PART 7 JUNE 27-30 FLIGHT FROM THE CITY: VERMONT & OLSON REPLIES TO KENT'S LETTER

ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL

100 YEARS LATER

by Doug Capra © 2018-19

Part 7 – Flight from the City:

Vermont & Olson Replies to Kent’s Letter

June 27-30, 2019

ABOVE – Lars Matt Olson’s waterfront pass. Seward was the terminus of the new Government Railroad. During the Great War security measures were put in place along the Seward waterfront. By 1918, the date of this pass, the tracks did reach Anchorage and were progressing north toward Nenana and Fairbanks. Construction would be completed in 1923. Resurrection Bay Historical Society Collection.

A New Consecration -- The Hopes of an Unsaved World

"A cultured society that has fallen away from its religious traditions expects more from art than the aesthetic consciousness and the standpoint of art can deliver. The Romantic desire for a new mythology...gives the artist and his task in the world the consciousness of a new consecration. He is something like a 'secular saviour' for his creations are expected to achieve on a small scale the propitiation of disaster for which an unsaved world hopes."

     -- Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) in Truth and Method (1960)

Rockwell Kent writes a letter on Sept. 2, 1919 from Vermont to his friend in Alaska, Lars Matt Olson, in Alaska. It takes over two weeks to get to there, and Olson responds on Sept. 22^nd. To review Kent’s letter before reading Olson’s response, go to the pervious entry at this link.

Later I’m going to do a four or five-part series about Olson – about his life, his brief stay at Egypt in Arlington, Vermont, and his death not long after. It’s a wonder we have as much information as we do about this man – for trappers and miners of the Western frontier like Olson tend to fade and disappear into the landscape of history. We owe Rockwell Kent thanks for recording his stories and taking photographs of him. Tens of thousands of men like Lars Matt Olson came to Alaska in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. They sought gold, trapped, mined, engaged in longshoring or did any work necessary to survive. They had to be versatile. They build the Alaska Railroad, homesteaded, commercial fished, and worked the canneries. They left little evidence of their stay on this earth. We find groups of them – all unnamed -- in withered photographs taken in Circle City, Forty-Mile, Nome, Ruby, Skagway, Fairbanks, Seward, and Juneau. Their wooden grave markers – if they had one at all – have long disappeared.

In this entry I am going to include two entire letters from Olson, both written on Sept. 22, 1919 in response to Kent's Sept. 2, 1919 letter. His spelling is charmingly atrocious. If you take the effort to read this letter out loud, consciously trying to sound out the words as spelled, you’ll hear him talking. I’ve done two workshop productions of my play about Rockwell Kent titled And Now the World Again. Thank God for Olson – for Kent’s life desperately needs some comic relief – and Olson fits that role perfectly. (It also needs a good dose of authentic innocence, and the character of young Rockie handles that.) In both productions all I had to do was give the actor playing Olson a few copies of his letters – and the old Swede came to life.

ABOVE – Olson with an unidentified boy and one of his goats beside his Fox Island home. Photo from a private Kent family album.

Below, I’m going to word process these two letters Olson wrote to Kent, spelled and punctuated exactly as the old Swede wrote. Below each section I will translate that section into readable English with some explanation as needed. At the end I'll reproduce the first page of the longer Sept. 22nd letter so you can see Olson's handwriting.

Fox Island September 22th 1919

Dear Rockwell Kint.

{Page 1}

Your litter of 2th September at and i vas up to Seward yesterday to get the meall an i svant a lot of stof to you, So now i vel strart in with bot i du not know van at vill get to the post offis. you no how the Weather is hear in the fall and Winter time bot you canbyshure to Hear from me van Ever i heav a thians to right. i take your bading and Coking uteansels to mi Cabben in Seward and I am going to Kill the foxis of and take the goats to Seward. this as the arangmint now. and ef i Cant find ut ane ting aboth the titel to the land. i vel taer Down the Bellding and seave the lumber thet ar god. and Burn up the rest and I am going to meak one more stabb att alaska and et vell be next Winter. you talk about the oilpanting I did not send et to you I sent it to your vife or

Dear Rockwell Kent:

         Your letter of 2^nd September at {came/arrived} and I was up to Seward yesterday to the meal {fox food} and I sent a lot of stuff to you. So now I will start in with {begin this letter} but I do not know when it {this letter} get to the post office. {He’s back on Fox Island writing this letter} You know how the weather is here in the fall and winter time, but you can be sure to hear from me whenever I have a chance to write. I take your bedding and cooking utensils to my cabin in Seward and I am going to kill the foxes off and take the goats to Seward. This is the arrangement now. And if I can’t find out anything about the title to the land, I will take down the building and save the lumber that is good and burn up the rest and I am going to make one more stab at Alaska and it will be next winter. You talk about the oil painting. I did not send it to you. I sent it to your wife or

N2 {Page 2}

mrs. Rockvell Kint. mr. Kint you Can meak an other to sutt your self. both you ar not abeal to meak one lik at. nor anny artest in the Hall World. probly you hev not studed et to the full exstant. i se in your litter you ar geting to parform on the stage. if i head being ther i vold giv you the mallimut. i se in your litter you ar yousing your albowgrees on the Heard Wod. i know et s tuffer then alaska sprus. bot i kno you vell get over et. i vis i ad being bake of the Curtin van you Head the litty flask and i regards to me Coming to Vermont I know ve get meapellshurger from ther, bot noting mor. and the time vel tel. and in regard tu the Boke you ar getting up I am sory ve thed not talk mor abuth that racket. both i suspos et vel be adision to et. Can you read the littlers ven i Wreth ved leadpinsil.

Mrs. Rockwell King. Mr. Kent, you can make another to suit yourself, but you are not able to make one like, that nor any artist in the whole world {can make one like that}. Probably you have not studied it to the full extent. I see in your letter you are getting to perform on the stage. If I had been there I would give you a malamute {an Alaska sled dog}. I see in your letter you are using your elbow-grease on the hard wood. I know it is tougher than Alaska spruce, but I know you will get over it. I wish I had been back of the curtain when you had the little flask and in regards to me coming to Vermont, I know we get maple sugar from there, but nothing more. And the time will tell {whether he will come to Vermont}. And in regard to the book you are getting up I am sorry we did not talk more about that racket. But I suppose it will be an addition to it. {Olson may be regretting that he had not told Kent more stories about his life to add to the book}. Can you read the letters when I write in lead pencil?

BELOW – This photo was probably taken in 1916 when the Pioneers of Alaska met in Seward. Olson is standing at far right with other old timers considered among the oldest pioneers in the territory. Capra collection.

N3 {Page 3}

ther es a gasbot leaing at ancor in the Bay to night. and I am going to tri to get this letter of on that both. i am tierd of alaska and the pepell in et. alaska lucks vary Bead to me know. both mr. Kint you heave a big family to luck efter, and then take an other wertles in to yor family you most tank at over terly. both the time vel tell. wath du that Egypt men ther that includes in you adres i heav being  riting to you in the last few litters and asking you for many informasin and other tings so I comins to tanke I am lots of trubbl to you. both you most coseder i am allon on thes Island now. and you spoilt me by staing here so a short time val i exspackt at es som mor letters on the road. mi best regard to all. end espasly to the Chillden the ar the only ones vi ar Working for

        L.M. Olson  Fox Island

There is a gas boat leaing at anchor in the bay tonight. {The boat is anchored on the leeward side of Fox Island, protecting itself from a southeast wind} and I am going to try to get this letter off on that boat. I am tired of Alaska and the people in it. Alaska luck is very bad to me now. {The attack on Rockie in the Seward Gateway probably upset Olson and he was in poor health. About this time he had a stroke} But Mr. Kent, you have a big family to look after, and then take another worthless in to your family, you must think over entirely. But the time will tell. What does that Egypt mean there that you include in your address I have been writing to you in the last few letters and asking you for information and other things? So I am coming to think I am lots of trouble to you. But you must consider, I am alone on this island now, and you spoiled me by staying here so short a time – well, I expect there are more letters on the road {on the way}. My best regards to all. And especially the children. They are the only ones we are working for.

         L.M. Olson  Fox Island

ABOVE – Bear Glacier as it appeared about the time Kent was on Fox Island. This is from a photo post card taken by John E. Thwaites, a mail clerk on the small steamer Dora and a professional photographer. Kent befriended him in Seward, and it was Thwaites who probably suggested Fox Island as a place to settle. Kent used some of Thwaites’s post card photos for his paintings. Capra collection. BELOW – Bear Glacier as it appeared several years ago. It has retreated considerably since this photo was taken. You can see that the deep lake behind the beach moraine is filled with large icebergs. When Kent was in Alaska, there was no lake, and the glacier was sitting on the beach close to the water. National Park Service photo.

Fox Island September 26^th 1919

Dear Mr. Kint

i se in your vifs letter you Hear talking a great deal about me pleas dunt get her and other people exited. you kno i am noting both an old brokendown Frunters Man. ef et should apen that i shuld Com Est the vould be vary beadly thesapointed. and i am not fit for susiates. tell your boy rocky the skullmam in Seward you ad truble vith. vear askt to reasian. and se left de Contry and i tank the aditor of the peapir vil {sti_v?} out this Winter.

                           L, M, Olson

Fox Island, September 26^th 1919

Dear Mr. Kent:

         I see your wife’s letter you have {been} talking a great deal about me. Please don’t get her and other people excited. You know I am nothing but an old broken-down Frontiersman. If it should happen that I should come east, they would be very badly disappointed. And I am not fit for society. Tell your boy, Rockie, the schoolmarm {The teacher that confronted Kent in the Seward Gateway}in Seward you had trouble with – were {was} asked to resign and she left the country {the territory of Alaska}. And I think the editor of the paper will st_v {start?}out this winter.

BELOW – Rockie is standing in this photo taken about 1921 at “Egypt.” His mother, Kathleen, is holding brother Gordon, and his sister, Barbara, is at left. Photo from a private Kent family album.

Notice in one letter that Olson is confused when he sees "Egypt" on Kent’s letterhead – the name the artist has given to his Arlington, Vermont home. He asks Kent for an explanation. I find none of Kent’s letters to Olson attempting elucidation – although I don’t think all those letters have survived. Perhaps he gave an answer to Olson when he arrived in Vermont. In Rockwell Kent’s “Egypt” Shadow and Light in Vermont (2012), Jamie Franklin writes: Kent’s Arlington property had not received the nickname “Egypt” in allusion to the exile and enslavement of the Israelites in a foreign land. Rather, the name was based upon an earlier biblical tale of miraculous life-saving bounty. Local lore claims that long before Kent arrived in Arlington the farm he purchased, which is situated in a protected hollow high on the slopes of Red Mountain, was miraculously spared from an early frost that destroyed crops in the surrounding region. Subsequently, the harvest from this area was shared with others in the community, sparing them from famine. The story echoed the biblical tale of Joseph and his brothers in the book of Genesis. After having been sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph rises to gain great power in Egypt – second in command only to the Pharaoh. Inspired by a dream, Joseph begins building up large stores of grain. When a drought hits the region, his brothers come to Egypt to buy food, not knowing their fate lies in the hands of the brother they had sold into slavery. In his mercy, Joseph eventually embraces his brothers and saves them and his entire extended family from starvation.

It may also be true that Kent did see his flight from the New York City herd and world conventions as an Exodus with a connection to the prophet Moses. In the letter he wrote to Kathleen from Fox Island to be read by her on New Year’s Eve 1918 – their 10^th anniversary, he wrote: And so it isn’t far dear heart, it is my plan to go away with you for a few weeks in the early summer walking into New Hampshire or in some of the milder parts of New England to look for the framework of such a place as I have pictured. Let’s avoid the city. I can be so content away from the crowd, away from all the vulgar lot that have always persecuted me. Then I shall work and become a prophet over all the land and you shall be my help mate and the children shall grow up with pure and loftier ideals than they can ever know in contact with the masses.

Kent identifying himself as a prophet most likely comes from his reading on Fox Island of both the biography and poetry of William Blake. As poet and Blake authority, Kathleen Raine, wrote in the essay “What Kind of Christian was Blake” (Temenos Academy Review 17 (2014) pp. 9-13.) We see him {Blake} – as he saw himself – as a prophet; the one prophet of the English nation, the prophet of his and our city of London. Some perhaps think of prophets as belonging to the primitive past, with the shaman and the witch-doctor. Blake did not: he spoke as the prophet of a new age, of the modern world to which we ourselves belong. He knew that he was speaking to a future generation, to whom his words, unheeded and barely understood by his contemporaries, would carry the truth he saw…

ABOVE - Title page of America a Prophecy, Copy A (printed 1795) Collection of the Morgan Library. Image fromWikipedia.

Kent does more than play with the image of himself as the prophet of a new age. In the March 4, 1919 letter to Kathleen that gives a detailed description of the what would become his “Egypt,” Kent makes clear he’s not only escaping the city but also the world’s post-war descent into mediocrity. He begins his world’s new age at his current age of 36. He writes: I think that now with the ‘allied victory, which is an american victory, mankind is betrayed into such a slough of mediocrity as must stifle all the finer flowers of genius. I simply want to flee from it as from a hateful dangerous thing. I want our home to be a kingdom situated in space in the year of the lord 36. Amen.

In the second letter, Olson indicates that the teacher, Mary Baen Wright, who initiated the controversial Seward Gateway letter exchange in late March, has been asked to resign. The Gateway’s editor – who had written the late May editorial about the Literary Review article about Kent’s Alaska art – is also leaving, according to Olson. This indicates to me that the town as a whole didn’t tolerate the kind of personal attack the teacher made public using a nine-year-old as a pawn. As Kent suggested in his final letter to the Seward Gateway, the war was over and it was time to heal. During Kent’s last few months in Alaska earlier acquaintances had turned into friends. If he had decided to return to Seward, much of his way would have been paid. Although Kent respected the town’s pioneers, he saw how Seward was changing with the coming of the railroad. The newcomers were already gaining power and soon the old timers would be outnumbered. As Olson says, he was getting tired of Alaska and its people. His generation of pioneers would soon be gone. Kent has experienced the real wild in Resurrection Bay, but he could carry the wilderness spirt with him wherever he wanted, and other adventures beckoned.

BELOW -- The first page of the longer of the two letters from Olson quoted above. From the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute.

NEXT ENTRY

KENT’S CORRESPONDENCE WITH

COMPOSER CARL RUGGLES WHILE IN VERMONT

AND

FINISHING THE ALASKA PAINTINGS