CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

COLONEL JOHN ROBERTS WHITE AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in History

By

Geoffrey P. Kida

December 20 ll The thesis of Geoffrey P. Kida is approved:

Dr. Meny~vnick Date

Dr. Tom Maddux Date

Dr. Josh Sides, mr

California State University, Northridge

ii DEDICATION

For Roger, Judy, Chet & Jo

111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the following people and institutions for their assistance with this project:

First, the faculty and staff at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Josh Sides, Dr. Merry Ovnick, Dr. Tom Maddux, and Sue Mueller, who gave important direction and advice throughout the entire process.

Dr. Charles Macune, for his inspiration and interest in the topic of this paper.

The Oviatt Library staff for their helpful assistance.

The Knight Library staff at the University of Oregon, Eugene.

Ward Eldridge and the Sequoia Natural History Association at Three Rivers, CA.

Bill Snively, for his encouragement and help during the revision process.

Lastly, my family, who inspired, supported, and pressed me to complete this work.

IV TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page 11

Dedication ll1

Acknowledgements IV

Abstract VI

Introduction 1

Chapter One: Youth and Early Travels 6

Chapter Two: The Philippines and Iwahig Penal Colony 20

Chapter Three: Creating Change within the National Park Service 38

Conclusion 83

Selected Bibliography 85

Appendix 93

v ABSTRACT

COLONEL JOHN ROBERTS WHITE AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK

By

Geoffrey P. Kid a

Master of Arts in History

Colonel John Roberts White managed Sequoia National Park from 1920-1947. In those years he implemented new conservation ideas that influenced national park policy and wilderness management in the United States. Prior to his time with the Park Service,

White traveled extensively and experienced several important historical events. After leaving his childhood home of Reading, England, he fought with the Greek Foreign

Legion before traveling to Alaska and the Yukon in search of his fortune. During his travels to America, he enlisted in the military and served in the Philippines. White spent several years with the Philippine Constabulary before managing Iwahig penal colony, also located in the Philippines. Struggling from poor health, White returned to America and actively sought work within the newly created National Park Service. After serving briefly in the Grand Canyon, White transferred to Sequoia National Park, where he fought for sustainability, especially within the Giant Forest.

Vl INTRODUCTION

On February 10, 1936, Colonel John Roberts White addressed his National Park

Service colleagues at a superintendent's meeting in Washington D.C. He titled his speech, "Atmosphere in the National Parks," and opened by proclaiming, "Atmosphere, as I understand it, means the pervading influence which governs our national park development policies. It concerns the intellectual or moral, even in some aspects, the physical environment which we want in the parks. In language perhaps more specific, I take the atmosphere of a national park to depend upon what we permit in the way of public use, and equally what we do not permit." 1

When White began working with the Park Service in the 1920s, conservation ideas to protect wilderness were gaining momentum. The frontier no longer existed and the call to protect America's wild lands became louder. Preservation of natural environments within the national parks became increasingly important. In 1923, activist

Robert Sterling Yard wrote, "Our national parks system is a national museum. Its purpose is to preserve forever ... certain areas of extraordinary scenic magnificence in a condition of primitive nature. Its recreational value is also very great, but recreation is not distinctive of the system."2 While not yet the view of the American majority, ·preserving nature beyond its utility for humans increasingly became a more widespread idea.

Hal Rothman describes conservation between 1920 and 1945 as reflecting the dominant ethos in Ameri~an society. "The nation ran from the top down, with decisions

1 Superintendent John R. White, "Atmosphere in the National Parks," February 10, 1936, p. 1, Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 2 Alfred Runte, Nl:lti.on11l Parks_: TheAJ11et:kiin E){ps:rieng~_ fouth edition. (Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing Company, 2010), 99.

1 made by a small group of leaders, typically Nmiheastern and affluent, tied to business and enamored of an easy and often opulent small-town life that industrialism had conversely granted much of the nation." In times of economic strength, America's leaders respected the values of conservation; in harder times utilizing the nation's resources seemed more important. During the 1920s, conservation became a link between past and present, and also included a business-oriented ethic.3

The struggle between preservation and public enjoyment continued into the 1930s and was aided somewhat by the concept of national recreation areas, such as Lake Mead.

This compromise allowed two government agencies, the National Park Service and the

U.S. Bureau ofReclamation, to co-manage and encourage recreation in an already developed area of scenic beauty. 4 However, recreation within the national parks remained a constant issue, and while John White felt many forms of it were appropriate in recreation areas or national forests, he strongly advised his Park Service colleagues that within national parks, it was not.

With American activities in the 1930s largely influenced by the Depression, conservation became one of the most essential employment devices ofthe era. Franklin

Roosevelt's New Deal organizations did more work on federal land than had been accomplished in several prior decades. 5 John White and Sequoia National Park benefited as park facilities were modernized, however the large numbers of workers and the lack of

3 Hal K. Rothman, S_ayj_ng_t]1J<_P!!Ln~t_Jhe i\meric_an_Response to the Environment in __ the_I\¥enti~!b C:~nil!IY (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee publishing, 2000), 60. 4 Douglas W. Dodd, "Boulder Dam Recreation Area: The Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, and the Origins of the National Recreation Area Concept at Lake Mead, 1929-1936," Southern CaliJgw.jLOuart~ly 88 no. 4 (Winter 2006/2007), 432. 5 Rothman, 61.

2 direct control over them by park managers created problems as White became increasingly more cautious when it came to development.

Although conservation ideas were gaining momentum, there existed a lack of serious attempts to define what it meant to maintain natural conditions. Two human- centered approaches of wilderness management existed: to ignore or to manipulate, with the latter of the two often involving extensive interference in nature. Moreover, business still dominated 1920s society. While altering the natural environment by, for example, changing the course of a stream or feeding large mammals may seem like a poor idea to modem conservationists, some early park managers did not agree. In fact, they believed it to be suitable behavior, with the definition of natural conditions including the changes in nature they felt were appropriate.6 John White rejected the idea that wilderness should be ignored or manipulated. On countless occasions when development was encouraged, he chose to leave nature as it existed, even though it meant limited or difficult access to certain sections of the park.

Stephen Mather, director of the National Park Service from 1916 to 1929, once wrote that the "greatest good for the greatest number" was "always the most important factor" in determining Park Service policy. Mather held the responsibility for implementing the 1916 Organic Act, which created the National Park Service, and clearly stated that the parks were to be maintained in "absolutely unimpaired" condition.

However, the same document decrees that the parks were to be set aside for the "use, health, and pleasure of the people," and that they were to be made accessible "by any means practicable." This included roads, trails and buildings. Although Mather declared

6 Richard West Sellars, £reseryjngN.?t.!-lreinJhe NatiQ!)alf(lrks: A Iii_story (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), 22.

3 he did not want the parks dominated by roads, the Mather era brought extensive road construction. 7

As the Organic Act stipulated, much of the new construction in the parks was designed to harmoniously blend with the natural surroundings. However, development also included necessary parking areas, campgrounds, water storage and supply systems, electrical power plants, sewage systems and garbage dumps, which were less aesthetically pleasing. Despite the directive for keeping the parks in "absolutely unimpaired" condition in the Organic Act, tourist development often went beyond the necessities-Yosemite housed a zoo, golf course and racetrack. Mather personally encouraged the development of the golf course, believing tourists would stay longer with more amusements.8 Although the presence of a golf course in a national park contradicted

"unimpaired" nature, Mather allowed it, eager to encourage greater visitation.

Furthermore, he proposed that Yosemite make a bid to host the 1932 winter Olympics.9

John White disagreed with ideas for increasing development, and was a minority in refusing to allow such additions in Sequoia National Park, believing they cheapened the atmosphere and drew attention away from the park's natural setting.

Aside from an efficient, minimal road system, simple concessions, accommodations and management facilities, White believed natural wilderness areas were all that should exist within the National Parks. When compared with many wilderness managers in the 1920s, White's ideas were enlightened and forward-looking.

White spent the majority of his working years delicately balancing wise development and

7 Ibid., p. 57-61. 8 Ibid., p. 62-63. 9 Mark David Spence, !)isQQ~yssing the Wildern~~_;_lndi~:tl1X@1ov_~I andthe Making oft_he National Park~ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 116.

4 ever-increasing park usage, while attempting to preserve what he perceived to be the natural, or wild, environment in Sequoia National Park. Prior to entering the park service,

White experienced military conflict in Greece and the Philippines. Moreover, he enjoyed traveling extensively and actively sought experiences that tested him, and brought challenges.

Throughout his life, White's appreciation for nature strengthened, along with his management style. From the Philippines to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Colonel White actively influenced others with his sustainable management practices. From 1919 to

1947, through peer education and by examples implemented at Sequoia National Park, he increased his commitment to protect and keep national parks as they existed, and profoundly impacted the policies ofthe National Park Service and the American conservation movement.

5 CHAPTER ONE

YOUTH AND EARLY TRAVELS

Through a study of John White's life, one can ascertain how he came to be a successful manager of soldiers, prisoners, and national parks. White was born in 1879 in

Reading, England, and later moved to Berkshire, England. He recalled in his journals that

England appeared to have, "millions in the slums, its thousands in the middle class, and its hundreds in the mansions." 10 White considered his family to be a part of the middle class and borrowed a quote from Rudyard Kipling to describe that it was from this specific part of the middle class "that the empire drew its best servants." 11 Clearly White had a high regard for his family and their social status, even though he chose Kipling's quote with the word "servants."

To sum up his childhood and his early years, he wrote, "I was born on October

10, 1879 and my boyhood knew nothing of telephones, electric light, automobiles, aeroplanes [sic] or radios. I doubt, however, whether we were the losers. We had less but saw more, and had time to digest our experiences. 12 Although the memoir is undated, clues in the text suggest that he wrote it in 1932. Clearly, White showed amazement at how much life changed from his Victorian upbringing to what he experienced living in

California, little more than 50 years later.

White seemed content with this family life. His writes of his father that he was,

"an artist by temperament, of Quaker stock, started life on the stock exchange and

10 John White, "Every Goose a Swan, I 930 (?)," p. 2, Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. II Ibid. 12 John White, "Autochthonous, 1932 (?)," p. 2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

6 banking, then built up a photographic business with several branches which was quite

profitable during the "wet plate" era; but which became less profitable when the "dry

plate" technique brought more active competition by hard-headed businessmen rather

than easy going fellow artists." 13

From his father, White learned to love nature, especially trout fishing. Fishing

was one of his father's favorite activities and he would go for a weeklong trip every year.

White recalls of his father, "He had a fine collection of birds' eggs, butterflies, and

moths; and his library was full of books on nature and science. Of course I soon began to

add to the collections, especially of birds' eggs." 14

On examination of White's writings, and noting how much time he devotes to

describing nature and wilderness, one can clearly deduce that he loved nature at an early

age and was taught to appreciate and enjoy it by his family. Little is written of his

mother, other than that she was a "Roberts" and from South Wales, and of mixed Welsh

and English blood. She was a distant cousin of his father, and a daughter of a "typical

country squire who farmed his own hundreds of acres and hated his neighbor. " 15

White wrote much of his memoirs while he held the position of Superintendent of

Sequoia National Park. He makes constant comparisons between the flora he experienced

as a boy and what he was exposed to in California. In England he recalls Elm, Chestnut,

Lime and Hawthorn trees. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains he describes Live Oak,

Buckeye, Manzanita, Redbud, and Ceanothus. English flowers he remembers are

13 "Every Goose a Swan," p. 2-3. 14 "Autochthonous," p. 3. 15 "Every Goose a Swan" p. 3. Apparently he hated his neighbor due to differing political views. His grandfather was a conservative and the neighbor was seeking to change the status-quo. There is later evidence White himself had a fiery disposition and showed it, especially when he was passionate about certain issues.

7 Primrose, Bluebell, Cowslip and Fritillary. He compares these to "the glory of the foothill

poppies or brodiaea [sic], the scented wild lilac ofthe chaparral, or the purple lupine

lying like a carpet below the snow on Franklin Pass in the High Sierra."16

From his autobiographical memoirs entitled, "Autochthonous," White explains

why there is little written about his early years, in comparison with the rest of his life. He

writes, "Some reading ofbiographies inclines me to the belief that the recital ofboyhood

experiences is of more interest to the auto-biographer than to the reader, unless the

former be a Mark Twain or Booth Tarkington." 17

Of his days in school, he recalls, "I can smell the pines on Mortimer Common; the

hedgerows in dear old manicured England beside the river Thames, and all the favorite

spots in vale or dale where birds and boys belonged together. And not forgetting Tileurst

Common where a linnet nested in every furze bush and the glory of yellow flowers was

not less than that of the goldenrod in August in Crescent Meadow." 18 These are White's

memories of simpler times and of a happy childhood. Interestingly, his boyhood ambition

was to become a champion long distance walker. A record White dreamed of breaking

was walking 120 miles in 24 hours, set by one Captain Barclay. When White was roughly

aged 15, he reportedly walked 68 miles in 18 hours and felt he was in reach of Barclay's

record. 19 Undoubtedly, practice walking such long distances would serve him well as he

later performed several of his duties working outdoors.

White regretted that his childhood ended abruptly, mostly due to economic troubles. He writes, "On the whole, those years in the eighties and nineties were happy

16 "Autochthonous," p. 3. 17 Ibid., p. 2. 18 Ibid., p. 3. 19 "Every Goose a Swan," p. 7.

8 enough, even though towards the end of the century there was always a shortage of money. Father had paid the debts of a younger brother and that was always a source of parental recriminations. Fortunately, mother had a small income which kept things going." Relatives helped out the family with schooling. White had two sisters and two brothers-while the sisters attended public schools, he and his brothers attended his

Uncle Theodore's private school, Westfield.20

In addition to helping with the debts of family members, White remembers his father as more of an artist and nature-lover, rather than a businessman. 21 The White household valued art and literature--he writes, "We had a good library at home and were avid patrons of the free public library." He read books on many topics, but books on wars in Texas and Mexico were among those that he found most engaging. He writes of an author named Gustave Aimard, whose books "stirred my blood like martial music." For his involvement in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, he attributes his reading ofthe poet,

Byron. He writes that Byron's work "stimulated adolescence as it did a longing for travel in the sunny southlands, where beauteous maidens made passionate love and life was colorful beyond anything in northern climes. 22 Perhaps this sense of adventure and the increasing economic stress that his family confronted were factors that led White to consider leaving home and applying for a job in London.

After graduating from Oxford with an Associate of Arts degree at age 17, White quickly began preparing for a civil-service examination for a home office clerkship. 23

1 Roughly six hundred competed for the job and he was 40 h in the list of successful

20 Ibid., p. 10. 21 "Autochthonous," p. 5. 22 "Every Goose a Swan," p. 10. 23 John White, "Biographical Questionnaire, 1940," p. 1-3, Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

9 candidates. In several subjects tested, White achieved high marks, and soon received his appointment. He left Reading for London and lived with a family at Stoke Newington.

White recalls little from the short time he occupied the job, except for riding on tops of busses to work and reading a book on the life of Napoleon. During the winter of 1896-

1897, White describes the situation in Europe as "Victorian Peace." However, this peace

White writes of would soon be broken by conflict in the Balkans.24

After a few months ofworking in London, White's sense of adventure led him and several of his countrymen to serve in the Greek Foreign Legion. Byron's "Don Juan" was partially responsible for his decision, as White followed the hero through Spain,

Greece, Turkey, and Russia, dreaming of women, pirates, and exploration. As he left

London for Athens with a group mostly comprised of ex-soldiers, he knew his first adventure was underway.-?5

White had no real reason for joining the conflict, other than that it offered him excitement. He writes, "But so far as I was concerned the principal reason for the war was to give me a chance to dry and try my wings, just emerged from the clerical chrysalis of the Home Office in Whitehall. It was a glorious adventure, my first steps down the

'Royal Road to Romance;' a lightsome journey over the plains and mountains of Greece and just enough of a nice little old-fashion black-powder war to make it interesting and p1. cturesque. ,,26

White's recollections of the war are both positive and negative. Surely, he found plenty of adventure, but seemed unprepared to deal with the death and horror that is synonymous with war. He served with nine other soldiers who also carne from London,

24 "Autochthonous," p. 5-6. 25 Ibid., p. 6. 26 Ibid., p. 7.

10 and proved to be one of the best shots of the men in his company. Athens was a strange

city to White and he is vivid in his descriptions of what took place there: peasants

stopping to milk goats in the road, target practice and drills for the soldiers, often

accompanied by heavy drinking and gathering in cafes and wine cellars, and gambling, of

which White reportedly had good fortune, although he tried to abstain from it regularly.

He was somewhat of a caretaker for his fellow troops and writes, "I never get drunk, so

don't worry about me. Ifl did there would be none to see the others home ... I am tired

of this life here ... There are perpetual riots and the revolver shots were buzzing around

yesterday in the Place de Constitution. 27

From the tumult of Athens, White traveled by boat to Yolo, then by train to

Larissa. Some of his letters describe his experiences as he neared the front lines of the

fighting. A sergeant described various wounds he might experience, such as bayonet

wounds to the abdomen, of which the Turks were expert at "twisting the bayonet so as to

draw it out dripping with entrails." About five miles from the fighting, White wrote

home, "Do not worry about me; ifl die pray that I may die like a Christian and soldier.

There are six or seven English nurses here so if wounded I shall be in good hands. "28

As White arrived closer to the front, he began to see and understand the reality of war. White reports home, "Here I am still alive, despite the Turkish guns. Since last writing I have passed through such a fortnight as have very few persons. Both days we were under a heavy artillery fire from dawn to sunset. For several hours last Friday the

Turkish guns threw shells at the rate of six a minute. Their aim was bad and only 12 were

27 Ibid., p. 8-9. It is important to note that in these pages of White's journal, he reports that he has looked at letters that he mailed home to his mother from Greece during the war. Therefore, some of the things he writes may be censored or altered for his mother's eyes. 28 John White to Mrs. White, 19 April 1897. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

11 killed and about 50 wounded. I had one very narrow shave."29 After the barrage, White

and his company were given orders to pull out and retreat back to Larissa. The chaotic

scene White recalls as the soldiers were hastily gathering their belongings and attempting

to move is quite vivid: "The scene which follows baffles description. Soldiers threw away

their kits and fled pellmell to Larissa. Horses and mules ran to and fro and were hard to

dodge in the dark. The roads and fields were strewn with every description of civil and

military property so that we stumbled over rifles, blankets, ammunition boxes, and

exhausted men, or huddled peasants, and had to make detours around overturned carts

and wagons." White finally was able to get across a bridge and find an unoccupied

hayloft where he and other members of the Legion were able to sleep for the rest of the

evenmg.. 30

The next morning, White enjoyed one of his frequent baths in the river. After

foraging for some breakfast, he returned with his group of Englishmen to find his camp

mostly deserted and his Captain waving wildly to him. He narrowly escaped the Turkish

cavalry and spent the night in a house he and some other men broke into. Shortly after these events, White came down with a malarial fever and began taking abundant quantities of quinine. He stayed out of battle and rested for a short time until he was healthy enough to return. 31

Much of White's time in the Greek Foreign Legion was spent foraging for food and other supplies. Occasionally, these expeditions led to his unintentional involvement

29 John White to Mrs. White, 29 April 1897. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 30 "Autochthonous," p. 11. 31 Ibid., p. 13.

12 in the fighting with the Turks. While out searching for sheep, White recalls his first major

engagement in the conflict:

I soon saw the green uniforms of the Legion and attached myself to the German section as the English were nowhere in sight. Soon the Turks advanced in skirmish line and great force and we were firing fast while a regular hail of bullets came down from the little white puffs only a few hundred feet away. Men were dropping all around me and our own force was diminished because there were few Red Cross men to carry them to the rear. We retired steadily, fighting from one stonewall to another. We could see the Turks just as plainly almost as our own men. One blond officer I shall never forget as he stood on top of a wall not a hundred yards away, and fell either from my own fire or that of some legionnaire near me. A German and myself did not retire as quickly as the rest, and I saw that we were almost alone. I called a Red Cross man who came back and between us we carried him along for some hundred yards when we found some other Germans to whom we delivered him. 32

The retreat that followed the fighting was difficult, and White recalls many

wounded soldiers carried in rough carts, some on top of one another. Shrapnel constantly

burst overhead and hit the wounded in the carts. One of the Colonel's horses was shot out

from underneath him and White took the responsibility of putting the animal out of its

misery. He recalls how miserable the long retreat was and the sticky heat that can occur

in Greece in May. Even though White wrote his autobiographical work some 30 years

after his time in Greece, he still remembers details such as the weather, and comparisons

between various plants covering the Greek hillsides and the chaparral of California. 33

In his account from his time in Greece, White describes many instances of human suffering and misery. He writes of his captain taking a bullet in the knee, a soldier having a leg amputated, and other soldiers with bullets in their arms and legs. He remembers 14 ofhis fellow soldiers as wounded in the battle and two dying. White fired over 100

32 Ibid., p. 16-17. 33 Ibid., p. 17.

13 rounds of ammunition. For their efforts, he and several other English soldiers were

recommended by their Greek General for great bravery.34

White's last notable experience in Greece took place at the battle ofDomokos, on

May 16, 1897. The Greeks enjoyed an excellent position, commanding the high points

around the town. White had a fabulous view of the Turkish army as they marched

towards the city. He writes, "It was really a beautiful sight, for there was the whole

Turkish army in brigade and division formation. We could even see the regimental bands

deploying and leading the troops. "35

White and his fellow troops fought against the Turks for a whole day, and White

claims to have fired so many rounds of ammunition that his shoulder was badly bruised.

Though the war went badly for the Greeks, the battle ofDomokos was an exception as

the Legion was able to hold the city, and even slightly push back the Turks. The Colonel was fatally wounded, shot through the abdomen, and White ended the day aiding the Red

Cross with surgery and bandaging wounded troops. Shortly after the battle at Domokos,

White was exploring the Greek countryside with a new friend, Luther, from Philadelphia.

The two slept outdoors in the mountains, under cedar trees and eventually wandered south. A rise in temperature and general fatigue contributed to a relapse of White's malaria. He collapsed in the streets of Lamia and was tended to by local doctors. His last recollections from Greece are waking up in the hospital as a "very sick boy," and being told by a nurse that when he was brought into the hospital unconscious, he had a fever of

107. It took two weeks of recovery before White was able to travel to Athens. In early

34 Ibid., p. 18. 35 Ibid., p. 19.

14 June, White received his discharge papers from the Greek Foreign Legion and was back in England a few days later, once again searching for ajob.36

In his writings, White tends to have a romantic view of warfare and fighting.

Regarding the conflict in Greece, he writes, "That was about the last of the nice little picturesque wars that preceded smokeless powder, high explosives, gas, airplanes, and the many other modem inventions which have tended to make war less interesting, at least for the infantryman.37 Indeed, from White's writings, one gets the sense that he got some sort of satisfaction from being involved in warfare.

White briefly took a job on Fleet Street working for the publishing house of

Ward, Locke and Company. As many soldiers do, he found it difficult transitioning to average daily life after being accustomed to living in a war zone. Life seemed mundane, and White refers to the Greco-Turkish war as but a "cocktail adding zest to my appetite for adventure and new scenes the world over." While just weeks before, his fingers were used to fire his rifle, now those same fingers were used to write invoices and complete tedious paperwork. White quickly decided he needed to move on and left Ward, Locke and Co. He let fate decide, and after a coin flip with two possibilities being either Canada or South Africa, he made arrangements to set sail for Canada. 38

When White first arrived in Canada, the first thing he did was to go for a walk in the forest, not surprising considering his love of nature and his future career path. He traveled from Montreal to Regina, with the plan of joining the mounted police. When he arrived, he took one look at the landscape, which was mostly plains, and decided he needed to keep moving and find somewhere that was more mountainous. White

36 Ibid., p. 19-22. 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid., p. 24.

15 continued further west, past Calgary, until he reached the magnificent Rockies. There he

served as a ranch hand, very briefly, until deciding the work was too hard, and for too

little pay. He notes that everyone was talking about the Klondike, so he decided to make

his way on to Victoria, British Columbia, to seek his fortune. 39

Once he arrived, he did a few odd jobs-cleaning out stables and tending a local

bar. Soon after, he traveled to Alaska and took a job as a steward on the S.S. Princess

Louise, a steamship that traveled between Vancouver and Fort Wrangel, Alaska. He recalls the voyages up and down the coast and some of the memories from the ship:

"Passing through one passage a bear was seen seated at the foot of a fir tree not fifty yards from the vessel. ... There are a lot of bald eagles along this coast, big winged birds with white head and tail. At one or two of the inlets the weather has been severe. At the Skeena River there were nine feet of snow and I experienced the pleasure of walking along paths with snow above my head on either side."40

While aboard the S.S. Princess Louise, White met a man by the name of Mr.

Cunningham who owned a cannery. He offered White a job if he would agree to get off the ship with him at Port Essington. White accepted and for the next three months, worked as a salmon fisherman. As is typical with White's journal, he relays the landscape and natural world he remembers: "The Skeena River at Port Essington was more than a mile wide and it was about ten miles down to the sea. On each bank were the almost impenetrable forests of Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, hemlock and other trees, chiefly

39 Ibid., p. 25-26. 40 Ibid., p. 28-29.

16 conifers. It was wilderness primeval; only a few acres cleared around the two or three canneries showed where man was denting the forests."41

Salmon fishing was a job White enjoyed, and he kept it longer than any other job during his time in Canada and the Yukon. When fishing ceased being profitable after midsummer, he took a job from Mr. Cunningham salting salmon bellies in kegs. There he worked with two Americans who told him of the beautiful Oregon coast and stirred his desire to keep traveling. When Cunningham, who owned much of the industry in Port

Essington, offered him an office job, he declined and decided to board a steam launch bound for Victoria.42

His trip lasted several days as he traveled approximately 600 miles south aboard the Mist. It was not without incident and excitement, which White always craved. While attempting to transport coal from an abandoned ship to the Mist, the abandoned boat rammed into their own, as the currents of the water shifted, nearly sinking them both. As the captain rested and took breaks, White often took the wheel and learned to handle the large craft. On arrival in Victoria, White was pleased to return to civilization, but quickly exhausted the money he had earned from fishing. He began looking for a job as a ranch hand and soon was given one, with the condition that he learn how to milk cows. He reported to the ranch quarters where he found two other Englishmen, both university educated, discussing Greek verbs and other "erudite subjects not usually connected with milking cows." White recalls, "Long before dawn I was awakened and led into what were known as the 'middens' or cow-barns. I never saw so many cows in one place: from the door we looked down an interminable vista of cows, all waiting to be milked. I am fond

41 Ibid., p. 31. 42 Ibid., p. 32-36.

17 of milk, but not in such quantity and unseparated from the cow. I took one look down

along the line of cows and went back to the hayloft for my blanket roll." Needless to say,

White was soon on his way back to Victoria, his adventure as milkman over. 43

White recalled a friend of his mother's named Harry Darling who owned a shipping business in Vancouver. While on his way there, he happened upon the second officer who had been with him on the Princess Louise. The man informed him that if he was interested in traveling to Alaska, he could work his way there aboard the S.S. Tees.

White recalled the work aboard the ship as "the hardest physical work of my young life."

His job was loading coal, at which he worked nine hours per day. He remembers spitting out coal dust, heavy meals, hard work, and deep sleep while on board the Tees. 44

While in Alaska, White spent his time in Skagway, Lake Bennett, and White Pass

City in Northern Alaska. He took a job with the Yukon Railway and worked in various roles such as teamster, driller, powderman and axeman. During the winter, he was shifted to White Pass City, where the temperature was frequently 40 to 60 degrees below zero.

Although he knew nothing about handling horses, he was soon driving teams, and hauling logs from the forest to the track tunnels. By the middle of winter he was given a new job-handling dynamite. White believed it to be the most dangerous job of all and he recalls being shunned by the more experienced workers. "Frozen dynamite is apt to develop drops of free nitro-glycerine and explode on handling or even during thawing.

We would thaw it out in empty coal oil cans or powder kegs, or even in iron wheelbarrows. I saw two men blown into bits while they were thawing dynamite in a wheelbarrow; and there were two score or more men killed by explosions on the job that

43 Ibid., p. 37-39. 44 Ibid., p. 39.

18 winter." White himself narrowly missed a disaster when he walked back to a blast area

after miscounting the number of shots he had set. Fortunately, he threw himself on the

ground before the blast went off, hurtling debris over his head.45

A final job for the railway that White recollects is drilling into cliff faces, while

suspended on wooden platforms. He recalls only being able to stand it for a few minutes

before the Arctic wind chilled him through his heavy clothing. For these hazardous jobs

that he held building the railway to Dawson City, White was paid 13 dollars for a nine-

hour workday.46 In the winter of 1898, John White was a mere 18 years of age, and began

longing for a trip back to his native England.

However, the trip never happened, as White found himself short of funds. After

the harsh Alaskan winter, he found himself desiring a change and in April of 1899, he

elected to board the S.S. Cottage City, and worked again as a coal passer. In late April,

White arrived in Seattle, once again searching for a job and another challenge. White

missed the Spanish-American War, which ended the previous year. However, there was a

need for soldiers in the Philippines. He made the decision to enlist, was sent to San

1 Francisco, and assigned to Company D, 4 h U.S. Infantry for Philippine service. White

was shipped to the Philippines in June, 1899 as a private, to deal with insurrection and

msurgents.. 47

45 Ibid., p. 40-42. 46 Ibid., p. 43-44. 47 "Biographical Questionnaire," p. 1-3.

19 CHAPTER TWO

THE PHILIPPINES AND IW AHIG PENAL COLONY

Tension between the Philippines and America began when it became apparent

that the United States did not have plans to allow the country to govern itself. Emilio

Aguinaldo, president of the Philippines and revolutionary leader, asserted that the U.S.,

under President McKinley, threatened the country with ruin, death and desolation to all

who refused to recognize America's hegemony.48

McKinley found himself in the middle of the debate over how to handle the

Philippines after the Spanish-American conflict. The president felt that returning the

country to Spain or giving it to a European country would show American weakness, and

therefore, was not a viable option. Additionally, he believed allowing Filipinos to govern

themselves would not work due to the fact that "they were unfit for government."

American government and media furthered McKinley's plan for the Philippines,

persuading the public that the Filipinos were uncivilized and unfit to rule themselves.

This attitude helped formulate "benevolent assimilation," the U.S. goal to bring moral

and intellectual support to a part of the world repeatedly perceived as inferior.49

Author Stuart Miller writes that highly patriotic Americans tend to deny

American abuses of imperialism, some saying such abuses could never occur in their country, or that American imperialism never actually existed. At the other end of the spectrum, Miller believes, are overly self-critical Americans that exaggerate the nation's

48 Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, Jrue V ~J.~io_n of the P_hilippin~_R_~~YQlytiQn. (Lexington, KY: Val de Books, 2011 ), 33. 49 David Brody, Y.i~J!_alizing American_Empire: OrientaU1SI1V!11

20 flaws, failing to place them in the correct historical context. 5° Whether John White gave these ideas much thought when he enlisted with the U.S. military is unlikely. However, he later wrote that the American government did not adapt well to governing colonies, and long after the McKinley administration, failed to make any significant changes in the

Philippines until the First World War. More importantly, he believed the U.S. should have formed policy relating to the Philippines without racial, legal, or economic obfuscation, which White believes the U.S. failed to do. 51

Propaganda from both sides and American racism contributed to colonialism in the Philippines. U.S. racial visions of Filipinos as tribally fragmented-and therefore incapable of governing themselves-and as united in support of savage guerilla warfare caused America to remain in the country and manage the government. 52 The organization created to keep order and govern the country was the Philippine Constabulary.

A record of White's time with the Philippine Constabulary and his time spent overseeing Iwahig Penal Colony, also located in the Philippines, is found in his writings,

Bulltj~_~nd_Bololi~_fjft~n Y~1!I§_i11Jh~ Philippine Island§. White was a prolific writer, and had two additional books published, both on the subject of Sequoia National Park, and specifically, the Sequoia trees.

The Philippine Constabulary was created to handle insurrection and prevent the creation of numerous smaller republics from forming within the Philippines. The

Constabulary consisted mostly of Filipinos who were given civil powers and had a duty

50 Stuart Creighton Miller, BenimiLa!ioJ1_: Th~_A_m<:

21 to enforce order and "suppress brigandage and unlawful assemblies." The constabulary functioned until the outbreak of World War I, and while the enlisted strength was mostly native, the senior chiefs were officers in the United States Army. The remainder of its commissioned strength was made up of American volunteers who remained in the islands

3 after the civil government was established. 5

After a few years of service in the Philippines, ·a fellow officer commented that

White was young to be a captain at age twenty-four. He described him as being, "over six feet in height, slender and straight, very red-headed and very impulsive, he was attractive and dashing to a degree that only a Kipling could describe. His was the 'crowded hour of glorious life,' for no one who wore the khaki and red saw more of it in those days when we were all strong in our faith in the value ofthe work to which we had set our hands."54

According to White, the U.S. Army had broken most of the resistance to American authority, with the principal chiefs in captivity or killed. The minor chieftains, who still resided deeper in the mountains, were the job of the Constabulary. At first, White hesitated in joining. The organization faced ridicule from the Army, and he was not sure it was attractive enough to draw him. However, the same longing for adventure that had always been with White drew him to the headquarters. On October 18, 1901, White made his way down the narrow Manila streets to the office and, after a short interview, was given the rank ofinspector and an annual salary of 900 dollars. 55

John Pershing, responsible for American operations in the Philippines, directed the operation from neighboring Mindanao, part of the Moro province. The Moros

(Spanish for Moors) were largely an Islamic group, bitter against the Spanish for their

53 White, Bullets_~nd]3_glo~, vii-viii. 54 Ibid., xi. 55 Ibid., p. 7-9.

22 earlier conquests in the Philippines. Due to their difference in religious views from the northern Filipinos, their society was more isolated and developed differently.

Philosophies and class structure were unique in the Moro communities of the south, when compared with other regions. When Americans entered the Philippines after the war, one of their priorities was to befriend the Moros and gain their assistance.56 While the majority of the Moros were hostile towards any American presence in the Philippines, there were groups that helped the Constabulary and even fought against other rebel groups. 57

White's first days in the Constabulary were not as exciting as he had hoped. He was mostly filing paperwork, which he did not particularly care for. Although he wrote to his mother saying the work "agreed with him,"58 he longed to "be doing things-not indexing and filing reports about those who did them." At first, White's request to enter the jungles in search of brigands was denied. He was informed, "We have plenty of men who can hike and fight but few who can be trusted to do clerical work." He continued doing the work asked of him, no matter how mundane, and soon received a promotion and a pay increase. Although he did his job well, and learned much about accounting, his desire for action never ceased. After a few months, one General Allen informed him of a group of outlaws known as the babaylanes, who were considered to be the greatest threat facing the stability of the Philippines and, therefore, the Constabulary. He ordered White

56 James R. Arnold, The Moro War: How Americans Battled a Muslim Insur~~y in the Philippint::_llJ!lgk. 1902-1913. (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 201 1) 2-6. 51 James Alfred LeRoy, The Americans in the PhjJlppim:~; A_1Iistory Qf the Conqm::s_1<1_I_Icl Eirst YeN~ gf 0ccugation, with an Introductory Account ofthe~llil!lj~l} R_ult;:. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1914), 343. 58 John White to Mrs. White, 18 March 1901. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

23 to travel to Negros, where he would assist in their tracking and capture. White was once again excited and wrote, "I was young and off on a great adventure."59

White sailed south, noting of his ride that the boat had a bathroom, but went unused for a long time and was now a place for vegetable storage. On arrival in Negros,

White took into his senses all that the city had to offer-his writing is indicative of his surroundings, and throughout the book, he continually describes the sights, sounds, and smells around him. While attending a dance, where White was quick to note the beauty of the Filipina girls, he was approached by the major of the Constabulary, who informed him ofthe political situation. White learned of"Papa Isio," and his two hundred men, mostly made up of "criminals and ex-insurgents," according to the major. White spent the next several years chasing Papa Isio through the Philippine Jungles, trying to capture his group of babaylanes.60

White was introduced to his group of men, roughly 20 Filipino soldiers, whom he described as small and weak-looking, dressed in a myriad of mismatched clothing, some not in possession of shoes. Since most of the troops were formerly a part of the Spanish guard, his title was changed from Inspector to Captain, a more familiar rank for his troops. White and his soldiers set off for the south, and soon found evidence of Papa Isio and the raiding babaylanes. Burned buildings and scared Filipinos with bolo, or machete, marks on their faces, and missing young females carried off into the mountains assured

White that he was on the correct trail. 61 Isio, who posed as an emissary of God, was able to gain a large following due to his promise of a communistic paradise. 62

59 "Bullets and Bolos," 12-19. 60 Ibid., p. 21, 32-33. 61 Ibid., p. 35-41. 62 LeRoy, 106-108.

24 A report of a babaylan raid a few miles inland caused White and his men to move quickly through the quiet countryside. They arrived too late, but were joined by some of the citizenry acting as guides. For some time, White and his troops chased their enemy through the mountains, having little success. White realized that in order to catch his prey, he would need a more stealthy approach due to the fact that every time he came close to the enemy, they simply disappeared into the jungle and easily eluded him. 63

As the last of the U.S. Army pulled out of the Philippines, the Constabulary forces took a greater hand in keeping the peace. White soon received the responsibility of keeping peace in all of southern Negros, an area of approximately 2500 square miles.

White longed to give the Constabulary legitimacy, and once again set his sights on Papa

Isio in order to prove the necessity and value of his organization. White believed Isio's lair was hidden deep in the mountains, and in May of 1902, White began questioning one of his best guides, whom he believed possessed the information he wanted. After a long series of questions, the guide finally acquiesced to knowing Isio's location, although he reported he had kept it a secret because he did not want to see White killed. According to the guide, Isio's headquarters were located on a very high peak, with very steep access, heavy fortification, and according to Isio's men, was "impregnable." In late May, against the advice of his guide, White began preparing for the trip to Mansalanao and the headquarters of Papa Isio. 64

He set off with a group of seventeen soldiers and his guide. The trip through the jungle proved difficult and White described the trail as having, "dank leafy mold with rattan and other vines crisscrossing the path, festooning trees, climbing up toward the

63 "Bullets and Bolos " 63 76. 64 Ibid~p. 82-Si~-' '

25 life-giving sun that never penetrated the forest depths; and in the mold, on every twig and leaf underfoot, alongside or hanging from above, were the wretched limatuks [leeches], which, though scarcely longer and thicker than a pin, would after a few minutes' adhesion to human skin swell to the size of a man's little finger."65

This excerpt and others from the work further the claim that White had a fascination and love for his natural surroundings even in times of danger. It seems as though every other page is filled with descriptions of the native flora and fauna that

White encountered on his journeys. "The swift Binalbagan [river], issuing cool from the slopes of giant Canlaon, ran its silver thread through an emerald field. Purling brooks rushed down to meet their mother and cooled our feet as we hiked along the trai1."66

He also paid special attention to the trees, foreshadowing his great love for the giant Sequoias: "Always the towering tree trunks were around us like cathedral columns, while verdure vaulted overhead so that we rarely saw the sun."67 In addition to showing his appreciation for nature, he also hinted at his admiration for the state of California.

Indeed, it is no surprise that White spent over twenty-five years of his life dedicated to a

California national park. While discussing a new school teacher who had come to the

Philippines, he wrote "what a surprise it was to see a California girl in that old convent!

The Hoppers were new types of pedagogues, bringing with them to war-torn Negros something of the sunlight and cheer of their own Golden State beyond the Pacific."68

After a difficult ascension up to the location where the outlaws were hiding,

White and his men became involved in a firefight, and were heavily outnumbered. This

65 Ibid., p. 89. 66 Ibid., p. 47-48. 67 Ibid., p. 91. 68 Ibid., p. 61.

26 was a guerilla warfare they were unaccustomed to. 69 Through determination and difficult effort, they took the hill and killed many of the outlaws, including two high-ranking chiefs. Papa Isio and the rest of the babaylanes escaped, but they were severely weakened by the fighting. Isio was forced deep into the jungle and remained out of sight until he was forced to surrender to one Captain Bowers. Years later when White was superintendent of the Iwahig Penal Colony, he paid a visit to Isio, who was being held in

Bilibid Prison, Manila. White wrote that he felt sympathy for the old warrior, now confined in his small cell. He gave him some luxury items and had his sentence commuted to life in prison. However Isio died soon after, as he was not a man used to living in such fashion. 70

After the victory over the outlaws, the Constabulary enjoyed a much greater level of respect, especially in the Negros area. Illegal activities slowed and the biggest problem

White and his men faced was a heavy outbreak of cholera. With the rainy season, the cholera outbreak diminished, and the Constabulary had minor skirmishes with the babaylanes, occasionally capturing some of them. White's next fight was to be against

"Dalmacio the Negrito," the most feared of the babaylan chiefs, who ranked next to

"Papa" Isio in hierarchical terms. 71

Dalmacio reportedly had over two hundred men with cannon and many rifles.

White's available Constabulary force numbered just under 30. As the month of October passed, White celebrated his 23rd birthday and prepared for the corning fight with

Dalmacio. Due to the chiefs aggressiveness, White felt he could be lured out of hiding and defeated. After tracking Dalrnacio, a fight broke out, and the result was yet another

69 LeRoy, 223. 70 "Bullets_

27 victory for the Constabulary. White had an outlaw in his gun sights, who raised his arms in surrender. The man confessed to being Dalmacio, leader of the rebels. He was taken prisoner and the fight ended. The Constabulary lost no troops in the fight, but two guides lay dead. The babaylanes lost a total of seven troops in the skirmish. 72

Word of the Constabulary victory spread throughout the province, and Dalmacio received a death sentence, though he reportedly died in Bilibid Prison before the sentence could be carried out. A few weeks later, due to his success in Negros, White was promoted to Captain. White spent much of his time policing the villages ofNegros and at one point, arrested a group for illegal gambling. One of those arrested turned out to be an ex-soldier White had previously fought with in the Greek Foreign Legion. When White realized who the man was, he wrote, "Negros and the tropics faded away. Instead I saw a line of ragged men in badly fitting, soiled green uniforms, with bandoliers of cartridges and old Gras rifles; I smelt the powder and dust of battle on the slopes of the Orthrys

Mountains, and saw the dark masses of Turks in the plains below, opening out and advancing to the attack."73

White ultimately sent the ex-legionnaire on his way with his gambling winnings and some advice, which White recalls the man followed and later became a wealthy planter in America. For several years, White performed various jobs for the

Constabulary, hiking around the jungles of the Philippines and avoiding cholera and malaria outbreaks. In the summer of 1904, White returned to the Moro province to help organize a new Constabulary force. The region was known for being exceptionally lawless, and in need of order. His attacks of malaria grew worse and he wrote in late

72 Ibid., p. 151-155, 73 Ibid.,p.155, 166.

28 1904, "Doubtless I should have applied for leave and the opportunity to get the fever out

of my blood. But I still had a bank account of health and vitality and was not to be

satisfied until I had overdrawn it."74

Hiking through the hills ofMoro province, White's fever grew from 104 to 106 degrees. He was placed on a stretcher, and then taken to the Army medical corps where he received liberal doses of quinine and arsenic to lower his fever and rid his body of malarial germs. Shortly after his convalescence, White took a leave of absence and visited Europe and the United States. He visited family in England, then moved on to tour

New York, and San Francisco, before once again longing for Manila and the east. White once again returned to Moro province, in time for one of the biggest engagements the

Constabulary ever took part in. With his health rejuvenated, he felt prepared for additional combat. 75

In November of 1904, White received a commendation from his commander,

General L. Wood, for fine conduct during expeditions and for preventing large stores of ammunition from falling into the hands of hostile Moros. In December ofthe following year, he received a telegram of congratulations from Major H. L. Scott for his conduct at

Tapul where he collected rifles from a hostile group of armed rebels.76

In early 1906, White was asked to prepare a group of Constabulary forces to assist in an attack against a group of rebels who refused to recognize and follow the American provisional laws. White and his troops were assigned to Major Omar Bundy, commander of the Sixth United States Infantry. The attack on Mount Dajo was a tremendous success

74 Ibid., p. 219, 252. 75 Ibid., p. 259-262. 76 John White, "Condensed Statement of Service of John R. White in U.S. Army, Philippine Constabulary, etc., 1912 (?)," p. 1. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

29 for the Constabulary and the Americans, with over six hundred enemy casualties and a decisive victory. After a desperate hand-to-hand combat, White was wounded, but fully recovered after several months in the hospital. 77

White's performance was not only recorded by himself, but also noted by his commanding officer, who wrote, "I wish particularly to call to your attention the gallant conduct of Captain White. He bravely led his men to the very top of the trail, and exhibited qualities of courage and leadership that could not be excelled. He was severely wounded in the leg by a shot from a Moro rifle, after he had reached the base of the parapet. I ask that as a reward for his splendid service, he be given the Constabulary

Medal of Honor for distinguished bravery."78 Later that year, White was awarded the

Medal of Valor for his role in the engagement.79

White's performance in the field soon earned him a job offer as a superintendent oflwahig Penal Colony. In the summer of 1906 White accepted the job, which came with higher pay, more responsibilities, and some stability, which was something White's life lacked up until that point. The penal colony had a poor record in the years prior to

White's control. Sickness was prevalent, thievery occmTed often, and prisoners frequently escaped. Additionally, the number of prisoners dying was alarmingly high at roughly ten per month. However, conditions in Iwahig were soon to change. On

1 80 September 4 \ White arrived and assumed command.

77 Arnold, 161. 78 1 Omar Bundy to Colonel W.S. Scott, Commanding 5 h Constabulary District. Post of Jolo. 12 March 1906. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 79 "Condensed statement of service of John R. White," p. l. 80 "Extract from the Bureau ofthe Constabulary, Manila, 8 October 1906." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

30 At Iwahig, he arrived to find the superintendent's quarters to be not much more than a dilapidated hut with boxes for furniture. Being a man who appreciated the natural surroundings, he quickly noticed that the forests surrounding the penal colony had a plethora of fine hardwood trees. Among the convicts were sawyers, carpenters, and cabinet-makers. White realized he needed to connect his supply of wood with the producers. 81

White recalls one long building that housed roughly one hundred sick convicts, with dirty and deplorable conditions. In addition to poor living quarters, he attributed the high rate of death and disease to the number of flies and mosquitoes near the colony. The open cesspools and swampy areas next to the buildings exacerbated the fecundity of the pests. He also observed that even though the neighboring jungle was teeming with wild game and rivers full of fish, the diet of the prisoners consisted of white rice and canned salmon, imported from Manila by boat, one time per month. Although White referred to the camp as a "dolorous settlement," he realized that the fact that it was so bad could make it easier to achieve success. 82

Although the capacity of the colony could be roughly 600 prisoners, when White assumed control in 1906 there were far fewer due to death and disease. The count in early

1906 stood at a mere 302 total inmates.83 White quickly reorganized the inmates into squads, each with its own foreman. Although there were only 200 men healthy enough for physical labor, they accomplished a lot of work-digging drains, cutting grass, leveling ground, building paths and roads, and most importantly drying the open

81 Bullets and Bolos, 320. 82 Ibid., p. 321. 83 "Extract from the Bureau of the Constabulary, Manila," p. 2

31 cesspools and swamps. As expected, the number of flies and mosquitoes dropped, therefore slowing the spread of malarial fevers and other diseases. In addition, White realized that the convicts were netting the creeks and sloughs near the colony thereby destroying the fish that preyed on the mosquito larvae. 84

After organization and sanitation, discipline became another concern of White's.

Although many of the men were too sick to rebel, White rooted out and transferred a handful of inmates to the more secure Bilibid prison in Manila. White's work squads soon became specialized. A few examples of the work groups were: farming, forestry, health, police, fishing, carpentry, and gardening. A mutual respect grew between the superintendent and the inmates and White wrote of them," [they] gave me less anxiety and feeling of responsibility than is experienced by the average kindergarten teacher ...

The prisoners knew that I wished them well and was doing everything possible for the betterment of their condition. "85

The report from the Bureau of the Constabulary concurs with White's writings.

Prior to 1906, deaths per year were in the hundreds. By 1907, deaths had dropped to 53 and the strength of the colony returned to 520. By 1908, deaths further declined to I 2.

Escape attempts almost ceased entirely--in the two years with White as superintendent only one escape attempt was recorded, and all five prisoners were recovered. White kept detailed records, showing the ages, sentences, crimes, race, province of origin, and occupation of all inmates at Iwahig. In addition, he kept fiscal records and recorded all colony inspections and other notable events. 86

84 Bullets_all_ciBolos, 322. 85 Ibid., p. 328-330. 86 "Extract from the Bureau of the Constabulary, Manila," p. 1-2.

32 White's management philosophy, which he later adopted and further developed when acting as superintendent of Sequoia National Park, was based on mutual respect.

Security was not a major issue during White's tenure due to the fact that he placed a tremendous amount of confidence in the prisoners, and for that matter, in humanity in general. He believed many penal colonies attempted to blend the "golden rule" with

"wardens, shot-guns, cells, and bars; whereas the two blend no better than oil and water."

Although White ultimately felt this was a failed method of running a penal colony, he did recognize the fact that beneath the leniency and kindness of a superintendent, there had to at least be the capacity for harsh measures, should they be necessary. A tendency to use positive reinforcement for the inmates supplemented his management style, which White found a far better motivator.87

In January of 1908, White made the decision to leave the penal colony. Largely, the decision was based on the fact that ifhe stayed, it meant a loss of promotion in the

Constabulary. 88 On leaving Iwahig, he wrote, "And should I live as long as a California

Big Tree I shall never again receive the perfect tribute that was mine when, in September

1908, I stepped aboard the launch that was to carry me away from my convicts and my jungle. The colony was there to bid me God-speed, and many a wrinkled old Filipino prisoner wept as I said good-by. [sic] My own eyes were not dry. 89

To sum up White's time at Iwahig and the positive changes he made there, the governor wrote,

87 Bullets and Bolos, 331-332. 88 John White to the director of prisons, Manila, 29 January 1908. White sent the letter nine months before he actually left his post in order to give the director adequate time to find a replacement. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 89 Bullets l!_nd BQ}Q~. 337.

33 When Major White came to Iwahig less than two years ago the Colony was in a chaotic, disorganized condition due to incompetence on the part of the former Superintendents. During the past two years under Major White, a smooth working organization has been established; the colonists are subject to sufficient disciplinary measures to insure the safety of the Colony while at the same time they enjoy enough liberty and other privileges to make them feel contented with their lot. During Major White's stay at Iwahig the various officials and employees of the Colony have worked together without friction and much has been done towards making the Colony permanent and self supporting.90

Clearly, White received due recognition and appreciation for his work at Iwahig.

After leaving, he returned to his duties with the Constabulary under his old chief, Colonel

Harbord, a former mentor of his. The following year proved somewhat uneventful, although his malaria returned and his health began to decline. 91 He was placed in charge ofthe district of Southern Luzon, where much ofhis service was in the field. 92

Additionally, in August of 1909, he was given an honorable mention award for saving the life of a drowning man in the Iloilo River at night and at the risk of his own life. 93

Late in 1909, White took several months leave of absence and made ajourney around the world. His recurrent attacks of malaria flared, especially when he found himself in colder climates. In November while touring New York, he landed in a hospital where doctors puzzled over the interesting combinations of malaria in his blood, the remnant of trips to far-off Philippine islands. In December he returned to England, but quickly headed south to Spain when the "blasted English drizzle" once again reawakened the fever. 94

90 The Governor ofPalawan E.Y. Miller to a "Sir," although it is most likely written to the director of the penal system, Manila, 14 April 1908. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 91 Bullets and Bolos, 338-340. 92 "Biographical Questionnaire," p. 3. 93 "Condensed statement of service of John R. White" p. 1-2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 94 Bullets and B_9los, 341-342.

34 In March of the following year, White returned to the Philippines to command the

Constabulary School for cadet officers at Baguio. There he met his wife, Fay, and the two married in Manila in September of 1910. His last few years in the Philippines were spent graduating classes of new cadets-he considered the school to be the "West Point of the

Philippines,"-- and overseeing Southern and Northern Luzon. One of his last positions was his appointment as governor of the province of Agusan in Mindanao in 1912.

Towards the end of his time with the Constabulary, when he was 31 years of age, he earned the rank Colonel, assistant chief. White wrote little about his last few years in the

Philippines, possibly because the years were less eventful, but more likely because his health declined to the point where he had to retire from the Constabulary. In 1914,

White's malaria worsened, and he made the decision to leave. He spent the next several months convalescing in the Army hospital at Fort Bayard, New Mexico. 95

After a slow recovery, White spent the next few years traveling the world, stopping in British Columbia, various places in the United States, and returning to the

Philippines in late 1915. The following year, White headed east over the Canadian

Pacific to Montreal, also with stops in Vermont, Boston, and Washington D.C. to hunt for a job. He received an offer for a vice consulship in Palermo, Italy, but declined. He considered a job working for the state department performing secret service work on the

Mexican border, but ultimately decided on a job with the American Red Cross for service as a special agent in Europe.96

With World War I underway, White again set off on another adventure, headed into the center of the struggle. In late July, he received orders to proceed to Vienna and

95 "Biographical Questionnaire," p. 2. 96 "Autobiographical sketch, 1938 (?)," p. 1-2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

35 call upon the American ambassador and locate the director of the Red Cross Serbian

Relief Committee. After meeting with the director, Edward Stewart, he proceeded to

Bucharest with the purpose oftaking charge ofthe purchase and forwarding of relief supplies for Serbia. There he worked alongside the American minister in Bucharest,

Charles J. Vopicka, providing Serbian relief.97

White traveled extensively during his time with the Red Cross, visiting Germany,

Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. He wrote about the tumultuous political climate in Europe, and when the Lusitania was sunk, White felt the Germans were not wrong in their actions, due to the presence of guns on the passenger ship.

However, when the United States entered the war in April of 1917, he was in Stockholm, and upon hearing the news, he quickly headed for America to join the ranks of fighting men, as so many did in the early years of World War I.98

White returned to the service as a candidate in the first officers' training camp in

Fort Myer, Virginia, from which he was commissioned as a major in June, 1917. He worked on duty in the officer's division in Washington until December when he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the Signal Corps (air service). He was sent to Kelly

Field in Texas for flight training and earned his reserve military aviator license. White's flight training encountered a setback when he crashed while performing cross-country tests. The forced landing at Commack, Long Island, gave him severe shock, and once again he found himself back in the hospital recuperating.99

97 American Red Cross, Department of Civilian Reliefto John Roberts White, 25 July 1916. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 98 "Autobiographical Sketch," p. 2. 99 "Biographical Questionnaire," p. 2-3.

36 In September of 1918, White was ordered to France to act as a Deputy Provost

Marshal General with the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), and command the

Military Police Training School. In November, just as the war ended, White received word of his new rank-Colonel in the Military Police Corps. 100 White received his discharge orders in April of 1919 and returned to the United States, once again looking for a job that would improve his livelihood and possibly create new challenges. 101 He found his calling among the national parks of America.

100 Provost Marshal General H.H. Bandholte to the Commander in Chief, G.H.Q.A.E.F., 22 November 1918. In this letter there is also a brief description of White's service in the Philippines with the Constabulary. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 101 John Roberts White to the Adjutant General, United States Anny, Washington D.C., 29 March 1920. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

37 CHAPTER THREE

CREATING CHANGE WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Before one examines White's contribution to the national parks, it is important to understand the key people and ideas behind the conservation movement and the creation and organization of the national park system. The idea of creating a park to protect wilderness can be traced to 1832 to George Catlin, an early student and painter ofthe

American Indian. Catlin advocated the protection of some wild areas as "a magnificent park." He continued, "What a beautiful and thrilling specimen for America to preserve and hold up to the view of her refined citizens and the world, in future ages! A nation's

Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild[ness] and freshness of their nature's beauty!"102

While Catlin's idea is historically significant, author Mark Spence writes that in some respects, Catlin should not be associated with national park history. "Catlin's vision of 'classic' Indians grossly ignored the cultural dynamism of native societies, and his park would have created a monstrous combination of outdoor museum, human zoo, and wild animal park."103 Nevertheless, Catlin's quote is commonly used by authors when discussing the foundation of America's national parks.

When Catlin pondered his "magnificent park," America was a very young nation, and along with its youth came very little art, few traditions, and minor literary

102 George Catlin, NQTIJ:LAmerican Indians: Being Letters a@ NQli:s on their Manners, Ct!stoms. and CgnditiQ_J1~Lwritt~IL9uri_qg Eight Years.'_Travel_ji]Tiong§tJh~ Wiic!e_§1]Iib_(:!i_Qf Indi~nJiiJLNorth Am~ica (2 vols. Philadelphia, 1913) Originally published in London in 1841 as a collection of articles which Catlin had written in the 1830s. , I, 289, 292-93, as cited in: Roderick Frazier Nash, WiLci_e_rnys_!i__ai}cl_th<:< Am~ic<:tn Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967), 100-10 l. 103 Spence, II.

38 achievements in comparison with those of Europe. The abundance ofwilderness set

America apart from the old world, and conveniently, the American wilderness experienced a new appreciation due to the age of romanticism. Transcendentalist authors such as Henry David Thoreau furthered the appreciation of nature and helped leaders and citizens of the country realize they possessed something unique-the idea and physical rea IIty. o fA mencan. WI'ld erness. 104

Author William Cronon points out that wilderness is not quite what many environmentalists believe it to be. He urges readers to rethink wilderness, which he believes is an entirely human creation. The fact that it is disguised as purely natural makes it difficult and tricky for people to understand that it is, in fact, unnatural. Cronon does not believe that protecting wild lands is a pointless endeavor--he himself shares many positive memories of what he considers to be "nature." However, he urges humans to practice sustainability on a wider spectrum, and not just in the national park setting. 105

1 Through the second half of the 19 h century, the American conservation movement quickly gained support, largely through the work of authors and activists such as William Cullen Bryant and Frederick Law Olmsted. Adirondack and Yosemite State

Parks, in New York and California, respectively, were among the first areas protected from development. 106 Since the inception of the national park system in 1872 with

Yellowstone, America's interest in wilderness and the park system has shown consistent growth. Visitation numbers in the parks continued to climb through the twentieth century, rising and falling in places based on external events, such as war and technological

104 Nash, 67. 105 William Cronon, "The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature," in Q~t Qftb_t< Woods: Essay~ inEJ1YiiQU!1W_ntal Hi_stQ!:)', ed. Char Miller and Hal Rothman (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997), 28-29. 106 Nash, 107-109.

39 innovation. 107 For the first several decades after the creation of Yellowstone, the

Department of the Interior held the responsibility of managing 12 existing parks. In 1916, there were three more being considered by Congress. The parks, along with 19 national monuments, were run with almost no coordinated administration and very little custodial care. Yellowstone, the most famous and largest of all the parks, was still controlled by the

War Department. 108

With the new additions of national parks and little organization to run them,

Congress voted in 1916 for the creation ofthe National Park Service. The organization was created through the efforts of many, including Horace Albright and Stephen Mather, the first leaders of the National Park Service and a great influence on many who were involved in wilderness management. The Park Service legally existed in 1916, yet no funds were appropriated by Congress until April of the following year. The agency remained a mere piece of paper until1917 when it was organized and funded. 109

According to biographer and conservationist historian Stephen Fox, the role of the

"radical amateur" was the driving force in conservationist history. The conservation movement, which historians place from 1890 to 1975, depended on professional agencies for expertise, organization, and funding. However, Fox believes the amateurs provided the high standards, independence, and integrity. Additionally, they were unimpeded by

107 Lary M. Dilsaver and William C. Tweed, Cbi!JI~ng~ Q[!l}_~ig TrS

40 the bureaucratic system, constituencies, or old policies. The "radical amateur" served as the movement's conscience and provided necessary balance. 110

One of the earliest, most famous wilderness issues raged between "radical amateur" and famous naturalist John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, an advocate for wise use.

The debate came to a head in Northern California over the future of the Hetch-Hetchy

Valley. The valley, located in Yosemite National Park, rivaled the famous Yosemite

Valley in terms of scenic beauty. However, the site was perfect for a dam to supply water to the city of San Francisco. While Muir and the preservationists ended up losing the battle, the struggle to prevent the construction of the dam signaled a change in the way

Americans viewed wilderness. Author Roderick Nash writes, "Americans had not felt compelled to rationalize the conquest of wild country in this manner. For three centuries they had chosen civilization without any hesitation. By 1913 they were no longer so sure. 111

During the years of White's involvement with the National Park Service from

1919-194 7, the United States experienced tremendous economic highs and lows through the "roaring" twenties and Great Depression, and these changes greatly impacted park service funding. In the early 1940s, the Park Service experienced drastic cuts due to

World War II. These cuts caused infrastructure issues, management, and biological problems that the government sought to revitalize with the "Mission 66" program, designed to gentrify the stagnating park system. The billion dollar program that began in the 1950s was to improve park facilities, provide increased staffing, and expand the

110 Stephen Fox, The American Conservation Movement;_Lohn ]'yfuir_apd_His Legacy. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1981), 333-334. 111 Nash, 181.

41 1 influence of the national park system by the year 1966, the 50 h anniversary of the Park

Service. 112

With the creation of new national parks came the debate over exactly what constituted a "national park." Noted historian Alfred Runte writes about keeping standards high for allowing an area to be elevated to the level of a "national park."

"Expanding the national park system for expansion's sake only threatened that reputation." Environmentalist Robert Sterling Yard believed the standard must be upheld, or the designation would lose meaning. In 1923, Yard cited that when Zion National Park was created in 1919, the world knew another stupendous scenic wonderland had been discovered. However, he warned that if all "wooded summits, limestone caves, pretty local ravines, local mountains and gaps between mountains became national parks, the name 'Zion National Park' will mean nothing at home or abroad to those who have not already seen it." Yard also realized the monetary value ofhaving a national park within a congressional district and wrote that the "increasing dozens of little parks would undermine financial support for the larger, spectacular, and clearly legitimate reserves. A

'National Park Pork Ban·el' would be the final degradation." 113

As previously discussed, one of the major issues throughout the history of the

Park Service has been the balance of conservation and recreation, or use. Sequoia

National Park Superintendent, Colonel John Roberts White, was a "radical amateur" to quote Stephen Fox, who found himself in the midst ofthe fight, while also a part ofthe established bureaucracy. With his philosophy and through his actions, Colonel White was

112 Sellars, 149. 113 Runte, 188.

42 innovative in his conservation-based management style that impacted the park during his

tenure and continued to influence park policies many decades later.

In many ways, White can be compared to Bob Marshall whose concept of nature

included no permanent inhabitants, possessed no mechanical conveyances, and was

spacious enough so that a person crossing it must have the experience of sleeping

outdoors. Marshall called for "spirited people who will fight for the freedom of the

wilderness," and be militant and uncompromising in their stance. 114 White could not

avoid cars in Sequoia, but he did ensure that the majority of the park could not be seen

without walking for several miles.

Throughout his life, Colonel White felt drawn to nature. He noticed, admired, and

frequently wrote about it. Since he was often in ill health, he most likely associated some

sort of healing properties with the natural world, which may be why he spent the second

half of his life working for and helping to protect it. The trip that sparked White's

appreciation for nature was to Yosemite in 1913, while on leave from the Philippines. Of

Yosemite Valley, White wrote, "But nowhere in the world can there be such a collection

of majestic heights, of graceful falls, of mountain streams and meadows, of glorious

forests and pretty wildflowers as in the Yosemite. It must be unique." 115

In June of 1913, hotel prices were slightly high for White at $2.50 per day at

Camp Curry, so he elected to rent a tent, stove and blankets and camp outside for a mere

ten dollars per month. His time was spent fishing the Merced River and exploring places

114 Robert Gottlieb, "Reconstructing Environmentalism: Complex Movements, Diverse Roots," in Q11_t_o_f th~Woqds: Es_say,<;jn_B~llYironmental History_, ed. Char Miller and Hal Rothman (Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997), 147-148. 115 "Diary of John White, 5 June 1913." p. 1-2. He wrote this particular eight-page diary by his campfire in the north side of Yosemite Valley, within site of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

43 such as Mirror Lake and Glacier Point. After leaving Yosemite and returning to Palo

Alto, White reflected on his excellent trip to the park. Although White had mostly

positive things to say, his strongest impression of the park was that it was poorly

administered. He writes, "The roads in and around Yosemite were vile. Ankle deep in

dust at that early season, in the height of summer they must be terribly unpleasant. The

buildings erected both by the government and private parties are ugly and do not blend

with the natural surroundings. There seems something haphazard and unfinished about

the whole administration." 116 White felt the fault lay with the Army, which, at the time,

controlled the parks and rotated officers in and out on a yearly basis. According to White,

the soldiers lacked the passion to do the job properly. He believed, "it is always folly to

employ soldiers for any other purpose than that for which they are trained-the waging of

war." 117 Although White had strong feelings on the subject he quickly steamed back to

the Philippines and put his thoughts on temporary hold. After his return from service in

1919, White took a job as a ranger in the newly formed National Park Service and was

appointed to the Grand Canyon.

The struggle to preserve the Grand Canyon and make it a national park lasted several years as individuals with mining interests fought the government for rights to the canyon. Author Stephen Pyne writes that for many decades, there was little interest at all in the canyon. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that countless intellectuals labored to instruct the public on the scenic value that existed there, and change the opinions ofthe majority, who largely ignored it, or considered it a perilous chasm. 118

116 Ibid., p. 2-4. 117 Ibid. 118 Stephen Pyne, Howthe_Ca!1)'Ql1 B_es;q_111e (]ram_!, (New York: Viking Penguin: New York, 1998), xiii.

44 In addition to a love for nature, White originally took the job at the Grand Canyon

because he thought it was one of the only ways to regain his health. In the Park Service,

he began at the bottom, as a park ranger and in October of 1919, he reported for duty. 119

White believed his future rise to the position of superintendent was abnormal, as most did

not begin in the Park Service as rangers. In an address he declared, "I rather thought that

all I would have to do would be ride around the forests on a horse and maybe rescue

beautiful girls who had lost their way in the woods. But I was soon disillusioned. My first

job at the Grand Canyon was cleaning out a dirty stable. The Park Service was not so

well organized then, and I found a lot of dirty horses in a dirty stable." 120

Indeed, the park was a mere seven months old when White arrived, and in

addition to cleaning stables, he performed a wide variety of jobs such as typing and

cleaning offices and storerooms, cooking, and touring visitors around the canyon. At one

point, he even escorted Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium. White made several trips on

the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon depths. He recalled the trail as

comparatively easy, but, "time after time there was nothing but an inch of dirt or rock and

my horse's disposition between me and etemity." 121

Shortly after his first trip into the canyon, White received fortuitous news.

Superintendent W.H. Peters and Chief Ranger Forest Townsley called him to the office

and proposed that he become acting Chief Ranger of Grand Canyon National Park.

Townsley had to return to his regular work at Yosemite. In addition, White was informed

119 "A Scenic Interlude: Twenty-Eight Years in the National Park Service, 1947 (?)." p. I. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 120 "Broadcast over K.P.O., San Francisco from N.B.C. Studios, 4 May 1931, I :30- 2 PM (27 total minutes on the air) from the a segment with the subject, 'The National Park Service as a Career.' Paul Pitman as interlocutor." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 121 "A Scenic Interlude: Twenty-Eight Years in the National Park Service," p. 6-10.

45 that he was to be acting superintendent while Peters attended a National Park conference in Denver. Indeed White was rising rapidly. It is not surprising that White wrote, "Three weeks earlier I had been a camp cook and flunkey, stable boy and general roust-about; and now I was to be acting superintendent. I began to approve of the National Park

Service."122

White's management experience from the military and penal colony of the

Philippines now needed to be adapted to the National Park Service. He began formulating his conservation ideas and how to put them into practice. One of the first issues was that of communication in the park. In the early 1920s, travel between the North and South

Rim of the canyon was difficult and treacherous. Debate immediately began over whether a telephone line should be erected joining both rims. White writes, "It was in the infancy of the Park Service when 'landscape protection' was the slogan without as yet a clear understanding of what it involved." While early preservationists argued that the line would obtrude on the view and mar the landscape, White countered that, "if properly located, a telephone line across the Grand Canyon would be about as visible as one thread of a spider's web across the mouth of hell." In the end, White had the line built and the

North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon were linked for faster, easier communication. 123

When White originally applied for a position with the Park Service, there were no jobs available for someone with his qualifications. The job at Grand Canyon was offered with the thought that he would likely decline the proposition. White accepted the job and used his time there to not only gain accessibility to the service, but also to show his

122 "Ibid., p. 13. 123 "Ibid., p. 2.

46 passion for the parks and demonstrate his work ethic. After less than a year of working in

Arizona, White began communicating with Arno Cammerer and Stephen Mather, both leaders of the National Park Service. The current superintendent of Sequoia National

Park, Walter Fry, sought a position that allowed him to spend more time in the woods, his true passion, and less time managing in an office. 124 While White corresponded with

Washington, Mather and Cammerer discussed White with Fry. White wrote, "I would like you to know sir, that both by training and inclination I feel that it is work for which I am well suited and in which I can give entire satisfaction." 125 Ultimately, they decided

White was the right man to manage Sequoia and General Grant National Parks and offered him the position in the summer of 1920. "I believe Mrs. White and the youngster would be very much pleased to be among the big trees in the High Sierras," wrote acting director Cammerer. 126 Therefore Colonel White arranged the move back to his beloved

Sierra Nevada Mountains, and began the position that defined the second half of his life.

The Whites arrived in the California foothills by train and were met by a park ranger, who was to take them the rest of the way into the Giant Forest. Mrs. White writes,

"This was my first introduction to a park ranger, a most romantic sounding person. He should have been young and dashing and tall. He wasn't. He was fat and short and middle-aged. But he was a good driver, which was all that we were interested in at that time. For the road ahead of us was perilous to the extreme." They were shown the small town of Three Rivers, which would serve as their winter quarters. In the summer it

124 Dilsaver and Tweed, 111-112. 125 White to Mather, 25 January 1920, as cited in "The Genesis ofNational Park Management: John Roberts White and Sequoia National Park, 1920-194 7 ,"by Rich Hydrick. The Journal ofE:orestBis_iQr)', vol. 28 no. 2 (April 1984): 68. 126 Arno Cammerer to Colonel White, 3 July 1920. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

47 appeared dusty, dry, brown and the temperature reached 110 degrees. Later in the year, however, "the rolling hills were covered with velvety, green grass then and dotted with sleek, browsing cattle."127

The Whites noticed significant changes that occur during the steep drive to the forest plateau. Currently, it takes approximately one hour to drive from the park entrance, just beyond Three Rivers, to the Giant Forest. In White's time it took considerably longer due to the poor quality of the roads, which were dirt, and the less powerful automobiles of the 1920s. At 3600 feet, the group stopped for lunch and noticed an entire change in vegetation-wild flowers blooming profusely and snow-capped mountains in the distance, as well as an abundance ofwildlife. At 5,000 feet, the Whites encountered a low rambling knoll forested with pines and oak, as they entered the Giant Forest of Sequoia trees. 128

On arrival, the Whites were disappointed to find that there were no quarters waiting for them. With the Park Service still being in its infancy, a miscommunication had occurred and the only available place to stay was in an abandoned cookhouse. The retiring superintendent invited them to dinner and they were able to wash and clean themselves. 129

On July 2i\ 1920, a picnic was held to celebrate their arrival in the park and a large group of Park Service employees gathered to welcome White and his family. 130 The

Whites were still without a permanent residence, and when the Park Service asked how

127 Fay White "A collection of diary entries, 1935 (?)" p. 1-2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 128 Ibid., pages 3-4. 129 Ibid., page 6. 130 Ward Eldredge, 1!1lil~lA!Mrica:_S~quoia National Par_k (Charleston S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2008), 42.

48 much money he thought it would take to build his quarters, he replied $4,000. Later, he

learned they were willing to allocate $10,000. Nevertheless, White and his family lived

comfortably and added to the house in later years. 131

In the 1920s, residents from the San Joaquin Valley were the most frequent

visitors of Sequoia National Park. The intense heat of the valley drove people up to the

mountains, and in Sequoia life was inexpensive, as campgrounds with stoves, toilets, and

showers were either free or close to it. The government provided services and citizens

could even obtain permits that allowed them to build a small 12 by 14 foot cabin. Cabin

owners often stored their equipment in the shacks, and when summer arrived, they had

only themselves to transport up the mountain. Canvas tents often surrounded the main

cabin, sometimes sprawled over a half acre. The Park Service had rules against such

squatting, but in the early days of the organization they were rarely enforced. Even when

a park superintendent tried to prevent it, Washington rarely gave them its support. 132

With the sprawled out squatting and disorganized camping taking place in his park, White realized something needed to be done. White reported, " ... it was barely possible to see Round Meadow because of the tents which surrounded it. The very choicest of places were preempted by public campers and by those who held permits to establish little cabins at Giant Forest. The whole of the Hazelwood, Firwood, Nob Hill and other central camp areas was given over to camping and in every direction there were pit toilets, cess pits, and a criss-cross of water lines under the Big Trees."133

131 "Diary of Fay White," p. 7. 132 Ibid., p. 10. 133 John White, "Some Notes on the Development of Sequoia National Park. 14 December 1933." p. 1-2. Sequoia-Kings Canyon Archives, Three Rivers, CA. (as cited in Dilsaver and Tweed, ~]1J!llenge oft!}e Big Ir~e~).

49 White quickly worked to organize specific campsites and campgrounds to clean up the sprawled tent city that occurred in the forest. From 1921 to 1928, the Park Service designed and built four campgrounds named Firwood, Highland, Paradise, and Sunset

Rock. In addition to these, campgrounds such as Lodgepole were constmcted outside the

Giant Forest. In fact, Lodgepole still exists today as the main campground in the park.

Although it was an improvement, White later came to realize that having any campgrounds or lodging within the Giant Forest was problematic in itself. 134

In 1923, noted naturalist Robert Sterling Yard wrote, "Our National Parks are much more than recreational resorts and museums of unaltered nature, they are also the

Exposition of the Scenic Supremacy of the United States. No other trade-mark has cost so much to establish and pays such dividends of business, national prestige, and patriotism.

Nevertheless, it is proposed to destroy it." 135 As a park superintendent in the 1920s and

1930s, White constantly found himself in the center of developmental arguments. Too little development, and the parks would be forgotten and neglected. Too much development equaled ovemse and destmction of the very thing that people attempted to enjoy. Visitor usage within Sequoia's Giant Forest proved to be White's most difficult stmggle.

White's family adjusted to life in the solitude ofthe park. Even though his salary was meager at $195 per month, they managed to entertain distinguished guests, with Mrs.

White often cooking a "campfire supper." The Whites had mixed relationships with the hotel and concession managers in the park. However, Mrs. White was quite fond of one

134 Dilsaver and Tweed, p. 136. 135 Robert Sterling Yard, "Gift-Parks the Coming National Park Danger," National Parks Bulletin 4 (October 9, 1923), 4. as quoted in: Alfred Runte, Ni!tirmal Parks:__ Th~ Am~k_an_E~J2eri~llQ

50 of the early ones--Mr. Hunkins, who approached her and offered to help cook and serve her dinners, which took place at Crescent Meadow. Guests often included wealthy friends of the Mathers or other prominent families. As September came, the former superintendent relinquished all control to White and winter preparations began. White made a trip to the backcountry with his rangers and settled into the job of making acquaintances with his colleagues and deciding where his energy was most needed. 136

In some ways, White was a "Mather man," meaning he favored the administrative principles of Stephen T. Mather. Mather and several of his successors believed that their management goal was to expand and open the parks through good infrastructure-roads, trails and pleasant accommodations. This development would in tum show the government and the American public that the parks were valuable in economic, patriotic, educational, recreational and environmental ways. White understood that the only way to protect the parks was to provide efficient public access. However, White believed in limiting the majority of public access to certain park areas, and in his mind, protecting nature came first. Historian Rick Hydrick, who uses White as an example to show the importance of early park superintendents, writes that, like Mather, White adhered to

Theodore Roosevelt's "New Nationalism," and believed in a sense of public mission. 137

Moreover, White accepted that a strong federal government was necessary to protect wilderness and manage it wisely. White differed from Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot's philosophy of parkland use by clearly opposing certain activities in Sequoia, such as the distribution of grazing permits. 138

136 "Diary ofFay White," 11-16. 137 Rick Hydrick, "The Genesis ofNational Park Management: John Roberts White and Sequoia National Park, 1920-1947," The Journal of Forest History 28 (April 1984): 68-69. 138 Nash, 162.

51 Although White is considered a "Mather man," he significantly changed his philosophies on wilderness during his time at Sequoia. Some refer to White as a "Mather man and much more," 139 an apt statement when considering his strong conservationist leanings, such as camp organization and restriction, shortly after his appointment to

Sequoia. In addition, White worked to cut back the amount of private land held within the park. He quarreled often with landowners, who felt they should be free to do what they wished with their land, even though it lay within park boundaries. 140

White learned to walk a fine line between conservation and development. Indeed, there were limits, but it was necessary to appease his superiors in Washington by increasing park visitation and by making the park a welcoming, comfortable place for tourists. 141 White attempted to focus on positive developments such as improved roads, visitor centers, and additional trails. Clearly, the only way to preserve the park was with money, and money would only come if people visited. In 1922, construction began on a new road into the park to replace the old Colony Mill Road. The new route, via the

Kaweah River, provided much better access. Additionally, a thirty-mile road linking

Sequoia and neighboring General Grant (now Kings Canyon National Park) was planned.

The "Generals Highway" allowed visitors to drive into one park and out the other in the same day. The road opened in the Giant Forest in 1926, and the connection to both parks was completed nine years later. Additionally, roads were built to connect Crescent

Meadow, which John Muir referred to as the "gem of the Sierra," Lodgepole, Wolverton,

139 Ibid., p. 81. 140 Strong. "History of Sequoia National Park," p. 294. As cited in Hydrick, "The Genesis of National Park Management," p. 69. 141 Runte, 96-97.

52 and Cedar Grove. Few additional roads have been constructed since these early

developments. 142

With regard to building roads, White wrote, "Those of us who work in and for the

national parks are constantly between two fires: on one side belch the cannon of the ultra-

conservationists to whom the presence of anyone but a scientist in the forests, meadows, or mountains of a national park is an unwarranted intrusion; on the other side is heard the mitrailleuse of the automobile enthusiast who sees no beauty in scenery unless it is brocaded by a winding ribbon of a road-p~vement preferred." 143

While some visitors would stop by his office and say, "All this place needs is more roads, so that the public can see the Big Trees and the meadows," just as many would complain, "It's an outrage the way you are building roads in the national parks.

There won't be any wilderness left in a few years." White believed neither was right; each side the victim of over-generalization. 144

One thing White believed regarding road building was that none should be built over 7,000 feet. His reasoning being that above that altitude, there are significantly fewer trees and roads are more likely to be seen and scar the scenic views. To this day, there are no roads that exceed 7,000 feet, and unlike Yosemite to the north, there is no road that crosses the Great Western Divide to the east. 145

By 1922, there were over ten million cars on American roads, and as automobiles rapidly proliferated, the government was willing to sponsor road building and

142 Douglas Strong, From Pioneers to Preservatim1ists: A B_rl~fl-fllit9ry ofSequoiaNatio@l_P_llrk. (Three Rivers, CA: Sequoia Natural History Association, 1996), 38-39. 143 John White, "Roads Versus Trails, 1941 (?)" p. 1. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. White uses the French term "mitrailleuse," referring to a rapid volley of gunfire from automatic weapons. 144 Ibid. 145 Ibid., p. 3.

53 recreational development. According to historian Paul S. Sutter, this massive influx of cars, the maturing consumer culture of America, and the federal government's greater role in outdoor recreation all served to encourage significant amounts of road building dunng . t h e mterwar . years. 146

Autocamping and motor touring were among the most popular outdoor recreational activities during this time. According to the New York Times, at least five million cars per year were being used for autocamping. In the 1920s, companies began producing specialized auto bodies and tent trailers, and by the following decade, fully furnished house trailers. The Park Service was quick to capitalize on the auto boom and in 1921 Mather was the leading force behind the motto, "A State Park Every Hundred

Miles," to provide autocamping links to the western national parks, and therefore increase natwna. I par k VISitatiOn. . . . 147

Superintendent White weighed the pros and cons of road building, often creating

"For" and "Against" columns. When deciding whether or not to build a road from Cedar

Grove further east into Kings Canyon, White pointed to Yosemite's overdevelopment and thought it best to learn from the mistake and tread very cautiously. He thought it best to have Kings Canyon "accessible by road, but not spoiled by road." He writes, "By careful, unhasty planning we can make full development of the South Fork, particularly stressing foot, burro & horse & mule travel."148 In the early years of White's tenure at Sequoia he

146 PaulS. Sutter, Driven Wild: How the Figh!J!gainst Automobiles Lf!ung(}~dJ:ht! Modern Wilderness Movement (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002), 19-27. 147 New York Times Statistic from J.C. Long and John D. Long, Motor Camping, (1923), 1-2., Donna R. Braden, Leisure and Entertainment in America ( 1988), James L. Greenleaf, "The Study and Selection of Sites for State Parks," Landscape Architecture 15, 4 (July 1925): 227-34. As cited in: Qriy('!JLW.UQ, 30-37. 148 John White, "Arguments for and against going above Cedar Grove with a road up the South Fork Canyon, 18 January 1941." P. 1. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

54 favored rebuilding roads of poor quality. However, he often disagreed with plans to

construct new roads.

In the 1920s, Sequoia was a forgotten neighbor of Yosemite and Stephen Mather

wished to inform the masses about the new national park system. Ironically, one of the

best ways to protect the new system was to encourage public use, as funding could only

be rationalized if people were benefitting from it. Sequoia and General Grant National

Parks released an information booklet and National Geographic published a lengthy and

well-illustrated article on the park. The Automobile Club printed several maps of the area

and Colonel White visited many businesses and attended social events to further

publicize the parks. 149 Of course, overuse quickly created problems that White was forced

to address.

In his first decade as superintendent, White did a great amount of advertising and

promoting to encourage people to visit Sequoia and General Grant. Radio addresses,

newspaper articles and public speeches by White and other representatives of the Park

Service were the primary means of outreach. Additionally, in 1922, Walter Fry began a

series of naturalist programs complete with guided walks, campfire programs, and museum displays. Visitation in the parks increased more than eightfold as tourists enjoyed the new roads, trails, cabins, and nature programs. 150

In a radio address, White enticed listeners by describing some of the educational programs created by the Park Service. He additionally refers to park employees as helpful and friendly. " ... all park rangers, and for that matter all park employees, whether of the government or of the hotels and pay camps, are glad to give information to visitors; but

149 Dilsaver and Tweed, 118-120. 150 Strong, 39-40.

55 we have in addition to this a corps of ranger naturalists, under a permanent park

naturalist, whose special business it is to interpret the park and natural objects thereof to

the visitors. And how much more interesting the park then becomes." Although the Park

Service pushed for educational programs in the parks, is important to note that the

presence of a permanent park naturalist to educate visitors was the idea of White and

former superintendent Walter Fry, and unique to Sequoia. 151

During the same radio address, he touched upon the issue of roads versus trails.

He writes, "I feel sorry, sometimes, for the people who just dash through a national park

and do not see, or at least do not understand, the beauty all around them. You cannot see

much beauty at forty or fifty miles an hour; all you can see is a blurred cinematographic

film of scenery which, like too many newsreels, has changed even before it may be

understood. We are doing what we can to entice motorists to stop, look and listen!"

White's campaign worked, and visitation increased--the average length of stay for a park

visitor grew from 1.5 days to 4 days in a few short years. 152

In 1928, White wrote a speech listing several of the reasons why he worked in

Sequoia, how he appreciated the idea of national parks, and mostly--why Americans

should be proud of them. He notes that the idea is uniquely American, one that citizens

should be equally as proud of as the airplane, telephone, or phonograph. While ancient

Greece and Rome had nothing similar to national parks, he makes reference to the forest reserves of England, Germany and France. However, he points out that the common

151 John White, "Radio Broadcast- KPO Radio. 11 May 1933 - 6:30 PM," p. 2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 152 Ibid., p. 3.

56 people were largely excluded from said reserves. 153 This idea is discussed in detail by

54 author Roderick Frazier Nash in 196i , among others, but offered a new and exciting perspective in the 1920s.

Indeed, White did an excellent job promoting his two parks. In the same speech where he explores the uniquely American idea of national parks he describes Sequoia and

General Grant as, "a wonderful land ... on the western slopes of California's Sierras; a land of rolling, grassy, foothills, parked by noble oaks and other deciduous trees; a land of deep, deep forests which contain other noble conifers besides the sequoias; a land of many glacier-hewn canyons with polished walls thousands of feet in height, and with waterfalls cascading down many thousand feet; a land of lakes and mountain peaks, and all located in an incomparable summer climate where rain is almost unknown from May to October."155

Transportation in the parks was something White contemplated and wrote about.

In the article, "Foot, Horse, Motor or Air?" published in 1929 in Nature Magazine, White pondered the future of how people would travel to the Sequoias. At the time, the newest mode of transportation was the airplane, which White thought might play a large role in the parks' future, although he conceded that it could never take the place of a car or horse, due to the unavoidable speed at which an aircraft must travel through the Sierras.

He had concerns with aircraft noise, as he argued it might disrupt the serenity of the natural environment. Moreover, he wrote that the National Park policy on airplanes had

153 John White, "The Big Tree National Parks, 1928," p. I. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 154 Nash, 67. 155 Ibid., p. 3.

57 not yet been formulated. 156 Indeed, today, there is still no such policy as is evident with

the high volume of air traffic crisscrossing over the parks.

As the National Park Service's advertisement campaign grew through the 1920s

and visitation continued to grow, another concern besides the influx of automobiles and

new transportation methods was the improvement of park concessions. Roads were built

and improved, sanitary facilities were constructed and other infrastructure was developed.

According to Colonel White's monthly reports, which he wrote himself, visitors soon

began arriving at the park in record numbers. 157

Almost immediately, White began noticing issues with the new crowds at

Sequoia. In a letter on May of 1922 to George Stewart, often referred to as the father of

Sequoia National Park, he discusses some of the problems:

The last yucca on the county Giant Forest road has been destroyed. On Sunday morning, it stood out like a massive waxen candelabra against the altar of the green hills. On Sunday afternoon it was in a Ford car on its way to the valley, rapidly drying up while its creamy blossoms were shaken offinto the dust ofthe highway .... Half a mile down the road I found two youths eating their lunch and in their flivver was all that remained ofthe last of a noble race. I spoke to the young men and they were very nice in sharing my regret when I pointed out how much pleasure the yucca would have given thousands of park visitors this season. They said they had not thought of this and only wanted to show their relations at home. There is surely need of concerned effort and proper advertisement if the beauties of the foothills are to be preserved. 158

156 John White, "Foot, Horse, Motor or Air? Contrasts in Sequoia National Park Travel," Nature M1lgl!~in~ July 1929, p. 29-33. 157 "Annual Reports, 1920s," Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 158 John R. White to Colonel George Stewart, 22 May, 1922. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. Originally found in the George Stewart papers, California State University Library, Sacramento.

58 From this letter, one can ascertain many things about Colonel White. He clearly

had a desire to educate the visitors that came to the park. Education, White believed, was

the way to truly get the American public to care about Sequoia. In addition, one can get a

sense of White, the naturalist. His love and knowledge of plants and animals is found in

this letter, much of his writing, and especially in the book Big__Irees, which he co-

authored with Judge Walter Fry in 1930. Lastly, one can tell that he is passionate about

nature, and writes about it in anthropocentric terms. From his early writing in the

Philippines to his work during the first decade of his position at Sequoia, he consistently

uses human terms and conventions to describe nature.

After successfully publicizing the park and attracting more visitation, White's

thoughts turned to what type of development to allow, and how much of it. Although

Yosemite was a success due to its large draw, White clearly did not want the same

atmosphere in Sequoia. As Alfred Runte documents in his work on Yosemite, tourism

and economics largely dictated practices in the northern park. Developers such as David

Curry made significant sums of money by operating lodging facilities, dining halls,

skating rinks, movie theaters, and other amusements on the valley floor. Curry himself

had a reputation for lighting fireworks on top of Glacier Point and throwing them over

the side. The "firefall," as it was known, drew large numbers to the valley. In addition to

the "firefall," Curry reportedly threw chickens over the ledge as wel1. 159

Stephen Mather faced a difficult decision of whether to create· competition in the

·parks or a monopoly. Mather chose a monopoly to hopefully maintain quality and prevent

abuse of park scenery and resources. In Sequoia and General Grant, however, there was a

159 Alfred Runte, Yo.~emit~:_ The: E_m1J~Jed Wilcl_~mess (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990), 127- 129.

59 problem due to small local businesses operating in the parks. The issues were eventually resolved when many of the businesses decided to cease operations or relocate, due to the inconsistency of tourist numbers and constraints implemented by the National Park

Service. The Yosemite National Park Company oversaw park operations, but became increasingly frustrated due to the slow-paced development of the highway. By 1925, they had lost patience and leased the concession operations to Howard Hays, a friend of

Stephen Mather, who formed the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks Company.

He quickly brought in a partner, his brother-in-law, George Mauger, and the two controlled park concessions for the next forty years. 160

Hays and Mauger drastically improved the infrastructure of park concessions, but the development came under increasing scrutiny by Colonel White and other conservationists. 161 Major issues surfaced only a year after Howard Hays arrived in

Sequoia. In 1927, White suggested the expulsion of concessions from Giant Forest for a less environmentally sensitive area. The Giant Forest, where the highest concentration of

Sequoias are located, is roughly 1800 acres and sits just above 6,000 feet. White's proposal was to move concessions and accommodations a few miles up the road to the pine-forested area of Lodgepole. Hays reacted with alarm, believing that a big draw to tourists was "sleeping beneath the Big Trees." White rejected Hay's development proposals on more than one occasion, and often, Hays attempted to circumvent White and appeal directly to the Park Service director. Stephen Mather acquiesced, tired of hearing complaints of the short tourist seasons, high costs, and other issues associated with doing business in remote locations. Horace Albright, Mather's successor was tougher, realizing

160 Dilsaver and Tweed, 141-142. 161 Ibid., p. 141-142.

60 that the fragile environment of the Giant Forest needed protection. On White's urging, he

established a "pillow limit," the first such limit of its kind in a national park. 162 The

struggle between conservation and business often caused tension and unpleasantness

between White and the concessioners.

Despite some victories for Hays, White successfully blocked other new

development projects, such as the installation of power lines in the Giant Forest, and a

high altitude road that spanned the Sierra Nevadas. 163 At the close of the 1920s, it seemed

as though development would slowly continue in the parks and in the Giant Forest.

However, the shocking stock market crash and ensuing depression caused Hays and

Mauger to tread cautiously in terms of development, with such a slim financial cushion

and an unknown economic future. 164 By the early 1930s, White was convinced that all

development needed to cease in the Giant Forest and eventually be removed. In his 1931

annual report, he wrote:

Every year increasing crowds further tarnish the central Big Tree area at Giant Forest, which would never have been developed as hotel and camping area had there been planning in advance. The firs, pines, and lesser trees, shrubs and flowers are already withering and in time even the sturdy sequoias will give away. We took out 270 dead fir and pine from the central area at Giant Forest this spring, and the once beautiful . undergrowth of ferns and flowers is practically a thing of the past. We are not performing our duty, to hand down the park to posterity in essentially its natural state; and we cannot perform that duty until many of the present utilities are moved away from the central Big Tree area which, in any case, does not afford room for expansion or for handlin~ the increasing travel with its demands for parking space and so forth. 1 5

162 Strong, 43. 163 Ibid., p. 45. 164Dilsaver and Tweed, 143-144. 165 John White, "Annual Report, 1931. Sequoia National Park." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, Three Rivers, CA.

61 While the battle over the Giant Forest continued for decades, the country's stagnant economy due to the Depression offered a brief respite from further development.

With Franklin Roosevelt in office, government agencies such as the Civilian

Conservation Corps (CCC) were created, designed to put people back to work. White now had a huge amount of manpower at his disposal to accomplish tasks around the park.

The CCC would play an active role in the park for nine years, and White had the responsibility of using the manpower without letting development spiral out of control. 166

From 1933 to 1942, eleven different CCC camps operated in Sequoia National

Park, with additional camps in General Grant (Kings Canyon). The men working there were aged 18-25, in good health and unmarried. They camped in the less desirable locations such as Potwisha, Buckeye, and Atwell Mill. The camps housed roughly 200 workers and were located in the park's lower elevations where summer temperatures often reach over 100 degrees. The projects that the CCC conducted consisted of road construction, maintaining trails, construction of buildings and campsites, fighting fires, insect and fungus control, replanting and landscaping. One ofthe high points of the CCC efforts was the construction ofthe road to Crystal Cave and the paving and electrification of the cave itself. 167 The road is still in use and there are several bridges, some of which have plaques noting the service of the CCC.

One such CCC worker in Sequoia was a young man by the name of Gordon

Wallace. Wallace was stationed at Salt Creek camp and worked for the corps for ten months until he heard that there were a few ranger positions opening in the park. Wallace walked to the superintendent's office and introduced himselfto Colonel White. He

166 Dilsver and Tweed, 161-162. 167 Ibid.

62 describes White as a," ... flamboyant, somewhat eccentric, vigorous, extremely capable man who ran his show the way he wanted, come hell or high water." Later he added to this description, calling him a "brusque and imperious man whose military mannerisms rubbed some people the wrong way. However, he was a considerate and appreciative supervisor who went out of his way for those who served him well." White and Wallace took an immediate liking to each other and after an interview with the chief ranger, he was given a temporary ranger position for the summer season. 168

In 1935, White took some ofhis rangers on a one-week pack trip through the high country. Wallace met the others at the Wolverton pack station and in the next few days

White showed the group the High Sierra Trail (a recent addition to the park's trail network), Hamilton Lake, Kaweah Gap, Chagoopa Plateau and Skyparlor Meadow, which according to Wallace was one of the "loveliest gems in the High Sierra." The group continued down Kern Canyon, climbed over Coyote Pass and Farewell Gap, and finished with a drop down into Mineral King. 169

By the summer of 1936, Wallace supervised the Sequoia CCC crews where he formerly worked. The majority of the work included improving campgrounds and trails, and keeping an eye on overzealous fisherman. Additionally that summer, Ranger Wallace had the duty of assisting and guiding group members from the Sierra Club, who were there to tour some ofthe backcountry. The group was large, numbering 180 people, and

Wallace had the job of preparing the areas where the group would camp. Ansel Adams,

168 Gordon Wallace, M)' Ranger Years: Seguoia National Park 1935-1947 (Three Rivers, CA: Sequoia Natural History Association and Lamplighter Press, 1993 ), 11-12, 31. 169 Ibid., p. 31.

63 the noted photographer and conservationist, as well as William Colby, one of the founding fathers of the club were among those present. 170

At one point in Wallace's account, he shares a humorous anecdote from a trip he,

White, and a few others took from Sacramento back to Visalia. He writes, "As we approached the Visalia Airport on our return, Colonel White took over the controls from

Sol Sweet, our pilot. The colonel was a bit of a flyer and wanted to make the landing ...

[he] overshot the field on his first attempt to land. I began to wonder a bit myself, but on the second try, the colonel set us down safely." 171

Ranger Wallace shared a close relationship with Colonel White. On leaving his position as a ranger in Sequoia he wrote of the colonel, "He was my mentor and my friend, and I admired him greatly. He was as near a role model as I had at that stage in my life. Among his many attributes were courage, dedication, intelligence, honesty, ability, and true interest and consideration for others." Wallace served as a ranger in Sequoia

National Park until 1946. One of his regrets in leaving was that he would no longer have a working relationship with Colonel White. However, White retired a month after

Wallace and the two ended up neighbors and friends in White's later years. 172

As White worked as superintendent, he was criticized for occasionally acting as a

"maverick." There is a large amount of correspondence between White and the directors of the Interior Department, especially Horace Albright and Harold Ickes. An event that caused a stir in Washington was a gift of a horse from a film company to White. In 1930, the Fox Movie Company made a film in Sequoia, and White was given a horse named

"Red." In a scathing letter from Washington, Ickes wrote, "You have been long in the

170 Ibid., p. 45-46. 171 Ibid., p. 67. 172 Ibid., p. I 68.

64 government service and must have known that the acceptance of gifts is not only

unethical and a violation of the statutes, but brings unsavory criticism on the Department

... I am suspending you from duty and you are hereby given five days from receipt of

this letter in which to give me your answer in writing as to why you should not be

dismissed from the service." 173

White responded with several letters describing in detail the circumstances ofhow

he came to be in possession of the horse. White writes that he was extremely busy during

the summer, and although he did select the horse, he had no knowledge Fox left it until it

was discovered in the corrals. He admitted fault and regret, but also said how useful a

horse was in the parks, especially due to his bad left knee. The issue was resolved with

White donating the horse to the National Park Service. 174 White and several other park

employees, such as chief ranger Ford Speiglemyer, were all suspended for five days, then

reinstated. After a thorough investigation of asserted irregularities, park personnel

received complete vindication and White's record remained unblemished. 175 White

learned a lesson in government regulation and, in the future, showed more caution. The

following year, when offered an airplane by Sol Sweet, a friend of White's who often

served as his pilot, he wrote directly to the Department of the Interior, asking if they

wished to accept it as a gift to the Park Service. 176

173 Harold Ickes to White, 19 December 1934, Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 174 White to Ickes, 30 December 1934. and John White, "Report of Circumstances Under Which Colonel John R. White Received a Horse in 1930, 1930" A one page report written by White describing the circumstances where he selected the horse from Fox. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 175 "Col. White Vindicated: Sequoia Superintendent Gets Word of Exoneration on 'Gift' Charge," Los Angeles Times, 10 January 1935. 176 Cammerer to White, 16 January 1935. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

65 Although White enjoyed doing things his own way, issues such as receiving inappropriate gifts were a rarity. He believed that the Department of the Interior and

National Park Service, although necessary, were at times inefficient and ill equipped to manage America's national parks appropriately. 177 He wrote extensively on how to improve visitor experiences in the parks and in one of his most significant works, how to improve the "Atmosphere."

During the height of his struggles, White delivered the speech, which is aforementioned, known as "Atmosphere in the National Parks," at a meeting of park superintendents in February of 1936. White orates on the different parties involved with the parks, those he believes have the most interest: future generations of Americans, park visitors/taxpayers, the government, and the public operators. He then discusses campfire entertainment, educational work, entrance hours, as well as quiet camps, radios and loudspeakers, dances, tennis courts and golf courses, swimming pools, bands and music, lighting and motion pictures. At a time when many of these were commonplace in many parks, Sequoia avoided almost all ofthe abovementioned amusements. There were however, occasional dances. They never occurred on Sundays and White wished he could completely abolish them. 178

Since his speech was delivered during America's attempt to recover from an economic depression, he spoke on the subject of the CCC. His biggest problem with the

Civilian Conservation Corps seemed to be with the fact that he did not have ultimate control over them. White felt that park standards would be lowered due to boxing, vaudeville shows and motion picture shows in the CCC camps that other park visitors

177 John R. White, "The Price of Beauty: Some Problems in the National Parks, 1940 (?)" p. 6. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 178 Ibid.

66 sometimes attended. White spoke, "To preserve the national park atmosphere we must curb the human desire to develop the parks quickly to compete in popularity with other resorts, or even State or other parks or national forest areas. When a new project is proposed, the first question should be, 'how will it affect the park atmosphere which we desire to maintain or restore?'" He concluded his speech to the superintendents by saying that Americans are a restless people, proud of their constructive work, producing factories, railroads, roads, and buildings, drawing world admiration. "We have in the parks a host of technicians, each anxious to leave his mark. But in all this energy and ambition there is a danger unless all plans are subordinated to that atmosphere which though unseen, is no less surely felt by all who visit those eternal masterpieces of the

Great Architect which we little men are temporarily protecting." 179

Part of White's "atmosphere" included how to manage wildlife in the parks and how to delicately balance visitation with park animals. In 1937, he gave a speech to the

Conservation section of the Commonwealth Club and outlined his philosophy and goals with regard to wildlife. After a few brief autobiographical remarks, White spoke, "I am very proud to say, however, that in all the years I was in the Philippines I never shot a deer, although the opportunity frequently offered. I had to shoot a lot of men at one time or another, but I could never bring myselfto kill a timid, inoffensive, gentle-eyed deer." 180 This quote not only gives insight into White's character and thoughts on wilderness, but also shows the direction ofwildlife management in the 1930s. Four years before White's speech, Aldo Leopold developed his theory and philosophy of human and

179 Ibid. 180 John White, "Wildlife in the National Parks, 1 June 1937," p. 1 Lecture to the Conservation Section of the Commonwealth Club. Two drafts of this speech exist, the first unfinished and highly altered. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

67 park interaction based on stewardship and specific ecological principles in Cictrn~

Management. Other park workers at Sequoia, such as George Wright and Lowell

Sumner, along with John White, took these ideas and began implementing them, as Park

Service thoughts on wildlife management gradually changed. 181 Preserving and

protecting wildlife in the parks became the new mantra, a welcome change from the

former methods of trapping and destroying prior to the 1920s. Immediately after

becoming superintendent, White ordered trapping of "predators" stopped, and Sequoia

became the first park to abolish the steel trap. White believed conservationist and author

George Wright's philosophy, that" ... presentation of the animal life to the public shall

be a wholly natural one.'' 182

White believed there were two serious wildlife problems within the park-one

with bears, the second with deer. The biggest challenge with bears is their constant

exposure and accessibility to human food. When a bear learns that humans are the source

of an easy food supply, they can become aggressive and then need to be destroyed. One

of the largest battles within the park today is still segregating bears from park visitors'

food. 183 In the 1920s and 193 Os, one of the biggest park attractions was the feeding of the

bears at the Bear Hill dump in Giant Forest. At predetermined times of the day, large

crowds would gather to watch the bears feed. Not surprisingly, a large amount of bears

were destroyed during that period-47 from 1930-1937. Although the feeding was a huge

attraction--according to White, probably the most popular in the park--he was against it and the bear feedings ceased in 1940. Unfortunately, the months after the feedings closed

181 Dilsaver and Tweed, 17 6-177. 182 "Wildlife in the National Parks," p. 3. 183 "Camping Dos & Don'ts," Seguoia and Kings Cany

68 were fraught with bear attacks on visitor campgrounds and picnics as the bears attempted to replace their now lost food supply. 184

As difficult a task as bear management was, deer created even bigger problems.

Although mountain lions within the park were not killed, most of the population meandered in and out of park boundaries. When they wandered into neighboring national forests, or areas that lacked protection laws, they were often killed. As the number of mountain lions declined, so did the predators of deer. Deer became overabundant and began inbreeding and deteriorating. In fact, the only natural reduction of deer, aside from occasional predatory killing, was disease. Capturing surplus deer and transporting them elsewhere was impractical, but at times attempted by White's staff, especially when he had a large force of CCC workers. 185

Bears and deer continued to be an issue for White-the parks today face the same problems with bears and visitors coming into contact over food and an overpopulation of deer, especially females. White closed his speech to the Commonwealth Club by pointing out the evolution in public thought on wildlife and stating, " ... I believe the protection given to wildlife in the national parks, and the opportunity for visitors to study it on terms of intimacy, has done much to change public sentiment. I know that in my own case it has transformed a hunter and a killer into a protector who feels rather ashamed of his pre- park and pre-conservation days ... " 186

White also had to confront the issue of grazing. Due to Sequoia's location, during certain seasons of the year, cattle and sheep would find their way into the park in search of grasses. White attempted to appease San Joaquin Valley ranchers, but often he could

184 Dilsaver and Tweed, 180, and "Wildlife in the National Parks," p. 3. 185 "Wildlife in the National Parks," p. 4. 186 Ibid., p. 5-6.

69 not, due to the rules and regulations of the Department of the Interior. Moreover, White

himself did not care for grazing animals within Sequoia, especially sheep. In an article he

wrote for National Parks Magazine, White wrote, "I like cattlemen, and I even like

sheepmen .... Cattlemen and sheepmen also live chiefly out-of-doors on the range. Some

of my happiest days, and even more satisfying nights, have been spent around a

cowman's campfire, listening and trying to learn something of that knowledge of the

forests and highland meadows that the man who handles cattle, horses or sheep in the

mountains unfailingly acquires." 187

However, after White deferentially repeats that he likes cattlemen, he writes, " ...

I don't want him in Sequoia National Park." Many farmers obtained permits that gave

them access to grazing within parklands for years in advance. Hence, the Department of

the Interior ordered grazing to be gradually extinguished, if still in practice. Moreover,

certain exceptions were made during times of war-as White wrote, "The Secretary of

the Interior, however, has recognized the demands of total war ... "He argued that if

grazing were to continue at current levels, America would soon be an overly depleted

land, similar to China, Palestine, and Asia minor. 188

While cattle were an issue, the biggest problem for White was the sheep. He

describes an area of the park that had recovered after heavy grazing by sheep:

When I think of sheep in the Sierra, I think of Coyote Pass between Mineral King and the Kern River, elevation 10,034 feet. On the west side the trail drops in a succession of giant steps through lodgepole pine, jeffrey pine and red fir forest toward Rifle Creek, Shotgun Creek and the Little Kern. A mile or so below the summit, the trail forks, and one prong goes northwest to Shotgun Creek, Farewell Gap and Mineral King, while the other prong bends even more steeply down to Rifle Creek and the

187 John R. White, "Grazing Article, 7 May 1943." p. 1-2. Manuscript written forNatig~nalEarks Ml:!~ine. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 188 Ibid., p. 4.

70 Little Kern. Wherever the trail skirts or touches the rivulets which cascade toward their parents stream, the hanging gardens of the High Sierra bloom in profusion: lupine and columbine, paintbrush and brown-eyed Susans, nightshade and baby-blue-eyes, buttercups and pimpernel, these and a score or two more flowers make a veritable flowerfall which satisfies the eye better than the studied harmony in color or any city or country garden. A greater landscape architect than any man's money may command arranged that garden of the High Sierra. The air is almost heavy with the perfume ofthe flowers and with the pennyroyal, wild mint and onions crushed by the horse's hoofs as you ride up or down that trail of giant steps. Though if you are a mountain man who cares for his horse you will lead him most of the way down, down, down, two thousand feet to the 8,000 foot contour where the camp beloved by mountain men is found beneath the dark shadows of a grove of red firs.

White's sensory language describes a beloved part of the park and gives further

insight on his love and appreciation of multiple facets of the sights and smells ofhis

experience. When White arrived at the park, some 17 years before writing this passage,

he described the scene that took place on the same ground mentioned above. "There were

few flowers left where even the agile sheep could not reach them; and a hungry sheep can

become more like a goat than he looks in picture books. But the smell of the sheep had

replaced the more pleasant odors of nature; their sharp, merciless hoofs had stamped deep

into the disintegrated granite soil, and whatever they could graze they had pulled up the

roots to get the last bit of nourishment they craved." 189

When it came to grazing in the parks, White followed directives put in place by the Interior Department, but clearly felt it had no place place in Sequoia. In 1938, White took a brief recess from Sequoia and was appointed to the position of chief of operations for the Park Service. In 1940, he was named Far West Region U.S. park Chief and worked at the service's San Francisco office until he was reinstated at Sequoia in early

189 Ibid., p. 8-9.

71 1941. 190 During his hiatus from Sequoia, Kings Canyon National park was created by an act of Congress and the two geographically adjoining parks were to be managed as one unit. 191 Although returning to Sequoia and the newly created Kings Canyon meant relinquishing his promotion and the advancement of his career, White had not been happy away from Sequoia and his poor disposition in Washington and San Francisco led to depression and health problems. 192 While White continued to fight to end grazing and predatory animal control, his largest struggle, which spanned the rest of his entire career as park superintendent, was the protection of Giant Forest.

As author Oscar Berland discusses, the Giant Forest is the heart of Sequoia

National Park. Interestingly, the park was created without it-the southern area of the park was protected first, on September 25, 1890, with the central Giant Forest area added one week later. Reasons for excluding the Giant Forest in the original legislation are unknown-historians suspect a mistake in the drafting of the bill, which then required further legislation. The legal protection of the park, and subsequent addition of the Giant

Forest, which was largely engineered by George Stewart, was made extremely difficult by Mono Native Americans and a socialist community known as the Kaweah Colony.

Members of the Kaweah Colony hoped to form a socialist society based on logging, but were denied the rights to their land when Congressmen Vandever, the representative from the district encompassing Sequoia, worked with Stewart and others to push through the bills, and place Sequoia under government control. 193

190 "White is Named Far Wesi Region U.S. Park Chief." Fresno Bee. 10 July 1940. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 191 National Park Service, Seg!!_oia an_.d~Kin~anyon: A Guide to Seg!!_oia and King§_Q_a11yon Nationill Parks, California (Washington D.C.: Division of Publications, National Park Service, 1991 ), 45. 192 Dilsaver and Tweed, 175. 193 Oscar Berland. "Giant Forest's Reservation: The Legend and the Mystery," Sierr1!. Clt!b B11lle1in Volume 47, Number 9 (December 1962): p. 68-74.

72 When White took over as the second civilian superintendent of Sequoia National

Park, the Giant Forest was essentially unprotected. One of this first acts was to build a log barrier around the General Sherman Tree, the largest in the world, to protect the shallow roots and to discourage souvenir hunters and vandals. Automobiles became an issue, and almost as soon as cars first arrived in the park, motorists would often drive off roads and pull directly up to giant sequoias. White's log barrier did not last, as motorists began pulling them away with their cars. To counteract his disappearing logs, White ordered construction of a post fence further back from the tree, and covered all exposed roots with additional dirt. Later, a distant parking lot was built to keep cars off the shallow roots. 194

White recognized that as visitation quickly increased, new conservation measures were important. He writes, "Today, General Sherman is a shrine; automobiles must be parked at a distance, and the approach to the ancient of trees is on foot. Any vandalism or even climbing over the fence around General Sherman and other much visited sequoias is punishable under park regulation." It was impossible for White to always have a ranger stationed at General Sherman, but as education of visitors increased, vandalism incidents decreased sharply. For some time, a favorite hobby of visitors was to sharpen a branch from a fir tree and throw it at General Sherman from the fence, to see if one could get the makeshift dart to stick in the tree. White recalled that in the early days General Sherman resembled a "pincushion or a porcupine, so many darts were in his hide." 195

As protector of the most abundant concentration of sequoias in the world, White felt a personal responsibility to preserve them. In 1927, he read an article written by

Francis P. Farquhar, an early champion of Sequoia National Park. The article, entitled

194 Hydrick, 71. 195 John White, "People and the Big Trees or The Lure of the Sequoias or Living Scenery, 1933 (?)," p. 4-5. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

73 "Vagaries of the Big Trees," stated that, "There is no one publication in which complete or reliable statistics about their size, age, quantity, and distribution may be found. Nor is there a definite statement of the proportion in public ownership and the proportion in private hands. There is great need for a quantitative survey. " 196 It is likely that this call pushed White to coauthor the book, B_ig_Tr~~s, with his predecessor, Walter Fry.

The work is scientific in nature and displays the obligation and desire White felt to education the masses about the Giant Sequoias under his care. In the preface, White writes, "Visitors to the Big Tree national parks and forests have increased many fold in the past few years, from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands, and they should have in concise form the more important ob~ervations made by Park officials. It is for them that

Judge Fry and I have collaborated to produce this book on the Big Trees." 197

BigTr~~~ is dedicated to Stephen Mather and the work contains a history of the importance, discovery, and science ofthe Sequoias. As noted above, the book focuses on the science of the tr~es, and is a near perfect response to the information that Farquhar wrote was lacking. For example, one table in the work details the record of cone and seed production from a tree chosen in the Giant Forest. The table shows the record of each cone, the seeds falling annually, the year that the cone fell, and the number of seeds remaining in the cone when separated from the tree, together with the total number of seeds in each cone. While Farquhar's article pointed out the lack of written information on the sequoias, it appears that White and Fry had been attempting experimentation and record keeping for years before, intending to share their findings once they compiled enough information. In fact, in 1926, White called for a professional study oftourism and

196 Francis P. Farquhar, "Vagaries of the Big Trees," AmeriY.a11 For(':~ts _and Forest _l)fGJJJe M.ag£tzif1t::_Qf the American Forestry Assogation, May 1927, 3. 197 Walter Fry and John R. White, 13ig_Tr~~s, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1930), x.

74 its effect on the Giant Sequoias. Noted scientist Emilio P. Meinecke came to the Giant

Forest to study the effects of development. The report was entitled "Memorandum On the

Effects of Tourist Traffic on Plant Life, Particularly Big Trees, Sequoia National Park,

California. May 13-16, 1926."198

The report shows Meinecke's findings mostly dealing with tree roots. He writes

that roots are sensitive to any change including the depth and character of the soil

covering them. According to his writings, foot and vehicle traffic alter the state of the

soil. Trail and road construction and the erection of buildings also change soil

environment. Sequoias have enormous water requirements and they can only be satiated

when the connection between the roots and the crown is working adequately. Water

shortages lead to poor crown development and a reduction of food production. His report

states that, "preservation of the trees is therefore intimately tied up with the thought and

care bestowed upon the root system." 199

Apparently during his three-day study, Meinecke was able to measure the

percentage of effective connections on seven of the Sequoia trees. According to his

findings, the capacity based on the effective connections directly correlated to the

condition of the crown. The famous General Sherman was listed in "Fair" condition

based on sight and the fact that its root-crown connections were operating at 36 percent.

Meinecke wrote that the reasons for poor connections were based on soil compaction, fire

damage, and fungal diseases.200

198 E. P. Meinecke, "Memorandum on the Effects of Tourist Traffic on Plant Life, Particularly Big Trees, Sequoia National Park, California. 13-16 May 1926," p. 1. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, Three Rivers, CA. The nineteen page report is the first of two completed by Dr. Emilio Meinecke for Sequoia. Meinecke also worked in Yosemite on similar studies. White would bring him back for further study to corroborate his decision to relocate all structures in the Giant Forest. 199 Ibid., p. 4. 200 Ibid., p. 9.

75 His recommendations were based on the assumption that the park should be

brought back to the condition before the advent of the white man and that further

disturbances should be kept to the lowest point compatible with the comfort and safety of

visitors. He writes, "Any attempt to render the attractions of the Park accessible to the

public inevitably conflicts with the maintenance in the natural state of the Park as a biotic

unit. ... The larger the transient population of the Park the more difficult will be the task

of protecting wild plant life from injury and disturbance."201 Of course, the natural

environment of the park would have undoubtedly benefited from little or no human

interaction, but that option did not exist for White.

Meinecke noted that fortunately, most of the trees lay in areas where tourists normally failed to venture. A small percentage of the biggest trees were the ones tourists were most likely to visit. He offered Colonel White praise for his efforts and said that if people, especially children, must go up to the trees and touch them, they should be limited to certain areas--places on the trees with poor connections. He also suggested certain roads which were built without regard to root systems, be removed or changed and camping be ultimately relocated outside the big trees. At the end of his report he discusses whether it might also be prudent to replant trees to ameliorate regeneration problems.202 A few years later, Colonel White opened a nursery in the foothills, which provided seedlings for both parks.Z03 Meinecke's report, although preliminary, gave

White scientific background for his Giant Forest relocation project.

White would bring Meinecke back to Sequoia often. In fact, he returned the following month and "gave further valuable suggestions for protection of Sequoia and the

201 Ibid., p. 2. 202 Ibid., p. 11-19. 203 Dilsaver and Tweed, 145.

76 landscape. With Ranger Cook, Dr. Meinecke drew maps of some ofthe largest trees and made [a] permanent record of work finished and work to be completed."204 Clearly,

White valued Meinecke's opinion; he relieved Cook of all other ranger duties and ordered him to focus directly on Meinecke's suggestions.205 In the Giant Forest,

Meinecke suggested a further restriction of the number of guests and also relocating the dining room, kitchen, and campfire away from one large Sequoia that stood too close. He recommended the removal of the post office, store, souvenir shop, filling station, and ranger station from Giant Forest Village. Many of these shops and buildings were moved to Lodgepole where most still remain, with the exception of the filling station which was permanently removed in the early 1990s. In studying other amusements in the park,

Meinecke suggested removing the swimming pool, skating rink, and abolishing all artificial winter sport fixtures?06 Currently, park visitation shows a sharp decline in the winter months, and snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are the only activities found in the park.

Meinecke submitted a summary of his findings directly to Stephen Mather and told him, "My unqualified recommendation is to prohibit camping in or near Big Trees altogether and to provide for adequate camping grounds in the pine timber where the traveling public cannot cause the same amount of damage as it has already done to the

Big Trees."207 Although Meinecke's findings were widely distributed, camping in the

204 John White, "Superintendent's Monthly report, 2 August 1926," p. 1-2. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 205 John White, "Superintendent's Monthly report, 5 June 1926," p. 1-2. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 206 E.P. Meinecke, "Confidential: Relocation of Public and Operator Developments in Sequoia National Park, 1927 (?)," p. 1-2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene. 207 E.P. Meinecke to Director Stephen Mather, 30 September 1927. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

77 Giant Forest continued for decades until finally moved to nearby sites containing no

Sequoias, long after White's tenure.

In the years following Meinecke's first report, White continued fighting grazing, concessions, and further development such as additions to the Giant Forest Lodge.

Progress was slow with constant setbacks. Pillow limits at the lcidge were increased, but somewhat controlled. White constantly battled Mather and Horace Albright in

Washington over concessions in the Giant Forest, the local business opportunists in the park, and valley residents wanting to use the resources inside park boundaries. Although the addition to Giant Forest Lodge was approved, the limit on guests in 1931 marked the first time the Park Service ever placed a limit on tourism development in any of its parks.

Colonel White was the man behind this unpopular, yet revolutionary decision in

. 208 po IIcy.

By the early 1940s, with the nation once again at war, park visitation was lower and the fight over Giant Forest raged again. In June of 1942, George Mauger was attempting further development and there was an exchange of letters with White pointing out the decree of the Park Service that there be no further construction in the Sequoia area. 209 In December of 1943, the Park Service commissioned a study that considered the removal of development from the Giant Forest area. The study explains that when White became superintendent in 1920, there were already high amounts of development in the

Giant Forest, and while· he made efforts to curb development, the fact remained that development had increased in the decades of his tenure. The document goes on to detail every square foot of buildings in the Giant Forest and explains alternatives on where to

208 Dilsaver and Tweed, 144-153. 209 White to Mauger, 15 June 1942. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

78 relocate them. While the author of the study, landscape architect Ernest Davidson, reports

that development relocation proved difficult in the past, he writes that the sooner the

buildings are relocated, the better. At the end of the study, he proposes a five-year

program to accomplish the job of removal and relocation. 210

White read the study and passed his comments on to the regional director. In

January of 1944, he wrote, "I am in complete agreement with plans to remove the Giant

Forest Lodge, together with all government buildings and utilities with exception of the

Administration (Old Museum) Building and the Giant Forest Amphitheater. Because the

Giant Forest will always be the scenic center of the park- and will become more so with the removal of the Lodge- there will be need for a central government office and information building."211 For the most part, the vision White agreed with and added his comments to in 1944, is how the Giant Forest looks today. The old museum building still stands, once again functioning as a museum, and no longer an administration building.

The argument over the Giant Forest increased in White's last years as superintendent. As World War II carne to an end, White realized visitation would soon be on the rise. 212 In the fall of 1944, he composed a "For" and "Against" paper for the removal of Giant Forest Lodge and Village to a new site. White's main points were that all buildings must be moved and he argues that if proper funding had been available, they already would have been. He writes, "The lodge is situated in the very heart of the Giant

Forest, with over 60 large sequoias in its area. The damage to the sequoias cannot be

210 Ernest A. Davidson, "A Study-Plan and Schedule for Completion of Development-Removal Program, Giant Forest Area, Sequoia National Park, 28 December 1943," p 1- I 0. Commissioned by the National Park Service, Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 211 John R. White to the regional director, NPS. 7 January 1944. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 212 John White, "Notes on Proposed Changes and Developments at Giant Forest, I 8 September 1943," p. 1- 2. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

79 estimated in one generation; its cumulative effect in time may destroy them. The sequoias

are dependent on the whole surrounding forest of conifers and other growth. There is no

question but that human occupancy already has destroyed much of the growth around the

sequoias, and that such destruction will proceed until the sequoias are affected."213

Assistant Superintendent Daniel I. Tobin wrote a similar "For" and "Against" paper

corroborating White's ideas, and added that "multiple paved roads, trails and parking

areas, and hundreds of buildings and occupied campsites, have eliminated hundreds of

trees and acres of natural forest cover. This has changed materially the natural conditions

and will not permit restoration of natural condition while they remain."214

Hays and Mauger continued to attack White, and in 1944, a letter was written by

White to Howard Hays disagreeing that moving the lodge to another site would be "the

end of the Sequoia National Park as a resort destination." Additionally, White points out the high sums of money Hays made in the previous year, and that due to the end of the war, more money was eminent.215

The following year, Hays went directly to Newton Drury, then head of the

National Park Service, with his grievances. Naturally, White felt hurt when he learned that Hays was attempting to appeal to his superior. Hays reported to Drury that, "any removal of our housing properties in Giant Forest would be ruinous to our resort investments, we have willingly given ground on the questions raised as to congestion in the so-called village. We feel the matter of congestion has been over-emphasized."216

213 John White, "Arguments For and Against Removal of Giant Forest Lodge and Village to New Site, 16 September 1944," p. 1. Archives, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 214 Daniel J. Tobin, "Arguments For and Against Removal of Developments from Giant Forest, 14 September 1944," p. 1-2. A document of the same title, written at the same time by the assistant superintendent. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National parks, Three Rivers, CA. 215 White to Hays, 23 December 1944. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. 216 Hays to Drury, 1 June 1945. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

80 Later that month, White appealed to the regional director's office, reporting that

Hays and Mauger were planning to build an electrical plant in the Giant Forest to power

new refrigeration units in the Giant Forest Store. The government responded by ordering

the removal of roughly 20 buildings, but refused to order the permanent relocation of

Giant Forest Lodge. Machine shops, a hospital, a dance pavilion, and the superintendent's

residence were among those structures scheduled for relocation. White fought hard for

the Giant Forest, constantly struggling with Hays, Mauger, and his own colleagues in the

National Park Service. In the short term White failed to have a Giant Forest free from

lodging, restaurants, and camping. However, his work was not in vain-although it took several decades, almost all buildings and development were eventually removed from the

Giant Forest. Between 1995 and 2000, all remnants ofthe Giant Forest Lodge and adjoining buildings were removed. Today, only the museum remains, along with the

Beetle Rock Nature Center, located across from the museum. 217

The man responsible for carrying out White's vision was William C. Tweed, who became the park's lead planner in the late 1980s, responsible for the future of Giant

Forest. Tweed believes that White's ideas for the Giant Forest came at a different period of ecological thinking, a time when people believed the sequoias would be protected "if we could only stop the men with the axes." Later in the twentieth century, Tweed believes the national park world moved to a "broader paradigm, one based on ecosystems

217 White to Regional Director's office, 4 June 1945 and 15 June 1945. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA. and "Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Summer 2006 Guide," p. I.

81 and region. Under this model, the sequoias would survive if we reduced the impacts of

visitors and sustained the local processes that affected the ecosystem."218

For the 1940s, White's conservation views related to the Giant Forest can be

considered extreme. As the bureaucracy of the Park Service increased, White began to be

thought of as a nagging problem. Although he still showed sharp intelligence and loved

his work, the Park Service asked him to retire. The reason given was that he was beyond

retirement age. Thus in the middle of his great struggle for the Giant Forest, he left,

leaving a vastly different Sequoia National Park than when he began the job. The park

was modernized, with good roads connecting the two parks, almost 1,000 miles oftrails

linking the backcountry, and visitation exponentially higher, with more than half a

million visitors per year in 194 7, the year White retired. Additionally, certain

development, such as roads to the high country and a road over the eastern boundary of

the park, was avoided? 19

218 William C. Tweed, Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future ofNational Parks (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 20 l 0), 180-181. 219 Dilsaver and Tweed, 194-196.

82 CONCLUSION

The main value for White was preserving as much as he could, within the

parameters of what the National Park Service would allow-moreover, he wanted to

preserve the feeling of a natural "atmosphere" within his park. White still wanted high

levels of visitor use for the purpose of education, as he knew it was the only way to

secure governmental and monetary protection. Colonel White encouraged many practices

incompatible with today's Park Service, but he also discouraged many practices that were

accepted at the time. 220 After his retirement from the Park Service, White wrote another

informative book about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The book was written

with the goal of educating the visitor--describing the park's flora and fauna, as well as the

parks' seemingly endless system of trails, which he helped to build. In the introduction,

White shares a bit of his philosophy with the reader. He writes, "In both parks, the visitor

may find true re-creation rather than the hurdy-gurdy of many resort areas; for in the national parks the policy is to restore to recreation its proper meaning, namely, renewing

body and spirit through pleasant and restful pastime in association with Nature, rather than jazzing already taut nerves by additional excitement that is sometimes labeled as pleasure."221 The work is coauthored with Samuel Pusateri, a temporary Ranger and

Naturalist, and dedicated to Fay White.

Colonel John Roberts White had a huge impact on conservation in Sequoia and the National Park Service. To this day, trails are the main way oftraversing many of the parks and as White desired, there is still no road that crosses the Sierras in either Sequoia

220 Ibid., p. 158. 221 John R. White and Samuel Pusateri, ~_g11_oia and Kings Canyon National Par~. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1949), 5.

83 or Kings Canyon. Development slowed and amusements were kept out of Sequoia during

his years as superintendent. As environmental thought has caught up with the colonel's

philosophies, actions are still taking place that reflect his wishes. Buildings and roads in

the Giant Forest have very recently been removed and there is no longer camping or

lodging under the Sequoias.

The people have Colonel White to thank for Sequoia's grand, spacious, and

uninterrupted backcountry. He is undoubtedly an important and underrated contributor to

the conservation movement. His philosophy encouraged others to act delicately and

wisely, and to consider nature first when managing America's national parks. It is likely

that his work will continue to make an impression on future park management as the

balance between conservation and visitation continues. As William C. Tweed writes in

his newest book--the situations, problems, and opportunities remain the same: "Once again, science has moved on and left national park policy behind. The cutting-edge management philosophies of the 1960s now ring false. 'Natural' processes cannot lead reliably to 'natural' results in a world where anthropogenic climate change, global pollution, and habitat fragmentation have changed the operating rules, and where society's very definition of nature is no longer clear." As the secretary of the Interior and

National Park Service begin working on the "centennial challenge," the newest version of

"Mission 66," one hopes that new intellectual thinking will be included in our government's efforts to secure a positive and sustainable relationship between bureaucracy, usage, and conservation.222

222 Tweed, Uncerta_W Path, 189.

84 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

Unpublished Manuscripts

Davidson, Ernest A. "A Study-Plan and Schedule for Completion of Development­ Removal Program, Giant Forest Area, Sequoia National Park, 1943." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

Meinecke, E.P. "Confidential: Relocation of Public and Operator Developments in Sequoia National Park, 1927 (?)."Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

"Memorandum on the Effects of Tourist Traffic on Plant Life, Particularly Big Trees, Sequoia National Park, California. 13-16 May 1926, 1926." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

Tobin, Daniel J. "Arguments For and Against Removal of Developments from Giant Forest, 1944." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

White, Fay. "A Collection of Diary Entries, 1935 (?)."Special Collections and University. Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John. "A Scenic Interlude: Twenty-Eight Years in the National Park Service, 1947 (?)."Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Annual Reports, 1920s." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

"Annual Report, 1931." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

"Arguments For and Against Going Above Cedar Grove with a Road up the South Fork Canyon, 1941." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Arguments For and Against Removal of Giant Forest Lodge and Village to New Site, 1944." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

85 "Atmosphere in the National Parks, 1936." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

"Autobiographical Sketch, 1938 (?)." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Autochthonous, 1932 (?)." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Biographical Questionnaire, 1940." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Broadcast over K.P.O., San Francisco from NBC Studios, 1931." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Condensed Statement of Service by John R. White in U.S. Army, Philippine Constabulary, etc., 1912 (?)."Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Diary of John White, 1913." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Every Goose a Swan, 1930 (?)."Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Extract from the Bureau ofthe Constabulary, Manila, 1906." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Grazing Article for National Parks Mamin~, 1943." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Notes on Proposed Changes and Developments at Giant Forest, 1943." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"People and the Big Trees or The Lure of the Sequoias or Living Scenery, 1933 (?)."Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Radio Broadcast-K.P.O. Radio, 1933." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Report of Circumstances Under Which Colonel John R. White Received a Horse in 1930, 1930." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

86 "Roads Versus Trails, 1941 (?)."Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Superintendent's Monthly Report, June/August, 1926." Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

"The Big Tree National Parks, 1928." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"The Price of Beauty: Some Problems in the National Parks, 1940 (?)."Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

"Wildlife in the National Parks, 1937." Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Letters

American Red Cross Department ofReliefto John Roberts White, 25 July 1916. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Bandholte, Provost Marshal General H.H. to the Commander in Chief, G.H.Q.A.E.F., 22 November 18. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Bundy, Omar to Colonel W.S. Scott, Commanding 5th Constabulary District, Post of Jolo, 12 March 1906. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Cammerer, Amo to John White, 3 July 1920. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Cammerer, Amo to John White, 16 January 1935. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Hays, Howard to Newton Drury, 1 June 1945. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

Ickes, Harold to John White, 19 December 1934. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

87 Meinecke, E.P. to Stephen Mather, 30 September 1927. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

Miller, E.Y. to the director ofthe penal system, Manila, 14 April 1908. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to the Adjutant General, United States Army, Washington D.C., 29 March 1920. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to the director of prisons, Manila, 29 January, 1908. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to George Stewart, 22 may 1922. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

White, John to Hays, 23 December 1944. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

White, John to Harold Ickes, 30 December 1934. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to Mauger, 15 June 1942. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA

White, John to Mrs. White, 19 April 1897. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to Mrs. White, 29 April 1897. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to Mrs. White, 18 March 1901. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

White, John to the Regional Director, NPS, 7 January 1944, 4 June 1945, and 15 June 1945. Archives, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA.

White, John to Stephen Mather. 25 January 1920.

88 Books

Auinaldo, Don Emilio. True Version ofth~ fhilippineReyolution. Lexington, KY: Valde Books, 2011.

Catlin, George. North American Indians: Being Letters and Notes on their Manners, Customs, and Conditions, written during__E_ight ¥ ~anCTrgyd_ amongst .the Wild~J; Tribes oflndians in North America. Philadelphia: Dover Publications, 1913.

Fry, Walter and John R. White. Big Trees. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1930.

National Park Service. Seguoia and_Kin~anYQn_:__f\_Guide to_S~qyoi~(lnd Kin~ CaQyon National Parks, California,. Washington D.C.: Division of Publications, 1991.

Wallace, Gordon. My_Ranger Years: Seguoia National Park 1935-1947. Three Rivers, CA: Sequoia Natural History Association and Lamplighter Press, 1993.

White, John. Bullets and_BolQs: Fifteen Y~grsjnthe Philippine Islands. New York: The Century Co. 1928.

White, John and Samuel Pusateri. Seguoia and King§_ Canyon National Parks. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1949.

Magazine Articles

Farquhar, Francis P. "Vagaries of the Big Trees." Arn~j~gn For~fit§_?nQ_J-"Ql:_~stJ.. jfe:_The Mag(ll":ill~Qfj:he American For~stry_Association, May 1927, 1-8.

White, John. "Foot, Horse, Motor or Air?" N1!-tll_r_~1\!1_ag

Newspaper Articles

"Camping Dos & Don'ts." S~qll_o_i_

"Col. White Vindicated: Sequoia Superintendent Gets Word of Exoneration on 'Gift' Charge." Lo~_Angel~~ Tim~_s, 10 January, 1935.

89 "White is Named Far West Region U.S. Park Chief." Fres_n_o B~~' 10 July 1940. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Secondary Sources

Books

Albright, Horace M. and Robert Cahn. The Birth of the NatiQJ:l

Arnold, James R. The Moro War: How Americans Battled a Muslim Insl!f~!lQYjn the PhiliQ:gine Jungle, 1902-1913. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2011.

Brody, David. Yisualizing American Em:gire: Orientalism and Im~rialism in the P_hilip:Qil!~~. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Dilsaver, Lary M. and William C. Tweed. Challypge gfth~ I3ig_Trees:_ A Resourc~ tii~to_ry ofS_eguoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Three Rivers, CA: Sequoia National History Association, Inc., 1990.

Eldridge, Ward. Ll1l.ag~s of America: Seguoia National Park. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.

Fox, Stephen. The American Conservation MovemeJlt JQlll!J\;luir a,n_Q His___Leg_a<;y. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1981.

Kramer, Paul. I_he BloQcl_QfQQyemm_e_nt:__Ra9_e,Ern:gire, t_he United States andthe f>hil_ig:gin~~. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

LeRoy, James Alfred. Th~_American in the Philim>ill~ __-t\_His_t()ry_ofth~CQng_lleJ?tllnd firs_tY_yars_of Qg;JlJ2atio_n,_ with an I_ntmgugtgry__Account of the Spanis_h Rule. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1914.

Miller, Stuart Creighton. Beney_9lentAssimU~tion_:_ Th~A!ll~Ik

Nash, Roderick Frazier. Wilderness and theAmeriC

Pyne, Stephen. Hmv th_e C.anyon_Becam~_Q_rang. New York: Viking/Penguin: New York, 1998.

90 Rothman, Hal K. Sa~ing the Planet: Th~_b.meriQ_anJ~~spQlJS~ t9Jh~_EnYimn_rnent i11 the Twentieth Century. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee Publishing, 2000.

Runte, Alfred. National Parks: The American E.Kru:rience,.£9JIJih Edition. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing Company, 2010.

Runte, Alfred. Yosemite: The Embattled Wilderness. Lincoln: University ofNebraska Press, 1990.

Sellars, Richard West. Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. ·

Spence, Mark David. Pisgossessing the Wilderness: Indi~n_R~IDOJ'EtL

Strong, Douglas. From Pioneers to Preservationi~ts:_A Bri~fHi_story qfS~_quoia N

Sutter, Paul S. Dr_iy_en Wild: How the Fight against Autom.9_biles Lau_nched_the _M_9dern Wilderness Movement. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002.

Tweed, William C. ljnc~rtairrPath: A Search for the Future QfNiiti

Journal Articles

Berland, Oscar. "Giant Forest's Reservation: The Legend and the Mystery." SiernLClub BJ!)._~tin 47 no. 9 (December 1962): 68-82.

Dodd, Douglas W. "Bolder Dam Recreation Area: The Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, and the Origins of the National Recreation Area Concept at Lake Mead, 1929-1936." Sol!them (alifomia Ql!arterly 88 no. 4 (Winter 2006/2007): 431-473.

Hydrick, Rick. "The Genesis of National Park Management: John Roberts White and Sequoia National Park, 1920~1947" Jhe Joum.C!19fEQr~sti:Ii~tory 28, no. 2 (April 1984): 68-81. .

91 Essays

Cronon, William. "The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature." In Out ofthe Woods: Essays in Environmental Histonr, ed. Char Miller and Hal Rothman, 28-50. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.

Gottlieb, Robert. "Reconstructing Environmentalism: Complex Movements, Diverse Roots." In Out of the Woods: Essays in Environmental History, ed. Char Miller and Hal Rothman, 144-162. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.

92 APPENDIX

Colonel White pictured with George Stewart (left), often considered the father of Sequoia National Park. Sequoia and Kings Canyon Archives, Three Rivers, CA.

93 Colonel John White with members ofthe A.E.F, 1918 (White seated in the front row, farthest on the right). Sequoia and Kings Canyon Archives, Three Rivers, CA.

94 Colonel John White pictured in front of the Frank Boole Tree. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

95 John White and Fay White, with Ginger. Special Collections and University Archives, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Eugene.

96