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Home , Boy Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton, Scouting in New Mexico

SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

MANUSCRIPT NUMBER MS 512

Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript ca. 1900-1941

Written by Rachael A. Salyer August 2010

Shelf space occupied .5 linear feet Number of boxes 1 box

ABSTRACT

This collection contains a single manuscript by illustrator, naturalist, and author (1860-1946) entitled ―History of Woodcraft and its Offshoot, the (Original Notes).‖ The manuscript focuses on Seton‘s role in the establishment of the Movement, and it includes texts by Seton, copies of excerpts from letters and conversations that Seton had with men like Robert Baden-Powell, James E. West, and Edgar M. Robinson, and some actual correspondence with West and Robinson. The Seton and Robinson families were friends, colleagues, and correspondents, and Seton provided Robinson—who helped develope Springfield College‘s Freshman Camp in 1930—with illustrations and blue prints for Pukwana Lodge and the Pueblo of the Seven Fires at Springfield College‘s East Campus.

ORGANIZATION The collection is organized into a single series.

ARRANGEMENT The Seton manuscript is still partially bound together, and the original order of the pages has been preserved.

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 2 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts INFORMATION ON USE OF THE COLLECTION

TERMS OF ACCESS AND USE Unrestricted

PREFERRED CITATION Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information (in addition to any other information required by the citation style being used):

Ernest Thompson Seton Papers, box #, folder #, Archives and Special Collections, Springfield College, Springfield, Mass.

HISTORY OF COLLECTION The acquisition and accession history of this manuscript are currently being researched. It is possible that the manuscript came into the collection through Seton‘s connections to Edgar M. Robinson.

Collection processed and arranged by Rachael A. Salyer, August 2010.

RELATED MATERIALS In Archives and Special Collections, Springfield College, Springfield, Mass.:

East Campus. http://www.spfldcol.edu/archives

Edgar M. Robinson Papers, MS 505. http://www.spfldcol.edu/archives

Freshman Camp (Outdoor Pursuits). http://www.spfldcol.edu/archives

Luther Halsey Gulick Papers, MS 503. http://www.spfldcol.edu/archives

Pueblo of the Seven Fires. http://www.spfldcol.edu/archives

Seton, Ernest T. The Birch Bark Roll of Woodcraft: the Twenty-ninth Edition of the Manual for Boys and Girls from 4 to 94. New York: A.S. Barnes, 1931. Book. GV1201.S47 1931.

Seton, Ernest T. : a Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-Craft. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1910. Book. HS3313.B73 S4

Seton, Ernest T. The Red Lodge. [S.I. : s.n., 19--]. Book. E98.S7 S38

Seton, Ernest T. The Rhythm of the Redman in Song, Dance, and Decoration. New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., Inc., 1930. Book. E98.D2 S4

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 3 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts Seton, Ernest T. Rolf in the Woods: the Adventures of a Boy with Indian Quonab and Little Dog Skookum. New York: Grosset, 1911. Book. E98.F6 S47

Seton, Ernest T. The Woodcraft Manual for Boys: the Seventeenth Birch Bark Roll. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1923.

In other collections:

Adams, Charles F., William G. Chapman, James W. Fawcett, Richard W. Gilder, Kate D.S. Wiggin, and Ernest T. Seton. Additional Letters of Ernest Thompson Seton. 1970. Archival material. University of .

Aldrich, Bess S, Ralph H. Barbour, William C. Bryant, Donn Byrne, Robert W. Chambers, Palmer Cox, Stephen Crane, Zona Gale, Joel C. Harris, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph C. Lincoln, Jack London, S W. Mitchell, Ernest T. Seton, Frank R. Stockton, Edward N. Westcott, Edith Wharton, and Harold B. Wright. Records. 1846. Archival material. Indiana University.

Blue Sky! The Ernest Thompson Seton Pages. 2010. Website. http://www.etsetoninstitute.org/

Boyden, Albert A, Elizabeth B. Custer, Hamlin Garland, Emerson Hough, Joseph B. Lippincott, Charles F. Lummis, Ernest T. Seton, Frank . Thoma, Stewart E. White, William A. White, Caspar Whitney, Owen Wister, and Fernand Lungren. Papers of Fernand Lungren. 1897. Archival material. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

Cassidy, Gerald, Witter Bynner, Charles F. Lummis, Ernest T. Seton, and Ina S. Cassidy. Ina Sizer Cassidy Collection. 1915. Archival material. Museum of Library.

Catt, Carrie C., Charles G. Whiting, John V. Lindsay, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Ernest T. Seton, and Luellen T. Bussenius. Luellen Teters Bussenius Papers. 1874. Archival material. Columbia University.

Hart, Albert B, Charles L. Freer, Ernest T. Seton, and Gerald Cassidy. Scrapbooks of Paintings. 1905. Archival material. University of California, Berkeley.

Langley, S P, and Ernest T. Seton. : N.y. to [s.p.] Langley [washington, D.c.]. 1899. Archival material. University of Michigan Library.

Nussbaum, Jesse L, Ernest T. Seton, Herman Schweizer, William W. Simpson, and Charles H. Burke. 1933 Chicago World's Fair Southwest Indian Exhibit Collection. 1913. Archival material. Museum of New Mexico Library.

Olsen, Clara H, Ernest T. Seton, Miguel A. Otero, and Carmen Quintana. Carmen Quintana Collection. 1782. Archival material. New Mexico State Library.

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 4 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts Pond, James B and Ernest T. Seton. Correspondence of Ernest Thompson Seton. 1970. Archival material. University of Virginia.

Seton, Ernest T. Collection. 1879. Archival material. American Museum of Natural History.

Seton, Ernest T. Correspondence, 1890-1946. Archival material. New York State Historical Documents.

Seton, Ernest T. Ernest Thompson Seton Papers. 1970. Archival material. University of , Minneapolis.

Seton, Ernest T. Letter, 1931. Archival material. Wisconsin Historical Society Archives.

Seton, Ernest T. Letters of Ernest Thompson Seton. 1970. Archival material. University of Virginia.

Smith, Pamela, Marc Simmons, Lawrence C. Powell, Sarah Laughlin, Jack Crawford, Peter Wells, Rudolfo A. Anaya, Ernest T. Seton, and Willard Clark. Press of the Palace of the Governors Records. 1974. Archival material. Museum of New Mexico Library.

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 5 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Ernest Thompson Seton was born Ernest Evan Thompson on August 14, 1860 in South Shield, Durham, England. His parents were Joseph and Alice Thompson. Seton immigrated to with his family in 1866 and legally changed his name to Seton—an old family name—in 1883. Later, Seton immigrated to the , becoming a naturalized citizen on November 6, 1931. He attended the College of Art from 1877-1879, the Royal Academy School of Painting and Sculpture in 1881, the Art Students‘ League in 1884, and the Academie Julian in 1891. Seton married Grace Gallatin in 1896; the two had one child, Ann, and were divorced in 1935. That same year, Seton married his second wife, Julia Ross Buttree, with whom he also adopted a second daughter, Dee. Seton died on October 23, 1946.

Seton had a diverse career as an artist (often using the pseudonym BlackWolf), naturalist, lecturer, illustrator, and author. He worked as an artist for the lithographic publishers Wilhelms and Betzig in New York from 1883-1884 and as an illustrator for The Century Dictionary—also in New York—in 1886. From 1887-1890, Seton served as a resort manager at Lake Ontario, and then became a naturalist for the government of after 1892. ―In 1898 Seton published his first book of animal stories, Wild Animals I Have Known, telling the stories of Lobo, King of Currumpaw; Silverspot, the crow; and Raggylug, the cottontail rabbit, from the animals' points of view. Lavishly illustrated with Seton's unique drawings and paintings, the book was an instant success, and Seton went on tour telling his stories and showing slides of his illustrations. For the next ten years he turned out at least one book of stories annually, including The Biography of a Grizzly; Lives of the Hunted; Monarch, the Big Bear of Tallac; Woodmyth and Fable; and Animal Heroes.‖

―In 1902 Seton organized the [which later became the Woodcraft League] for boys in order to encourage outdoor activities, and in 1904 he presented a copy of his Birchbark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians to Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the hero of the siege of Mafeking, South Africa, asking him to help popularize Woodcraft summer camps in England. Instead, Baden-Powell introduced his own organization--the Boy Scouts--into England in 1908, incorporating most of the games and activities Seton had included in the Birchbark Roll. When it appeared that Baden-Powell intended to move the Boy Scout organization into the United States, Seton joined forces with other youth leaders to form the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.‖ He served as the chairman of the founding committee and also became the first Chief Scout. In December 1915, ―he resigned in protest to 's idea that the scouts should be ‗trained to arms.‘ Scouting for Seton had less to do with uniforms and mottoes than with camping, woodcraft, and Indian lore.‖ Indeed, in a quote from this manuscript, Seton states ―I was more and more convinced that the military methods and ideals would result in a Prussianization of our young people […]. In 1915, they abolished the office of Chief Scout, which meant the end of my direct connection with the Board. The manual was rewritten, excluding many things which I considered of paramount importance.‖

In 1930 Seton settled near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he and his second wife Julia founded ―the Seton College of Indian Wisdom (later the Seton Institute of Indian Lore). For the next ten years they conducted summer courses in arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and leadership skills. Seton published his autobiography in 1940 and his last animal story book, Santana, the Hero ______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 6 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts Dog of France, in 1945. He continued to write and lecture until two months before his death on October 23, 1946.‖

During his lifetime, Seton received numerous awards, including various scholarships and apprenticeships, the Camp-Fire Gold in 1909 for his text Life-Histories of Northern Animals: An Account of the Mammals of Manitoba, the Societe d‘Acclimation de France Medal in 1918, the National Institute of Science Elliot Gold Medal in 1927, the Memorial Society‘s Bronze Medal in 1928, and the David Girou medal in 1930.

Seton‘s work with the development of the Boy Scouts of America and his knowledge of and dedication to Native American lore are where his ties to Springfield College can be found. At various times in his life, Seton—who was often referred to as ―Chief‖—was a colleague of and/or correspondent with men like Robert Baden-Powell, Daniel C. Beard, Gordon L. Foster, Charles B. Horton, Edgar M. Robinson, and Luther Halsey Gulick. Additionally, when Robinson was helping to develop the College‘s Freshman Camp in the late 1920s, he consulted with Seton, who designed the blueprints and illustrations for Pukwana Lodge and the Pueblo of the Seven Fires. Robinson—who was known to Seton as ―Gitchi Saka‖—also wrote about his friendship with Seton in his own manuscript "Ernest Thompson Seton: An Unforgettable Personality.‖

SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION

This collection comprises a single bound manuscript by Ernest Thompson Seton entitled ―History of Woodcraft and its Offshoot, the Boy Scouts (Original Notes).‖ Although the manuscript as a whole is undated, some of the items within it date from the early 1900s through 1941. The manuscript primarily contains typed sections of Seton‘s ―History,‖ which are often annotated with hand-written comments and corrections (presumably by Seton himself). Some sections have been physically cut and pasted together. Seton details his own ideas and reasons for developing the Woodcraft movement, his initial meeting with and instruction of Baden- Powell, scouting in England, etc. On the whole, it appears that Seton was writing and collecting this manuscript in order to re-establish his place as one of the founders—if not the founder—of the Boy Scouts Movement.

In addition to Seton‘s own text, the manuscript also contains quotes from conversations with and letters from Baden-Powell, James E. West, Elon H. Hooker, H. Morgenthau, Luther H. Gulick, James E. Sullivan, etc. Another section is a transcript of New York County Supreme Court deposition of Baden-Powell from 1917- 1918, in which Baden-Powell answers questions about the development and founding of the Boy Scout Movement. Seton appears to have been using both the quotes and transcript as support for the arguments in his ―History.‖

The final section of the manuscript contains actual correspondence from 1941 between the Setons (who were in Santa Fe, New Mexico), the Robinsons (who were in Springfield, Massachusetts), James E. West ( of the Boy Scouts of America), and Steve M. Jessup (who was involved in the ―Western Committee‖ in California). It can be concluded

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 7 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts from this correspondence that the Robinsons, West, and Jessup all discouraged Seton from publishing ―ungracious criticism or acts relating to Baden-Powell.‖

Although Seton did publish and illustrate his autobiography, Trail of an Artist-Naturalist (New York: C. Scribner‘s Sons), in 1940, this manuscript—at least as it exists in the collection— was never published.

SEARCH TERMS AND SUBJECTS The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection.

Seton, Ernest Thompson, 1860-1946

Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Baron, 1857-1941 Robinson, Edgar Munroe

Boy Scouts of America Boy Scouts – History

Freshman Camp Outdoor Pursuits Springfield College – Freshmen Springfield College – East Campus Springfield College – Pueblo of the Seven Fires Springfield College – Pukwana Lodge

Boys – United States – Societies and clubs Camping – United States – History Camping – United States – Societies, etc. Outdoor life Outdoor recreation

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

"Ernest Thompson Seton."Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 4: 1946-1950. American Council of Learned Societies, 1974. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

"Ernest Thompson Seton." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 8 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts BOX FOLDER CONTENTS DATE

Ernest Thompson Seton Papers, ca. 1900-1941 1 1 Seton Manuscript: ―History of Woodcraft and its Offshoot, ca. 1900-1941 the Boy Scouts (Original Notes)‖

______Ernest Thompson Seton Manuscript Page 9 Archives and Special Collections Babson Library, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts