1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Nke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. If you know a writer, 7 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 2: odds are that they've complained to you about how hard 8 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 2: it is to find time to actually write. Crafting stories 9 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: requires concentration, discipline, and often a decent amount of peace 10 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 2: and quiet. This has remained true ever since the first 11 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 2: scholar put pen to paper, and it's always remarkable where 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 2: throughout history people have found the time and space to 13 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 2: record their thoughts. One of the most commonplaces is in prison. 14 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 2: In the thirteenth century, for example, a Venetian man was 15 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: captured by the Republic of Genoa and thrown into a cell. 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 2: The man in question, who had allegedly fought on the 17 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,839 Speaker 2: side of their enemies, was an explorer who had spent 18 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 2: twenty four years traveling from Europe to Asia. During the 19 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 2: months of his imprisonment, he told stories of his travels 20 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 2: to fellow inmates. One of whom was Rosticello the Pisa, 21 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 2: an Italian scholar and author who'd been responsible for the 22 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 2: first Italian versions of several Arthurian legends, and together the 23 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 2: two inmates began to produce the first record of all 24 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 2: the sites the Venetian had seen, the people he'd met, 25 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 2: cultural knowledge that he had gained. The subsequent work became 26 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 2: a best seller, an extremely influential work of travel writing. 27 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 2: Although the authenticity of its stories are often dubious, the 28 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 2: explorer himself is still a household name, Marco Polo now 29 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 2: his co author Rosticello was not the only writer of 30 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 2: Arthurian myths who spent significant time behind bars. In fifteenth 31 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 2: century England, a largely unknown man worked quietly behind bars 32 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,519 Speaker 2: while writing the most famous version of the Tales of 33 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 2: King Arthur, the one that collates all the disparate stories 34 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 2: into one grand narrative. It would be called Lamorte de Arthur, 35 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 2: and within its pages it would contain scant hints of 36 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 2: the author's identity. A handful of asides referred to the author, 37 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 2: Sir Thomas Mallory, as a Knight prisoner who was fluent 38 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 2: in both English and French. These asides contain pleas for 39 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 2: his health and safe deliverance, presumably from the prison in 40 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 2: which he was being held. Curiously, most of the pleas 41 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 2: are in the third person, implying that they were added 42 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 2: by the publisher, William Caxton prior to printing. Scholars still 43 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 2: debate who Sir Thomas Mallory actually was, what kind of 44 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 2: knights would find himself in prison yet still respected enough 45 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 2: to publish a work while behind bars, and whether he 46 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 2: was never able to leave this prison is something that 47 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 2: no historian has ever been able to definitively prove. It's 48 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 2: because of this mysterious man that every King Arthur's story 49 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,359 Speaker 2: involves ex caliber, a quest to find the Holy Grail 50 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 2: and the doomed fall of Camelot chivalry, it seems, would 51 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 2: be on the mind of many a man behind bars. 52 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: One hundred years later, in the late sixteenth century, in 53 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 2: a prison in Algier, a Spaniard sat quietly waiting to 54 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 2: be ransom back home to his country. He had served 55 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 2: in the Christian Spanish Navy, participated in Famasya battles against 56 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 2: the Ottomans. He had lost all movement in his left 57 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 2: arm due to a battle wound, earning him the nickname 58 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 2: the one handed Man of Lepanto. His navy career had 59 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 2: been cut short when he'd been captured by pirates, and 60 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 2: while in prison, he attempted to escape four times, and 61 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 2: each time he was unsuccessful. But while his body remained 62 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 2: in prison, his mind wandered far back to Spain, where 63 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 2: he envisioned an the obelman who had a break with 64 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 2: reality and decided to become a knight errant, define reality 65 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 2: and seeking to live a life of chivalry. And upon 66 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 2: his release, Miguel de Cervantes went on to transcribe these 67 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 2: ideas with his one good hand. The resulting book, Don Quixote, 68 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 2: is often referred to as the first modern novel. Now, 69 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 2: with all of that said, not every book written behind 70 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 2: bars has been as universally beloved as these three works 71 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 2: that I've just described. 72 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 1: Prison is also where the Marquise de Sade wrote his 73 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: controversial book about hedonism. It's also where Adolf Hitler wrote 74 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: the bitter manifesto Mindkompf, the text that inspired the Nazi 75 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 1: Party and its atrocities. But all this speaks to a 76 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: strange paradox. Prison is where we put people to isolate 77 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: them from society, whether justly or in justly. The punishment 78 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: is to be removed from community with your fellow people, 79 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: and yet culture happens behind bars as well. Even if 80 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: they don't attempt to physically escape, a human being will 81 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: always attempt in a emotional escape from the cruelty and 82 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: dehumanization of a penal institution. The pen, it seems, is 83 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: not just mightier than the sword, it's also a lot 84 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: more flexible. If you've applied for a job recently, you 85 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: know that there can be a lot of hoops to 86 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: jump through, several rounds of interviews, mock pitches, and proposals, 87 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: sometimes waiting weeks at a time to hear back from 88 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: a recruiter. Willie was put to the test when he 89 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,119 Speaker 1: went looking for a job as well. He needed work 90 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 1: and was eager to find something that played to his 91 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: skill set. The problem was that he was an unusual 92 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: candidate for his job at the time, so his hiring 93 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: managers gave him a test. But it was a little 94 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,479 Speaker 1: more dangerous than you might expect. If he passed, he 95 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: would get the job, but if he failed, he wouldn't 96 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: just miss out on the job, would end up dead 97 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: in the street. It was eighteen seventy four in a 98 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: small mining town called Yankee Hill, Colorado, a man named 99 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: Willie Kennard stood outside the local saloon, his hand wrapped 100 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: around the gun in his holster. He took a deep 101 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: breath and swaggered through the double doors that led into 102 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: the main parlor. Inside, the tables were full of men 103 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: playing cards and drinking whiskey. Someone plunked out a melody 104 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: on a piano in the corner, but as people noticed Willy, 105 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: the entire room fell silent. Willie was a stranger in 106 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: town and a black man, two things that made him 107 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 1: an oddity in Yankee Hill, but he didn't care. He 108 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: had a job to do. But first, let's back up 109 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: Earlier that day, you see, Willie rode into town to 110 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: ask about a posting that he had seen printed in 111 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: an issue of the Rocky Mountain News. He was pointed 112 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: to the local restaurant, Fat Sarah Palmer's Cafe, where four 113 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: city councilmen were having their morning coffee. Willie told the 114 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: men that he saw their ad saying that Yankee Hill 115 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: was in need of a new town marshal. The man 116 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: looked Willy up and down, one smirked and said that 117 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: he was surprised that Willy could read. The others burst 118 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: out laughing. The message was clear, though, this must be 119 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: some kind of joke. When they finally collected themselves, the 120 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: councilmen realized that Willy was serious, so they made him 121 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: a deal. He could have the job, but first he 122 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: would need to arrest an outlaw named Barney Kasewitz. Now 123 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: Willy was vaguely familiar with Casewit. He'd been terrorizing Yankee 124 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: Hill for the last two years, and just a few 125 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: months before he had sexually assaulted a fifteen year old 126 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: girl named Bertie. Her father tried to avenge her, but 127 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: Ksewit shot first, killing the man. After that, the town 128 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: marshall tried to arrest Casewit, but Casewit killed him too, 129 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: so Yankee Hill got a new marshal. It only took 130 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: three months for him to lock horns with Ksewit, and 131 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: pretty soon the new marshal was added to his growing 132 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: list of victims. Yankee Hill got assigned a third marshal, 133 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: who promptly turned in him badge and ran out of town. 134 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: So at this point it was proving difficult for the 135 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: councilmen to fill the open position. What they needed was 136 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: someone who could successfully wrangle Barney. Willie narrowed his eyes 137 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: on a scruffy card player at a back table. He 138 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: knew it was Barney, and he walked over to his 139 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: table to announce that he was under arrest. Barney and 140 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: his table full of cronies just cackled at him. Barney 141 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: almost choked on his own spit as he asked, I'm 142 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: just supposed to come with you. Where are we going? 143 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,560 Speaker 1: Willie had been laughed at enough for one day. He 144 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: told Barney that he could choose either jail or hell. 145 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: Now those were fighting words. K Switt jumped up to 146 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: his feet and quick as lightning, he moved to grab 147 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: his Colt forty five, but just before he could draw 148 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: the gun, Willie Kennard made an impossible shot. He fired 149 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: a bullet into Casewitz's still unholstered gun. The impact knocked 150 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: the butt out of Barney's hand and rendered the weapon useless. 151 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 1: Two of kse Switz's cronies tried to reach for their gun, 152 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: but they were too slow as well. Willie fired two 153 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: more shots and hit both of them right between the eyes. 154 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: After that, nobody else came to Kayeswit's defense, and Willie 155 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: made his arrest. When he delivered the prisoner to the councilmen, 156 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: they were shocked, to say the least, and when word 157 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: got around about his expert gunslinging, the whole town wanted 158 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: to know Willie's story. He told them that he had 159 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: been a corporal in the Civil War and in a 160 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: company made up entirely of black volunteers. After the war, 161 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: he served in the army for another five years, and 162 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: during that time he was an arms instructor and built 163 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: a reputation for being one of the best gun slingers 164 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,959 Speaker 1: in the West. It was enough to convince the councilman 165 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: that Willie deserved the job. He became Colorado's first black marshal, 166 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: and by most accounts, was well respected by the people 167 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: of Yankee Hill. After all, Willie had ended a two 168 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: year reign of terror, and his new neighbors were forever 169 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: grateful to the man who freed them from Barney kasewick. 170 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 171 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 172 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 173 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,679 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey, in partnership 174 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works, I make another award winning show 175 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: called Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television 176 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at 177 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: theworldolore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.