King Con Read online

  “newsies”: Blanke, 1910s, p. 42.

  “Although still”: San Diego Weekly Union, March 15, 1917, p. 6.

  Reading multiple: Maurer, Big Con, p. 166.

  Edgar made a: San Diego Union, March 15, 1917, p. 9.

  MAN POSING: San José Evening News, March 15, 1917, p. 1.

  CHAPTER 3

  which advertised: Official Guide and Descriptive Book of the Panama-California Exposition.

  After the concert: San Diego Union, March 17, 1917, p. 1.

  “The man who”: San José Evening News, March 15, 1917, p. 1.

  Edgar told the: San Diego Evening Tribune, March 16, 1917, p. 1.

  Highland Brewery: This was managed by the father of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his nom de plume, Dr. Seuss. Edgar and his family were provided with a company house on the grounds of the brewery.

  motormaniacs: Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1917, p. 12.

  “The Utmost”: Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia), March 16, 1917, p. 3.

  It covered: Los Angeles Herald, March 16, 1917, p. 24.

  The suspicion that: Los Angeles Times, March 18, 1917, p. 13.

  Chief Harry Johnson: Salt Lake Tribune, March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  His choice of name may have been inspired by the Native American baseball pitcher George Johnson, who had recently made the Pacific Coast League’s all-star team. People knew George Johnson as “Chief Johnson,” not because he was a tribal chief, but because that title was a derogatory nickname commonly applied to Native American men.

  the eighteenth century: In the eighteenth century, rival British and French settlers wore Native American costumes while staging raids on each other’s communities, their aim being to foist blame for these attacks onto the indigenous population. A comparable disguise was favored by campaigners for American independence, who used Native American clothing to conceal their identities and intimidate anyone who might try to obstruct their protests. Most famously, members of a clandestine group called the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawks when they boarded three British ships and decanted a huge quantity of valuable imported tea into Boston Harbor. Just as tea had become symbolic of hated British taxation and colonial rule, Mohawk apparel came to symbolize the white American struggle for self-government—a link infused with venomous irony by the imposition of white American rule over the Mohawks.

  This form of cultural cross-dressing continued during the 1780s. At annual parades mounted in Philadelphia and New York City by two self-defined patriotic clubs named the Tammany Societies, members donned Native American–style costumes as their uniform. It was a gimmick also adopted by the Society of Red Men, a quasi-Masonic group founded in 1812. For its private ceremonies—touted as “Indian mysteries”—members wore similar clothing. The practice proliferated after 1833 when the group morphed into the Improved Order of Red Men and spread across America.

  “Great Disease Detective”: Undated postcard, sold by WorthPoint auctions.

  “genuine Indians”: Easton (MD) Gazette, December 19, 1908, p. 4.

  “The Great Indian”: Medicine bottle, private collection.

  “Ladies and gentlemen”: McNamara, Step Right Up, pp. 105–6.

  Unlicensed pitchmen like: Anderson, Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones, p. 103.

  Edgar said his oil: L’Impartial (Neuchâtel, Switzerland), March 12, 1945, p. 1.

  His career as: St. Louis Post-Dispatch magazine, October 20, 1929, p. 4.

  The chief would, according: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 5, 1917, p. 2.

  “the great white chief”: Detroit Free Press, June 11, 1917, p. 3.

  he now proclaimed: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 5, 1917, p. 2.

  He also resorted to fabrication when he strove to demonstrate the patriotism of Native Americans, plenty of genuine evidence of which existed. As proof of their commitment to the United States, he announced that Princess Lola, “among the wealthiest of the Indians,” had launched a campaign to raise $1 million from the Oklahoma Cherokee and Osage peoples, money used to help finance the war. Edgar had most likely excavated this wealthy benefactress’s name from the recesses of his memory—Princess Lola was the stage name of a fellow vaudevillian who claimed to be a Sioux.

  he said it: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 6, 1917, p. 2.

  There, he gave a: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 7, 1917, p. 5; June 29, 1917, p. 5.

  To lend weight: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 9, 1917, p. 4.

  the owner of: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 29, 1917, p. 4.

  He took to: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 6, 1917, p. 2.

  So persuasive: Ibid.

  “extensively acquainted”: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 9, 1917, p. 4.

  At the interview: Ibid.

  Each of them: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 29, 1917, p. 4.

  Admittedly, he was: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 7, 1917, p. 5.

  new silent movie: He had taken part in a similar show five months earlier when he was in Abilene, pretending to be Tom Longboat. On that occasion he had set out to magnify his celebrity by saying he was “the brother of the famous Indian motion picture actress, Princess Mona Darkfeather.” (If he’d known the truth about the princess, he would never have said that. Born Josephine M. Workman, she had no more Native American blood than him.) Abilene Daily Reporter (TX), January 2, 1917, p. 6.

  and Native Americans: The most successful of the Native American impersonators was Arthur B. Burk, a second-string performer otherwise known as Chief Little Elk. Styling himself as the “Sioux Indian Baritone,” he had a song, dance, and cello-playing routine that he and his wife, “the Chiefess,” performed in front of a wigwam, a campfire, and a simulated waterfall.

  “mechanics of emotion”: Butsch, Making of American Audiences, p. 116.

  He described the: Eau Claire (WI) Leader, June 7, 1917, p. 5.

  In any case, he: This is evident from the well-documented trajectory of his life.

  Headlined BIG CHIEF: Detroit Free Press, June 11, 1917, p. 3.

  “blind pigs”: Johnson, Detroit Beer, p. 22.

  CHAPTER 4

  level of the pickpockets: Maurer, Big Con, p. 152.

  And he circulated: Fort Wayne (IN) News, June 22, 1917, p. 1.

  “a flash act”: Haupert, Entertainment Industry, p. 34.

  Even mild: Lloyd, Vaudeville Trails Thru the West, p. 29.

  “drew blood”: Butsch, Making of American Audiences, p. 116.

  He added that: Fort Wayne (IN) Journal-Gazette, June 22, 1917, p. 21.

  And wisecracks: Evening World (New York City), August 4, 1917, p. 3.

  the kind of people: St. Louis Post-Dispatch magazine, October 20, 1929, p. 4.

  They formed: Markham, Financial History of the United States, p. 6; Shackleton, Book of New York, pp. 53–54.

  port of embarkation: “Hoboken in World War I,” Hoboken Historical Museum, http://www.hobokenmuseum.org/.

  Young soldiers: Shanks, As They Passed Through the Port, pp. 138, 226; Laramie (WY) Republican, January 1, 1918, p. 1.

  asked the nearsighted: “Chief White Elk,” Investigative Case Files of the Bureau of Investigation 1908–1922, Old German Files, 1909–1922. Original data from US National Archives; accessed through Fold3.com. Hereinafter cited as “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  “slam-bang, knock-’em-down”: New York Tribune, July 29, 1917, p. 4.

  Kit bags slung: Schauble, First Battalion, pp. 45–49, provides a detailed account of the embarkation and voyage.

  Edgar knew that: Gleaves, History of the Transport Service, pp. 37–38.

  terrier named Smoke: The dog survived in France for more than a year, but died when he was hit by a dispatch rider. “There were real tears shed as Company ‘E’ buried him near a pi
ne woods just north of Neufchâteau,” wrote the Battalion historian. Schauble, First Battalion, p. 32.

  “heaven, hell”: Ziegler-McPherson, Immigrants in Hoboken, p. 196.

  The officers dismissed: Schauble, First Battalion, p. 49.

  “Soon after”: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 8, 1917, p. 14.

  Staff at the: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 14, 1917, p. 20.

  Most of them: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 16, 1917, p. 20.

  the storm abated: Schauble, First Battalion, pp. 45–49, provides a detailed account of the voyage.

  MY CONVOY: Fry, War Record of the U.S.S. Henderson, p. 9.

  “Vive les Américaines!”: Schauble, First Battalion, p. 49.

  CHAPTER 5

  Craig accused: Laramie (WY) Republican, January 1, 1918, p. 1.

  Edgar began by: Ibid.

  With vivid: Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, October 18, 1917, p. 24.

  He captivated: Schenectady (NY) Daily Gazette, October 18, 1917, p. 12.

  “you could hear”: Anderson, Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones, p. 145.

  Klein signed the: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  “a shill”: Maurer, Big Con, p. 270.

  The talk was: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  “I was over”: Cincinnati Enquirer, October 28, 1917, p. 4.

  Half the proceeds: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  Over that weekend: Ibid.

  For his next: Laramie (WY) Republican, January 1, 1918, pp. 1, 5; “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  Mingling with: Laramie (WY) Daily Boomerang, December 18, 1917, p. 4.

  One thing: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  Satisfied that: Laramie (WY) Daily Boomerang, December 10, 1917, p. 8.

  Grifters like him: Maurer, Big Con, p. 254.

  but napping on: Baedeker, United States, p. xvi.

  war pretender: Rock Springs (WY) Miner, December 21, 1917, p. 10.

  When questioned: Laramie (WY) Republican, January 1, 1918, p. 1.

  He confessed that: Ibid., pp. 1, 5.

  In his defense: Ibid.

  county attorney charged him: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  He’d been playing: St. Louis Post-Dispatch magazine, October 20, 1929, p. 4.

  The county attorney released him: Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1918, p. 1; March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  CHAPTER 6

  He only had: James E. Hansen II, “Moonshine and Murder: Prohibition in Denver,” Colorado Magazine, 1973, pp. 8–10.

  Fresh acquaintances of: Pueblo (CO) Chieftain, January 25, 1918, p. 3.

  On suspicion of: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), March 21, 1918 (second edition), p. 1.

  He expressed: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  When Special Agent Craft: Ibid.

  After the interview: Pueblo (CO) Chieftain, January 31, 1918, p. 4.

  “We have no”: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  officers from the: Pueblo (CO) Chieftain, January 31, 1918, p. 4.

  Edgar devoted: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  counterfeit candor: Ibid.

  He gave his: Chickasha (OK) Daily Express, March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  “The boys want”: Pueblo (CO) Chieftain, February 13, 1918, p. 7.

  On Tuesday: Pueblo (CO) Chieftain, February 14, 1918, p. 5.

  He tried to: Chickasha (OK) Daily Express, March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  CHAPTER 7

  Edgar announced: Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1918, p. 1.

  NEW SPRING HATS: Salt Lake Tribune, March 6, 1918, p. 2.

  An impending: Salt Lake Telegram, March 7, 1918, p. 2.

  he referred to: Salt Lake Herald, March 8, 1918, p. 8.

  Edgar led the: Ibid.

  what they labeled: Thompson, To the American Indian, p. 151.

  helped prepare a: Burtha’s father transcribed this book, which was dictated to him by her illiterate stepmother, Lucy Thompson. Entitled To the American Indian, the book—privately printed, courtesy of a donation from the spouse of a local lumber baron—enjoyed a very limited readership, yet it has since gained recognition as a significant cultural artifact.

  “Talth”: Thompson, To the American Indian, p. 115.

  Burtha nevertheless: San Francisco Chronicle, February 20, 1915, p. 1.

  “New Woman”: Blanke, 1910s, pp. 5, 10.

  “liberty torches”: Drowne and Huber, 1920s, p. 41.

  THE GREATEST: Goodwin’s Weekly (Salt Lake City), March 9, 1918, p. 7.

  The rich odor: During the summer of 1910 when Edgar worked for Bostock’s Animal Arena, the show featured a group of lions and bears being provoked by two men armed with spears. The other acts included a snake charmer, an illusionist, and a three-round boxing bout between a kangaroo and its trainer.

  “a girl show”: Blanke, 1910s, p. 212.

  “on the masthead”: Goodwin’s Weekly (Salt Lake City), March 9, 1918, p. 10.

  fixing to: Salt Lake Herald, March 10, 1918, p. 12.

  So impressed: Mrs. White Elk to Lucullus V. McWhorter, September 9, 1922, WSU.

  All quotations from the letters of Mrs. White Elk to Lucullus V. McWhorter are by permission of the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections section (Lucullus V. McWhorter Papers) at Washington State University Libraries.

  “the race of”: San Francisco Chronicle, February 20, 1915, pp. 1, 3.

  highly critical: Mrs. White Elk to Lucullus V. McWhorter, February 5, 1921, WSU.

  Edgar liked to: Salt Lake Herald, March 14, 1918, p. 9; Salt Lake Telegram, October 4, 1918, p. 13.

  He urged: Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1918, p. 1.

  “the incarnation”: Salt Lake Telegram, March 12, 1918, p. 10.

  He goaded: Deseret Evening News, March 9, 1918 (first edition), p. 8.

  The telegram: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), March 21, 1918 (second edition), p. 1.

  CHAPTER 8

  “best Cherokee dress suit”: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), March 13, 1918 (first edition), p. 1.

  Several misguided: Salt Lake Tribune, March 13, 1918, p. 5.

  flaunted his patriotism: East Oregonian (Pendleton, OR), March 13, 1918, p. 8.

  Edgar had the privilege: Salt Lake Herald, March 13, 1918, p. 2.

  A story about his wedding: Salt Lake Telegram, March 13, 1918, p. 8.

  given to him by President Wilson’s daughter: Salt Lake Tribune, March 13, 1918, p. 5.

  He passed approving: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), March 16, 1918 (first edition), p. 14.

  THOUSANDS OF: Salt Lake Tribune, March 8, 1918, p. 4.

  Jails were dangerous places: Maurer, Big Con, p. 152, 184.

  five thousand Indians serving: Salt Lake Tribune, March 14, 1918, p. 9.

  “Perhaps 12,000 to 12,500 Native Americans served in the military during World War I….In response to popular stereotypes that depicted Indians as born warriors, Native Americans often received dangerous assignments as scouts, snipers and messengers. Their casualty rate, consequently, was significantly higher than other Americans in the American Expeditionary Force.” Britten, “American Indians in World War I,” p. v.

  “be permitted to proceed”: “Chief White Elk,” Fold3.com.

  Edgar grew resentful: Salt Lake Tribune, March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  CHAPTER 9

  At the suggestion: Salt Lake Tribune, March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  Rumors reached: Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1918, p. 1.

  Early on the evening: Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1918, p. 1; March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  “propaganda campaign”: Oregonian (Portland, OR), July 20, 1919, p. 8.


  Edgar phoned Newman later: Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1918, p. 1.

  The front page: Ibid.

  When they got there: Salt Lake Telegram, March 20, 1918, p. 1.

  “Courtesy is to business”: Howard (RI) Times, April 11, 1903, p. 1.

  “Do not try to pass”: Howard (RI) Times, April 6, 1903, p. 1.

  who retained her belief: Mrs. White Elk to Lucullus V. McWhorter, September 9, 1922, WSU.

  Edgar started by pledging: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), March 21, 1918 (second edition), p. 1.

  so he turned them down: Salt Lake Herald, March 21, 1918, p. 10.

  Edgar assured the audience: Ibid.

  IMPOSTOR HAD MANY ALIASES: Salt Lake Tribune, March 21, 1918, p. 1.

  he seems to have confided: Mrs. White Elk to Lucullus V. McWhorter, September 9, 1922, WSU; Salt Lake Tribune, March 21, 1918, p. 10.

  “Well, what you have printed”: Salt Lake Tribune, March 21, 1918, p. 10.

  In what remained: Salt Lake Tribune, March 22, 1918, p. 2.

  Uncharacteristically flustered: Salt Lake Telegram, March 21, 1918, p. 2.

  a reporter working: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), March 21, 1918 (second edition), p. 1.

  “Is Chief White an elk”: Salt Lake Telegram, March 22, 1918, p. 7.

  who had completely bought the idea: Oregonian (Portland, OR), July 20, 1919, p. 8.

  CHAPTER 10

  As Burtha waited: San Francisco Chronicle, April 11, 1918, p. 4.

  Or renaming sauerkraut: Bemidji (MN) Daily Pioneer, March 19, 1918, p. 2.

  Yellow paint: Daily Herald (Grand Forks, ND), March 28, 1918, p. 6; Evening Times-Republican (Marshalltown, IA), April 1, 1918, p. 3; and others.

  “refined dancing”: Oakland Tribune, April 13, 1918, p. 9.

  He’d positioned: Oakland Tribune, April 18, 1918, p. 5.

  a waggish local singing star: Ibid., p. 18.