Trial by Fire: Josephine Clifford McCrackin Survives Personal Disaster in New Mexico Territory and California to Become "The Savior of the Sequoias"
A failed marriage and a wildfire led to the creation in 1902 of Big Basin Redwoods, California's oldest state park. Big Basin contains the largest continuous stand of coast redwoods south of San Francisco, featuring trees hundreds of feet tall and well over a thousand years old. The park would likely not exist in its present form if author, journalist, and conservationist Josephine Clifford McCrackin had not twice run for her life—first from an abusive and controlling husband in 1867, then from the ferocious wildfire that destroyed her California home in 1899.
The Big Basin redwoods appear on an 1881 map from Readex's U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994, detailed below. The orange coloration east of the green band designates a region from which the redwoods had already been logged.
Josephine Clifford McCrackin was born into Prussian nobility as Josephine von Ende Woempner in 1838. Her father fought under the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. When Josephine was seven, her family emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in St. Louis, Missouri where her father died in 1854. She was educated there in private German and Catholic schools.
During the U.S. Civil War, she married Lieutenant James A. Clifford, a Union cavalry officer. Following the war, she accompanied her husband when he was posted to Fort Bayard, a frontier outpost in New Mexico Territory. Readex's American Indian Wars, 1830-1898 contains personal and official correspondence detailing how their lives became unmanageable.
Fort Bayard appears right-of-center in the upper quarter of the map below. El Paso, Texas, is shown in the lower right margin while Tucson, Arizona is at the middle-left margin. Fort Bayard was created in 1866 to protect settlers from the Apache Indians. It was manned largely by African-American "Buffalo Soldiers." When Lieut. Clifford and his wife arrived, there were barely any formal structures at all; conditions were primitive, and Josephine was the only officer's wife present.
James A. Clifford's military career was highly creditable in some respects but in others he was shown to be manipulative, imperious, and mentally unstable. During a vulnerable moment, he revealed to his wife that earlier in his life he had changed his name to escape justice after murdering a man in Texas. His guilt and anxiety led him alternately to entreat Josephine to advocate on his behalf, then to terrorize her lest she betray his secrets. Lieut. Clifford physically and psychologically brutalized his wife and took advantage of her isolation and austere circumstances.
In the letter below written on March 2, 1867, Josephine pleads his case to General W.S. Hancock who commanded the Department of the Missouri which included the Military District of New Mexico. Her husband's offense in this instance involved the purported theft of a hat from the Quartermaster's storehouse.
My husband, who unfortunately is very high tempered, on being told by the Quarter Master that one of his men had stolen a hat out of the Military Store Room, answered that his men did not steal hats, that if he wished to accuse any body of taking that hat, he must accuse him, as he had received the hat from the Military Store Keeper—and out of this grew the first difficulty. The trial was closed on the 22nd of August, and from Fort Union we proceeded with our own Regiment and Company, to its destination, Fort Bayard, near the Pinos Altos gold mines and Santa Rita Copper Mines. As you are well aware, Fort Bayard is merely a Camp, and though it appeared to be a favorite spot of Genl. [James H.] Carlton's, there was very little, or nothing done for its improvement, the Captain of our company was not with us then, the 1st Lieutenant dissipated and incompetent, the Quarter Master an inexperienced volunteer, so that what little might have been done for the comfort of both officers and men, was neglected.
In fact, at this point in his career the "high tempered" Lieut. Clifford was almost continually under arrest awaiting court martial for offenses large and small against military discipline. This was neither his first nor his last involvement in such difficulties.
In his early correspondence at Fort Bayard, he comes off comparatively well. For example, here's a February 17, 1867, letter from Clifford to Lieut. Colonels Alexander Duncan and Edward Cressy, the former commanding both Fort Bayard and the 125th Colored Infantry.
While confined to the post and relieved of his formal duties, Clifford had constructed a small cabin to improve upon the quarters then available to them. He claimed that while he and his wife were officially away from the post pursuing a remission of charges pending against him, the Post Commander appropriated their building to his own use. Clifford's grievance is plausible, and his language is moderate although he exaggerates his concern for his wife as a means to enlist support for his claims.
Gentlemen,
As I have reported present at this post, and by virtue of my commission in the service, as well as my private right to quarters, which I with my own hands have built and constructed, and since you gentlemen, feel disposed to take advantage of what no doubt you think a serious military offence on my part, and having taken possession of said quarters and ejected my private property, as well as my wife's personal effects from said premises, unlawfully and without right or privilege in your part, to the personal discomfort of myself and wife, I feel constrained to say, that this seems to me an act unworthy of Gentlemen and Officers. No matter what offence I may have committed in a military sense of view, I am responsible, but a Gentleman an officer or a soldier, would not take advantage of the situation in which I am placed, while a wife, for whose personal comfort and health, I shall strive to the utmost, is dependent on me for what little of comfort can be obtained in this wild country.
Now Gentlemen, as a matter of justice, I feel it my duty to appeal to you on this point before taking further steps.
Very Respectfully Gentlemen,
Your Obdt. Servt.,
James A. Clifford
Lieut. U.S. 3d Cavy.
Contrast the above with Lieut. Clifford's letter of May 3, 1867, to General Hancock. He wrote another such letter on May 6, and a third on May 11, all beseeching that officer for a personal audience and/or retirement from public service. We'll elaborate on the context of Clifford's assertions in a moment.
Genl,
Will you listen to an appeal from one whose injuries and manifold abuses, cannot at present be related. Here Sir is General Carleton the late District Commander, a man of Family and my personal persecutor. His last act deprives me of all happiness for life, he has seduced my wife, and is now leading her away to a life of infamy. General Carleton has held me in arrest without any cause for over 9 months, three of which he has kept me in close confinement, all this to accomplish his hellish design, which is now too true. Oh General will you only order me in your presence, and let me state my heart rending grievances to you, Sir. Then you will be satisfied of the injury and persecutions done me.
What General Carleton had actually done for Josephine in April 1867, far from "leading her away to a life of infamy," was to launch her on a trip of salvation back to Saint Louis and thence to California to join family there. She would finally be relieved from the exactions of her abusive husband, whom she divorced in 1869. Throughout her ordeal, she found sympathy and support among the enlisted men and officers, but the latter were reluctant to intervene in what were regarded as private, domestic matters. The fact that General Carleton assisted Josephine in her flight from her husband while retaining the latter under arrest speaks volumes for how intolerable her situation had become.
For his part, Lieut. Clifford was evaluated by an Army surgeon (the term used for all military doctors at the time) for competence to stand trial and as a condition for medical leave. In truth, he had received a head injury during the Civil War that may have played a role in his mental unrest. But in July 1867, the examining physician judged Clifford fit both for trial and for continued service. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in May 1867, then discharged from service the following year when his indiscretions became too egregious for the military to overlook.
Sir,
In compliance with instructions received thro' the Head Quarters of the District of New Mexico I have the honor to submit the following report in the case of Lieut. James A. Clifford, 3d US Cavalry.
After a careful examination and close watch had for some weeks, I am of the opinion that Lt. Clifford is at present of sound mind, except so far as his wife is concerned; on this subject he certainly labors under delusions, but I believe even on this subject he should be held responsible for his actions, as from all I can ascertain he has the power in a great degree of controlling them.
In California, Josephine began to rebuild her life and support herself. In San Francisco, she became an editorial assistant to Bret Harte, the well-known writer who was editing the newly-formed Overland Monthly magazine. Harte encouraged her to contribute to the magazine, and in December 1869 she published her first essay there, "Down Among the Dead Letters," relating to her former employment in the Dead Letter Office of the United States Postal Service. Readex has this essay as reprinted in the Jamestown Journal [Jamestown, NY] of January 21, 1870. The first column is given below.
Strangers visiting Washington and admiring the style and architecture of the General Post-Office building, would never know that there are a number of ladies seated behind the plate-glass of the second story windows. Indeed, few people residing in the Capital are really aware in what part of the building those female clerks are stowed away. I had passed on every side of the building—morning, noon and night—but had never seen anybody that looked like a "female clerk," till I found myself of their number one morning; and then I discovered the right entrance to the Dead Letter Office. It is on F street, so close to the Ladies' Delivery that any person entering here would be supposed to be inquiring for a letter at that delivery. There is another entrance on E street, but it is not much patronized by the ladies until after fifteen minutes past nine o'clock, for punctually at that time the door-keeper is instructed to lock the ladies' door on F street, and those who are tardy are compelled to go up the gentlemen's staircase or pass in at the large public entrance on E street. Crowds of visitors walk through the building, day after day, but not one of all the ladies employed here do they see, unless they request to be shown the rooms of the female employees.
In this Department, working hours are from nine o'clock in the morning till three o'clock in the afternoon. Ladies are not allowed to leave the office for lunch, nor do they waste much time in discussing the lunch they have brought, as it is only in consideration of their industry and close application that they are allowed to leave the office at three o'clock instead of four.
This Dead Letter Office is one of the most complicated pieces of machinery in the "Ship of State." I will try to explain and elucidate as much of it as came under my observation. Letters left "uncalled for" at the different post offices throughout the country are sent to the Dead Letter Office, after a certain length of time. Letters not prepaid, or short-paid, through neglect or ignorance of the writer, also find their way here; and so do foreign letters, from all parts of Europe, which have been prepaid only in part, and therefore come here, instead of reaching their destination. Sometimes mails are robbed and the mail-bags hidden or thrown away, but are afterwards searched for, and the remaining contents brought to this office. Then again, a vessel at sea, homeward bound, brings letters from ships meeting it, of sailors and passengers, who send their letters in firm faith that they will reach their anxious friends at home;
She followed this remembrance with others from her colorful, dramatic life, and soon her work was appearing in popular periodicals and newspapers from coast to coast. She counted literary luminaries such as Ambrose Bierce, Jack London, and Mark Twain as personal friends. She described sending Frederick Remington stories that informed his Western art. Her three books, Overland Tales (1877), "Another Juanita" and Other Stories (1893), and "The Woman Who Lost Him" and Tales of the Army Frontier (1913) are largely compilations of previously published essays. The title essay of the third book directly references Josephine's flight from James Clifford, as do elements of numerous other essays and especially the forty-four-page biography by George Wharton James that also appears in that book.
One interesting detail bears mention as it does not figure in any of her printed or online biographies. A notice appeared in several California newspapers of the marriage in San Francisco on September 25, 1871, of "Mrs. Josephine Clifford" of Alameda to "Edward W. Steele" of San Luis Obispo. Officiating was Rev. Ebenezer Steele Peake, an Episcopal clergyman of some note who had served a mission with the Ojibwa Indians and become Chaplain with the 28th Wisconsin Infantry during the U.S. Civil War. However, a competing marriage notice appeared in the Oakland Daily Transcript of September 27, 1871, to the effect of "Miss" Josephine Clifford marrying Edgar W. Steele, all other details essentially the same. Any 1871 marriage would open an as yet unknown chapter in the life of Josephine Clifford McCrackin.
This writer has not been able to identify "Edward W. Steele" in this context, but notes that Edgar Willis Steele (1830-1896) came to California in 1856 and visited San Luis Obispo in 1864. By 1866 he had developed sizable holdings there in the dairy industry. He married Julia Prudence Stanley of Ohio in 1866, but his wife died on June 17, 1867, in San Francisco. His next marriage is recorded as being to Emma Elizabeth Smith (1840-1908) of New York on June 24, 1876. Ms. Smith taught at Santa Barbara College until her marriage. The Steeles resided in San Luis Obispo and were a very prominent family there. The above information is taken from The History of San Luis Obispo County, California [Oakland, Cal.: Thompson & West, 1883.] and cross-referenced in several genealogy databases.
In the Santa Barbara Press of October 7, 1871, the marriage notice for "Edward" is given with separate narrative congratulations running in a column on the same page. Both items are reproduced below, along with the competing notice for "Edgar." An abbreviated narrative notice for "Edward" appeared in the San Luis Obispo Tribune of October 7, 1871, and the short marriage notice appeared in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin for September 26, 1871. "Tropical California" is the title of one of Josephine's essays that appeared in Overland Monthly Issue 7 No. 4, October 1871.
It's hard to escape the conclusion that Josephine married into the Steele family in 1871, but no further records have come to light confirming that relationship. One could speculate that Josephine was unable or unwilling to provide Edgar with an heir, as his nominally second wife did with the birth of Edgar W. Steele, Jr. in 1878. Perhaps the marriage was annulled on that basis. So far as is known, Josephine never had any children. Alternatively, as a devout Catholic it's possible that she was conflicted as to the sanctity of a second marriage following her divorce. After James A. Clifford died in 1874, she married Jackson McCrackin, her (nominally) second husband, in 1882.
"TROPICAL CALIFORNIA."—Mrs. Josephine Clifford's admiration for "tropical California"—as expressed in the Overland Monthly (especially that portion of it which is embraced within the limits of San Luis Obispo county,) has assumed a practical illustration. She has fallen in love with a portion of it and, with its incumbrance, in the shape of a stalwart man, true as Steel can be, has taken her departure for southern climes to dwell in the tents of her chosen people. Though sorry to lose her pleasant company, we console ourself with the reflection that "our loss is her gain," and so, marking our past acquaintance as a bright spot in our life, we march on to make new friends and meet new faces. "Peace be within thy walls," fair friend, and "plenteousness within" the borders of thy rancho. Alameda Encinal.
So, then, Josephine Clifford Steeles a march on us and becomes our neighbor. All who had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Clifford while here will agree with us that she is a lady of great personal magnetism, a rare example of health, strength and development, mental and physical, and it will therefore appear the most natural thing in the world that polished Steele should be overcome by her magnetism and be drawn to her embrace. Whatsoever has once been under the influence of the magnet is said never to lose the effect of it, and thus doubtless, this happy and fortunate gentleman will always remain under the spell which this superb woman has wrought upon him. We offer them our hearty congratulations, and wish them a joyous prosperity. See marriage notice in another column.
From the Santa Barbara Press:
MARRIED.
In San Francisco, September 25th, by Rev. E.S. Peake, Edward W. Steele, of San Luis Obispo, to Mrs. Josephine Clifford, of Alameda.
From the Oakland Daily Transcript:
MARRIED.
In San Francisco, Sept. 25th, by Rev. E.S. Peak, Edgar W. Steele, of San Luis Obispo, and Miss Josephine Clifford of Alameda.
We've mentioned that even in her three books, Josephine's literary roots lay in journalism; the content of those books was short-form, narrative, loosely autobiographical, and frequently had been published elsewhere. With the proceeds of her writing, she purchased twenty-six acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1880 and built a house and outbuildings on Loma Prieta Avenue styled "Monte Paraiso" (Mount Paradise). Here she lived with her husband, Jackson McCrackin, who had made his fortune gold mining in Arizona. A literary society developed in the area, and the couple lived there happily until October 1899, when a wildfire swept through the mountains and destroyed Monte Paraiso and much else besides including a stand of redwoods on the property. For a second time, Josephine lost everything and had to flee for her life.
A local artist, Andrew P. Hill, had been hired to photograph the destruction for Wide World Magazine, an illustrated British monthly; there was a remarkable occurrence in which unbottled wine was used to put out the structure fires at a local vineyard. In the process of taking pictures, Hill encountered a local lumberman and landowner who rebuffed his concern for the remaining redwoods. Hill shared that experience with Josephine, who wrote the following editorial in the Santa Cruz Sentinel of March 7, 1900. This copy comes to us from a retrospective article Josephine wrote for the San Jose Mercury Herald of July 19, 1918.
Save the Trees
Editor Sentinel. One day last week A.P. Hill of San Jose stopped at the Big Trees on his way to Santa Cruz to take photographs of some of the celebrated redwoods comprising this ground. He was refused permission by Mr. Welch, though Mr. Hill explained that the views he was taking were for an English publication, and that it could be in no way detrimental to the interest and advantage of California, and especially this portion of it, to have the pictures of these mammoth trees known to the world at large. But with persistent discourtesy Mr. Hill was prevented from taking the views.
I am not acquainted with Mr. Welch, but I think we all agree with Mr. Hill when he asks that the course this gentleman takes is utterly un-American, and I add that it is un-Californian. And while I raise my feeble voice to protest against the selfishness that would debar others from looking at and enjoying one of God's greatest works, merely because to this one man fell the piece of earth on which stands these trees, I beseech the people of this county and our neighbor counties, indeed the people of all our state, to unite their voice with mine and make it loud enough, and strong enough to reach our legislators and lawmakers, so that they may secure to the ownership of the public another one of those wonderful redwood groves that are the admiration, the envy of the whole civilized world.
It may be said in defense of Mr. Welch's action that a man should have the right to do as he chooses with his own. True; and for that very reason let us take steps at once to secure this piece of land to the state, for, from the disposition Mr. Welch has shown I should judge him capable of cutting down those trees for firewood or to make fence rails of, if he could get enough money for them.
I beg of you Mr. Editor, that you lend your aid in making an appeal to the public, as Mr. Hill has already appealed to some of the public-spirited men of San Jose, to lay the matter before our legislators, for the people of Santa Clara valley are as much interested in preserving this collection of monster trees as are the people of Santa Cruz county, and, indeed, the people of the entire state of California. An Old Californian. JOSEPHINE CLIFFORD MCCRACKIN.
Through her work as a journalist, Josephine had developed a network of influential people, and she had learned how to get things done socially and politically. She now pulled out all the stops, and with like-minded individuals formed the Sempervirens Club, named for the Latin designation of a species of redwood tree. They enlisted the support of scientists, artists, and numerous state organizations. A trip was organized in May 1900 to view the trees.
The Sempervirens Club
The visiting party in the Big Basin last week held an enthusiastic meeting the night before breaking camp and formed an organization to be known as the Sempervirens Club. The object of the Club is to work for the preservation of the Big Basin and adjacent region as a public park. After viewing and exploring in every direction for several days the members of the parties were so impressed with the beauties of the country and the necessity for the preservation of the remaining sequoias that they felt no time and place could be more appropriate to organize for the effort than right in the heart of the Basin itself, there and then. Upon being called to order J.F. Coope of Santa Cruz named Charles W. Reed of San Francisco President. Mr. Reed was elected by acclamation. The following well-known ladies and gentlemen were elected Vice Presidents of the Club: J.F. Coope of Santa Cruz, Mrs. Stephen A. Jones of San Jose, Ex-Lieutenant Governor Jeter of Santa Cruz, Mayor James D. Phelan of San Francisco, John E. Richards of San Jose and Mrs. Josephine Clifford McCrackin of Wrights.
With the support of such persons as the Mayor of San Francisco and a former Lieutenant Governor of California, the Sempervirens Club gained a great deal of attention and had a lot of clout. When funds were needed, they were forthcoming. When the cause needed a legislative boost, it was there. John Muir and the newly-founded Sierra Club (1892) joined the fight. Phoebe Hearst (a philanthropist and William Randolph Hearst's mother) supported the club. The president of Santa Clara College, Rev. R.E. Kenna, gave a speech on the senate floor at Sacramento. A bill was drafted for California to purchase the Big Basin redwood grove for $250,000. After vigorous lobbying from Sempervirens Club members, the bill passed in 1902. Today Big Basin Redwoods State Park preserves over 18,000 acres.
Following this signal triumph, Josephine did not retreat from the cause of conservation. No sooner had Big Basin Redwood Park come into being than she founded the Ladies' Forest and Songbird Protection Association. Her goal was to end the slaughter of birds by fruit growers and the makers of ornamental hats featuring feathers. She also founded the first Audubon Society in California. In March 1909 she was in Coronado, California, spreading the message of conservation.
The man who makes such a fuss over his quart of cherries should be held by law to use all legitimate means of protecting himself without injuring his neighbors' best interests, even if he himself is willing to have his own plantations destroyed by insect pests after he has killed off the birds. That our orchards are being destroyed by insect pests is an established fact; that spraying against codlin moth, black scale, red spider, canker worm and a thousand other worms and insects is doing as much to injure and decimate both trees and fruits as the ten thousands of birds that are slaughtered could have done, is also a fact that few, I think, can dispute.
In Southern California they have long since learned that the song bird is not only the best help in field and orchard, but that the song bird is so attractive to newcomers that they choose their homes where birds abound and are protected.
That article incidentally noted that Josephine had become the "Oldest woman newspaper worker in California." This was in 1909; by 1917 that honorific was extended to include the entire United States. In proof of the point, the article below was written by Josephine herself, in the San Jose Mercury News. She was then seventy-nine years old.
Josephine Clifford McCrackin died in 1920 at the age of eighty-three. The death notice that appeared in the Salt Lake Telegram, below, was succinct to say the least.
SANTA CRUZ, Cal., Dec. 22.—Mrs. Josephine Clifford-McCrackin, 83 years old, a literary associate of Bret Harte and others, died here yesterday. She was a well known contributor to the Overland Monthly in early days and was instrumental in the purchase of California Redwood park by the state.
A more heartfelt tribute to the "savior of the sequoias" can be found in a poem written by her friend, Herman Scheffauer.
SAVIOR OF THE SEQUOIAS
The Titans of the forest, to the east winds sprung forth from the sea,
Give then, O worthy 'mongst women, their thanks and their greetings for thee!
When, under their ancient, overarching arms, your feet shall bestir the grass,
Bright dews from their boughs shall be shaken on your reverent head as you pass.
From their roots, clutching deep in the earth, to each patriarch's head in the skies,
The race of these giants had vanished, as the race of mortals dies;
Coeval with Earth and defying Time, they had perished by the blade,
If never your pitying heart and hand the hand of the vandal had stayed.
Therefore, in the forest silences, in the tongue of the noblest trees,
A name is whispered with love to the winds in their twilight symphonies.
They that are older than Egypt or Ind and shall outlive the Ultimate Man—
The deathless sequoias immortal shall hold that name like the spirit of Pan.
'Tis for this that the bearded Titans to the east wind have sprung forth from the sea,
Give them, O worthy 'mongst women, their thanks and their greetings for thee!
by Josephine Clifford McCrackin [Pasadena, CA: George Wharton James, 1913.]
