1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Polly 3 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Frying and I'm Tracy D. Wilson. Hey you guys, it's uh. 4 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: This year is one year anniversary of the United States 5 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: National Park Service. We would know that even if we 6 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: didn't know that, which we did, because lots of listeners 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: have written to tell us this. So many, so many, 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: we have had so many requests for an episode about 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: the Park Service it is not even funny. It's astonishing. 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: The number to me, like so like the first tis 11 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,279 Speaker 1: we got, I was like, oh, that's cool. And then 12 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: we got about fifteen more. I was like, whoa people, 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: what really? And then it got real landslide e, which 14 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: is great. I mean, I'm glad that people love the 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: Park Service and want to support it by hearing more 16 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: about it. Uh. And I initially started out with the 17 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: foolishly ambitious goal of putting together an episode tracing the 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: origins of the National Park Service, from its very beginnings 19 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: of conservation mentality in the United States to the eventual 20 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: establishment of the agency. What some people have asked us 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: to do basically, Yeah, and I applied for wanting that information, 22 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: but that it quickly became a parent that to do that, 23 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: we were basically going to have to rattle off a 24 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: list of dates and events with no time to talk 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: about or contextualize any of them. That's because the National 26 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: Park Service is the culmination of a lot of different moments. 27 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: Like I had literally started writing the episode outline out 28 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,199 Speaker 1: and like, for example, to our listeners, our episode outlines 29 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: usually run I don't know anywhere between hundred and words 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: would be a very long one. This one. I had 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: just the bullet points of the things to hit, and 32 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: I was at seventeen hundred words. Like there wasn't even 33 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: verbs in those. It was literally like this person Yosemite, 34 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: this person Here's there was no way so um this 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: would be how Like we had a lot more resources 36 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: than we actually have. We would have just made an 37 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: interactive timeline on our website, although that would be redundant 38 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: because those do exist in other places. Um, So I 39 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: kind of set aside a chunk of that work that 40 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: I had done already because it just became apparent that 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: to really honor the National Park Service centennial, it might 42 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: actually maybe be better to focus on smaller and more 43 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: specific elements of that greater whole. So in the event 44 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: that you are disappointed and you're just dying to hear 45 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: the full lengthy story documentary documentary and Ken Burns has 46 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: you covered. In two thousand nine, he worked on a 47 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: documentary series about the National Park Service titled The National 48 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: Parks America's Best Idea and it is available on Blu 49 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: ray and DVD, and the runtime on that set is 50 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: listed as seven and twenty minutes. That's twelve hours, which 51 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: even if you factor in the fact that some of 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: that is bonus content and credit sequences, that might give 53 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: you an idea of why we're doing just one topic 54 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: within the story of America's National Parks. So today we're 55 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: gonna have the first of a two parter. We're gonna 56 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: talk about Yosemite in particular for both of these and 57 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: one of the men who really spent a lot of 58 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: his life there. So we're gonna talk just about the 59 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: park a little bit for context and what it is 60 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: in case I'm sure we have listeners that are not 61 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: from the u S. Or even if you're in the 62 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: U S. You might not know a lot of details 63 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 1: about Yosemite. And then we're going to talk about a 64 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: man named James Hutchings. If you're not familiar with Yosemite 65 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: and where it sits geographically, it runs along the central 66 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: eastern side of California, adjacent to Nevada. It's two hundred 67 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: miles southeast of San Francisco and then the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 68 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: In terms of footprint, the park is one thousand, one 69 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty nine square miles. That's seven hundred and 70 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: forty eight thousand acres, with more than eight hundred miles 71 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: or a little more than two hundred kilometers of hiking trails, 72 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: two d fourteen miles or kilometers of paved roads, and 73 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: twenty miles which is about thirty two kilometers of paved 74 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: walkways and bicycle paths. About four million people visit the 75 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 1: park every year, and more than nine percent of the 76 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,559 Speaker 1: park is undeveloped, so it's basically designated wilderness and really 77 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: that's the draw. In a two thousand nine Visitors study, 78 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: of respondents said that their primary activity on the visit 79 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: was viewing the scenery. But while tourists make up most 80 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: of the humans in the park today, archaeological evidence suggests 81 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: that people were living in the area as far back 82 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: as eight thousand years ago. In terms of traceable Native 83 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: American tribes, the awan Ichi, which is sort of, if 84 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: I'm understanding correctly from my research, kind of a blanket 85 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: name given to almost all of the tribes that lived 86 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: in the area. I have lived in Yosemite for four 87 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,599 Speaker 1: thousand years that we have actual evidence of, and for 88 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 1: a long time, those are the only people that were 89 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: seeing the beautiful landscapes that now draw those millions of 90 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: tourists today. There are seven tribes that can trace their 91 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: lineage back to those earliest groups for whom Yosemite was home, 92 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: and the early eighteen hundreds, a few trappers made their 93 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: way into the area, but just before the midpoint of 94 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century, the promise of gold brought in a 95 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,799 Speaker 1: huge influx of people and conflicts between miners and Native 96 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: Americans and the region really began. In March of eighteen 97 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: fifty one, the Mariposa Battalions Yosemite Expedition, consisting of a 98 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: hundred and five men spread across Companies B and C, 99 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,039 Speaker 1: made its way into the Yosemite Valley under the command 100 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 1: of Major James D. Savage. They were there to apprehend 101 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: Awenichi as part of the Mariposa Indian War. That war 102 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: was a conflict between native tribes and miners who had 103 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: moved into the area. Most of the men in the 104 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: battalion had been those miners. In early eighteen fifty one, 105 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: a trading post on the Fresno River was raided by 106 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: a group of a of American clans who had banded together. 107 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,600 Speaker 1: These tribes were hoping that in drawing the white military 108 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: into the mountains, the battalion would become lost and unable 109 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: to pursue them any further. Keep in mind, at this point, 110 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: California had not been a state very long. It joined 111 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: the Union in September of eighteen fifty, and also in 112 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty a piece of legislation titled quote an Act 113 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: for the Government and Protection of Indians was also signed 114 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: into law, and that legislation made provisions for indenturing Native 115 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 1: American children and adults to white settlers. There has been 116 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: some theorizing among historians that James Savage had been so 117 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: eager to assemble of Italian to go after the Natives 118 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: because he wanted to use the provisions in that Act 119 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: to capture Native Americans for use as a labor force. 120 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: The arrival of the battalion in the valley is sited 121 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: at at the first time white men saw Yosemite. The 122 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: tales that the soldiers later told of the amazing Yosemite landscape, 123 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: including a waterfall reported to be a thousand feet high, 124 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: sparked interest for other explorers. One of those explorers was 125 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: James Mason Hutchings. But before we dig into hutchings life, 126 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna pause for a moment and have a word 127 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: from one of our sponsors, and then we will talk 128 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: more about Hutchings and his wife and their establishment at Yosemite. 129 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: So to talk a bit about James and Alvira Hutchings. 130 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: Hutchings was an Englishman who was a man of many trades, 131 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: including carpentry, journalism, and mining. He was born on February 132 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: of eighteen twenty. He attended school in the Birmingham, England suburbs, 133 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: and eventually found work in carpentry. At the age of 134 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: twenty eight, he moved to the United States, spending time 135 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight in New York and New Orleans 136 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: before moving on to California. If you know about California 137 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: history and you did the map there, you may have 138 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: correctly surmised that Hutchings was arriving in California at the 139 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: very beginning of the gold rush in eighteen forty nine. 140 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: There was a flood of thousands of thousands of people 141 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,239 Speaker 1: into California, all hoping to strike at rich in gold. 142 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,239 Speaker 1: But there was absolutely no infrastructure to support this massive 143 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: influx of people. There were no roads, there was no law, 144 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: There was just wilderness, and as a consequence, there were 145 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: some very large social issues. Riots would often break out 146 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: mining camps. There was a lot of violence that went unchecked, 147 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: and the only repercussions for wrongdoing came in vigilante form. 148 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: All of this conflict really just made Hutchings hands some 149 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: very English ideas about social order and how a society 150 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: should function. And so, with the money he was able 151 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: to make for mining himself, he began publishing letter sheets 152 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 1: for distribution and mining camps in towns. These were illustrated 153 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: papers with accompanying text is usually a moral lesson at 154 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: some point, which could be mailed off to friends and family, 155 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: and the most famous of these letter sheets is the 156 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: miners ten commandments, like if you do a certain for 157 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: that online you will churn up a bunch of examples 158 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: because it published over and over and over throughout the years. 159 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: This has laid out similar to the Ten Commandments from 160 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: the Bible, but it offers moral guidelines for miners about 161 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: not jumping claims and not gambling money you don't have. 162 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: Like you, you're pretty sure your claim is gonna pan out, 163 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: but so you gamble away the money before you have it, 164 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,839 Speaker 1: not working in the rain, and not valuing gold more 165 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: than family. The illustrations on this and pretty much all 166 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: of his letter sheets were filled with these beautiful images 167 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: of California landscapes. Hutchings did well enough over the years 168 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: as a miner that he was able to devote most 169 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty three and eighteen fifty four to travel 170 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: through mines throughout the state, collecting stories from the men 171 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: he met there with the intention of publishing them. It 172 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: was while he was on this tour that he heard 173 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: of the beauty of Yosemite, and just as a commentary 174 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: on the potential for miners to actually make pretty good money, 175 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: Hutchings wrote in his own diary on December thirty one, 176 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, quote, I have to enable me to 177 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: pay my board at the end of the week, hired 178 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 1: out at mining for three fifty per day. That's three 179 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: dollars and fifty cents. Yet one month afterwards I cleared 180 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:14,560 Speaker 1: over a thousand dollars such as change in California. After 181 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: hearing those tales of Yosemite's natural natural wonders, Hutchings hired 182 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: two Miwak guides to take him an illustrator Thomas Eyers, 183 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: to the majestic waterfall that he had heard about, and 184 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: once he returned from this exploration, he began writing about 185 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: the beautiful landscape. He started publishing a periodical titled Hutchings 186 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: California Magazine. You'll sometimes also see it as Hutching's Illustrated 187 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: California Magazine, and over the course of the magazine sixty 188 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 1: issue five year run, Hutchings came to be recognized as 189 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: an expert on Yosemite, and the valley became famous in 190 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: the process. The valley, to Hutchings, was inspiration to a 191 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,079 Speaker 1: higher and better way of living, and he was using 192 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: his writing to advocate for it. The first volume of 193 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: the magazine includes the following and the introductory paragraphs quote, 194 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,679 Speaker 1: we wish to picture California and California life to portray 195 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: its beautiful scenery and curiosities, to speak of its mineral 196 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: and agricultural products, to tell if it's wonderful resources and 197 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: commercial advantages, and to give utterance to the inner life 198 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,599 Speaker 1: and experience of its people in their aspirations, hopes, disappointments, 199 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: and successes, the lights and shadows of daily life. And 200 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: the first article in the publication after that introduction begins 201 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: immediately to tout the scenic beauty that California offers, writing quote, 202 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 1: there are few lands that possess more of the beautiful 203 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: and picturesque than California. It's towering and pine covered mountains, 204 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: its widespread valleys carpeted with flowers. It's leaping waterfalls, it's 205 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 1: foaming cataracts, its evergreen forests, It's gently rolling hills with 206 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 1: shrubs and trees and flowers. Make this a garden of 207 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: loveliness and a pride to her enterprising sons. To be 208 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: very clear, this was not just the little hamphlet publication. 209 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: This magazine was substantial. It's really something of a time 210 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,959 Speaker 1: capsule of attitudes and social mores of the time. As 211 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: Hutchings wrote and collected stories about not just the lovely 212 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: landscapes but also as promised in the intro, the daily 213 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: life there, and one of those sections in for example, 214 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: the February eighteen fifty seven issue, which is called the 215 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: World in California, outlines some of the various people one 216 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: might find living in the area at the time in 217 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,719 Speaker 1: sections titled quote the Indian, the Pioneer, the Minor, the Englishman, 218 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: the Irishman, the jew, the Negro, the Hybrid, and the 219 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: Sandwich Islander. Whiles some aspect of these categorized writings are 220 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: evidence of common views at the time that would be 221 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: pretty unenlightened by today's standards. It's interesting to note that 222 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,199 Speaker 1: Hutching seems to have had the greatest disdain for the Englishman. 223 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: It was characterized as gloomy despite the beautiful sunshine of California, 224 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: enamored of his home country to a ridiculist degree, boastful 225 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,199 Speaker 1: without conviction, and quote liberal to a fault. Just kind 226 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: of funny since Hutchings was from England and his even 227 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: when you see write ups of him, some people will 228 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: say he was an American born in England. Um I 229 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: commented wrote him up as English because he spent the 230 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 1: first twenty eight years of his life in England, so 231 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: his later identity definition definitely shifts. I think he would 232 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: say he was a Yosemite man above all else. But 233 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: it is sort of interesting at how many jabs he 234 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: takes at Englishmen. In that particular piece of Native Americans, 235 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: he wrote, quote, man of the desert, forest and prairie, Oh, 236 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: how short is thy destiny? Wherever thou plantest thy foot, 237 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: the sure onward march of the white man treads on 238 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: thy heel, crowding me out as a newspaper narrative of 239 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: a bygone time. And after further describing how white men 240 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: often shot down many of the Native Americans, he then says, 241 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: alas what has civilization done for the Pioneer has got 242 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: a lot of praise as nature's nobleman. It's kind of 243 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: funny that immediately following the passage about the tragedy of 244 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: white man shooting Native Americans, in the section on the Pioneer, 245 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: it reads quote, he stands trusty rifle in hand, with 246 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: his faithful dog beside him, A match for whole tribes 247 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: of wild Indians, for whole herds of wild beasts. Yeah, 248 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 1: it's a little contradictory, at least it felt that way 249 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: to me. The minor is called quote the great throbbing 250 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: heart of California, and he's described as a very godly 251 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: and a great reader. The Irishman, according to the magazine, 252 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: is quote a cute fellow and quote unencumbered with the 253 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: botheration of learning. The Jew is described as friendly, though 254 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: dishonest and wheedling, and the Negro is cast in a 255 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: generally favorable light because of what a good genial servant 256 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: he can be. As we said, definitely unenlightened and when 257 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: viewed through the modern lens at the time, probably somewhat progressive. 258 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: It's not cool to apply this to you a group 259 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: of people, but I kind of just wants to say, 260 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: unencumbered with the botheration of learning anytime somebody is ignorant 261 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: from now on. It is a lovely turn of phrase, 262 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: even though it was used as a horrible insult. In 263 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: this regard, the Hutchings magazine defines the hybrid as quote 264 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: a bad left handed cross of the Irish and the Yankee. 265 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: This character of Hutchings California is a lazy freeloader. The 266 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:33,120 Speaker 1: Sandwich Islander is a frivolous man of luxury, fundamentally unable 267 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: to handle true work. And next we're going to talk 268 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: about another regular feature in the Hutchings periodical. But first 269 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: let's pause once again for a word from one of 270 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: our fantastic sponsors, So to get back to the publishing 271 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 1: work of Hutchings for an additional glimpse into the wide 272 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: range of topics that his magazine covered. There's also a 273 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: regular feature in it called Managing a Woman, and it 274 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: deals with the relationships between men and women from the 275 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: points of views of various contributors. And I feel like 276 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: I should interject here that there is a lot of 277 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: discussion among people who study his work as to how 278 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: many of those contributors are really him, working under a 279 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: pen name versus collected from other people. But one entry 280 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: in it, which is credited to a writer named Bessie, 281 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: is perhaps surprisingly about the ways in which marriages, and 282 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: of course this is talking about hetero marriages here can 283 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: change a woman for both bad and good, and it's 284 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: told by relaying three examples of marriages known to the 285 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: writer Bessie. You know of women who married men who 286 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: seemed nice but turned out bad, and also women who 287 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: seemed very mean and then became quite lovely by virtue. 288 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: Of of being with a man who was very kind 289 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: and loving with them. Uh. These are all examples that 290 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: are known to the writer, and the message is summed 291 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: up at the end of the essay as quote like 292 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:04,160 Speaker 1: begets like and love begets love. The World of California 293 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: appeared in more than one issue of hutchings California Magazine, 294 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: describing additional groups of people in a similar manner. It 295 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: managing a woman and the other writings in the periodical 296 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: offer a really unique look at what life was like 297 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 1: at the time, as seen through the editorial lens of Hutchings. 298 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: You can read these publications online and we will link 299 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: to them in the show notes. Yeah. There archived online 300 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: in two big clumps that have collected like the first 301 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: half of those publications in the second half UH and 302 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: early on, as Hutchings was creating this first media about Yosemite, 303 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,880 Speaker 1: both through his his UH Little letter papers and through 304 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:48,959 Speaker 1: these periodicals, he also became the person that wealthy elites 305 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,119 Speaker 1: started to turn to you when they wanted to visit 306 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: this wilderness area because they were becoming very fascinated by it, 307 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: and Hutchings was happy to oblige them by guiding tours 308 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: into the Valley. He wanted this of I'm beauty of 309 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: Yosemite Valley to be acknowledged and presented to people living 310 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: in quickly industrializing places like San Francisco. And while Hutchings 311 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,080 Speaker 1: is often characterized as fostering the tourism trade to make 312 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: money from it, a fairly recent book on hutchings life 313 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 1: by Jen Huntley suggests that Hutchings really wanted people to 314 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 1: come to Yosemite, hoping they might collectively design an ideal 315 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: way of life there that had room for the appreciation 316 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 1: of nature and making a living. And this was a 317 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: time when traveling to Yosemite was still an arduous and 318 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: expensive journey. So again there was not a road. You know, 319 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: it really took quite a bit of effort, and it 320 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: cost about four hundred to five hundred dollars for a 321 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: person from San Francisco to travel to Yosemite and spend 322 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: a week there. That was no small amount in the 323 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,679 Speaker 1: eighteen fifties. And the hope was that as these wealthy 324 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: people from San Francisco shared their experiences after their visits 325 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 1: to the valley with people back in the city, that 326 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: it would spread and that people from other parts of 327 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: the U s would eventually also be drawn there. There 328 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: were efforts by other people as well as Hutchings, to 329 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 1: try to create an infrastructure to support the tourism of 330 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: wealthy visitors to the valley. While one of the main 331 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 1: drivers for this desire for visitors was the money making 332 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: desires of the people building this infrastructure, that wasn't the 333 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: only reason. There was a growing movement of conservation in 334 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: the United States, and the idea of setting aside land 335 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: to remain undeveloped was starting to gain gain traction in small, 336 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:30,399 Speaker 1: dedicated circles. In eighteen fifty eight, the first hotel was 337 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: built in Yosemite. Prior to this point, there had been 338 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: rudimentary structures that were builled as hotels, but they were 339 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: often either just tents or little shacks that were meant 340 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 1: to provide only the most basic shelter. But this first 341 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: official hotel, the Upper Hotel, was an actual two story building. 342 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: There were no real walls to separate the rooms though, 343 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: just large sheets of cloth having to create partitions, and 344 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: had window frames but no glass in them, so this 345 00:19:57,359 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: was not a luxury resort, but it was still a 346 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 1: huge up from any previous accommodations in the area and 347 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: that it was a permanent structure with some actual size 348 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: to it. And James Hutchings was one of the first 349 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: people to stay at Upper House, and he saw immediately 350 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: that there were some problems, uh not about the structure 351 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,359 Speaker 1: being you know, rudimentary, but how it was run. The 352 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: finances were very poorly handled, and there wasn't a proper 353 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: manager for the hotel for the first couple of years. Meanwhile, 354 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty nine, James Hutchings spent some time staying 355 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 1: at a San Francisco boarding house and while he was 356 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,440 Speaker 1: there he made a met a young woman named Elvirus Sprote. 357 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 1: Elvira was seventeen and her mother ran the boarding house. 358 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: The pair hit it off and they married the following year. 359 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,879 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty one, they moved away from San Francisco 360 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: so James could take a job as a mine superintendent. 361 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: And we're about to get to the point where Hutchings 362 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: and Elvira really kind of make Yosemite their home. And 363 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: we're gonna pause here for the moment. As we said, 364 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: this is the first of a two parter, So next 365 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: time we're going to speak at length about the books 366 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: Hutchings wrote and the true beginnings of like real tourism 367 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 1: in Yosemite, not just these occasional visits from wealthy people 368 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: that they were guiding in and a long legal battle 369 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 1: with the State of California. Do you also have some 370 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: listener mail? I do. It's short and sweet, uh and adorable. 371 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: It is from our listener Lisa, and it is a 372 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 1: beautiful postcard from Rome. And the picture Uh it is 373 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: a fragment of the Statue of Constantine, so basically a 374 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: giant foot and it has a little kit not it. 375 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: So obviously it completely hit all of my sweet spots 376 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: in terms of loving a postcard, and Lisa writes, high, gals, 377 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: I just wanted to share my joy at finally making 378 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 1: it to the Eternal City, enjoying the history, the art, 379 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: the food, and the wine. Too many podcast suggestions to 380 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 1: even list. I hope you like the kitten and I 381 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 1: love it because this is one of those rare occasions 382 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: where someone has sent us a postcard from overseas and 383 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 1: none of the writing was obscured by postal marking. So uh, 384 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: that's always exciting to me. Graid I could see everything 385 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,200 Speaker 1: on it. Who it's a win and it's so adorable. 386 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:11,639 Speaker 1: I will take a picture of it and share it 387 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: on our social Uh, thank you so much, Lisa. As 388 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: I always say, but I it bears repeating. In my opinion, 389 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: I am always so honored and delighted when people take 390 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: time out of their vacations to write to us. Uh. 391 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: It's really quite touching and it means a lot. So 392 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, thank you. If you would like 393 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: to write to us, you can do so at history 394 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: Podcast at how s to works dot com. You can 395 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,960 Speaker 1: find us on Facebook at Facebook dot com slash mist 396 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: in history, on Twitter at misston history, where at pinchers 397 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 1: dot com slash miss in history. We're on Instagram at 398 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: misst in history. Basically, if you want to go on 399 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: to any social media, missed in History is how to 400 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: find us. If you would like to learn about, uh, 401 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: a little bit more about what we talked about today, 402 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,680 Speaker 1: you can go to our parents site, how stuff Works. 403 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: Type in National park Service and you will get a 404 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: plethora of articles about various issues related to the park Service, 405 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 1: the parks themselves. We have a wealth of information about moms, 406 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: So do that and then come of visit Tracy and 407 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: me at missed in history dot com, where we have 408 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: an archive of every show ever of the podcast from 409 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:15,639 Speaker 1: way before we were here, and show notes on the 410 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: ones Tracy and I have worked on together, as well 411 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: as the occasional blog post or other treat so we 412 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: encourage you to do that. Come and visit us at 413 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com and missed in History dot 414 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: com for more on this and thousands of other topics. 415 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:33,200 Speaker 1: Because it has to works dot com