusual and appeared over a period of some years.
No effort was made to glamorize the West, an effect many later illustrators of
the West were prone to stress; in fact, illustrations such as "Busted,"
"Slaughtered For the Hide" and the torture shown in the "Sun Dance" were
realistic in the extreme and the majority of the illustrations were factual
records of Western life in its many aspects.
The Frenzeny-Tavernier illustrations were,
therefore, a part of the cultural background of their day. The lure of the West
in all its manifold forms was the compelling force that caused the Harper
brothers to send the two artists on their Western way, but the efforts of these
two artists were by no means all the "Westerns" published by the Weekly.
In the same years that the Frenzeny-Tavernier illustrations appeared, Western
sketches by Theodore R. Davis, W. M. Cary and A. R. Waud were published in the
Weekly, and the Weekly's chief competitor, Frank Leslie's
Illustrated Newspaper, was also recognizing the popular interest in this
field. [102]
To those of us of the older generation, Frederic
Remington and Charles M. Russell were the illustrators and painters of the West.
But the fact of the matter is that they were but two of a long line of Western
artists, who, including Frenzeny and Tavernier, have contributed their pictorial
talents, of varying quality, to one of the most dominant forces in past American
life, the Western frontier. Samuel Seymour, the first Western illustrator of note
in the 19th century, Catlin, Bodmer, Miller, Stanley, Eastman, Hays, Mathews,
Farny, Mary Hallock Foote, Zogbaum, Rogers, Graham, Hansen, Schreyvogel, to name
but a few of that long line, all contributed their share of pictorial
information, or misinformation, to the field of Western history. Many of the
later artists were influenced by their earlier colleagues. Remington, for
example, admitted that Catlin was one of the determining forces in shaping his
early career,[103]
and an examination of Remington's boyhood sketch books preserved
in the Remington Art Memorial, Ogdensburg, N. Y., shows crude Western sketches
quite patently patterned after those appearing in Harper's Weekly
and other illustrated periodicals of the day. So great was the influence of this
material that we find him writing in 1877 to a boyhood friend, who, like
Remington, was interested in
PICTORIAL RECORD OF OLD WEST 35
sketching, "Send me [sketches of] Indians, cowboys, villains or toughs. Those
are what I want." [104] It was to this general influence and
background, therefore, that the Frenzeny-Tavernier illustrations made their
contribution which affected the lives of thousands of boys and men-and probably
women-in the early 1870's.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I acknowledge with, sincere thanks the aid given
me: by the staff of the Kansas Historical Society, by Robert Beine and
especially by Ens. J. L. Barry who called to my attention the illustrations of
Frenzeny and Tavernier in The Great South-West; by Miss Grace M. Mayer of the
Museum of the City of New York; by Messrs. John F. Connally, J. J. Liliestrom and
Kendrick Vaughan of the Bohemian Club, San Francisco; by Miss Mabel R. Gillis and
the California State Library, Sacramento; by Miss Sereta Morris of the Wichita
Public Library who "discovered" the original Tavernier sketch of Wichita; most of
all, however, I am indebted to Miss Ina T. Aulls of the Denver Public Library who
generously made available the results of extensive newspaper searches bearing on
the work of Frenzeny and Tavernier in Colorado. I also wish to express my thanks
to the Graduate Research Committee of the University of Kansas for research
grants which helped pay, in part, the cost of securing transcripts, photostats,
and photographs of original materials used in this and other studies of Western
artists.
NOTES
1. Photography and the American Scene
(New York, 1938), see especially pp. 314-321; see, also, The Kansas
Magazine, Manhattan, 1938. pp. 45-64. 
2. G. W. Sheldon, American Painters
(New York, 1879), p. 125. 
3. Journal of Rudolph Freiderich Kurtz
(Washington, 1937), p. 189. 
4. A water color, for example, cannot be
expected to show the detail that is present in a carefully drawn pencil
sketch. 
5. Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and His Journals
(London, 1898), v. 2. p. 10. 
6. Georgia W. Read and Ruth Gaines, eds.,
Gold Rush (New York, 1944); 8 vols.
7. Samuel Isham. The
History of American Painting (New York, 1927), p. 501. 
8. It may be that the views of the art historian
are undergoing change. In a recent issue of the College Art Journal,
Menasha, Wis., May, 1945, p. 192, Frederick A. Sweet calls attention
to the need of study of the artists of the Western expansion. 
9. Harper's Weekly, v. 17 (November
8, 1873), pp. 961, 994. As this notice appeared after some of the sketches
had already appeared in the Weekly (see Footnote 21) and as the artists
were in Wichita on October 6, 1873 (see page 15). it is quite probable
they left New York in early September or possibly in August. 
10. The biographical data are from obituaries
in the San Francisco Morning Call, June 11, 1889, p. 3, col.
2, and the New York Tribune, June 10, 1889, p. 5, col. 5; see, also,
recollections of Amadee Joullin, a well-known California artist and
pupil and friend of Tavernier, in San Francisco Sunday Call,
April 16, 1911, p. 5. 
11. Tavernier's first illustration for Harper's,
a full-page one, "The Christmas Dream," appeared in the issue for December
30. 1871. p. 1233. 
12. The Division of Fine Arts, Library of
Congress; the New York Public Library; the Museum of the City of New
York; the Frick Art Reference Library; the New York Historical Society;
the Metropolitan Museum of Art; La Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris;
the California State Library; the Bohemian Club of San Francisco; and
D. T. Mallett, author of Mallett's Index of Artists, were all
consulted in 1940 and information concerning Frenzeny from these sources
was meager. Examination of the Art Index to October, 1945, gives
no entry under "Frenzeny." My friend, the late William H. Jackson, of
pioneer photography fame, was acquainted with Frenzeny but could tell
me little about Frenzeny's personal history or the date of his death;
see, also, Footnotes 94-99. 
13. Harper's Weekly, v. 12 (1868),
pp. 200, 733. 828. The first of these sketches "Las Cumbres Railroad,
Mexico-Scene in the Pass de la Mula" and the text accompanying it indicates
that Frenzeny had been in Mexico before 1868. 
14. Ibid. v. 13 (1869), pp. 4, 108,
116; v. 14 (1870), pp. 616, 744; v. 15 (1871). p. 360; v. 16 1872),
pp. 161, 660, 661, 669. 836, 876, 908; v. 17 (1873). pp. 145, 148, 156,
157. 468-. 744, 745. 
15. Ibid., v. 17 (1873), pp. 296,
297, 865. 
16. Deejay Mackart, a friend of both Tavernier-and
Frenzeny wrote that Frenzeny "was infinitely more clever with the point
than the brush."-San Francisco Call, July 10, 1892, p. 13, cols.
7, 8. Paintings were also in the portfolio of western sketches made
by the two artists. See Footnotes 60 and 71. 
17. The Rocky Mountain News, February
28, 1874, p. 4. Frenzeny and Tavernier spent the winter of 1878-1874
in and around Denver. See pp. 22-24. 
18. In their sketches appearing in Harper's
Weekly for 1874, I have counted 21 letters reversed. 
19. San Francisco Call, July 10,
1892, p. 13, cols. 7, 8. 
20. Some of these observations will become
apparent as we list or discuss the individual illustrations. For the
Bohemian character of the two (chiefly concerned with Tavernier) see
San Francisco Call, July 10, 1892, p. 13, cols. 7, 8 ; August
12, 1909, p. 6, cola. 6, 7 ; the Sunday Call, April 16, 1911,
p. 5; San Francisco Examiner, March 3, 1925. p. 7, col. 1, and
R. H. Fletcher, ed., Annals of the Bohemian Club (1872-1880),
2d ed. (San Francisco, 1900), V. 1. p. 191. 
21. Harper's Weekly, v. 17 (October
18, 1873), pp. 920, 921, 940. 
22. Ibid., v. 17 (November 1. 1873),
pp. 964, 965, three illustrations; on p. 993 (November 8, 1873), one
illustration of eight views. 
23. Ibid., v. 18 (January 31, 1874),
p. 105, single page in size. The men depicted were said to be members
of the famed "Molly M'Guire Secret Society." 
24. The evidence for this route will be
presented in the text which follows. 
25. Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (January
24. 1874), p. 76; the comment will be found on p. 78. 
26. For the early history of the M. K. &
T. see The Great South-West (a monthly house organ of the M.
K. & T.), Sedalia, Mo., June, 1874. and subsequent issues; Sylvan
R. Wood, Locomotives of the Katy (Boston, 1944), pp. 8-19; also
Report of the Commissioners of the M. K. and T. Railway Co. (New
York, 1888), pp. 2, 3; map in Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway
Company, Report To Stockholders, 1903 (Evening Post Job Print, New
York); A. T. Andreas-W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansas
(Chicago, 1883), pp. 250, 251.
From The Great South-West, we obtain some of our information
on Frenzeny's and Tavernier's itinerary as it contains a number of illustrations
signed by these artists and which appear in this publication as follows:
Views in Hannibal and Sedalia, Mo., issue of July, 1874; depot in Parsons,
Kan., November, 1874; Denison, Tex., August, 1874; Arkansas river valley
(near Fort Gibson, I. T.), June, 1874; Neosho valley, July. 1874; interior
of passenger ear, M. K. & T., November, 1874. Several of these illustrations
were used a number of times in different issues of The Great South-West.
I have assumed, as seems reasonable, that these illustrations were made
on the trip beginning in the fall of 1873. for there is record of only
one trip through the West by these two artists. 
27. In addition to the illustrations themselves,
and those listed in Footnote 26, we may add as further proof of the
artists' actual appearance in Texas, the following item from the Rocky
Mountain News, Denver, November 6, 1873, p. 4, the day after their
arrival in Denver: "Messrs. Frenzeni and Tavernier, artists for Harper's
Weekly, have made an extensive tour of Texas, Indian Territory,
and southern Colorado, where they have made a large number of interesting
sketches of frontier life." 
28. See Footnote 26 and map of the West
showing army posts and Indian reservations. Harper's Weekly,
v. 18 (1874). p. 691. 
29. The Denison [Tex.] Guide, American
Guide Series (Denison, 1939), pp. 11-15. 
30. Ibid., p. 13. 
31. The Wichita sketch was recently reproduced,
although incorrectly dated, as illustration No. 33 in Wichita 1866-1883-Cradle
Days of a Midwestern City (Wichita, 1945), edited by R. M. "Dick"
Long. 
32. The Fourth Annual Report (1875) of
the Kansas State Board of Agriculture (Topeka, 1875), p. 120, mentions
an extensive manufactory in operation at Fort Scott. On the other hand
mention of production of lime and limestone at Florence will be found
in a pamphlet edited by Stephen C. Marcou, A Description of Marion
County, Kansas (Marion Centre. 1874). pp. 8, 11; in Kansas in 1875
(Topeka, 1875), p. 15, the statement is made "3,000 carloads [of stone]
were shipped" from Florence in 1874; and in The Kansas Handbook,
J. S. Boughton, publisher (Lawrence, 1878), the statement is made on
page 14 that the most extensive lime kilns and stone quarries in the
state were in Florence. It will be noted that Boughton's comment is
made some four or five years after the Fourth Annual Report (which
makes no specific mention of lime kilns or quarries at Florence) and
an examination of the data given in Andreas-Cutler, op. cit.,
pp, 1264, 1265, indicates that extensive quarrying did not begin in
Florence until 1873, the year the artists were through Florence on the
A. T. and S. F. railroad. Since Fort Scott was on the M. K. & T.
it seems more probable the illustration was made there on their original
and southward trip through Kansas. 
33. Rocky Mountain News, November
6, 1873, p. 4. 
34. A short branch of the Santa Fe ran north
from Wichita to the main line at Newton. 
35. Las Animas (Colo.) Leader, November
8, 1873, p. 3. col. 2, has this entry under "west Las Animas Items":
The following were the arrivals at the American House this week, as
furnished us by the affable Geo. D. Williamson, Clerk: Patrick Shanley,
Kit Carson, Col. P, Frenzeny, New York City; Jules Tavemier, do. 11

36. Glenn Danford Bradley. The Story
of the Santa Fe (Boston, 1920), pp. 140-141, 
37. Andreas-Cutler, op. cit., pp.
762, 763, 769. 
38. Bradley, op. cit., p. 85. 
39. E. Douglas Branch, The Hunting of
the Buffalo (New York. 1929), p. 158. 
40. R. I. Dodge, The Plains of the Great
West (New York, 1877), p. 133. 
41. Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (December
12, 1874). pp. 1013, 1023. For the feeble efforts made by the Kansas
legislature to control the indiscriminate slaughter of the buffalo,
see E. O. Stene, "The Development of Kansas Wildlife Conservation Policies,"
Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, v. 47 (1945),
p. 291. In 1874. the Topeka correspondent of the New York Tribune described
the use to which buffalo bones, hides and meat-2,000,000 pounds of it-were
put; see "The Buffalo and His Bones," the Tribune, November 27,
1874, p. 3, col. 2 (nearly a column). 
42. For an excellent illustration of an
individual dugout, see Edwin White's sketch in Andreas-Cutler, op.
cit., p. 253, or Henry Worrall's sketch in W. E. Webb's Buffalo
Land (Cincinnati and Chicago, 1872), p. 329. 
43. Pleasant Hill (Mo.) Leader, November
22, 1872. p. 2, col. 3. The quotation is from a letter dated "Wallace,
Kas., Nov. 15, 1872." Wallace was on the Kansas Pacific north of the
Santa Fe line and the traveler reported that at Wallace some of the
habitations were dugouts. 
44. Fort Aubrey was about eight miles west
of the present town of Kendall, Kan. Kansas, A Guide To the Sunflower
State (New York, 1939), p. 390. 
45. Pleasant Hill (Mo.) Leader, January
3, 1873. p. 2. An illustration of one of these way stations on the Santa
Fe appears as a wood engraving in Frank Fossett's Colorado (Denver,
1877). p. 446. The account in the Leader cited in this note also
gives Some description of the town of Dodge City. 
46. In the North Topeka Times, December
20. 1878, are the recollections of a traveler of 1873. "During the year
1873 we `roughed it' in the West," he writes. "Our first stopping place
was the famous Dodge City, at the time a perfect paradise for gamblers.
cutthroats and girls.' On our first visit the buildings in the town
were not buildings, with one or two exceptions, but tents and dug-outs.
Every one in the town, nearly, sold whisky, or kept restaurant, perhaps,
both. The A., T. and S. F. R. R. was just then working its way up the
low-banked Arkansas, and Dodge was the frontier town." "The unsightly
dugouts" of early Kendall are mentioned in the Syracuse Journal,
June 11, 1886, p. 3, col. 3. The same issue of the Journal (p.
2, col. 1) mentions "the inevitable tank and . . a store in a sort of
cellar" at Lakin. The dugout store was still there in 1879, when A.
A. Hayes, Jr., and W, A. Rogers went through Lakin on the Santa Fe,
for Rogers drew a sketch of it; see A. A. Hayes, Jr., New Colorado
and The Santa Fe Trail (New York, 1880), p. 151. 
47. Annual Report of the Board of Directors
of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co., for the year ending
December 31, 1874 (Boston, 1875), p. 35. Other stops between Dodge
City and Granada were Cimarron, Pierceville, Sherlock, Lakin, and Aubrey.
These possessed windmills and water towers only.-Ibid., p. 37.

48. Note that no comment is made on the
construction of the "buildings," however. 
49. The Daily Chieftain, Pueblo Colo.,
August 26, 1873, p. 2, col. 2. Another contemporary written description,
which offers no further clues. will be found in the Las Animas (Colo.)
Leader, July 4. 1873, p. 2. It was written two days before the
Santa Fe reached Granada. 
50. A brief description of the town of Sargent
appears in The Daily Chieftain, Pueblo, Colo., February 19, 1873,
p. 2, but it is of little value in identifying the illustration. Sargent
was almost on the Kansas-Colorado line. The Santa Fe was constructed
to this point by December 28, 1872; Bradley, op. cit., p. 85.
J. H. Conard of Coolidge, long a resident of western Kansas. has been
interested in the history of Hamilton county. As Hamilton county contains
the towns Coolidge (formerly Sargent), Syracuse and Kendall, all on
the line of the Santa Fe, I wrote him some months ago describing the
illustration "An Under-Ground Village." Mr. Conard replied that he had
talked with J. M. Ward. of Coolidge, who lived in the town in the early
days of the Santa Fe. Mr. Ward told him that the picture would fit any
of the three towns, Dodge City. Sargent (now Coolidge) or Granada, C.
T. "That is about the way all the towns near here started." Some of
the results of Mr. Conard's research on the history of Hamilton county
from 1873 to 1887 will be found in the Syracuse Journal, November
3 and 10. 1944. 
51. Bradley, op. cit., p. 141, gives
the rail distance as 133 miles and the stage route was undoubtedly longer.

52. Pueblo Chieftain, November 5,
1873, p. 4. col. 1. 
53. Bradley, op. cit., p. 151. 
54. Rocky Mountain News, Denver,
November 6, 1873, p. 4. 
55. Mention of Frenzeny and Tavernier has
been found in the following Denver papers: Rocky Mountain News,
November 6, 1873, p. 4; Daily Times, February 16, 1874; Rocky
Mountain News, February 17, 1874, p. 4; ibid., February 28,
1874, p. 4; Daily Times, March 5, 1874; ibid., March 20,
1874. The reference to their studio is made in ibid., March 5,
1874. 
56. Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (May 30,
1874), p, 461. 
57. Ibid., v. 19 (May 1, 1875). p.
362. 
58. Another illustration should probably
be assigned to the Colorado group. It is, however, signed by Frenzeny
alone and appeared in ibid. (October 13, 1877), v. 21. p. 808.
As the text of the Weekly, in describing the picture, refers
to the incident depicted, Sheep Raid in Colorado," as occurring "some
time ago" it waS probably drawn during Frenzeny's stay in Colorado 1873-1874.

59. Rocky Mountain News, February
28, 1874, p. 4. Note that the last item would indicate a stop or a special
side trip to Colorado Springs. 
60. Ibid., February 17, 1874, p.
4. 
61. Denver Times, February 16. 1874.
As the historian must at least attempt to be honest we must record the
comment of still another Denver paper a few days later: "Everybody who
examines that painting of Denver, in Richards and Co's windows, comes
at once to the conclusion that the artist must have been cross-eyed
to have located the city between the Platte river and the mountains,
and near sighted to have the foot hills appear to be immediately joining
the suburbs. when they are fully ten miles distant."-Rocky Mountain
Herald, February 28, 1874, p. 3, col. 1. We can't be sure, of course,
that the Herald reporter was referring to Frenzeny and Tavernier's painting,
as the word "artist" only is specified. We might conclude from the opinion
of the other two Denver papers, that the Herald reporter was
a grouch and unduly hypercritical, if the painting he was discussing
belonged to Frenzeny and Tavernier. It should be pointed out also that
there was a considerable number of resident artists in Denver in the
1870's. I hope to discuss early art in Denver in a later number of this
series. 
62. An account of the Indian troubles mentioned
above may be found in George E. Hyde, Red Cloud's Polk (Norman,
Okla., 1937), pp, 210-215; see, also, letter by Col. John E. Smith dated
February 12, 1874, Fort Laramie," New York Semi-Weekly Tribune,
February 24, 1874, p. 5. col. 2; other mention of the troubles is given
in ibid., February 17, 1874, p. 5, col. 4; February 20, 1874,
p, 5, col. 3. Troops under Colonel Smith left Fort Laramie on March
2 and arrived at the Red Cloud Agency on March 5 effectively quieting
the Indians for the moment.-Ibid., March 10, 1874, p. 5, col.
5. 
63. The record of the first distance will
be found in Report of the Special U. S. Commission Appointed To Investigate
the Affairs of the Red Cloud Indian Agency, July, 1875 (hereinafter
cited as Report of the Special Commission, 1875, (Washington,
1875), p. 195; the second is from Hyde, op. cit., p. 206. 
64. Report of the Special Commission,
1875 (Footnote 63), p. 496. and Footnote 65. Catlin described the
sun dance of the Sioux in 1832 but did not paint it although many Indian
dances were portrayed by this early artist. He arrived in Sioux country
a few days after the ceremonial had taken place. The dance took place,
he reports, under an awning of immense size-in the center of which was
a pole."-George Catlin, North American Indians (Edinburgh, 1926),
v. 1. p. 262. 
65. Harper's Weekly, v. 19 (January
2, 1875). p. 10; F. W. Hodge, ed., Handbook of American Indians
(Washington, 1910), Pt. 2, p. 650; Leslie Spier, "The Sun Dance of the
Plains Indians," Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of
Natural History (1921), v. 16, pp. 451-529. 
66. The Indian population of the Red Cloud
Agency for the year ending June 30, 1874, is listed as 9,177-Executive
Document 6, House of Representatives, 43 Cong., 2 Sess. (Washington,
1874); see, also, Report of the Special Commission, 1875, pp.
435, 821. 
67. Schwatka's description may be found
in the Century Magazine, v. 39 (March, 1890). pp. 753-759. The
1875 dance also took place in June, the locality being between the Spotted
Tail Agency and "another agency 40 miles to the west." The second agency
was the Red Cloud Agency (Report of the Special Commission, 1875,
pp. 804. 807. 820). It is of interest to note that Remington illustrated
the Schwatka article but he did not attempt to depict the sun dance
itself. In fact, Remington did not see an Indian sun dance (Blackfoot)
until July, 1890, after the illustrations of the Schwatka article were
drawn. Harper's Weekly, v. 34 (December 13, 1890), p. 976, and
my own exhaustive study of Remington. Oddly enough, Remington did not
produce a picture of a complete view of the sun dance until the last
year of his life. Evidently, however, the scene witnessed in 1890 made
so profound an impression on him that he wrote in his diary (now in
the Remington Art Memorial. Ogdensburg, N. Y.) under date of February
28, 1909: `Am starting `sun Dance' for the love of Record of Great Themes
but I'll never sell it-it will give everybody the Horrors. It is in
my system and its got to come out." 
68. San Francisco Call, July 10,
1892, p. 13, col. 7. Mackart stated that the sketch was published in
the Illustrated London News as well as in Harper's Weekly.
I have made some effort to find it in the News but so far without
success. 
69. Another half-page illustration, "Red
Cloud Agency-Distributing Goods," is found in the Weekly, v.
20 (May 13, 1876), p. 393, and is signed by I. P. Pranishnikopf. My
study of Pranishnikopf is not yet complete but he had occasional western
illustrations appearing in various periodicals for many years. In some
of these, the illustrations. although signed by Pranishnikopf, also
had the added credit line "redrawn after a sketch by" so and so. It
is possible that the illustration, "An Indian Agency-Distributing Rations,"
in the Weekly for November 13, 1875, p. 924, was based on observation
by Pranishnikopf but on the above basis, I think it is unlikely. I have
also considered the possibility that Pranishnikopf redrew a Frenzeny-Tavernier
sketch for the illustration of May 13, 1876, but this possibility seems
ruled out by the fact that in Pranishnikopf's illustration of the Red
Cloud Agency the legend "F. D. Yates Trading Co." appears on one of
the buildings; but F. D. Yates did not begin business at the Red Cloud
Agency until April 16, 1875, nearly a year after Frenzeny and Tavernier
were there.-Report of the Special Commission, 1875, p. 330. The
Pranishnikopf illustration may have been redrawn from a photograph.
It should be pointed out, however, that Pranishnikopf had what apparently
was a Denver scene in Harper's Weekly, v. 20 (October 14, 1876),
p. 836. 
70. In addition to the references already
noted are the vague recollections of Joullin (San Francisco Call,
April 16, 1911, p. 5) and a reference to the artist's experiences in
1874 with General Smith, Spotted Tail and Red Cloud that will be found
in California Art Research First Series (San Francisco, 1937),
v. 4, p. 3. The General Smith is undoubtedly the Colonel Smith mentioned
in Footnote 62.
Dr. G. R. Gaeddert, formerly of the staff of the Kansas Historical Society but now of Washington, kindly searched the records in the National
Archives for me. He reports that no mention of Frenzeny and Tavernier
occurs in the period March 20 to July 1, 1874, in the Fort Laramie Letter
Books and the Red Cloud Agency Letters." These materials, however, are
confined almost exclusively to military and agency affairs. Unfortunately
no log books of daily happenings and register of visitors at Fort Laramie,
which I had hoped to find, are among the collections of the Interior
and War branches of the National Archives. 
71. This painting, on display in San Francisco
in 1919, is probably the most authentic evidence that the artists were
at Fort Laramie. It was painted on the lid of a cigar box, dated 1874,
with the legend on the store "J. S. Collins."-San Francisco Chronicle,
April 20, 1919, p. 25, col. 5. The Wyoming State Library informs me
that Gilbert Collins, a brother of J. S. Collins, was actually in charge
of the post-trader's store in 1874. 
72. San Francisco Alta California,
October 22, 1878, p. 1, col. 3. The vicinity of the scene depicted was
near Chimney Rock, western Nebraska. The locality would be between Fort
Laramie and the Red Cloud Agency. The painting is now owned by the Bohemian
Club, San Francisco. 
73. Ibid., January 27, 1879, p. 1,
col. 3. The account of the painting states "It recently sold for $2,000."

74. Information from the California State
Library, Sacramento. This item, together with other data on Tavernier,
was compiled in 1907. The painting was reported then as owned by "H.
Belloc, Paris." 
75. California Art Research, First
Series. v. 4, p. 25. Reported as painted about 1880-1882. 
76. See map, Harper's Weekly, v.
18 (August 22, 1874), p. 691. 
77. Contemporary notice in the San Francisco
papers has been found for only one of the above sketches. The San Francisco
Bulletin, May 20, 1875, p. 3, Col. 6, makes the brief comment,
"Harper's Weekly, just at hand, is embellished with a number
of graphic views in the Chinese quarter, San Francisco, by the artists
Frenzeny and Tavernier." 
78. Records of the Bohemian Club,
San Francisco. 
79. San Francisco News Letter, May
1, 1875. p. 12; May 15, 1875, p. 5 ; San Francisco Bulletin,
May 22, 1875, p. 2, Col. 2; San Francisco Daily Post, May 22,
1875, p. 1, col. 3. 
80. Harper's Weekly, v. 18 (March
14, 1874), p. 246. 
81. Ibid., v. 19 (May 22, 1875),
pp. 420, 426. 
82. Among the paintings of Tavernier listed
in California Art Research, First Series, v. 4, p. 25, is "A
Scene in New Mexico" which was dated 1880-1882. This painting may be
based on a trip to the New Mexico country in 1873-1874 or later, or
it may be based on photographs as suggested later in the text. 
83. San Francisco Alta California,
April 2, 1879, p. 1. Col. 3. In 1892. a painting, "Montezuma Landscape,"
by Tavernier, waS reported in the possession of one Irving M. Scott,
The Wave, San Francisco, v. 8 (January 16, 1892), p. 7, Col.
3. Whether this was the painting, "Waiting For Montezuma," or an additional
one, is uncertain. It is possible that all three references to the Montezuma
titles refer to but one painting. 
84. San Francisco Call, May 28, 1893.
p. 26, Col. 1. 
85. Ibid., December 16, 1884, p.
7. col. 6. 
86. See Footnote 10. 
87. The quotations are from Annals of
the Bohemian Club, v. 1. p. 191. Other sources of information on
Tavernier's later life are found in California Art Research,
First Series, v. 4, pp. 1-26, a very inadequate and poorly documented
account. Among the newspaper references utilized may be mentioned the
following (many others are available at the California State Library,
Sacramento): San Francisco Alta California, July 13, 1877, p.
1, col. 9; January 27, 1879, p. 1, col. 3 ; San Francisco Morning
Call, March 10, 1886, p. 4, col. 2 ; The Wave, San Francisco,
January 16, 1892, v. 8. p. 7, col. 3; San Francisco Call, July
10, 1892. p. 13, cola. 7, 8, which credits Tavernier with the founding
of the Monterey art colony; San Francisco Call, August 12, 1909,
p. 6, cols. 6, 7 ; the Sunday Call, April 16, 1911. p. 5 ; San
Francisco Examiner, March 3 1925 p 7 Cols. 1-3 and obituaries
listed in footnote 10. 
88. Tavernier also had an illustration appearing
under his own signature in Harper's Weekly (July 26, 1879), v.
23, p. 588, 'Jeanette' Leaving the Harbor of San Francisco" (full page).

89. Depicts a sick or dying pioneer in rude
cabin. For an amusing contemporary criticism of this piece see the San
Francisco Argonaut, November 24, 1877, p. 3, col. 4. The original
painting is now in the possession of The Society of California Pioneers.
San Francisco. 
90 "Taken From Life"90 "Taken From Life"
in an underground sweat house of the California Digger Indians, near
Clear Lake".-San Francisco Alta California, June 12, 1878, p.
1. col. 4. 
91. California Art Research, First
Series, v. 4, p. 25. 
92. According to ibid., p. 19, Tavernier
went to the Pacific Northwest on a hunting trip with Sir Thomas Hesketh
and sketches of the Northwest Indians were obtained. No other record
of the sketches or paintings resulting from the trip seems to be available.

93. Ibid., p. 25. 
94. Annals of the Bohemian Club,
v. 1, pp. 19, 26, 43, 107 191. At the end of volume 1, Frenzeny is listed
as a member of the board of directors of the club for 1876-1877. 
95. Deejay Mackart. See Footnote 16. 
96. Frenzeny's illustrations in Harper's
Weekly for 1876-1878 are: "The Indian War-Buying Cavalry Horses,"
near San Francisco (full page), v. 20 (November 11, 1876), p. 924; "Chinese
Immigrants at the San Francisco Custom-House" (title page), v. 21 (February
3, 1877), p. 81; Sunday Sports in Southern California" (full page),
v. 21 (March 3, 1877),. p. 164; "Chinese Lantern Feast" (1/3 page),
v. 21 (April 25, 1877), p. 332; Charcoal Burning in Nevada" (1/3 page),
v. 21 (May 26, 1877), p. 405; "Chinese Reception in San Francisco" (double
page), v. 21 (June 9, 1877), pp. 444, 445; "A Whaling Station on the
California Coast" (title page), v. 21 (June 23, 1877), p. 477; "Camel
Train in Nevada" (1/3 page). v. 21 (June 30. 1877), p. 501; "Nevada
Silver Mine--Changing the Shift" (title page), v. 21 (August 25, 1877),
p. 657; "Sheep Raid in Colorado" (1/3 page), v. 21 (October 13, 1877),
p. 808; "Mission Indians of Southern California . . " (1/3 page), v.
21 (October 20, 1877), p. 821; "The Vintage in California" (double page),
v. 22 (October 5, 1878), pp. 792, 793; "On the Way To the Yosemite Valley"
(full page), p. 9'52. For the camel experiment of 1856. see Dan E. Clark,
The West in American History (New York, 1937), pp. 520. 521.

97. Harper's Weekly, v. 23 (August
23, 1879), p. 664; v. 24 (1880), pp. 152, 556, 812. 
98. "The Brighton Beach Fair Grounds, Coney
Island" (full page), ibid., v. 23 (August 30, 1879), p. 684.

99. The book was published by June of 1889
as there is a brief description of it in the Publisher's Weekly,
v. 35 (June 29, 1889), p. 833. 
100. Further data on both artists and upon
their work would be most thankfully received by the author. He may be
addressed at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. 
101. Frank Luther Mott, American Journalism
(New York, 1941), p. 379. The circulation of Harper's Weekly
estimated by the American Newspaper Directory for 1875 (George
P. Rowell and Company, New York), p. 249, was 100,000. Mott, op.
cit., p. 379. states that its circulation by 1872 was 160,000; A.
R. Paine, Th. Nast (New York, 1904), p. 204, states that by 1871,
the circulation of the Weekly had grown to 300,000. Neither Mott
nor Paine, however, give any indication of the source of their data.
Paine attributes the wide circulation of Harper's Weekly to the
political cartoons of Nast in exposing the Tweed ring of New York. City.
It is doubtful if any such claim is justified. The happenings in New
York City (to which the Nast cartoons were devoted exclusively), were
of general interest to the nation but the widely diversified character
of the Weekly's offerings, both in print and in picture, were of greater
importance in establishing its wide circulation. Paine is undoubtedly
correct (p. 204) when he points out that the illustrations of the Weekly
were to be found "in the most isolated farm-house of the West, in the
woodsman's but and in the miner's cabin" for we have already observed
the comment of the Emporia News (pp. 14. 15) "we are glad to
know that the Weekly is well patronized here"; a comment of special
significance coming from a small Western village.
For an opinion of the powerful influence of Harper's Weekly,
more nearly contemporary with the period of Frenzeny and Tavernier than
is found in Mott, see the two and a half page review and criticism in
the staid North American Review, v. 100 (April, 1865), p. 625.
The Review account concludes with a prophesy now made fact: "Our historical
societies and public libraries throughout the country should secure
a complete set of the volumes of the Weekly,-for every year will
add to their value as an illustrated record of the times.
102. Leslie's, however. in this
period never reached the circulation figures achieved by its competitor.
In 1874, the circulation estimated by the American Newspaper Directory,
1874, p. 228, was 40,000. Frenzeny-Tavernier never published western
illustrations in Leslie's, although I have found one Frenzeny
sketch in that publication before the Western tour, Frank Leslie's
Illustrated Weekly, November 16, 1872, p. 149, "Rehearsal For Annual
Training in a Village Store Band." 
103. Collier's Weekly, March 18,
1905. p. 16. 
104. Ibid., September 17, 1910,
p. 28. 
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