Ohio History Journal

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM HENRY HOLMES

 

ARTIST, GEOLOGIST, ARCHEOLOGIST AND ART GALLERY

DIRECTOR

 

1846-19--

 

The subject of this sketch was born December 1,

1846, in the home of his parents, Joseph and Mary He-

berling Holmes, near the city of Cadiz, Ohio, the home

farm being one of the subdivisions of the original grant

to his grandfather in 1800.    The house was on the

Cadiz -- St. Clairsville road, four and one-half miles

south of Cadiz. As recorded in Colonel Holmes' work,

"The American Family of the Rev. Obadiah Holmes,"

he represents the eighth generation of this family in

America.*

The earliest memory of Mr. Holmes is of the occa-

sion when his father and mother took him, each by a

hand, and led him into the garden to show him and let

him taste the first ripe strawberries of the season. This

episode was followed by numerous personally directed

exploits in gardens and orchards, which may be re-

garded as prophetic of his career as an explorer and

collector. One of these exploits was a raid on the wa-

termelon patch when the melons were about the size of

 

* For the family history see Colonel Holmes' book, "The American

Family of Rev. Obadiah Holmes," by Col. J. T. Holmes, Columbus, Ohio,

1915. For details of the professional career of Mr. Holmes, see publica-

tions of the Smithsonian Institution, the two Geological Surveys, the Bu-

reau of American Ethnology, the U. S. National Museum, the National

Gallery of Art and the Field Columbian Museum, 1872-1927. The list of

his publications includes 217 numbers.

(493)

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494      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

goose eggs. When discovered, he had nearly the whole

prospective crop gathered into a heap. What happened

to him on that occasion is not recorded. The collecting

habit, however, grew on him and today various Mu-

seums are burdened with accumulations in geology,

archeology and art as the result of his enterprise.

His first day at school, in the little schoolhouse in

the edge of an oak forest, is distinctly remembered. His

two brothers had brought home terrible stories of the

whippings administered to unruly pupils by the teacher,

and when they got him to the top of the hill, where the

first glimpse of the schoolhouse was obtained, he

promptly "bucked," refusing to go further, but was

forced along, and in his later years has no recollection of

the administration of corrective treatment by the

teacher.

His art career, indeed his entire career in the outer

world, was foreshadowed and begun while in the first

and second school readers. With his seat mate, Alex-

ander Hammond, he took to tracing the little illustra-

tions in their readers with sharp points and soon had

them partially cut out of the books. He imagined that

he excelled in this work, and pride of his skill led him to

other graphic ventures, which are not ended after the

lapse of three-quarters of a century. Joseph Thomas,

one of his schoolmates some years older, was quite ar-

tistic in his turn and had acquired a small box of colors,

of which the incipient artist was very envious, and in

lieu of boughten colors he squeezed the juices of weeds

for green, and berries for red, and with improvised

brushes began his career as a painter. One of the hap-

piest days of his boyhood was the occasion when the

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WILLIAM HENRY HOLMES (495)

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496      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

local market man was induced to buy for him in Wheel-

ing, Virginia,* twenty miles away, a box of colors and

the necessary brushes. He did not, however, under-

stand the use of brushes and painted with the point,

much as with a pen, but soon learned better and early

in the sixties had procured oil paints, and several ex-

amples of his work of that period, in both mediums, are

preserved.

His mother died when he was ten and he lived a

year with his grandparents, John and Mary Heberling,

charming old folks, in the village of Georgetown, two

and one-half miles away.

The young man was probably of small account on

the farm, his two older brothers taking the heavier

burdens while he hunted squirrels and rabbits, fished,

sketched and went to school. At nineteen he was for-

tunate enough to be able to attend the McNeely Normal

School, at Hopedale, seven miles away, from which in-

stitution he graduated in 1867. In 1865, he was able to

secure a certificate to teach in the common schools, and

began in this field as assistant to his cousin, Abram

Holmes, in the Red Hill schoolhouse near Cadiz, and

later taught in the neighboring schools of Science Hill

and Beech Spring.

In 1866, Holmes found the prospect of a teacher's life

so unattractive that he decided to take up the study of

art if any kind of an opportunity presented itself; and

appealing to his cousin, Colonel J. T. Holmes, of Co-

lumbus, he was advised to visit Steubenville and find out

whether Mr. E. F. Andrews, an artist of repute,

would be willing to give him lessons. He found Mr.

* At this time, before West Virginia was made a state, June 19, 1863,

Wheeling was in Virginia.

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  497

Andrews occupying an elegant mansion with a com-

modious studio. He was a very agreeable gentleman in

every way, but was not inclined to take pupils. It is a

noteworthy fact that many years later Mr. Andrews

and he came together in Washington -- Andrews as

Principal of the Corcoran School of Art, and Holmes

as Curator of the National Gallery of Art. Mr. An-

drews died in October, 1917, and Holmes had the privi-

lege of presenting an address in his honor on the occa-

sion of the dedication of a memorial tablet to him in the

Corcoran Gallery. Later it fell to Holmes' lot to install

in the National Museum a collection of art objects left

by Andrews and presented to the Museum by Mrs. An-

drews as a permanent memorial to him.

Returning home disappointed from his visit to Mr.

Andrews in Steubenville, and with the art idea pretty

well dissipated, Holmes resolved to try his luck with a

school of higher grade than that of Hopedale and spent

a single term at the Willoughby Collegiate Institute, on

Euclid Avenue, Extended, Cleveland, Ohio, beginning

March 30, 1867. It happened, curiously enough, that

his room-mate here was John M. Wilson, a cousin of

Woodrow Wilson, later President of the United States.

Among other classmates were Henry A. Clark, of Erie.

Pennsylvania, afterwards member of Congress from

that district for the years 1916, 1917 and 1918.

While at school at Willoughby, Holmes visited the

studio of Miss Caroline Ransome, the artist, in Cleve-

land, but failed again to find the way open to an art

career. Later he returned to Hopedale and graduated

at the Normal School there in 1870. Not being satisfied

with his acquirements as a teacher, he conceived the

Vol. XXXVI--32.

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498     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

plan of taking a course of instruction in a teacher's

school of high grade, the State Normal School, Salem,

Massachusetts, and his father advanced $200.00 to en-

able him to carry out this plan. But here good fortune

came to his rescue and the course of his life was wholly

changed and his art tendencies, never wholly lost sight

of, came anew to the surface. He happened one day to

be in Neri Hanna's book store in Cadiz, Ohio, and

while talking with Mr. Hanna of his plans, was intro-

duced to Mr. John Simmons, a native of Cadiz, who had

just returned from Washington, where he occupied a

clerkship in the War Department. On hearing of

Holmes' disappointment at having to give up art, he

advised him strongly to abandon the Salem plan and go

to Washington instead and study painting under Theo-

dore Kauffman, a painter of much local repute. Mr.

Simmons wrote to Mr. Kauffman, making inquiries,

and the reply was so encouraging that Holmes decided

to stop in Washington and make inquiries. Kauffman's

studio was found on Twelfth Street, just below F, and

it was not long before the idea of a school teacher's ca-

reer was relegated to the scrap heap. It happened that

in this class, as a fellow pupil, was Miss Mary Henry,

daughter of Professor Joseph Henry, Secretary of the

Smithsonian Institution. Through acquaintance with

Miss Henry, Holmes learned of the Institution where

he soon found plentiful subjects for his every-ready

pencil. This acquaintance with the Institution put him

in direct touch with the realm of science. On the occa-

sion of this first visit, April, 1871, he stopped just within

the front door to sketch a bright-colored bird exhibited

in one of the showcases. While at this work he was

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  499

observed by the young Naturalist, Dr. Jose Zeledon, of

Costa Rica, who happened to be passing, and was asked

if he had a fancy for birds, and replying in the affirma-

tive, he was invited to go upstairs and see a wonderful

work on humming birds by Gould. There he was in-

troduced to a number of scientists and when it was

learned that he could draw, he was asked to try his

hand on drawing fossil shells for the Institution's au-

thority in this branch, Dr. F. B. Meek. Being success-

ful in this work, he was employed also in drawing shells

of living species for Dr. W. H. Dall, the eminent

naturalist. Having succeeded in satisfying these criti-

cal professors, he was soon regularly engaged on this

work, but the even current of his artistic progress had

one unexpected check. Professor F. S. Baird, Assist-

ant Secretary of the Smithsonian, a naturalist of great

ability, asked him to draw an illustration for the title-

page of a forthcoming work on birds, and he soon car-

ried to the professor a nicely finished drawing of a bird

in flight hovering over a flower. Baird glanced at the

drawing with a kindly but questioning look and hesi-

tatingly inquired, "And what is the species of the bird?"

This ended the episode which, by the way, was the

artist's first real lesson in the realm of science.

In the spring of 1872, Holmes was appointed artist

to the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories, under

Dr. F. V. Hayden, to succeed Henry W. Elliott, who

had resigned the position to join the Polaris Expedition

under the direction of Dr. Emil Bessels. The summer

of 1872 was spent with the Survey of the Yellowstone

Country, now the Yellowstone National Park, reached

from Ogden, Utah, by pack train, where ample oppor-

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500     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

tunity was afforded to prove his ability with the pencil,

and incidentally as a mountaineer and graphic recorder

of geological phenomena; and the following winter was

spent in Washington preparing maps and illustrations

for the reports of the Survey and in the study of art.

The survey of Colorado followed in 1873, with Den-

ver as a basis of operations. Holmes climbed many of

the principal peaks of the front ranges and was the first

person known to reach the summit of the then mys-

terious Mountain of the Holy Cross. (See detailed ac-

count of this ascent herewith.) In 1874, continuing un-

der the same auspices, he had made such progress in field

geology that he was appointed Assistant Geologist on

the Survey and assisted the Director in the study of the

great mountain ranges of Central Colorado. In 1875,

he was given charge of the party assigned to the Survey

of the San Juan Valley in New Mexico and Arizona.

It happened that this region was the home of the ancient

Cliff-Dwellers and he examined and reported on the

remarkable ruins encountered at nearly every turn, thus

making his entry into the fascinating realm of archeol-

ogy. At this period the region was infested by bands

of thieving Indians and on one occasion the party's en-

tire herd of animals was driven off at midnight, but

fortunately, by the prompt pursuit of the head packer,

Thomas Cooper, all were recaptured before morning.

(See detailed account of the episode herewith.)

The winter months of 1875-76 were spent in Wash-

ington, preparing reports of the previous field season

on the geology and archeology of the Cliff House Region

of Southern Colorado, and the spring months in prepar-

ing extensive exhibits for the Museum to be shown at

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  501

the Philadelphia Centennial. The summer was spent in

a remarkable trip with A. D. Wilson on the primary tri-

angulation of the great mountain systems of Colorado.

During the season, eleven peaks, 14,000 feet in height

or approaching that height, were climbed. Among these

are Long's, Pike's, Gray's, Culebra, Torrey, Evans, Sop-

ris, Lincoln, Grizzly, White Rock, Powell, Italian,

Blanca, Hesperus and the Quartzites. Holmes was the

first to reach the summit in every case.

The survey of the Colorado region continued

through 1877, but Holmes remained in Washington in

charge of the preparation of illustrations and maps and

engaged in writing reports.

In 1878, the Survey sent a second expedition into the

Yellowstone Region, set aside in 1872 as a National

Park. The Park was reached by pack train from Chey-

enne, Wyoming, the region traversed being of great in-

terest. On the way a stop of one day was made in Wy-

oming to permit observation of the total eclipse of the

sun and drawings in color were made of the corona.

Several months were spent in the Park and Holmes'

report is included in the Annual Report of the Survey

for 1878. The report describes, in considerable detail

and with numerous illustrations, the exceedingly inter-

esting geological features of the Park, including the

fossil forests and the glacial phenomena of the region.

He reported also on the occurrence of Indian imple-

ments made of obsidian, or volcanic glass, which ma-

terial abounds in the Park. Due to the important part

taken by him in the explorations of the year, he was later

honored by Director Hayden, of the Survey, by having

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502     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

his name attached to one of the prominent mountain

peaks in the Park.

A year, July, 1879 to July, 1880, was spent in Eu-

rope. The winter months were devoted to art studies in

Munich where he was associated with the American Art

Colony, of which Frank Duveneck, of Cincinnati, was

the outstanding personality, and this was supplemented

in the spring by sketching trips to Rome, Venice, Naples

and other Italian cities, and studies in the great Mu-

seums and Galleries.

The old survey, the U. S. Geological and Geograph-

ical Survey of the Territories, Dr. F. V. Hayden in

charge, had been discontinued by Congress, December

30, 1879, and was succeeded by the reorganized survey,

the U. S. Geological Survey, under Clarence King. On

Holmes' return from Europe, June 30, 1880, he was as-

signed to duty on this new Survey and was at once di-

rected to join Major Clarence E. Dutton, Geologist, on

the Survey of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. His

principal work for the season was the drawing of pano-

ramic views of the canyon, the most important being

that from Point Sublime. The following winter season

was devoted to drawing these panoramas in pen line and

in color for reproduction in the atlas of Colorado, and

in the preparation of the geological maps for this great

volume. In December, he was assigned by the Secretary

of the Interior to the task of closing up the affairs of the

old Survey, $10,000 being available for this purpose, re-

taining his position, however, on the reorganized Ge-

ological Survey.

The years of 1882, 1883, 1884 and 1885 were de-

voted largely to Museum work and the study of primi-

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  503

tive art in its various branches. The activities of the

period were varied greatly by the preparation and in-

stallation of exhibits of the Survey and Museum for ex-

positions at New Orleans, Louisville and Cincinnati.

During these and many preceding and succeeding years,

Holmes was much concerned in the illustration work of

the Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution,

with drawing, engraving and publishing, and with the

preparation of ethnological and geological maps. In

this important field he had, for many years, the able as-

sistance of Mr. De Lancey W. Gill, who is still, in 1927,

the leading illustrator of the Smithsonian and its de-

partments.

In April, 1884, the monotony of home-staying was

broken by a trip to Mexico on which Holmes was the

guest of Mr. and Mrs. Chain, professional photogra-

phers who had the use of a special car provided with a

studio and comfortable living accommodations. Mr.

W. H. Jackson, photographer, joined the party at El

Paso, Texas. It was a delightful excursion of two

months with visits to Mexico City, Puebla, Zacatecas.

Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Cholula and other places of note,

giving the opportunity of studying peoples, museums,

ancient ruins and a number of the great volcanic moun-

tains.

Early in August, 1886, he had the good fortune to

be asked to join a field party of scientists planning a

three-months study, in large part, of the Indian tribes

and ancient ruins in New Mexico and Arizona. In the

party were Professor S. P. Langley, Secretary of the

Smithsonian Institution, Major J. W. Powell, Director

of the Geological Survey, James Stevenson, Assistant

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to Dr. Hayden, and Mrs. Stevenson, and others inter-

ested in the Pueblo Region. A permanent camp was es-

tablished in the San Diego Valley, a tributary of the Rio

Grande, fifty miles West of Santa Fe, with the Jemez

Mountains rising on the west.

Holmes' own energies were devoted mainly to an

examination of the ancient ruins which are very numer-

ous in the region. An excursion of very special in-

terest was the ascent of Jemez Mountain in company

with Major Powell and others. The ascent was easy

enough but the descent proved to him a disaster. It

happened that his pony, which had an easy gait on or-

dinary roads and trails, had stiff fore legs and on the

long tedious descent of the trailless mountain slopes he

came down at each step with a terrible jolt which so

affected the rider's spine that on reaching camp he

found himself quite helpless, so that he had to be carried

on a litter to the distant railroad station where he was

placed on the first homeward bound train. He recov-

ered in a few weeks but has always found it necessary

to avoid any severe strain affecting the spine.

The five-year period, 1889-1894, was one of the most

important periods of his labors in the field of science,

and one of the most important in the history of Amer-

ican archeological research. At the beginning of this

period the theory of a paleolithic (early stone) man in

America, corresponding closely in grade of culture with

the paleolithic period in Europe, had been accepted with-

out question by American students.   Collectors in

various sections of the country had amassed evidence

that appeared to them conclusive, and Museum cases

were filled with rudely chipped stones labelled "Amer-

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  505

ican Paleolithic Implements." Because they were rude

in shape and resembled the so-called paleolithic imple-

ments of Europe, they were assigned to an antiquity of

from twenty to one hundred thousand years, and to a

people preceding the American Indian. By a study of

these collections Holmes soon became convinced that a

serious mistake was being made. None of the so-called

implements showed evidence of specialization of form

adapting them to a particular use, or of any wear by

use. During these five years a vigorous, and to some

extent a bitter controversy was carried on between him

and the advocates of great antiquity for these relics,

with the result that at the close of the period no imple-

ment or chipped stone of any kind was to be found in

an American Museum of repute, labelled "paleolithic."

All were shown to be merely the failures of shop and

quarry sites where the Indians had, with the aid of

stone hammers, roughed out blades to be finished after-

wards as knives, scrapers, spear heads and the like. Ex-

periment on Holmes' part made it clear that, with the

materials commonly available, there were twenty or

more failures to a single success and these failures were

rejected and cast into the refuse heap.

In 1893, Holmes took a prominent part in the instal-

lation of the exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution at

the Field Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and in 1894

resigned from the Bureau of Ethnology to accept the

Head Curatorship of Anthropology in the Field Colum-

bian Museum, Chicago, having already been appointed

non-resident Professor of Anthropic Geology, under

Professor T. C. Chamberlain, in the University of Chi-

cago. At a farewell banquet tendered him on leaving

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Washington by his artistic and scientific friends and

associates, he was presented with a silver loving-cup

on which the following inscription is engraved:

Washington, D. C.

May 16th, 1894.

Presented to William Henry Holmes by his

Associates in the Smithsonian Institution

and the United States Geological Survey

as a token of their esteem.

During the winter of 1894-1895, an event of excep-

tional importance in Holmes' career occurred. This

was an exploring expedition to Yucatan with Mr. Alli-

son V. Armour, of Chicago, in his good yacht "Ituna."

The chief result of this trip was the publication by the

Field Museum of a volume of 338 pages, on the ancient

ruins of Yucatan and Central America, with numerous

illustrations of the remarkable ruined buildings and

works of sculpture and with maps, ground plans of

buildings and panoramic views of the cities.*

In 1897, he returned to Washington to become Head

Curator of the Department of Anthropology in the Na-

tional Museum, this department including, besides eth-

nology and archeology, the collections of technology,

history and art. In 1900, he spent the months of Feb-

ruary and March with Major Powell, studying the an-

tiquities of the Island of Cuba, and later joined Secre-

tary S. P. Langley, in Jamaica, assisting in the study of

the flight of the turkey vulture, the object being to

learn something of the secrets of flight and their pos-

sible application to the development of the flying ma-

 

* Archaeological Studies Among the Ancient Ruins of Mexico, in

two parts, by W. H. Holmes.

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  507

chine. Later, a third visit was made to Mexico during

which interesting studies, scientific and artistic, were

made.

On the death of Major Powell in 1902, Holmes be-

came Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, re-

taining, however, the honorary position of Head Cura-

tor in the National Museum. It should be explained

here that the National Museum and the Bureau of

American Ethnology are coordinate bureaus under the

Smithsonian Institution. A noteworthy feature of this

period was the publication under his immediate direc-

tion, and to the contents of which he was a leading con-

tributor, of the two-volume Handbook of the Ameri-

can Indians, edited by Mr. F. W. Hodge. In 1909,

being deeply interested in Museum work, he retired

from the Bureau of Ethnology to devote his entire time

to that work and to archeological researches, conducting

investigations in many fields. Perhaps his most im-

portant achievements of this period were the classifica-

tion and installation in the National Museum, second

floor, of the great collections of American Archeology,

and in 1903 the establishment of the Division of Physi-

cal Anthropology in the National Museum with Dr.

Ales Hrdlicka, the noted physical anthropologist, as

Curator. The latter achievement was the direct result

of his accidental observation of the fact that in the Army

Medical Museum, adjoining the National Museum on

the Mall, there was a collection of 2200 human skulls

assembled for research purposes, which, due to changes

in the personnel of the Museum, were not being

utilized as intended. Holmes succeeded in having the

collection transferred to the National Museum's De-

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508      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

partment of Anthropology, which was under his charge,

and with the result, due to the tireless enterprise of Dr.

Hrdlicka, that in less than a score of years the collection

has been increased to 20,000 crania, besides a great body

of related materials. A noteworthy feature of this and

previous periods was the installation in the Museum of

life-size groups, in plaster of Paris, of Indians engaged

in their various interesting activities. These were de-

signed by Holmes and modelled in clay by U. S. J. Dun-

bar, the sculptor.

In more recent years, 1906-1920, the art collections

increased with gratifying rapidity. The valuation of a

few thousands dollars when Holmes took charge, had

by gift and bequest, increased in 1920 to an estimated

value of ten millions. The rapid growth was largely

due to the fact that the new Museum building, com-

pleted in 1910, afforded attractive, though unfortunate-

ly limited, wall spaces for the display of art works.

In 1920, another important change took place in

Holmes' activities and responsibilities. The art collec-

tions of the Institution having grown in importance as

thus noted, the Gallery was divorced from the Museum

and he was named Director, a position which he still

holds at the close of 1927, almost fifty-seven years after

his first visit to the Smithsonian Institution.

Strangely enough, Holmes has, among various hon-

ors, the unique distinction of having two important

mountains named after him, one in the Yellowstone Na-

tional Park, so named by the Director of the Survey of

the Territories, in recognition of his geological re-

searches in the Yellowstone Country, (1878), not known

by him at the time, and one named by Professor G. K.

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  509

Gilbert, U. S. Geologist, in the Henry Mountains, of

Utah, (1877), not known by him until several years

later. This latter honor is explained as follows: Dur-

ing Holmes' geological explorations in the Colorado

Valley, he had been the first to describe a peculiar type

of mountain-building, since frequently observed. It

happened that in the long past there had been much vol-

canic activity in the region and great bodies of lava were

formed and pressed upward, sometimes reaching the

surface, though often not doing so, but instead spreading

out beneath the surface where softer deposits were en-

countered, lifting the superior harder strata up in dome-

like elevations of great extent. As surface erosion long

afterward penetrated these domed strata, the lava bodies

were, in part, exposed, revealing the secret of their

origin and structure.

In 1898, he was awarded the Loubat Prize of $1,000

by the Columbia University, of New York, for the most

important work in the field of American archeology for

the five-year period ending with 1898; and a second

prize of $400 for the most important publication in this

field for the five-year period ending with 1923.

To indicate the recognition that has come to Mr.

Holmes within the fields of both science and art, it may

be stated that he is a member of the National Academy

of Sciences and a score or more of other scientific, art

and literary organizations. He has represented the

Smithsonian Institution at numerous scientific confer-

ences and expositions at home and abroad. He was a

founder of the Cosmos Club and later its President. In

1894, he was honored by the degree of Doctor of Science

by George Washington University.

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510     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

On his seventieth birthday, his associates in the sev-

eral fields of activity in which he has engaged, celebrated

the occasion by preparing and presenting to him, at a

banquet in his honor, a profusely illustrated volume

of essays of 500 pages, prepared for the occasion by

the participants in the banquet, and entitled The Holmes

Memorial Volume, copies of which may be found in the

principal libraries.

Holmes' eightieth birthday, December 1, 1926, was

made especially notable by the presentation to him of a

handsomely bound volume of letters written by one hun-

dred and sixty of his friends and associates. This book

is a very precious memorial and is preserved in the li-

brary of the National Gallery of Art.

Between his arrival at the Smithsonian Institution in

1871, and the date of this writing, October, 1927, he has

led an active and most varied and interesting life devoted

to science and art. A much broken story of these fifty-

seven years is told in the Annual Reports of the Smith-

sonian Institution, the Bureau of American Ethnology,

the Hayden Survey of the Territories, the U. S. Na-

tional Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the

Field Columbian Museum, as well as in the reports of

societies and in numerous current publications of the

period.

On October 1, 1883, Mr. Holmes married Miss Kate

Clifton Osgood, of Washington, and soon thereafter

built their home at 1454 Belmont Street. Mrs. Holmes

died March 9th, 1925, and in the fall of that year he

took up his residence in the Cosmos Club. At the date

of this writing, (October, 1927), his son Osgood, un-

married, occupies the Belmont Street home, and the

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  511

younger son, William Heberling Holmes, having a wife

and three daughters, is in business in Detroit.

 

BEAR HUNT IN YELLOWSTONE PARK -- 1872

BY W. H. HOLMES

I had a curious little bear hunt experience in the

Gallatin Range when I was with the first Hayden ex-

pedition. We started out to climb one of the mountains,

one party going in one direction, and the other, with the

outfit, in another direction. As we went along, we saw

much small game and frequently tracks of mountain

lion, bear, deer and elk. I was forging along alone on

my tired little pony, when suddenly I saw a large black

object just ahead. I thought at first it was a horse, but

finally made it out to be a large black bear rooting in

the snow. I was armed with a pistol only, and, deciding

that discretion was the better part of valor, turned about

and beat a hasty and perhaps undignified retreat. Se-

curing reinforcements later, I returned to seek his bear-

ship, but he had disappeared. Then I found by exam-

ination of his tracks in the snow that at the very mo-

ment I had started in one direction the bear had started

in the other, and with such remarkable impetuosity as

to clear 12 feet at a jump. My chances of escape would

have been very slight if he had decided to come my way.

We followed his trail and came upon him in a deep ra-

vine, where he was finally killed.

 

A GRIZZLY BEAR ADVENTURE -- 1874

BY W. H. HOLMES

Mr. George B. Chittenden, of Connecticut, who was

a member of the Hayden Survey of the Territories in

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1873, happened to be my guest with Mrs. Chittenden,

and Miss Chittenden, Mr. W. H. Jackson and Mr. Story

B. Ladd at the Cosmos Club, in February, 1927, and he

told the story of my grizzly bear adventure in Colorado,

in 1874, details of which I had almost completely for-

gotten.

The party was at work among the high Rockies of

Colorado and on the day of my adventure we had to

cross one of the ranges and descend into the valley of

the Roaring Fork. The story, as told by Chittenden, is

as follows: "Holmes was always an independent cuss

and usually took his own course in the day's work,

studying the geology and sketching the ranges, having

arranged on this day to join the party at camp at a des-

ignated point on Roaring Fork. The party had hardly

made camp when we heard a rifle shot near at hand,

and shortly Holmes arrived, reporting that he had just

shot a grizzly bear; that in working his way through

the forest he happened to come upon a large log along

side his path. Hearing a slight noise on the opposite side

of the log, he glanced over and discovered a grizzly bear

with his head down in the search for food. Not wishing

to pass on without a word of greeting he shouted 'boo-

hoo' over the log. The bear's head immediately rose to

return the greeting. There was a question of appropri-

ate action on the part of both man and bear, and Holmes

decided to settle the matter at once, so raised his Spring-

field rife, carried always in these wilds, and shot the

beast in the fully exposed chest. The bullet, his last

cartridge it happened, must have gone directly to his

heart for he was dead in a moment. When the story

was told in camp the boys volunteered to go back with

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  513

Holmes to the log and skin the bear." The only note

regarding the adventure found in my report of the day's

doing was "my bear skin is a beauty."

 

AN ADVENTURE WITH THE INDIANS

AUGUST 4TH AND 5TH, 1875

BY W. H. HOLMES

August 4th. Moved 14 miles down the San Juan

Valley, in south-western Colorado, within a few miles

of our western line -- 109?? 30'. Passed by the mouth of

the Montezuma, a deep valley with a dry bed but bordered

by many cottonwoods. Met an outfit of Indians consist-

ing of four men and five squaws. The two younger fel-

lows were impudent, devil-may-care fellows. The two

older were quieter and more polite. The oldest was a

tall, slender man of say 50 years, with a sober, composed

countenance and a mouth of un-godly width. He shook

hands and called me "Mi Amigo," said also that they

were Navahoes. They drove some 20 or 30 sheep and

goats and indicated that their "wickiup" would be made

at the junction of Montezuma and the San Juan. One

of the Indians who rode by my side asked to see my

rifle, which, as usual, was slung across the front of my

saddle, but I declined the favor as it might have been

a difficult matter to recover it in case he should be

tricky. My outfit soon came up and I took them to

camp four miles below the mouth of the Montezuma.

Chittenden had crossed at the wagon-trail ford and was

making a station south of San Juan River. The In-

dians advised him to "piqua" (go -- get out) up the

river, but Chittenden didn't "pike." The night follow-

ing was destined to be one of unusual excitement for

Vol. XXXVI--33.

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514     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

our party. I was awakened at ten or eleven o'clock by

a confusion of sounds and the excited inquiries by Chit-

tenden and others as to who could be yelling on the

south side of the river. At the same moment my ear

caught the hoarse yells of some one apparently in the

greatest excitement. I was on my feet in an instant

and shouted in reply. It was Tom Cooper, chief packer.

He was yelling, talking and swearing in the most des-

perate manner, and I could only make out that some-

thing very disastrous was happening and that our help

was instantly needed. We seized our rifles and hurried

out to meet him in the dark woods bordering the river,

and soon learned that we had possibly escaped what

might have been a serious disaster. Early in the night

as Tom happened to be lying awake in his tent he noticed

that there seemed to be some rather unusual disturbance

among the mules and presently that the bell began to

tinkle as if the bell-horse were trotting or running. The

herd was evidently moving down the valley along the

river bank. He was up in an instant and after them.

Steadily they moved away and presently he fol-

lowed, but found it very difficult to get closer to them.

He suspected nothing wrong only that they had been

frightened by a coyote or some other wild beast, in which

case they would certainly soon stop. Already he had

chased them two miles over gorges and rocks, through

weeds and brush and it would seem they would never

stop. The perspiration was making him blind and his

wind was nearly gone. Suddenly the tramp ceased and

the bell was silent. He could only keep on toward

where he heard the sound last, and to his amazement he

discovered the herd just ahead of him rounded up in a

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  515

close bunch standing quite still in the darkness. He

passed around them, thus to turn them back toward

camp in case they should frighten. He came within

a few feet of the bunch and coming quite close was

about to place his hand on the head of the old bald-

faced bell-horse, when the horse shook his head and

there was no bell, and it suddenly dawned upon Tom

that these strange movements were not made of their

own will but under the guidance of the band of Indian

desperadoes. The explanation came very suddenly. A

flash of lightning revealed the crouching forms of two

savages, almost within the reach of his foot, engaged

in cutting the hobbles from the two hobbled mules.

They caught sight of him at the same moment and were

so struck with amazement that they thought only of

flight. With a bound they sprang upon their ponies

and were off like a shot. Tom, doubtless somewhat

paralyzed, did not take to flight but jumping upon the

nearest mule started the herd and then led off for

camp uttering the most fearful yells at every jump.

The red-skins, as they flew up the valley and over the

rolling hills, must have felt their blood freeze at the

very sound. Certainly they did not stop until many

miles intervened between them and the scene of their

fright. In half an hour our animals were all safe in

camp. We could hardly cease congratulating ourselves

on having escaped a great disaster -- that of being set

afoot in a desert 200 miles from the nearest habitation.

August 5th. On the following morning we rode out

to the scene of the mutual surprise party and there found

the bell which had been cut from the horse's neck, a pair

of hobbles, the removal of which had caused the delay

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516     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

that had saved us, and the last one entirely freed from

the animal which it bound, and also a pair of fine raw-

hide lariats dropped by the thieves in their sudden re-

treat.

All about were marks and tracks showing what had

gone on. We then followed the trail of their animals

back up the valley toward our camp and discovered that

these two men had walked all the way from their camp,

four miles above, Indian file, and that their ponies had

been brought around to them through a circuitous trail

in the hills. Tom and John rode up the valley and found

their camp soon after, while Chittenden and I went up

on the mesa above to do our day's work. The boys were

determined to raise quite a noise in the wickiup of the

supposed guilty red-men but felt inclined to give up the

idea when they found instead of the four men seen yes-

terday, eight fierce-looking devils crouching over a pipe

and looking forbidding enough in their sullen, stoic mood.

They were neither communicative nor polite, and the two

boys came away impressed with the notion, as Tom put

it, "that they were determined to give us another deal

yet." The audacity of the thieving pirates went ahead

of anything we had ever heard of. Not only did they

stay all night in the camp to which we had tracked them

but at noon rode boldly down to our camp, dismounted,

and set themselves in a half-circle in the middle of our

camp and proceeded to scrutinize every object in the

outfit, and to beg this and pretend to swap for that.

One old scamp had the audacity to nudge me with his

elbow and order me to bring a pail of agua (water),

which I did not do. We treated them as coolly as pos-

sible, kept our rifles within reach, held such manner

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  517

of powwow as we could, traded some matches for some

arrows and gave them bread to eat. It appears that they

were really trying to find their lariats and possibly to

claim them. We watched them so closely that they

failed to steal anything and we saw them depart at last

with feelings of relief. These fellows came more nearly

up to my notion of what bad Indians were than any

mortals I had heretofore seen.

We mounted double guard for the night, determined

to protect ourselves to the utmost. I think I recognized

two of the Indians as the same we met on the 25th of

July between the Mancos camp and La Plata mines.

That party of four had doubtless been following us

since that time and probably lay in wait until we got

out of the Southwest. They were cowardly scamps who

would not have dared harm us, if it had been likely to

endanger themselves. They knew that we slept and

worked by our needle-guns, and doubtless moved with

great caution in consequence.

 

FIRST ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN OF THE HOLY

CROSS

BY W. H. HOLMES, OF THE HAYDEN SURVEY OF THE

TERRITORIES, 1873

Until the middle of June, the great front range of

the Rocky Mountains in Colorado had been crowned

with an unbroken covering of snow, and the higher

peaks were forbidding enough to cool the ardor of the

most ambitious mountaineer. Our party spent a few

months on the plains and pine-covered foot-hills watch-

ing impatiently the faces of the mountains. We marked

how the snow line moved gradually upward, how the

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518     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

black rocks began to peep out, marking innumerable dark

patches, and how the snow finally occupied only small

areas where it filled depressions or had accumulated in

deep drifts. We were not slow in taking advantage of

this growing weakness in our enemy's front and steadily

advanced up the valleys, into the dense timber, up long,

steep slopes, through swamps and torrents and treach-

erous snow banks; and long before the grass and flowers

of these upper regions had felt the touch of spring, we

were there. And many days before winter had finally

surrendered the lofty summits from a peak more than

14,000 feet above the sea, we looked around upon one of

the grandest panoramas that the world affords. To the

east, the great plains gave a horizon entirely unbroken;

to the west, innumerable summits notched the sky like

saw teeth. From the ramparts of a continent we looked

out upon a boundless ocean; inward, upon a waste of

mountains whose heights and depths and mystery fairly

confounded us.

This was to be the field of our labors, and we set

about the task of identifying such great landmarks as

would be necessary to guide us in our future wander-

ings. An indefinite number of high, ragged ranges could

be traced by their lines of lofty summits as far away to

the north and south as the eye could reach. But one

among all these summits caught the eye and fixed the at-

tention. Far away to the westward, rose a lofty peak

that bore aloft upon its dark face a great white cross,

so perfect, so grand in proportions, that at a distance of

sixty miles, it was plainly seen even with the naked eye.

Two months later we found ourselves approaching

the region in which this mountain is located. On the 19th

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  519

of August, we stood on the ocean divide, from which

the waters to the east are carried by the Arkansas down

to the Gulf, while those to the west sink away and are

lost in the mysterious gorges of the Grand Canyon of

the Colorado. On the one side a narrow valley stretched

away to the southeast in a seemingly endless vista, while

on the other, the streams and valleys are almost imme-

diately obscured by a mass of irregular mountains. The

course chosen would lead us, first, down the Pacific slope

into a deep and rugged canyon which we must descend

for 20 miles or more, thence by means of one of the

great creek valleys, that come down from the range to

the west, we hoped to be able to reach the base of the

peak.

For two days we pushed forward, sometimes in the

river bed, sometimes high up on the walls where our

trembling animals had to be led along the narrow ledges

and treacherous rock-slides. In places we would appear

to be completely shut in by walls so steep and high that

the nimble deer could hardly pass, where the river came

seething and boiling from some dark chasm utterly

blocked up by massive rock, and disappeared again in a

canyon which no man could penetrate and from which

came up constantly the smothered roar of torrents.

On the evening of the second day we reached the

mouth of a large creek which it was agreed must drain

the high regions about the Holy Cross. As yet no one

had caught sight of the object of our search since the

first discovery some sixty miles away, for since entering

the canyon no mountains had been in sight, only the

rocky walls, the densely timbered slopes and the narrow

streaks of sky above. In vain we searched for a trail

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520     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

or feasible route up this creek valley. It was found im-

passable and we essayed to climb the ridge to the right;

but night was upon us and camp must be made.

By noon the next day we were on the high ridge

north of the creek, free from the prison-like valley, but

not free. A broad freshly beaten game-trail led us on

charmingly for a while, but presently entered the timber

and we were plunged into a slough of despond. To the

right, to the left, and in front, the mountain face bristled

like a porcupine. Countless multitudes of giant pine-

trunks, uprooted by some fierce hurricane, were piled up

and crisscrossed and tangled in such a way that an army

must have been stopped as before the walls of an im-

pregnable fortress. Up and down, advancing and re-

treating, struggling through the most aggravating

mazes, but returning again to the starting point, we

worked on until horses and men were thoroughly tired

out. At night, after nine hours of unremitting exertion,

we pitched camp in a little swamp gulch among the

logs and rank weeds, only two and one-half miles in ad-

vance of the camp of the preceding night.

On the following morning we moved in another di-

rection and with much better success. By noon we

emerged from the timber and stood upon a high promon-

tory that overlooked a deep valley--a tributary of the

Grand Canyon of the Colorado. What a remarkable

sight! This valley, broad and deep and regular, looked

like a great pasture, dotted with a million white-backed

sheep. In ages past a mighty glacier, rivaling the mod-

ern ice rivers of the Alps, had swept down this valley

smoothing down its rugged sides and rounding and pol-

ishing the projecting masses of granite. So great was

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  521

the resemblance of these rounded rocks to flocks of sheep

that we named it, after the manner of the French.

"Roches Moutonnees" Valley.

On the opposite side of this valley and somewhat

farther up, there stood a dark mountain that immedi-

ately attracted our attention, and seemed certainly to be

the object of our search. High and rugged and cold, its

scarred granite faces were tattooed by many ragged

seams and patches of snow. But there was no cross.

We looked in vain for forms that might even suggest a

cross; but neither on this mountain nor on any of those

that lay back of it, could the object of our search be

found.

But after all, this must be the peak, and the cross, if

it has not already melted away, will be found on one of

the other faces. It is at least our duty to see, and first

this great valley must be crossed. Two thousand feet of

weary zigzagging brought us to the creek bed. Turning

up this we picked our way among the rocks and fallen

trees until within about three miles of the mountain's

base. Here we found it necessary to halt, not only be-

cause our animals were utterly tired out, but because the

way was completely blocked. So camp was made on the

bank of the roaring creek, with no alternative for the

morrow but to advance afoot.

At night it rained in torrents, but we sat stoically

by the great campfire talking of the past day's work and

planning for the prospective ascent. It was decided that

one party, with the surveyor's instruments, should move

up the valley along the main creek until opposite the

northern spur of the peak and ascend from that direc-

tion. The photographic party would climb directly up

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522     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

the valley rim from camp so as to reach a long, high

ridge that hemmed in the peak on the east, and from

which it was thought a good view could be obtained of

the main eastern face and of the cross, if it still existed.

When it grew late we spread our blankets among the wet

logs and went to bed.

By sunrise all hands were stirring, and the start was

made with a dash, every man for himself and the best

man to the front. It was not long before the party was

pretty well scattered, but communication was kept up by

frequent shouts. The heavy instruments, which weighed

some forty pounds, had been carried a mile or more

ahead the evening before, so that we scaled the barriers

of rock and wood that lay in our way with unusual

rapidity, but when the rock on which the heavy instru-

ment-box had been cached was reached, a halt was called

and the announcement made that each man must take

his turn at the box and carry it a distance proportionate

to his strength.

Our party consisted of seven members. Only four

had come up, but we decided to move on. Dr. Hayden

was the first to take up the load. It was strapped to his

shoulders and he marched off with an ease and rapidity

that did great credit to his prowess as a mountaineer.

There could be no flagging now. The man who, com-

paratively unincumbered, could not keep pace with our

leader must certainly be in disgrace, and the scrambling

advance grew more lively than ever. Presently it began

to rain and the smooth rocks grew slippery and the grass

and bushes dripping wet. By the time we had reached

the point where the mountain rises abruptly from the

valley, we were soaked to the skin, but we pushed on.

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  523

From this point the course was upward. Hour after

hour we toiled on; the box was shifted from one to

another and the carrier was constantly assisted where

the walls were steep. But the box grew heavier and

heavier as we advanced, and the changes more frequent.

At timber line all parties were glad to take a rest. We

were now in the midst of the rain clouds and the day

was so unpromising for mountain work that it seemed

useless to advance. A fire was built in the shelter of the

great pines and an attempt made to dry our clothes.

It was midday, and 3,000 vertical feet intervened

between us and the summit. It now became a serious

question as to what it was best to do. We had brought

only sandwiches for lunch, and had no blankets, not even

an overcoat to protect us during the night. We could

do nothing on the peak among the clouds and the idea of

returning to camp and making the entire ascent again

the following day could not be entertained for a moment.

It was finally decided to complete the ascent immediately

and trust to Providence to lift the shroud that enveloped

the mountains.

Meantime the photographic party, much more heavily

laden than ourselves, had encountered far greater diffi-

culties. Mr. Jackson and his two associates carried

among them upwards of one hundred pounds of appa-

ratus, but they were not men to yield before ordinary

difficulties. The rain, the greatest possible damper on a

photographer's enthusiasm, could not make them hesi-

tate; torrents and cliffs and dense forests and prowling

beasts were interposed in vain. They had set out to

accomplish an object, and success at whatever cost of

exertion and hardship must be attained. By the middle

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524     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications of the day Mr. Jackson found himself far in advance of his companions, but in spite of his unusual enthusi- asm he began to fear for his results. Eight hours of weary climbing brought him nearly to the summit of the ridge. There was nothing to be seen but the dull, gray clouds which rose and fell and swept back and forth to sink down again oppressively around him. Was this

all labor in vain? Had the Fates conspired against him, and was the Holy Cross a myth, an illusion that had led him on through all these weary days, only to deceive him? He sat down among the rocks to rest and ponder. Meantime the winds rose and the dull mists were driven along the cliffs and torn to tatters on the sharp projec- tions. To the west great billowy passage-ways were opened, and glimpses of the lofty mountains were caught looking like ghosts through the thin mists. Suddenly the

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  525

artist, glancing upward, beheld a vision exceedingly dra-

matic and beautiful. There, set in the dark rock-face

held high among the floating clouds, he beheld the long-

sought cross, perfect, spotless white, grand in propor-

tions and what was more astonishing, a great body of

snow, filling a deep, many-armed gorge, formed the

white figure of a woman in the attitude of worship, with

hands uplifted toward the cross, as shown in the photo-

graph. Recalling himself, he remembered his ambition to

transfix by his art, an image of this vision, to be carried

back to the world. He set his camera in haste, and in-

voked the aid of the fleeting sunlight. He turned for

his chemicals, but they were not there. They were far

down the mountain on the backs of weary men. In de-

spair he saw the clouds gather and settle down for the

night. At nearly the same hour our party stood on the

summit of the mountain itself and gathered snow from

the very top of the cross. We, too, saw the clouds break

and scatter and gazed with wonder upon the rolling sea

below, with its dark mountain islands, and crouched be-

hind the great rocks to avoid the cold winds that battle

so incessantly about those high summits.

The utter solitude and desolation of these summit

regions are never so deeply impressed upon one as when

the rest of the world is shut out thus by clouds, when

nothing of the solid earth greets the eye save the dull

granites and the frozen snows.

And, now, since no observations could be made, we

decided to descend to timber line, and spend the night.

We passed down the crest of the northern spur and

stopped near the edge of a great precipice to watch the

play of the storm-clouds below, and to pitch great rocks

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into the abyss 3,000 feet in depth. While here we were

favored by a most unusual scenic display. The sun at

our backs broke through the clouds, and there was im-

mediately projected, on the mists that filled the dark

gulf, a brilliant rainbow; not the arch, as usually seen,

but an entire circle, a spectral ring, which, as we gazed,

faded away, and in a minute was gone. Far beyond, on

the opposite side of this deep valley, we could see the

ridge occupied by the photographer, and, by using our

field glasses, the camera could be dimly seen standing on

the very highest point.

A shout from one of our party elicited a reply from

Mr. Jackson himself, that came back to us like the faint-

est echo, for the distance must have been more than

half a mile. It was interesting to note the effect of this

very meager communication upon the spirits of our

party. It was cheering to feel that we were not entirely

alone; the bond of sympathy with other beings of our

kind was not utterly sundered. Shouts were exchanged

frequently as we descended, and when we reached tim-

ber line and kindled our fire for the night, a companion

blaze twinkled like a star against the dark mountain op-

posite.

Later, the cheerful blaze of two immense fires lit up

the faces of surrounding objects far and near, and for

the time we forgot that we were supperless and bedless,

and that a hard day's work must follow an almost sleep-

less night. The rain had ceased and the night was not

as cold as had been expected, so that we talked and dozed

away the time without especial discomfort.

At daybreak we were up and moving, but found our-

selves stiff and weak, and the re-ascent was most tedious.

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Brief Biography of William Henry Holmes  527 Our shouts were not so frequent and strong as before, and the replies came back hesitatingly and late. But all turned out well. The scientific work was completed by noon and the photographs secured before that time. The descent was made in safety. On reach- ing the first creek-crossing we were overjoyed to meet the member of our party who had returned to camp the day before, with a basket of provisions and a pot of tea. At six in the evening both parties were in camp, and a bountiful supper was all the more enjoyed by being sea- soned with stories of adventure and success.

• 35