Harry C. James Papers, 1938-1978

Overview of the Collection

Creator
James, Harry Clebourne, 1896-
Title
Harry C. James Papers
Dates
1938-1978
Quantity
2 linear feet
Collection Number
Collection 2073, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The Harry C. James Papers consist of the James manuscript in three different stages of completion; research correspondence between James and the various sources he contacted for the biography, as well as positive photocopies of primary sources from various institutions indexed by James; other research copies; photographs copied from originals held by original sources.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Harry Clebourne James (1896-1978) was a Canadian native who settled in Los Angeles, California in 1913. He became a writer and educator, opening his own private school for boys called the Trailfinders which stressed outdoors activities. James became friends with James Willard Schultz sometime in the 1920s and, following Schultz's death, continued his contacts with Schultz's wife, Jessica Donaldson Schultz. After he had written several books on American Indians, James attempted to write a definitive biography of Schultz in the 1970s. Collaborating with Jessica, James began gathering material from Harvard University, Montana State University, and many other sources for the work. His failing eyesight slowed his progress in 1977, and James died before completing the book. Warren Leonard Hanna eventually published a biography of Schultz based in part on the James manuscript in 1986 with the University of Oklahoma Press.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers consist primarily of the James manuscript in three different stages of completion; research correspondence between James and the various sources he contacted for the biography including Jessica Donaldson Schultz, David Andrews, and other Schultz researchers; positive photocopies of primary sources from various institutions indexed by James; other research copies; photographs copied from originals held by others of Schultz, his family, and Blackfeet Indians.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Series 1 Schultz biography manuscript drafts

Series 2 James research correspondence, 1938-1978

Series 3 James research collection

Series 4 Photographs

Acquisition Information

Research papers, manuscript drafts, and correspondence created or collected by Harry C. James were donated to Special Collections by his widow, Grace C. James, in September 1978.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 March 17

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1:  Schultz biography manuscript draftsReturn to Top

Unfinished manuscript drafts written by Harry C. James, in multiple versions with corrections by James and others. James does not appear to have written the biography in precise chronological order, choosing instead to work and revise on sections independent of one another. Since the author died before completing the work the final organization can only be surmised. The chapters in folders 1-25 are unnumbered pages that appear to be the final draft of the biography. The papers have been divided by the individual batches that James had paper clipped together. The chapters in folders 26-32 appear to be an earlier draft of the work with the pages sequentially numbered in pencil. This draft contains corrected photocopies. The chapters in folders 33-46 are unsorted worksheets and earlier versions of the biography that have numerous revisions and corrections. Folder 47 contains notes pertaining to James's preliminary plan for the organization of the biography, and folder 48 two essays on Schultz written by James not intended for the biography.

Container(s) Description
Box/Folder
1/1-25
Final draft manuscript
1/26-32
Secondary draft manuscript
1/33-46
Early unsorted drafts
1/47-48
Other James manuscripts

Series 2:  James research correspondence, 1938-1978Return to Top

Letters written by or to Harry C. James while conducting research for his biography of James Willard Schultz. Some letters have attachments. The letters in folders 1-29, along with carbons of James's query or reply, have been arranged in alphabetical order by the person or organization James was writing to, with extensive exchanges like those with Jessica Donaldson Schultz, being allocated their own folders. The letters in folders 30-35 were gathered by James into topical headings regardless of the correspondent's name.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/1
A
2/2
Andrews, David
2/3
B
2/4
C
2/5
D
2/6
E
2/7
F
2/8
G
2/9
H
2/10
L
2/11
M
2/12
Montana Historical Society
2/13
Museum of the Rockies
2/14
N
2/15
O
2/16
P
2/17
R
2/18
S
2/19
Schultz, James Willard and Hart M.
2/20
Schultz, Jessica Donaldson
1951-1969
2/21
Schultz, Jessica Donaldson
1970-1973
2/22
Schultz, Jessica Donaldson
1975
2/23
Schultz, Jessica Donaldson
1976-1977
2/24
Shults, Mary
2/25
Skakel, Jim
2/26
Southwest Museum
2/27
Stinger, Keith
2/28
U
2/29
W-Z
2/30
Boonville
2/31
"Benton" Steamboat
2/32
Glacier National Park
2/33
Natahki's final illness
2/34
Planters House
2/35
Pulitzer case

Series 3:  James research collectionReturn to Top

Mostly positive photocopies of primary source material held by various institutions and individuals pertaining to James Willard Schultz and collected by Harry James. James had sorted a great number of his photocopies and given them sequential numbers, probably intending to cite them in his manuscript in their number order. He also began an index to the documents based on their numbers. These documents have been filed in box three in numerical order from 1-490, but some numbers are missing. James's index is in the first folder. Box four contains copies of correspondence between Schultz and the Houghton-Mifflin Company held by the Harvard University Library; copies of correspondence between Schultz and E.A. Brininstool; copies of Schultz's own typed memoirs; original and copies of Jessica Donaldson Schultz letters and memoirs; two pocket notebooks kept by James; two folders of clippings and miscellaneous printed matter.

Container(s) Description
Box
3
Index; Documents 1-490
Box/Folder
4/1-10
Houghton-Mifflin correspondence from Harvard
4/11
E.A. Brininstool correspondence
4/12
James Willard Schultz memoirs
4/13
"Dan Martin in Arizona"
[by James Willard Schultz?]
4/14
Jessie Donaldson Schultz letters
4/15-22
Jessie Donaldson Schultz memoirs
4/23
Pocket notes
4/24
Miscellaneous documents
4/25
Clippings

Series 4:  PhotographsReturn to Top

Copy prints and copy negatives of photographs from various sources collected by James for the biography. The subjects include Schultz, his family and friends, and Blackfeet Indians. Places include Fort Benton and Glacier National Park, Montana. Photographs and negatives have been place in box 5. Duplicate prints, along with two pen and ink sketches of Nataki, drawn by Katrin Wiese and a record of photographs from the Smithsonian Institute reviewed by James but apparently never ordered. The photographs have been individually titled but are otherwise unarranged and in the order placed by Harry James.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
5/1
Photographs #1-15
#1. Bear Head
#2. Chewing Black Bone
#3. Curley Bear and Apikuni (James W. Schultz)
#4. Chewing Black Bone
#5. Agnes Mad Plume, Daughter of Chewing Black Bone
#6. Cow Island, Missouri River Helena, Steamboat
(Xerox)
#7. Curley with a horse
#8. Curley with E.A. Brininstool
#9. Steamboats at Fort Benton
#10. Fort Benton - Head of Steam Navigation on...
#11. Ox teams at Fort Benton
#12. Fort Benton - Entered according to an act...
#13. Fort Benton - Bull team just in from the mountains
#14. Fort Benton, Montana
Steamboat Benton in the corner
1878
#15. Fort Benton, Levee, Montana
1879
5/2
Photographs #16-30
#16. Steamboat Benton at Fort Benton Levee
1888
#17-20. Steamboat Benton
#21. Steamboat Benton moored at Benton Levee
#22. Fort Benton
#23. Eli Guardipee
#25. Beaver Bundle of Mad Wolf
#26. Mad Wolf, Blackfeet Chief
#27-30. Blackfeet Indians - Ceremony of opening a medicine bundle
5/3
Photographs #31-45
#31-45. Blackfeet Indians - Ceremony of opening a medicine bundle
5/4
Photographs #46-59
#46-50. Blackfeet Indians - Ceremony of opening a medicine bundle
#51-59. Contact Prints
5/5
Photographs #60-75
#60. Old Bull and Morning Star
#61. Jim Stingy and Johnny Ground
#62. Jim Stingy and Johnny Ground
#63. Group of Blackfeet Indians
#64. Group of Blackfeet Indians in front of tipi
#65. Group of people and a movie camera
#66. Woman sitting alone in the trees
#70. Blood Indian Camp
#71. Circle Camp from a distance
(Blackfeet camp)
#72. Inside Circle Camp
(west view, Blackfeet camp)
#73. End of Beaver Ceremony at Thunder Tip of Wolf Plume of the Pikuni
#74. Yellow Kidney and Grandson
#75. Lodge of Gathered Women's Secret Society of the Bloods
5/6
Photographs #76-90
#77. Louise Berrychild
#78. James Kip
#79. Louis Riel
#80. Collage of photos of Louis Riel
#81-86. Louis Riel
#87. Celia Schultz - Apikuni's second wife
#89. Hart Merriam Schultz - Lone Wolf
(photocopy)
#90. Lone Wolf (Hart Merriam Schultz)
5/7
Photographs #91-105
#91. James Willard Schultz with Bear Cap in Glacier Park
1926
#92. White Robe, Mink Woman, Badger Woman, Schultz, Big Wolf, Weasel Tail at Little Inside Lake, Alberta
August 20, 1934
#93. Same picture but with note to James from Wilbur Betts accompanying photo
#94. Many Tail Feathers and James W. Schultz (Apikuni)
#95-97. James Willard Schultz
#98. Guides, Cook and Herder
#99. Trailfinder Boys and James Willard Schultz
#100. 2 men
#101. Yellow Kidney, Mrs. Yellow Kidney (Insimakki), Schultz (Apikuni), Katie home Gun and children, Browning
circa 1933
#102. Apikuni, Phyllis Graves, Insimakki
#103. Schultz
#104. Schultz
#105. Schultz
5/8
Photographs #106-120
#106. Schultz
#107. Schultz
#108. Schultz, Little Dog, Hart Merriam Schultz (Lone Wolf), Big Sorrel Horse
#109. Schultz (Apikuni) and Bear Head Imi-tai-kwen ready to go trout fishing, Glacier National Park
circa 1935
#110. Schultz with his hunting cat, "Blackie", Greer, White Mountains, Arizona
1932
#111. 3 Men on horseback
#112. Eli Guardipee (center) and Schultz with Indians
#113. Schultz standing, Eli Guardipee at head of table, old WPA days
#114. Frank Harrison, Eli Guardipee, Schultz in Browning
1938
#115. Schultz and Hart Merriam Schultz sitting
#116. Schultz and Hart Merriam Schultz standing
#118. Schultz - turkey hunting
#119. Schultz's mother
#120. Schultz at his typewriter in the woods
5/9
Photographs #121-134
#121. Young Schultz
#122. Schultz as a young boy
#123. Schultz
#124. Indian Man doing Sign Language
#125. Indian Man doing Sign Language
#126. Schultz
#127. Schultz
#128. Military Academy
#129. Schultz home
#130. Schultz and Hart Merriam Schultz
#131. Schultz, Bear Head, Lone Wolf with Trailfinder Boys at Lower St. Mary Lake
#132. Fireplace at Camp Hadley, Massachusetts
#133. Uncle Jeff, uncle of Schultz
#134. The Birthplace of James Schultz
5/10
Photographs #135-153
#135. "Freddie's indian" at Schultz's Birthplace
(half)
#136. "Freddie's indian" at Schultz's Birthplace
(half)
#137. "Freddie's indian" a different view
#138. Dedication ceremonies in front of birthplace of Schultz
#139. Initials scratched into windowpane at birthplace of Schultz
#140. Schultz's birthplace
#141. Mayor David Ernst and David C. Andrews look on as Matthew J. Conway Speaks
October 2, 1972
#142. Don Pierce, Mayor Ernst and David Andrews
#143. Letter from David Andrews
#144. Plaque - "1859-1947, Birthplace of Apikuni, James Willard Schultz"
#145. Group of people, at dedication ceremony at birthplace of Schultz
#146. Group of people gathered, older photo
#147. Smoky, Schultz's pet wolf
#148. Schultz ranch
#149. Jessie Donaldson Schultz Graham
May 1976
#150. Jessie Donaldson Schultz (Apahki)
Late 1950s
#151. Jessica Donaldson Schultz at Lolomi Lodge
#152. Jessica Donaldson Schultz
5/11
Photographs #153-165
#153. Lone Wolf (Hart Merriam Schultz)
1912
#154. Lone Wolf at Greer, Arizona?
#155. Lone Wolf in Headdress
#156. Lone Wolf and Naomah in "Apuni Oyis" Butterfly Lodge, Greer, Arizona
#157. Hart Schultz (Lone Wolf) killed turkeys with bow and arrows, Greer, Arizona
#158. Hart Schultz (Lone Wolf), Blackfoot Reservation, Montana
circa 1930s
#159. Lone Wolf and Naomah at home, Greer, Arizona
1949
#160. Lone Wolf in front of home, Greer, Arizona
#161. Buffalo Rock Ceremony with James Schultz and Hart Schultz in the circle
#162. Indian Camp
#163. Indian Camp
#164. Hart Schultz taking passed pipe and James Schultz sitting beside him
#165. Hart Schultz and James Schultz
5/12
Photographs #166-178
#166. Indian Man
#167. Many Tail Feathers, Indian Man and Schultz
#168. Curley Bear and Apikuni (Schultz) sing song of the sticks
#169. Buffalo Rock Ceremony with James Schultz and Hart Schultz sitting in circle - Little boy dancing in front of them
#170. Group of Indians singing and dancing
#171. Buffalo Rock Ceremony with James Schultz and Hart Schultz in circle
#172. Beginning of Buffalo Rock Ceremony
#173. Schultz, Bear Head and Hart Schultz
#174. Photo of drawing of a Piskan Buffalo Hunt by Glen Eaglespeaker
#175. Headstone of James Willard Schultz
#176. Burial Site of James W. Schultz, Blackfeet Reservation
#177. Blackfeet Reservation
#178. Near Schultz Burial site, Blackfeet Reservation
5/13
Negatives #1, 2, 23, 24, 61, 62, *67, *68, *69, 71, 74, 75, *76, 78, 85
* - negatives without prints
#67. Blackfeet Indians Sundance
#68. Group of 9 Indians in ceremonial dress
#69. Group of people watching Indian Sundance
#76. Cut Nose with Old Indian
5/14
Negatives #87, *88, 91, 92, 94, 98, 108, 109, 110, 112-116
* - negatives without prints
#88. A woman, Celia Schultz and a man
5/15
Negatives #*117, 118-122, 124-129, 131, 133, 146
* - negatives without prints
#117. Three men sitting on the ground
5/16
Negatives #147, 150, *151, *152, 153, 154, 156-160, 161-171, *179, *180, *181, *182, *183, *184
* - negatives without prints
#151. #Apahki (Jessie Schultz) at Lolomi Lodge
#152. Jessie Donaldson Schultz
#179. 2 Trailfinder boys - Glacier(?)
#180. Group of Trailfinder boys looking over a cliff
#181. Cabin - Glacier(?)
#182. 2 Trailfinder boys looking over a cliff
#183. Looking down into the forest
#184. A man and a boy with the boy holding a fishing pole
6/1
Duplicate photos #2, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
6/2
Duplicate photos #41, 43, 45-48. 50, 79, 80, 93, 101, 103
6/3
Duplicate photos #105, 113, 120, 121, 131, 135, 36, 137, 149, 158, 161-163
6/4
Duplicate negatives #108, 112, 114, 131, 157, 179
6/5
Nataki, drawings by Katrin Wiese
6/6-7
Photos not ordered

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Authors, American
  • Blackfeet Indians-Blackfoot Indians
  • Siksika Indians-Photographs

Personal Names

  • Andrews, David A-Correspondence
  • Graham, Jessica Donaldson Schultz-Correspondence
  • Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947-Biography
  • Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947-Photographs

Family Names

  • Schultz, James Willard, 1859-1947-Family-Photographs