The Kolb Diaries: Chapter 6
1918-1920
KATMAI
The differences between the two Kolb brothers continued to simmer beneath the surface. In March 1915 Ellsworth gave Emery notice that he wished to withdraw from the business and made a proposal for settlement of his share that Emery refused. After several attempts to reach an agreement the two concluded on each working a two- year shift, the period to be considered a lease, the brother at the studio paying rent to the other, who would be free to indulge in whatever activities he wished. In 1918 Ellsworth took his position at the canyon to begin his two-year lease.
On 18 July 1918 Emery Kolb received a letter from the War Department inquiring if he would accept a First Lieutenancy in the Photographic Section of the Signal Corps.[1] He telegraphed Washington his acceptance,[2] and received his commission 17 September 1918. His new position elated him, but the bill before Congress making Grand Canyon a National Park concerned him. The various comments and letters regarding the status of his business after the change became law left him in doubt as to what action the Department of Interior would take. In response to Emery's letter of 18 September, Stephen Mather, director of the National Park Service, advised him that he would be absolutely free to join the service, for no action of any kind would be taken regarding the concessions until after the war.
The second paragraph of Mather's letter read:
You will be interested perhaps to know that the National Park Service recently had an opportunity to express its favorable comment on your photographic work in reply to an inquiry addressed to us from military circles.[3]
Free of this concern Emery prepared for his departure to serve his country.
By this time life at the village on the canyon rim had become a beehive of activity in a massive war effort. Nearly all the women spent their free time doing Red Cross projects of various types.
Charley Brant and his wife Olga had managed the El Tovar since its opening in 1905 and the villagers considered them upright and respectable citizens. Mrs. Brant, in her smarmy fashion, proclaimed herself head of the war effort through the Red Cross and everyone accepted it with a sigh of relief. She took charge of having the Harvey Girls sell raffle tickets house to house and the entire village cooperated. Drawings were frequent and enthusiasm ran high. Occasionally she held auctions with a local man as auctioneer where pies sold for six or seven dollars each. The money collected soon amounted to a considerable sum.
Almost all towns had a Red Cross chapter that directed these projects and channeled the output to the regional headquarters. Grand Canyon Village worked under the direction of the Williams chapter seventy miles away. The office in Williams heard of the Canyon's successful fund-raising campaigns and the amount of money the people there had gathered. They had only one question: what happened to all the money? Letters sent to Mrs. Brant went unanswered. The villagers too wondered and began asking the same question but Mrs. Brant made no accounting. Interest and enthusiasm waned.
Gilbert H. Grosvenor, who years before had befriended Emery, arrived at the Canyon for a visit at this time. After attending the Kolb lecture and viewing the moving picture the men reviewed the happenings since their last visit. Dr. Grosvenor remembered a letter in his jacket pocket, "I received this a day or two before I left Washington. As you can see, it is from Secretary of Interior Lane."[4] He handed the envelope to Emery. The letter read, "I understand you are going west to the Grand Canyon. If you do, I want you to meet my good friends the Brants. Mr. Brant is manager of the El Tovar Hotel along with his wife. My wife and I are taking up relief funds for Belgium children and the Brants are heavy donators to our fund. It is through this that we have become good friends."
Emery folded the letter and handed it back. "Now I know what happened to the Red Cross money that can't be accounted for in Williams," he muttered to himself. When Grosvenor looked at him puzzled he explained the story. At the same time he thought of something else. The Brants courted the Secretary of Interior not because they cared about the Belgian children but to help them continue their monopoly of the business concessions at Grand Canyon.
A few days later the forester at the Canyon called on Emery to advise him of a meeting regarding buying government bonds and asked if he would say something about the sale of these. Emery declined for he felt he needed more study on the topic. As the visitor left the studio he added he intended to have a little discussion about the Red Cross affair too. "On that topic I will say something," replied Emery, "I have given it some thought."
" Good," the forester replied, and after a short pause, "you won't go too strong will you?" Emery didn't understand what he meant by this statement, but answered in the negative. The forester continued, "I just recently found why the folks stopped buying raffle tickets and attending the auctions and I would like to get this all out in the open." On the pretext of writing an article to the Williams paper he had sent his assistant to see Mrs. Brant to determine what had been done for the Red Cross. She flew into a rage and exclaimed she reported her dealings with the Red Cross to Washington only and the amount of money taken did not concern anyone in Williams or any place else.
The following night Emery attended the meeting at the community building where the forester met him at the door and advised him things had changed since they talked the day before. He had seen Mrs. Brant and she agreed to give a report after all. It appeared evident he feared Emery would say something that would hurt her.
The discussion on the War Bonds and stamps proceeded, and that part of the meeting complete, the forester, acting as chairman announced, "Mrs. Brant is here to report on the Red Cross." Mrs. Brant stood and bluntly stated, "There will not be any report given tonight, maybe some other night." For a moment the forester stood speechless. When he regained his composure he stated, looking at some papers on the lectern in front of him, "I find a good many residents feel we should organize a Red Cross Chapter for the Canyon."
"Where will the work be done?" snapped Mrs. Brant from her seat. A member of the school board rose and said, "As a trustee of the school I would say the school house would be the best place." Emery seconded the motion. All those in attendance voted in favor.
Those in the room were unaware that an officer from the Red Cross Headquarters in San Francisco sat in the front row of the assembly. A dead silence fell when he stood and introduced himself. Mrs. Brant's face momentarily turned white and she nervously fumbled with her purse. The stranger said he had seen the announcement of the meeting on the bulletin board at the hotel and as it was his job to organize Red Cross chapters he decided to attend. His first statement came as a blow to Mrs. Brant, " We all know that women do the most work for the Red Cross, sewing, knitting, baking and collecting funds. That is all right in peacetime. But now we are at war and we must have men at the head of our chapters, the most important men of our community." [5] The meeting had not gone as Mrs. Brant felt sure it would and she left without a word. First Lieutenant Emery C. Kolb had received his orders to report for duty to Headquarters Western Department of the United States Army in San Francisco, and left on the next train after the meeting. From this time on he was unaware of the outcome between the Brants and the Red Cross at the Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon became a national park in l9l9, and operated under the Park Service Division of the Department of Interior. While visiting the Canyon, the new director Stephen Mather stopped by the studio and talked with Ellsworth. Mather told him that if his brother ever came to Washington to be sure and have him come by the office and see him. On his next trip to the capitol, Emery called at Mather's office, but received a cool reception. He inquired what would be done concerning the concessions at the Canyon now that it had become a national park. Mather informed him, "I can tell you what is going to be closed down if the wrangling out there does not stop. I am going to wipe out the whole bunch of you. And if you were the one who wrote the letters to Red Cross Headquarters concerning the branch there after the wonderful work the Brants did that caused that embarrassing situation against them you ought to be ashamed of yourself."
This made Emery angry. Shaking his finger in Mather's face, he stated, "Mr. Mather, any true American who knew what was going on about the Red Cross at the Canyon and didn't take an interest in it should be much more ashamed of himself. I'll tell you all about it." Mather raised his hand and replied, "I don't want to hear it. I know all about it already." Emery left Mather's office somewhat perturbed.
The day before Emery's arrival in Washington, Gilbert Grosvenor had lunch at the University Club. He saw Mather with a companion and paused to offer his congratulations on his appointment as Park Director. Mather invited him to join them and introduced his guest as Mr. Ford Harvey of the Grand Canyon. Grosvenor replied,"From the Grand Canyon? You must know the Kolb Brothers. They are friends of mine."
"I know them," was the sharp retort. "They are the trouble makers at the park and we are hoping Mr. Mather can do something about getting them away from there."
When Mather had said 'Harvey of the Grand Canyon' it never occurred to Grosvenor it was the head of the Harvey Company out of Kansas City. "Just what do you mean by that?" he asked when he finally regained his composure.
Harvey had nothing good to say about Emery and Ellsworth and let forth a long tirade, relating how the Kolbs associated themselves with the crooked dealings of Ralph Cameron and all his illegitimate mining claims. "Mr. Harvey," countered Grosvenor, "I have just recently been to the Canyon and I talked with Emery about those claims and asked if he and his brother had an interest in mining and prospecting, and they told me 'none at all, too busy with photographic work.'"
"That is an outright lie," was the quick comeback, "I have reason to believe they are, and those two are blocking all our progress at the Park."
" Mr. Harvey, if you will inquire at the recorder's office in Flagstaff where they record the mining claims with signatures, you will find that Kolb Brothers have nothing to do with Ralph Cameron's interest in mining. The Bright Angel claim is the site of the studio but that is all."
"Hummph!" grunted the head of the Harvey concession, "They also keep track of the mules going down Cameron's trail."
"Since they take pictures of each trail party it is only natural for them to look at the pictures and see how many mules there are."
The conversation continued for nearly two hours with Grosvenor able to counter with a legitimate answer to all the accusations. Then Harvey raised the point about the Red Cross trouble. To this Grosvenor had no answer. He knew a problem existed but he never heard about the outcome. Harvey vindictively continued, "Emery Kolb caused a most awkward situation for our manager at the hotel by writing a letter to the Red Cross headquarters informing them of mishandling of funds by the Brants, which is of course entirely false. The episode almost cost us a good manager and that is what brings me to Washington." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter written by the Brants, and read a paragraph aloud. 'We have heard it was Emery Kolb who wrote the letters to the Red Cross that caused the embarrassing investigation of us. Now that the Canyon is a National Park what are you going to do about it? Either they leave or I leave." He then opened a second letter addressed to the head of the National Park reading, "Either Kolb Brothers leave the Grand Canyon or Fred Harvey leaves the Grand Canyon." This was to prove to Mr. Mather how important it was to refrain from giving the Kolbs a concession. Mather listened without saying a word or entering into the conversation. [6]
Immediately following the luncheon Grosvenor had his secretary leave word at Emery's hotel for him to come to his home for dinner that evening. Emery returned the call to advise that he had a previous engagement and would be unable to accept. Grosvenor's secretary insistently explained the importance of the meeting and suggested it would be best for Emery to change the date of his other commitment. This sounded so urgent that he canceled his plans for the evening and went to Grosvenor's residence instead. Upon entering Grosvenor asked, "How is the National Park going to affect you?"
"I don't know," was Emery's reply.
"Have you seen Mather?"
"Yes."
"How did he treat you?"
"After he had invited me to visit him in Washington I thought he treated me very coldly."
"That is what I wanted to see you about," said Grosvenor. He then related the story of his meeting at the University Club. "We talked for over two hours and I could combat with Harvey all his complaints except one. Did you write some letters to the Red Cross that caused an investigation of the branch at the canyon?"
"No," Emery replied.
"Not one?"
"Not a letter."
"Wait 'till I see Mather." Grosvenor said. [7]
A letter from Emery to the American Red Cross in Washington D.C. on 20 March 1919 resolved the matter:
Several months ago, I was accused of writing various letters to your Head Quarters, which caused you to order an investigation into the Red Cross activities of Mrs. C. A. Brant, of the Fred Harvey, Santa Fe El Tovar at the Grand Canyon, Ariz.
Now, officials of the Harvey Company have used the Brant's trouble as subject matter to place me in disfavor with the U.S. Interior Department, under which depends my business existance at the Grand Canyon. They have apparently convinced the National Park Director that I alone was responsible for the investigation. The Park Director severely censured me last week, scarcely permitting me to say that I was either innocent or guilty. Had I written the letters, I would have been duing my patriotic duty, as no doubt those who did write them, thought they were doing. I did work for a Red Cross branch, and I will not deny that I told the investigator what I thought about the affair, but I want to deny that I have ever written you or any other Red Cross division concerning the matter, and as your files will show whether I have had any correspondence with you or not, I ask that you confirm my statement.
The San Francisco headquarters of the Red Cross wrote the Washington office and after a considerable length of time they verified Emery's statements, again foiling the attempts of the Fred Harvey Company to oust him from Grand Canyon.
The United States Army inducted First Lieutenant Emery Clifford Kolb into the Service 17 September 1918 at the Headquarters Western Department in San Francisco, California. Special orders No. 228 dated 30 September 1918 transferred him from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., where he reported directly to the Chief Signal Officer for duty.[8] Ten days later he received further orders and on 10 October 1918 proceeded to the Signal Corps School of Photography at Columbia University in New York for training. Blanche and Edith joined him in New York until the war ended in November. Emery received his discharge 30 November and his tour of duty over he resumed his lecturing in the East. Ellsworth stayed in Arizona running the studio.
In 1912 the Katmai volcano in Alaska erupted with a violent explosion that laid waste to a better part of the Katmai Peninsula, covering it with volcanic ash, destroying countless acres of trees, spotting the entire terrain with fumaroles and craters and creating the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. Immediately following the war in Europe the National Geographic Society directed its attention to this valley of steam and smoke holes. As the result of Emery's long acquaintance with Gilbert Grosvenor and Julius Stone, they invited him to serve as chief photographer for the Society's expedition to Alaska to survey the area for a future national monument. Emery met in New York with the people involved and expressed his interest in making the trip. At this time the Society had given only preliminary thoughts to the project and made no definite plans regarding the dates or extent of the expedition.
Emery received a letter from Professor Robert F. Griggs of the School of Agriculture at Ohio State University, 18 December 1918 advising the Geographic Society had selected him as leader of the expedition and that he had received the go-ahead from Grosvenor in Washington to make arrangements for the trip. Griggs requested Emery to state his proposition and what remuneration he would require as photographer for the venture. The meeting in New York convinced Griggs that Emery qualified for the job and in a letter dated 8 January 1919 he stated he would be "considerably disappointed" if anything happened to prevent his participating in the exploration. The chance to visit Alaska appealed to Emery, but the part on the open sea concerned him. When Griggs assured him that his work would be conducted entirely on land and he would only be at sea for the trip to Kodiak and from Kodiak to Katmai itself he felt more at ease.[9] In the same letter Griggs explained in detail the size of the party and the procedure of exploration.
. . . There will be a good sized party, or rather several parties, working together- perhaps somewhere between a dozen and a score of men all told, and the expedition will be equipped to live as comfortable as is possible under the conditions. The work of course, will be to get motion pictures. . . .
Griggs planned to send the first group across to Katmai with supplies and equipment and to prepare the way for the others who would arrive later. A second section in which Griggs himself would be involved were to survey the volcanic areas surrounding Katmai between Kodiak and Cape Douglas and find a suitable tourist route into the Katmai district. This area of exploration would be done by sea starting about 5 May 1919. Though not involved in this phase, Griggs invited Emery to go along. This second group would be divided into two parts with a few men left at the mouth of Katmai River to build a cabin while the other section established camps in the interior preparatory to forming a juncture with the first party across Katmai Pass. The third echelon, the one Emery would join, was to land various scientific members at the base camp from where the exploration would be carried out. This segment of the project would leave Kodiak around the first part of June.[10]
Emery proposed he receive a monthly salary of $210 for his part, a sum that Griggs deemed too small and raised to $225 a month plus any expense incurred for travel from New York to Seattle, Washington, and on to Kodiak for him and his family. Griggs wrote:
In answer to your inquiry as to how long an absence from your family would be necessary, I am inclined to suggest that you might well combine it with a holiday for them. You know the Alaskan trip is the very finest scenic trip in the world. . . . Of course I do not know your wife but if, as I assume, she is at home in the out-of-doors, she ought to enjoy such a trip very much indeed, and that would reduce to a minimum the time that you would have to be away from them. . . .[11]
Happy that they could have time to travel together in a different environment , Emery, Blanche and Edith left New York for Seattle by train and continued from there by steamer to Kodiak. Blanche and Edith would remain in Kodiak with the wives and families of the other men of the expedition.
It came as an unwelcome surprise when, as soon as they met the Griggs family, complications began to appear. During their short stay in Kodiak, Mrs. Griggs constantly mentioned a shortage of funds and Emery wondered if a real problem existed or if the subject was of her own invention. Making inquiry among the men he found none of them, including himself, had a written contract and Griggs when asked, constantly repeated that they needed nothing in writing as he was an honest man and his word was his bond. Emery accepted this statement and later regretted it.[12]
The first entry in Emery's journal dated 20 May 1919 states he left Kodiak on the ship Nimrod about ten in the morning with a party consisting of Griggs, Henning, Miller and Yori. On 21 May they sailed across to Amalik Bay. The weather was good and the scenery beautiful. The bay, hemmed in on all sides by land except for a narrow strait for entry, made a perfect shelter. Emery wrote a letter to his wife:
May 23,1919
My Dear Blanche,
. . . We climbed the mountains the first day seeking passage for a roadway over the range as this is the nearest water to the volcano which has a good harbor. Coming down the mountain we at times jumped over the edge and slid 2 and three hundred feet at a stretch. It was such sport and such good action that I interested Mr. Griggs to let me make a movie of it, so in the morning we staged the affair and it was after only one slide when Mr. Griggs became an enthusiastic member of the kid gang. I wish Edith could have just one slide it is the greatest sport ever. . . .
As the party started inland up the Katmai River to the base of the volcanoes Emery began to realize what a penurious leader they had in Griggs. Wading in soft volcanic ash and fighting through heavy brush country with thirty or forty pounds of supplies and equipment on each man's back was no easy task. Griggs led the group carrying a lightweight pack, complaining the entire way because the rest of the men lagged behind. During lunch break he deemed they had no time to prepare a proper meal and doled out a few raisins and a small bit of chocolate from his pocket for each man, hardly enough to replenish the calories burned by those who labored up the trail.[13] They made camp on Martin Creek near the junction of a smaller stream, both larger than Bright Angel Creek. They established this as a permanent site where members of the group would return from time to time for supplies. The morning after their arrival they constructed a bridge of two huge cottonwood logs across the creek to enable the party to proceed inland. During the second night a heavy rainstorm accompanied by high wind made the bridge a near-fiasco. The fast-moving water partly covered the logs joining the banks and the men felt it unsafe to cross. Emery, with his Grand Canyon ingenuity, cut a pole and vaulted across then aided the others over the logs one by one.
The work had been strenuous so the next couple of days they spent at leisure, patching and darning clothing and making necessary repairs on equipment. Clouds and steam from the fumaroles had veiled Katmai Mountain since the expedition arrived in the area and during this break Emery, accompanied by another member of the party, ventured out with the cameras hoping the weather would clear enough to make pictures.
Emery wrote a letter to Blanche on Kodiak Island on 29 May:
I am dead tired, but I may be able to get this out to you by the return of the next boat so know you both would be disappointed if you did not hear from me.
. . . On the 27th Mr. Griggs and I ran into a big bear. He said Woof and beat it up the hill. Mr. G. wanted to pop him with our hand pieces but I advised against it.[14] Tomorrow we go to the top of the mountain through the snow to find a new pass to the valley. This outdoor work certainly gives one an appetite. Everything has been going fine and Yori is fast winning admiration. He is O.K. . . .
It is a strange place tonight with the trees stripped white. It is a ghostly appearance. The steam puffing out of the Mts. is quite a wonderful sight and tomorrow I expect to see the Valley of Smokes from the pass. . . .
Breakfast was a main meal and consisted of oatmeal, bacon and flapjacks that the men devoured in great quantities. Here Griggs again displayed a selfish trait. Emery had prepared his meal, and having a small amount of batter remaining, he made another flapjack. Griggs, standing close by asked, "What are you fixing that for, I am through. Trying to be a damn hog?" The comment angered Emery and he replied, " I will bake it and if I feel like it I will eat it." Griggs from time to time accused other members of the party of being hogs and damn fools, a phrase they heard many times. It was not what Griggs said, but the way he expressed it that soon caused resentment.[15] In his journal Emery wrote "The man is hard to understand. He acts like a spoiled child who has had no brothers or sisters in the family. How he expects to call his men such names and not get punches is beyond me. . . ."
Emery wrote the next letter to Blanche on 14 June 1919:
. . . The Nimrod came and landed the party across the bay and [I] had just started back [to camp] when I spied them. Good I did as Mr. Griggs did not expect them so soon and had no man here to cross [to]them.
I had sent Yori up to Martin Creek camp so was alone. Once I started across but as the wind tore me all directions I returned. Finally I did get across just to let them know where base camp was and that I saw them, but I knew we could not return as the tide was out and a high wind going. They have cheese and onions to eat. Fortunately Mr. G. erected a tent there in just such an emergency. They kindly gave me two blankets for the night, but knowing I had to return to base camp for a larger boat I was restless. The tide came in at one o'clock midnight so I got up and came over. It was no sport in the dark crossing the bay during high wind, but I made it O.K. The only reason I did was probably due to the fact that I had a box of onions in the bow which the men seemed to be glad to get out of the tent. . . .
I want to make some slow exposuries on moving film of the opening of flowers. . . . What a beautiful spot as I sit by the camp fire looking toward the spring where my water wheel,made of milk cans and which is to turn my movie camera very slowly on the flowers, goes splity, splashy. . . .
Despite all the adversity, Emery enjoyed the exploration of unfamiliar territory, as he relates in the same letter:
. . . I was on a cliff l00 ft above a marsh and spied a mother goose with eight little goslings in down. I watched quite a while then slowly stepped back to set the shutter for a picture. In about l0 seconds I returned and they had simply vanished. Finally the mother flew from quite a different spot, then I saw a string of goslings winding through the grass. . . .
Some of the men liked fried onions and Griggs remarked sarcastically that a man who liked onions should not be allowed on an expedition. On the other hand, he liked sugar and had a thousand pounds brought across to the camp at Katmai River. He had no taste for cornmeal and stored only fifty pounds at base camp. They hired no porters to transport material from base camp to the sites farther inland where the men carried out the work, and could move only a small amount of the supplies at a time, The trips back and forth everyday slowed the operation and took time from more important aspects of the trip.[16]
Much of the three months occurred during a rainy season and often made the days unsuitable for exploration or taking pictures, but time spent at camp did not hang heavy on their hands as each of them used it for writing letters, making entries in their diaries, and Emery described a checker game played with "checkers made of cottonwood blackened with pencil, and a board from chocolate boxes stuck together with adhesive tape."[17]
The group gradually worked its way over the pass between the snow-covered mountains toward the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. Here the volcanic eruption had laid waste to the land, the ground retained a grey color for miles. A crust of pumice, only a few inches thick in some places covered most of the area and broke through easily, allowing steam to rise into the air. Luckily none of the party fell through any of these thin spots. The explorers pressed onward until they overlooked the crater of Katmai itself, a huge basin filled with steaming and boiling lava, looking as though it could again spill out over the entire landscape. In the valley at the foot of Katmai the men pitched their tents and adopted the name Baked Mountain Camp for the site. The location caught the complete fury of the wind that blew in gales from every direction, its constant whipping on several occasions practically tore the tents to shreds .
Often the party used the steam from the fumaroles for cooking meals. With pots lowered into the openings in the ground the food cooked ready to eat in a matter of minutes. Emery once dried his laundry from the heat escaping but, as he discovered, the operation had its hazards. A towel hung too close was soon reduced to nothing.
Constant wind blew the vapor over the valley and even when the sun shone brightly an eerie haze existed across the grey dismal landscape. The expedition encountered more days of rain and stormy weather than sunshine but this did not hold up the work, and though not ideal for photography, Emery took advantage of every second the sun shone. He described the area nearby Mt. Katmai as "mounds of pumice which resemble those in Painted Desert, though these are higher."[18]
At one point the party crossed a river about sixty feet wide that contained a rapid resembling those in the Colorado. On the bank there were brilliant spots of color, not only mineral coloring of the rocks, but from the blue harebells and the arctic fireweed.
On 15 July three of the party brought news to camp that a moving picture outfit had landed in the valley, used the cabin by the shore and left it in a deplorable condition.[19] Griggs in a rage ordered the men to get clubs and head toward the shore and drive the intruders out. He would have carried out his threat if the hike had been shorter but while they stopped for a break Emery and two other men convinced him he had no authority to run anyone out of a national monument.[20] Griggs, still furious took Emery and a Mr. Helt on a day and night hike to a cannery across the Alaskan peninsula to send a telegram to Washington to obtain permission to run the newcomers away. After a two-day wait, Grosvenor replied advising him to use diplomacy rather than violence. [21] This answer met with the approval of all of the members of the expedition except the leader who at once turned the verdict to suit his fancy, saying that he had expected this as Washington had no interest for the photographs or motion pictures of the area. He then directed his anger toward various individuals in the group.
After Griggs received the telegram the party prepared to return to their base camp. Emery made a tour of the area and entered in his journal for 20 July:
. . . The day was beautiful so I made a detour around the native villiges for pictures. It was a pitiful sight to see the little children without place to sleep except crude shelters of canvas, some not larger than a dog house.
I kodak the native women preparing the salmon for drying. . . . the native village that has practically been destroyed by the flu. . . .
Traveling up the Katmai River on their return, Emery, Griggs and Helt came to Tom's Lake that Emery described as surrounded by spruce and said "were it not for mosquitoes one could not imagine a nicer spot. What a wonderful sight, these jumping salmon. Some large, some small, all with the same purpose in mind--to get up to spawn."[22] They speared one for their supper. He wrote Blanche that "mosquitoes were thick as raindrops."
As the days passed Griggs succeeded in alienating himself from everyone under his leadership. Emery repeatedly defended him against the criticism of other members of the party, although he too felt that Griggs' arrogance, pretense and sarcasm as well as his contemptible remarks were unbearable. Emery entered in his journal 21 July 1919:
It was while here working over the campfire that Griggs expounded himself with another of his pet remarks, "You damned fool." This was the second occurrence; the other being in company with Stone. This time it was Helt. In both cases it was placing me in extreme embarrassment to take the insult, for on neither occasion was there any excuse warranting such a remark, and if there had been any indiscreet action on my part, it was a personal matter if I singed my fingers in taking off a warm bucket lid and no "But in" of Griggs. It was here I came to definite conclusion that I had made a mistake in my constant upholding Griggs against similar complaints and grievances of most every man in the expedition, and though I was loath to let myself believe it, I knew that he was in the fault, that he had filled every avenue of respect which ordinarily would come to him from his men, with disrespect, not from a few but practically from the whole outfit of men. . . .
Due to the supposed shortage of funds, Griggs insisted Emery use 5,000 feet of movie film left at the site from a previous trip. The old out-of-date film had been poorly stored, not wrapped in black light-tight paper and some of it put in unsealed cans. He had to expose many of his best shots on this inferior material while Griggs held the new film in reserve for pictures of his family and inconsequential scenes that did not pertain to the expedition.
The exploration complete, the men loaded the equipment aboard the Nimrod preparatory to embarking for Kodiak. Griggs and several others gathered in the captain's cabin to make settlement for use of the vessel. When Griggs attempted to withhold part of the payment previously agreed upon, insisting the captain had overcharged for the use of the vessel and requested the ship's log book to check the time the Nimrod spent in actual service for the Geographic Society it astonished everyone. The captain offered the book without question. Mr. Folsom another member of the party, who had kept an accurate account of the time they used the ship took the log and worked out a comparison, finding that except for one instance no grounds for dispute existed. Griggs still contended the price too high and refused to pay what he termed, "such an exorbitant fee." The captain argued that they had agreed on price before they set sail and as the figures of the log book agreed with those of Folsom's he demanded he should be paid at once or he would telegraph Washington on the matter. Griggs snatched the log book off the table and started out of the room. The captain, the quicker of the two, reached the door first and planted himself firmly in front of it and in a loud voice commanded that he return the book to the table and pay in full before the boat reached Kodiak. Griggs opened his checkbook and paid the captain with no further comment.[23]
After the incidents of the past few months and especially after the attempt to shortchange the captain, Emery felt Griggs's actions did not vouch for his honesty and insisted on having a written contract signed before witnesses for his services. Griggs objected, still maintaining his word to be as good as his bond and that his oral agreement stood, but when Emery insisted, Griggs stated his wife would be "sufficient witness to any business that is to transpire between himself and any member of the expedition."
Emery determined to have three witnesses; called in Folsom, Julius Stone and Hagelberger and explained to them the original agreement that Griggs acknowledged as being correct. Mrs. Griggs stood by aghast, denouncing Emery as most inconsiderate after all her husband had done for him and his family. Turning toward Stone and the others she arrogantly expounded, "This man is most dishonorable. Had we been aware of what type of person he was he would never have been brought along on this expedition. He has no right to doubt the honesty of my husband and not trust in his word." Emery's replied that she was right in that he could no longer trust the man. Griggs made a special point of mentioning that Emery's action was certainly unbecoming, but that he [Griggs][24]being a gentleman would not mention it in the Valley.[25] After three hours of argument, Griggs put the agreement into writing and all present signed it. Emery received the full amount of his contract.
After the Kolbs returned to Grand Canyon in the fall of 1919 Emery received letters from various members of the expedition stating the feelings they had for Griggs and his wife. These, along with his own feelings, he included in a letter to Gilbert Grosvenor. They all agreed that some of the things Griggs did were entirely out of line. One instance he mentioned a Mr. Glissan whom Griggs referred to as "our guest," joined the party for three weeks. Glissan carried his bedroll and equipment and at times even helped with the chores of the expedition itself, cooking and usually washing the dishes for the camp. When he departed Griggs gave him a bill for $825 for the meals he ate during his stay when he could have obtained superior meals on the Nimrod for a dollar a day.[26]
Emery also related that Griggs traveled around the area visiting the huts of natives who had died of influenza, pillaging artifacts and curios, and later his wife held an exhibit of native work to collect funds, as she stated, "for the uplift of the girls." In Emery's presence she told the attendant not to sell anything to the tourists as they "were expected to donate to the cause." Mrs. Griggs actually had bought many of the objects for a pittance, far less than their actual value, and later stated that the natives gave them to her as a present. Both Griggs and his wife insisted the objects were not for themselves but for the university.[27] Emery wondered whether they bought them with university money, National Geographic money, or personal funds. He also questioned in his mind if two funds financed the expedition, the university and the National Geographic.
The seven-page letter Emery wrote to Grosvenor in April 1920 after the exploration contained one paragraph that summed up the entire situation clearly:
I believe that I am safe to say that under a capable leader this body of men would have accomplished greater results on one half the appropriation. The waste of time through lack of management was enormous.[28]
The matter also upset Julius Stone and numerous letters indicate his feelings toward Griggs and the way he conducted himself on the expedition. As a member of the board of the Ohio State University he sought to have Griggs released from his position at the university.
Business at the Grand Canyon increased with the cessation of war in Europe. The railroad ran more trains than before and the popularity of the automobile brought people over the gravel road from Williams. Ellsworth's two-year term at the studio ended in December 1919 and the next two years he lectured in the west with his Gunnison River program. He visited his parents in Pittsburgh, spent some time in Los Angeles, wandered in the Canyon, and on occasions showed up at the studio. Emery discontinued the tours in the East, for the lectures within the studio occupied his time with a good attendance at every showing, crowds filling the auditorium twice daily. Even the trail trips increased and the volume of photographs grew. Sales were high and his business good even with Harvey's mule corral blockade across the path.
[C]hapter 6
1 A letter dated 18 July 1918.
[2] Telegram to the Adjutant General of the Army 18 September 1918.
[3] Letter from the Department of Interior 29 September 1918.
[4] Franklin Knight Lane, Secretary of the Interior during the Wilson administration.
[5] From an undated manuscript entitled Mr. Kolb's Story.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Special military order 30 September 1918.
[9] Letter from Robert Griggs 8 January 1919.
[10] Letter from Robert Griggs 21 January 1919.
[11] Letter from Robert Griggs 8 January 1919.
[12] Emery's report to Gilbert Grosvenor undated.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Also mentioned in Journal under date of 26 May 1919
[15] Emery's journal entry 21 July 1919.
[16] Emery's report to Gilbert Grosvenor undated.
[17] Emery's journal entry 4 August 1919
[18] Emery's journal entry 31 July, 1919.
[19] Emery's journal entry 15 July 1919.
[20] Emery's journal entry 16 July 1919.
[21] Emery's journal entry 20 July 1919
[22] Emery's journal entry 24 July 1919.
[23] Letter to Gilbert Grosvenor April 1920.
[24] Emery's report to Gilbert Grosvenor undated.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Letter to Gilbert Grosvenor April 1920.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.