Elmo Scott Watson
Encyclopedia
Elmo Scott Watson was an American
journalist
and college professor, whose longest educational stint was at Northwestern University
in Evanston
, Illinois
. He was particularly known for his emphasis on the American West, having been a reporter for the Gazette and Telegraph
newspaper in Colorado Springs
, Colorado
, before he entered the field of higher education
.
in Colorado Springs, Watson met the frontier figure Frank H. Maynard
(1853–1926), credited with the revised composition of Cowboy's Lament, a western poem and song better known as The Streets of Laredo
. When he was "discovered" by Watson, Maynard was working as a nightwatchman to be near the rodeo because he was still attracted to the western life-style of his earlier years. Watson penned a story on Maynard which brought the old-time cowboy
into the public spotlight. It may be argued that Maynard did not write the ballad but adapted it from an Irish poem. Watson explains: "The matter of authorship of a ballad is a perplexing one. . . . In a sense the ballad represents the contribution of a succession of bards, rather than the work of a single poet." Yet, it is plausible that Maynard adjusted the poem so that the "ranger," a reference to the cowboy on the prairie, became the central character of the poem.
Watson also helped Maynard publish the old-timer's article on the Battle of Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle
in 1874. The article required extensive rewriting to make it salable. Just over two years after Watson met Maynard, the cowboy-turned-carpenter was dead.
The article on Maynard, dated January 24, 1924, netted recognition to Watson as an up-and-coming young journalist. During the late 1920s, Watson's syndicator, the Western Newspaper Union, called him "the most widely read historical feature writer in the country."
in McLean County
in the Bloomington
metropolitan area
of central Illinois. In 1916, he received a bachelor's degree from Colorado College
, a private liberal arts
school in Colorado Springs. He worked at the Gazette and Telegraph only from 1916–1918, when he became an instructor of journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana
. There, he wrote a book, eight newspaper or magazine articles, and 394 syndicated features, mostly on the American West. He left Illinois in 1924 to take his penultimate position at Northwestern, where he received his master's degree and remained on the faculty until 1947. He then joined the faculty of Methodist-affiliated Illinois Wesleyan University
in Bloomington, where he received an honorary Doctor of Letters
degree. The move change brought him close to his family farm, where he had hoped to retire. In June 1950, Watson was again enticed to move west and returned to the Rocky Mountains
to head the journalism department at the University of Denver
in Denver
. He died a year later at the age of fifty-nine.
In 1936, Watson published A History of Newspaper Syndicates in the United States, 1865-1935.
, published by J. Marvin Hunter
, based in Bandera
, Texas
. The article examines the historical legacy of the longhorn
cattle trail which extended from San Antonio
, Texas, to Abilene
, Kansas
. Watson referred to the Chisholm cowboys, accordingly, "as bold, as reckless, as brave a crew of daredevils as the world has ever known." Watson also wrote Stories of Great Indians, (1922–1923) a study of Native Americans in the United States
. He attempted to correct the noble savage
image of the tribes that had previously prevailed among many writers.
In 1944, Watson co-founded in Chicago, with Leland Case, the editor of The Rotarian magazine, the interest group known as Westerners International, which promotes the non-academic history of the American West. Watson edited Publishers' Auxiliary from 1932–1945 and contributed a regular column to the journal. He was president of the Society of Professional Journalists
, formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, and he was particularly active in the Chicago "Corral" of the Westerners. His papers are housed at the Newberry Library
in Chicago. The holdings also include 133 of Watson's western photograph
s from the time period of 1875-1936. Many are pictures of the Hunkpapa
, Blackfeet
, Cheyenne, Crow, Oglala Sioux, and Brulé Sioux.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and college professor, whose longest educational stint was at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He was particularly known for his emphasis on the American West, having been a reporter for the Gazette and Telegraph
The Gazette (Colorado Springs)
The Gazette is a newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It is published daily by Irvine, California-based Freedom Communications...
newspaper in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, before he entered the field of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
.
Watson meets Frank Maynard
In 1923, while attending the Pikes Peak or Bust RodeoPikes Peak or Bust Rodeo
Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo is a Colorado rodeo sanctioned by the PRCA .The rodeo is a long standing Colorado tradition dating back to 1937...
in Colorado Springs, Watson met the frontier figure Frank H. Maynard
Frank H. Maynard
Francis Henry Maynard, known as Frank H. Maynard , was an old-time cowboy of the American West who claimed authorship of the revised version of the well-known ballad, "The Streets of Laredo". After a decade of roaming the West, Maynard settled down with his wife, the former Flora V...
(1853–1926), credited with the revised composition of Cowboy's Lament, a western poem and song better known as The Streets of Laredo
Streets of Laredo (song)
"Streets of Laredo" , also known as the "Cowboy's Lament", is a famous American cowboy ballad in which a dying cowboy tells his story to a living one. Derived from the English folk song "The Unfortunate Lad", it has become a folk music standard, and as such has been performed, recorded and adapted...
. When he was "discovered" by Watson, Maynard was working as a nightwatchman to be near the rodeo because he was still attracted to the western life-style of his earlier years. Watson penned a story on Maynard which brought the old-time cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
into the public spotlight. It may be argued that Maynard did not write the ballad but adapted it from an Irish poem. Watson explains: "The matter of authorship of a ballad is a perplexing one. . . . In a sense the ballad represents the contribution of a succession of bards, rather than the work of a single poet." Yet, it is plausible that Maynard adjusted the poem so that the "ranger," a reference to the cowboy on the prairie, became the central character of the poem.
Watson also helped Maynard publish the old-timer's article on the Battle of Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
in 1874. The article required extensive rewriting to make it salable. Just over two years after Watson met Maynard, the cowboy-turned-carpenter was dead.
The article on Maynard, dated January 24, 1924, netted recognition to Watson as an up-and-coming young journalist. During the late 1920s, Watson's syndicator, the Western Newspaper Union, called him "the most widely read historical feature writer in the country."
Background
Watson was born on a farm near ColfaxColfax, Illinois
Colfax is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,061 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in McLean County
McLean County, Illinois
McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...
in the Bloomington
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
of central Illinois. In 1916, he received a bachelor's degree from Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, a private liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
school in Colorado Springs. He worked at the Gazette and Telegraph only from 1916–1918, when he became an instructor of journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
. There, he wrote a book, eight newspaper or magazine articles, and 394 syndicated features, mostly on the American West. He left Illinois in 1924 to take his penultimate position at Northwestern, where he received his master's degree and remained on the faculty until 1947. He then joined the faculty of Methodist-affiliated Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
in Bloomington, where he received an honorary Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
degree. The move change brought him close to his family farm, where he had hoped to retire. In June 1950, Watson was again enticed to move west and returned to the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
to head the journalism department at the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. He died a year later at the age of fifty-nine.
In 1936, Watson published A History of Newspaper Syndicates in the United States, 1865-1935.
Legacy
In June 1940, Watson wrote "The Old Chisholm Trail" in Frontier Times magazineMagazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, published by J. Marvin Hunter
J. Marvin Hunter
John Marvin Hunter was an author, historian, journalist, and printer who founded the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, Texas...
, based in Bandera
Bandera, Texas
Bandera is the county seat of Bandera County, Texas, United States,in the Texas Hill Country, which is part of the Edwards Plateau. The population was 957 at the 2000 census, and according to a 2009 estimate, the population had jumped up to 1,216 people...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The article examines the historical legacy of the longhorn
Texas longhorn (cattle)
The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
cattle trail which extended from San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas, to Abilene
Abilene, Kansas
Abilene is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,844.-History:...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Watson referred to the Chisholm cowboys, accordingly, "as bold, as reckless, as brave a crew of daredevils as the world has ever known." Watson also wrote Stories of Great Indians, (1922–1923) a study of Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. He attempted to correct the noble savage
Noble savage
The term noble savage , expresses the concept an idealized indigene, outsider , and refers to the literary stock character of the same...
image of the tribes that had previously prevailed among many writers.
In 1944, Watson co-founded in Chicago, with Leland Case, the editor of The Rotarian magazine, the interest group known as Westerners International, which promotes the non-academic history of the American West. Watson edited Publishers' Auxiliary from 1932–1945 and contributed a regular column to the journal. He was president of the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
, formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, and he was particularly active in the Chicago "Corral" of the Westerners. His papers are housed at the Newberry Library
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...
in Chicago. The holdings also include 133 of Watson's western photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s from the time period of 1875-1936. Many are pictures of the Hunkpapa
Hunkpapa
The Hunkpapa are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota Sioux tribe. The name Húŋkpapȟa is a Sioux word meaning "Head of the Circle"...
, Blackfeet
Blackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
, Cheyenne, Crow, Oglala Sioux, and Brulé Sioux.
External links
- Elmo Scott Watson Papers at Newberry LibraryNewberry LibraryThe Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...