1905, English, Map, Sound, Interview, lecture, talk, Unpublished edition: Walter Mason Camp Papers Camp, Walter Mason, 1867-1925

User activity

Send to:
Walter Mason Camp Papers
 
Bookmark: http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/438562
Physical Description
  • 8 boxes (3 lin. ft.)
  • Letters, Interviews, Notes, Drafts (Documents), Photographic prints, Maps, Clippings
Published
  • L. Tom Perry Special Collections
  • 1905-1925
Language
  • English

Edition details

Title
  • Walter Mason Camp Papers
Creator
  • Camp, Walter Mason, 1867-1925
Published
  • L. Tom Perry Special Collections
  • 1905-1925
Physical Description
  • 8 boxes (3 lin. ft.)
  • Letters, Interviews, Notes, Drafts (Documents), Photographic prints, Maps, Clippings
Subjects
Notes
  • Railway engineer; editor; and, (avocationally) a historian of the Indian Wars of the U.S. Plains, 1865-1890. He avidly researched the Indian wars from 1890 to 1925, including conducting interviews with surviving Indian and White participants; however, his heaviest activity was from 1900 to 1920. ; The collection consists of correspondence, interview notes, general research and field notes, drafts of writings, photographs, maps, newsclippings and miscellaneous research and reference materials created and collected by Camp, and pertaining to the Indian Wars of the plains (1864-1890). The bulk of the collection consists of the correspondence (1908-1923), interviews, general research and field notes (1890-1924). Chief interviewees and correspondents were the officers, enlisted men, and Indian scouts of the U.S. 7th Cavalry, and the Indians who fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Significant information on the other battles is also present in the papers, including the following: Slim Buttes, Washita, Beecher Island, Wounded Knee, Wagon Box, Adobe Walls, Rosebud, Redwater Creek, Platte Bridge and Red Buttes, Nez Perce Campaign, Hayfield Fight, Dull Knife Fight, Fetterman Massacre, Conner-Cole Expedition and the Battle of Buffalo Wallow. Biography of Walter Camp (1867-1925)From out of the complex maze that was a youthful America in 1900 emerged Walter Camp, a quiet, unassuming man. While most Americans were enthralled with their own times, Camp set for himself a nearly impossible task--to interview every survivor of the Little Bighorn River fight of June, 1876. Later, he broadened his goal, deciding to write a history of all the Indian Wars of the Plains. Armed with a tireless pen, an intense burning interest in the Western Indian wars, an indefatigable will, and not least, a railroad pass, he quietly and doggedly established a legacy for himself and those he interviewed that will live forever in the annals of American Indian history.While Americans were thrilling to the strains of "Over There" and noting with apprehension the growing list of American casualties at such places as Belleau Wood and Argonne Forest, Walter Camp was immersed in a war from another time. The Little Bighorn River fight has been called by many names--Custer's Massacre, Custer's Last Stand, the Battle of the Little Bighorn--but one thing is certain: never in all the history of the Indian wars in America, and perhaps never in the history of any of America's wars, did so many American soldiers fight so desperately against such overwhelming odds to experience such utter and complete defeat. In 1926, in a book that has since become a classic, William A. Graham wrote of the so-called massacre, For half a century the Battle of the Little Bighorn has been known as the Custer Massacre. It is time that another name be given, for it was no massacre. On the contrary it was a bitterly contested combat to the death between the armed representatives of two civilizations, each of which fought after the manner of his kind. The simple truth is that in this, the greatest battle ever waged between the red men and the white, between a receding and an advancing race, the red men had the victory because they exhibited that day a greater proficiency in the art of war than did the chosen representatives of the white men. Warfare, however savage it be, is not massacre when the conquered go to their deaths with arms in their hands. (William A. Graham, The Story of the Little Big Horn; Custer--s Last Fight (New York: The Century Co. c1926), pp. 106-7.)The strength and fervor of such a statement is partly indicative of the fascination the battle has held for some men, Walter Camp among them.Walter Mason Camp was unique. No more unusual or dedicated student of Indian life, customs and history has lived in America. He was familiar with a number of Indian languages, including the Sioux and the nearly extinct Delaware. He cherished his association with the American Indians and was a welcome visitor on their western reservations, which he frequented in pursuit of his research. Many people, Indian and non-Indian alike, prized their relationship with him. It was not an unusual sight, for instance, to see a group of Indians waiting to see him at his Chicago office. They often stopped to seek advice en route to visit the Great White Father in Washington.Walter Camp was born to Treat Bosworth Camp and Hannah A. Brown on April 21, 1867, at Camptown, Pennsylvania. His father was an insurance surveyor and author of insurance literature. In the Civil War he was captain of Company F, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, and was confined for a period in Libby Prison. Walter Camp was a descendant of old colonial ancestry. His earliest paternal American ancestor was Nicholas Camp, who came from Essex County, England, with the Reverend John Elliott in 1631 and settled in Massachusetts. Subsequently, Camp's maternal and paternal ancestors served in the Army of the Revolution. One of them, Israel Camp, was a private, while his son Job was a captain.Camp's early life gave little hint that he was to become a major gatherer of information on America's Indian Wars. He seemed clearly destined instead to become exactly what he did become, a highly competent civil engineer, specializing in railroad construction and maintenance. He received his preliminary education by winter attendance at public school in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. At the age of nine he was employed as fireman in a planing mill at Wyalusing; later he worked on farms and harvested lumber for four years.In 1883, at the age of 16, Camp entered railway service on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, being employed first as a trackman and then as a chainman and rodman under the division engineer. While night trackwalker on the Lehigh Valley he acquired a working knowledge of telegraphy, thus beginning a forty-two year railroad career. In the fall of 1887 he entered Pennsylvania State College, and was graduated as a civil engineer in 1891.His first job after graduation was with the Southern Pacific Company, where for a period of six months he was employed as surveyor in Fresno County, California, and after that as draftsman in the chief engineer's office at San Francisco. From 1892 to 1894 he was engineer in full charge of construction and later superintendent in charge of operation and maintenance of the Rainier Avenue Electric Railway in Seattle, Washington. He had charge of building a counterbalance system for assisting electric railway cars over heavy grades at Seattle in 1892, and was one of the first in this country to build and operate special equipment for freight traffic on electric railways. In 1894 and 1895 he was work-train foreman, surveyor, and section foreman on the Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad. In 1895 he resumed his studies as a post graduate student in electrical and steam engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and in 1896 taught for a while in the National School of Electricity in Chicago. He then became inspector and later superintendent of track construction on the Englewood &​ Chicago, a storage-battery road.Camp became engineering editor of the Railway and Engineering Review (now the Railway Review) in 1897. There, he found the sphere of usefulness for which his talents and experience eminently fitted him, and for twenty-eight years he served faithfully and well as a railway editor.As a writer Walter Camp commanded the respect of the railroad fraternity. He had a thorough knowledge of the practical side of railroading, and knew railroad conditions and needs. As one of his associates expressed it, on learning of his untimely death: "He was the best-informed man I ever knew." His published works, apart from thousands of pungent and useful editorials, included a standard work, Notes on Track, which was long used as a textbook in colleges having a railroad department. Also, he edited Samuel Folson Patterson: An Appreciation by Members of the American Railway Bridge and Building Association (Chicago, 1918), and wrote "Railroad Transportation at the Universal Exposition, St. Louis, 1904". He was also the author of numerous papers published by engineering and historical associations, and held membership in the following organizations: American Society of Civil Engineers, American Railway Engineering Association, American Railway Bridge and Building Association, Roadmasters and Maintenance-of-Way Association, the Society for Promoting Engineering Education, Permanent Way Institution (Great Britain), Railway Signal Association, Signal Section A.R.A., Mississippi Valley Historical Association, Western Society of Engineers, Chicago and Engineer's Club, and others.At Blue Island, Illinois, on May 2, 1898, Walter Camp married Emeline L. F. Sayles, daughter of Elliott Sayles.In addition to his interest in railroads he had a cabin in the Michigan woods and a 240-acre dairy farm at Lake Village, Indiana, where he lived during his last years. But his interest in Indian life and customs, the Indian Wars and, in particular, the Little Bighorn River battle dominated his life. He was a trailblazer in his zeal to record the facts of history from the people who had witnessed that history. Beginning in about 1903, his vacations for twenty summers were usually spent in research among Indians and in talking with people who had survived the Little Bighorn River fight and other battles. He personally visited over forty battlefields and interviewed almost 200 survivors of western battles.His research included the Washinta River fight, MacKenzie's raid on Dull Knife's village, Baldwin's fight with Sitting Bull on Redwater Creek, the battle of Wolf Mountain, the Lamedeer fight, the Nez Perce campaign, Baldwin's fight on the Little Porcupine, the Yellow Hand affair, the capture of Rain-In-The-Face, the death of Sitting Bull, and the Wounded Knee and White Clay Creek affairs. All of these occurred during Camp's boyhood or young manhood, a factor which no doubt increased his interest in them. Also, through the persistent efforts of Camp and General Anson Mills the exact site of the Slim Buttes fight was found and a marker erected.Camp collected an incredible amount of original source material during his lifetime. However, his original plan was to write a history of the Seventh Cavalry. He even used such a title on his personal stationery. Later, his ambitions grew and he decided to write a history of the Indian wars. Unfortunately, he achieved neither goal, due in part to failing health and the heavy demands of his profession. He died on August 3, 1925, in Kankakee, Illinois, with his cherished dream of a written history unrealized.Walter Camp's avocational achievements were not widely known during his lifetime. He published very little of his Indian wars research and generally speaking, no one but himself had access to his extensive files and library. However, his fellow Custer and Indian war enthusiasts developed a high respect for his talents and knowledge. He corresponded regularly with the Custer experts of his day and became a frequent consultant in their efforts to locate exact battle sites, burial grounds and other locations. In January, 1920, he delivered an address before the Order of the Indian Wars and was the first Honorary Companion ever elected to that order.Additional biographical information on Camp can be found in the following locations:Box 1, folder 1, Walter Mason Camp Papers Obituary in the Railway Review and a typed copy of "Memoir" published in the Annual Proceedings of the American Railway Bridge and Building Association.Hammer, Kenneth and Dennis Rowley, "Custer's Man Camp--Oral Historian Without Peer". Manuscripts, XXVII ( Spring 1975).Camp, Walter M. Custer in '76, Kenneth Hammer, ed. Provo Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.Much of the above biographical statement is excerpted from the Railway Review obituary. The collection consists of correspondence, interview notes, general research and field notes, drafts of writings, photographs, maps, newsclippings and miscellaneous research and reference materials created and collected by Camp, and pertaining to the Indian Wars of the plains ( 1864-1890). The bulk of the collection consists of the correspondence ( 1908-1923), interviews, general research and field notes ( 1890-1924). Chief interviewees and correspondents were the officers, enlisted men, and Indian scouts of the U.S. 7th Cavalry, and the Indians who fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Significant information on the other battles is also present in the papers, including the following: Slim Buttes, Washita, Beecher Island, Wounded Knee, Wagon Box, Adobe Walls, Rosebud, Redwater Creek, Platte Bridge and Red Buttes, Nez Perce Campaign, Hayfield Fight, Dull Knife Fight, Fetterman Massacre, Conner-Cole Expedition and the Battle of Buffalo Wallow. ManuscriptsThe collection consists of correspondence, interview notes, general and field notes, drafts of writings such as articles, a speech and the preface to Camp--s intended book, collected research materials such as news clippings and photographs, typescripts of some of the above, and a series of photographs. The typescripts were prepared by either Kenneth Hammer or the staff of the Lee Library, and were added to the Camp Collection.The overall arrangement of the collection is as indicated in the table of contents, namely a folder of biographical information, followed by correspondence, interview notes, other general notes, typescripts for some of the interview and general notes, writings, the research and reference file, and photographs. As indicated, the collection documents primarily, but certainly not completely, Camp--s interest in the Indian Wars of the Plains from 1865 to 1890 and his research activities in gathering information about those wars through correspondence, through field interviews and through visits to libraries, archives and historic sites.The correspondence is arranged chronologically and runs from 1905 to 1925 with some undated filed at the end. Enclosures, including letters not written to or by Camp, were left with the cover letter. Enclosures having no cover letter or that appeared to have been separated from their cover letter were filed in the Research and Reference File. It is apparent that Walter Camp was a prodigious letter writer, but there are many gaps in this collection. Three-fourths or more of the correspondence is incoming letters. Some of those, however, are Camp--s original letters returned to him with a handwritten answer added to the bottom or on the back. The correspondence includes several form letters designed by Camp and is almost entirely devoted to his avocation of gathering information on the Indian Wars. A few letters were written in response to requests for information from other researchers. The correspondence is indexed by name and subject. The index follows the appendix at the end of this register. An occasional letter is filed elsewhere than with the major body of the correspondence for various reasons. For example, see the Research and Reference File and the Interview Notes and Notes, where some partially completed form letters are filed, despite a conscientious effort made to eliminate all duplication and overlap. In Custer in --˜76 some notes and letters were published together because Camp, or Brown after him, had filed them together because one was an outgrowth of the other.The interview notes are arranged alphabetically by interviewee surname and in three sizes. The latter was done in order to appropriately preserve and protect the original notes, which in some cases are extremely fragile and worn, and in order to facilitate convenient filing and retrieval. Camp made notes on any scrap of paper that was handy. The ones made in the field are on small, fragile pieces of paper; the ones made in his office at home are often on full size ( 8 ½ x 11) sheets of paper. Others were cut into small pieces with scissors, probably by Ellison or Brown. These differing sizes did not readily lend themselves to being interfiled and adequately controlled in the upright files. Therefore, they were sorted into the three sizes indicated in the Container List. Apparently, Camp numbered his interview notes (or perhaps Brown added the numbers later). The Lilly Library has envelopes of Unclassified Field Notes with the following numbers: 2-6, 8-11, 33-38, 41-44, 46-50, 60-62, 64-65, 67-72, 77-83, 85-92, 115-116, 121-122, 127, and 129-136. None of the Camp notes for interviews or general research received by the Lee Library had numbers on them. Occasionally, as noted above, a letter was interfiled with the interview notes. Unless there was a compelling reason not to do so, those letters were separated to the correspondence file. The contents of the interview notes are reflected in the index by name and subject.All general field notes and research notes are filed under --œNotes--, which is defined for filing purposes as all non-interview compilations in Camp--s hand except maps and accompanying notes and drafts well-developed enough to be distinguished as writings. Notes are also sorted into three sizes for filing and retrieval convenience. Each envelope carries a number. They are numbered randomly but the contents of each envelope is reflected in the index. The researcher should request all Notes by the numeral given in the index.Most of Camp--s general notes consist of questions either to ask of a future interviewee or to answer through research, along with reminders about people to see, where to find them and related --œto do-- notes. Many of his notes were prompted by books read (included, of course, are some actual notes on the books he read), interviews, and visits to historical sites, where he noted his observations about such things as the lay of the land and occasionally copied the inscription from the historical marker or monument. Occasionally, a note consists of a single question followed by a terse, --œLynch says no-- or a similar comment. Such comments may have been the result of an interview but were more likely his recording of the memory of one and may have been the result of reading a written account. Since it was not clear that such brief notes were the direct, immediate result of an interview, all such notes not an obvious part of a larger set of interview notes were filed with general notes rather than --œInterview Notes.-- Many notes were complete enough that they could have constituted an early draft for a part of the history. They were written either in the field, while traveling on a train or in his Chicago office. See for example, those on Beecher Island, Frederick Benteen and the Crow Scout, Curly, with whom Camp had an interview on September 18, 1908. Some of the notes for the Curly interview were filed with --œNotes-- despite Hammer having included them under interviews in Custer in --˜76 because, strictly speaking, they were not the direct result of an interview. They were too polished and smooth to have been interview notes. Rather, Camp wrote them up later to use in writing the history.Camp consistently used the following abbreviations in his interview and general notes: --œInq--, --œInv--, and --œIng--. His --œg--s-- are not always distinguishable from his --œq's--, but we have surmised that the --œInq-- has reference to --œMatters of Inquiry or Inquire-- and that --œInv-- and --œIng-- mean --œInterviewing or Interview--. Finally, some of the brief note fragments that consisted only of a questions or a --œto do-- reminder in reference to a locality, such as research to do in St. Louis or people to interview in St. Louis, were grouped together by that locality.The typescripts of selected interviews and notes were an outgrowth of Kenneth Hammer--s work on the book Custer in '76. As indicated, they are not a complete typescript for all the interviews and notes in the collection. A complete copy of the typescript arranged in the order given it by Hammer is available in the Hammer Collection (Mss 1473). Those filed here consist of a photocopy of the original which has been cut apart with scissors (and as such many pages carry original page numbers and markings such as --œEnd of folder--, which should be ignored) in order to file them in alphabetical order by interviewee or main subject, thereby matching the filing arrangement of the originals and facilitating more convenient and efficient researcher access. Most typescripts are for interviewees. Some however, are for subjects such as --œReynolds Court Martial--, --œPlatte bridge--, --œwounded Knee--, and --œMiscellaneous--. The researcher should not assume that everything on a given subject, such as Wounded Knee, is present in the folder, both for the reason already cited, namely selectivity in the transcription process, and for two additional reasons, as follows: the existence of small bits and pieces of information of generally lesser significance in the --œMiscellaneous-- folder which did not lend themselves to ready sorting or indexing; and secondly, as mentioned in the preface, the existence of information on a subject in another segment of the collection, such as the correspondence, which, of course, will be reflected in the index. Again, the user is encouraged to use the index.As indicated above, the collection contains a few drafts of some of Camp--s writings. They are filed in alphabetical order and consist of drafts of parts of the planned history, articles and speeches.The research and reference file contains mostly materials collected by Camp and authored by others. Also, it contains everything that wouldn--t fit in any of the other categories in the collection. It is arranged in alphabetical order. Its contents are not reflected in the index.PhotographsThis collection consists of 218 images comprised of original photographic copy prints, postcards, photomechanical prints, and selected copy negatives prepared by the library staff. The collection and the inventory are arranged in alphabetical order according to the last name of the subject of the photograph. In the --œlocation-- column (box, folder and item) of the inventory, the item numbers are a single sequence for the collection, that is, they do not begin anew within each folder as is generally the case with most of our photo collections.For more information on Camp and the provenance of this collection, see forematter to this register. Reel #1box 1, correspondence, 1908-1913.Reel #2box 2, correspondence 1914-1925 (some without dates) and interviews, group 1: Bailey - Yellow BullReel #3box 3, interviews, Group 2: Aisio - Windolph; box 4, interviews, group 3: Adams - Young HawkReel #4box 5, notesReel #5box 6, typescripts and writings; box 7, research and reference file; Use of this register and the Camp papers will be facilitated if the researcher will do the following:Refer to the table of contents and become familiar with the basic organization of the collection.When attempting to ascertain if a document or a subject area is covered in this collection, refer first to the index and second to the container list. The latter is a guide to the location of the materials within the collection and the index is keyed to it. For example, the correspondence is arranged in chronological order. The folder listings by box and folder are given in the container list; but only the pertinent date is given in the index.Be aware the index is selective and does not have all parts of the collection. Only the correspondence, interview notes, and notes have been indexed. The remainder of the collection is accessible through the container list, some of which serves also as an index.Be aware that the Camp papers were put in final order after the publication of the book Custer In '76. Therefore, the folder numbers which were arbitrarily assigned for the preparation of that book are obsolete. To obtain information on the names and subjects in that book, consult the index and the container list of the register.
  • MSS 57
Terms of Use
  • Use of the original Camp interview notes and notes is restricted. Only those scholars requiring access in order to authenticate a particular note or to verify a transcription will be allowed to use them and then only under the supervision of a Curator/​Archivist. All others must use the typed transcriptions provided with the original papers or the microfilm copy. There are two sets of microfilm. One for patron use and another for interlibrary loan. All other segments of the Camp Papers are available for general research use by qualified scholars.Copyright to the Camp Papers is held in part by the Harold B. Lee Library. No item, paper manuscript, etc., in the Camp Papers may be published in whole without written permission. Scholars desiring photocopying privileges must sign a statement agreeing not to publish the materials they receive. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.Permission to publish material from the Walter Mason Camp Papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/​or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Language
  • English
Contributed by
OAIster

Get this edition

  • Set up My libraries

    How do I set up "My libraries"?

    In order to set up a list of libraries that you have access to, you must first login or sign up. Then set up a personal list of libraries from your profile page by clicking on your user name at the top right of any screen.

  • All (1)
  • Unknown (1)
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.

User activity


e.g. test cricket, Perth (WA), "Parkes, Henry"

Separate different tags with a comma. To include a comma in your tag, surround the tag with double quotes.

Be the first to add a tag for this edition

Be the first to add this to a list

Comments and reviews

What are comments? Add a comment

No user comments or reviews for this version

Add a comment