that happiness came eventually to those who deserved it? Some critics
may say, ‘people are not like that and things don’t come out that way,’
but my experience has been to the contrary. Happiness does come to those
who deserve it. Eventually their ears do catch the immortal melody of
life, as Melisse heard the music of her people; and they often learn to
appreciate it long before they pass on to another existence.”
* * * * *
Although from the beautiful Au Sable River less than one hundred yards
away Jim could have had water delivered into the cabin by the very
simple process of having an electric pump, only a handpump in the
kitchen was permitted to be installed.
The isolated place of beauty cost him thousands and thousands of
dollars, but he would not have in it any modern plumbing.
Due to the absence of a few modern conveniences Jim was bitten by a
poisonous spider, and even though he had often boasted that he intended
to live to be at least one hundred years old, and had so arranged his
life that under ordinary conditions he might have lived to be that age,
a spider upset his life’s plans.
Shortly after the insect had bitten him Jim left for his home in Owosso
seeking medical attention. This was on August 8, 1927. The physicians
were strangely puzzled by the malady which plagued Owosso’s favorite
son. He was seriously ill with an unusual and seemingly unknown disease.
The newspapers throughout the country carried stories of Jim’s condition
and almost immediately specialists from everywhere rushed to his aid, if
aid were possible. All the efforts of the doctors and specialists who
rushed to the bedside of James Oliver Curwood in those early days of
August, 1927, were futile. He was given a blood transfusion by his
daughter, Mrs. Carlotta Jirus, of Detroit, but this, too, was of no
avail ... on August 13, with his wife, Ethel, his son, James, his two
daughters, Carlotta and Viola, his brother, Ed, and his two sisters, Amy
and Cora, at his bedside, James Oliver Curwood, writer, conservationist,
exponent and lover of Nature, passed away.
The Detroit _Free Press_ ran this story on August 14, 1927.
CURWOOD’S FUNERAL SET FOR TOMORROW
AFTERNOON
Author to be buried in Owosso beside
graves of father and mother.
Owosso, Mich., Aug. 14—A.P.—Funeral services for James Oliver
Curwood, author and noted conservationist, who died late last
night after a week’s illness of a general infection, will be
conducted at the residence at 2:30 o’clock by the Rev. J. Twyson
Jones, of the First Congregational Church.
Interment will be in Oakhill Cemetery where his father and
mother are buried. Pallbearers had not been selected today, but
in compliance with the author’s wish, will be Owosso residents.
BLOOD GIVING FAILS
Death came to the writer of stories of the Northlands at his
home, “Curwood Castle,” here, after a desperate battle against
the infection that steadily sapped his strength. In an effort to
stay the ravages of the infection, a daughter, Mrs. Antonio P.
Jirus, of Detroit, gave of her blood in a transfusion operation.
After rallying somewhat, the author weakened again rapidly and
his physicians announced that his death was a matter of hours
only.
Curwood was born in Owosso on June 12, 1878, the son of James
Moran and Abigail (Griffen) Curwood, and spent his boyhood near
Vermillion, Ohio, his family later returning to Owosso. He
attended the University of Michigan. He spent the greater part
of his life at his birthplace.
FIRST NOVEL IN 1908
“The Courage of Captain Plum,” his first novel, was written in
1908, after he had spent seven years in newspaper work.
From then on the books flowed from his pen. There followed “The
Wolf Hunters,” 1908; “The Great Lakes,” and “The Gold Hunters,”
in 1909; “The Danger Trail,” in 1910; “The Honor of the Big
Snows,” and “Philip Steele of the Royal Mounted,” written in
1911.
Others of his novels included “Kazan,” 1914; “Nomads of the
North,” 1919; “The Valley of Silent Men,” 1920; and “The Flaming
Forest,” in 1921, and his latest “The Black Hunter.” Writing was
in Curwood’s blood. On his father’s side, he was descended from
Captain Marrayat, the novelist.
A zealous crusader for conservation of natural resources,
Curwood was considered an authority on the Canadian northland,
and was the only American ever employed by the Canadian
government as an exploratory and descriptive writer.
His championship of conservation in the fullest sense often
brought him into conflict, and in several meetings, national and
state, he stirred a storm of controversy.
In 1926 he abruptly resigned as a director of the Izaak Walton
League in a stormy meeting in Chicago. At a meeting held in
Owosso, he opposed policies of John Baird, then Michigan
director of conservation, so heatedly that the state
conservationists formed factions to which they held strongly for
several years.
With the conclusion of the term of office of Baird, and the
election of Governor Fred W. Green, Curwood was appointed to the
new conservation commission. Frequently at meetings he protested
against what he termed the lethargy of the other members.
Besides his keen interest in conservation, Curwood was deeply
interested in civic enterprises in his home city, contributing
liberally to such undertakings.
Two daughters are children of Curwood’s first marriage. A son,
James Oliver Curwood II, and his second wife, who was Miss Ethel
Greenwood, Owosso teacher, also survive.
On that fateful thirteenth day of August, 1927, the news was flashed to
the entire world that one of the greatest of all outdoor fiction writers
was dead. James Oliver Curwood, beloved teller of tales of the beautiful
Canadian Northwest, had passed away. It was an unexpected blow which the
entire world mourned and bitterly regretted. For, in losing Jim Curwood,
no longer could the great tradition of the mighty northlands be upheld.
Even the Crees, the Chippawayans and the Shiwashes Indian tribes of the
far reaches of the north mourned the loss of the “great white father,”
who to them was “Jeems.”
The old sourdoughs along the wilderness trails also felt the loss of
Jim’s cheerful presence. The old men of the north whom Jim had invited
down to his Castle on many occasions from the distant reaches felt the
hurt of losing Jim Curwood probably more than anyone else, save that of
his own immediate family.
The following epitaph appeared along with James Oliver Curwood’s last
article, his last work. It was entitled “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” and was
written and completed but a few days before he was stricken. The
foreword to this article was written by the editor of _American
Magazine_ in the December, 1927, issue, exactly four months after Jim’s
passing. Of all the articles he had ever written, this last one, his
last and final plea for wild life, affected the public most of all. It
was truly his last stand, and a glorious ending it was:
“James Oliver Curwood is dead. One of the most popular fiction writers
of his generation, one of the most ardent and courageous lovers of
outdoor life, he leaves millions of devoted admirers to mourn him.
“Only a month before his death, Mr. Curwood sent me this telegram:
‘Am working on an article for you which I have wanted to write for five
years, and I think it is the best thing I have ever done. Shall have
copy ready to mail you within week. Good wishes.’
“But it was nearly a fortnight before the article reached us, for the
author was already in the primary stages of his fatal malady.
“Almost at the beginning of this, his last article, Mr. Curwood wrote:
‘When I am ready to enter this most glorious of adventures, the mystery
and privilege of death, I shall need no greater comforts in the first
abysmal moments of its presence than these things—the grass, the
flowers, the beautiful dove on her nest, the voice of the birds, the
rippling song of water, the inspiration and courage of the trees.’
“Before that message could be put into type the hand that had written it
lay in eternal rest.
“These pages hold Mr. Curwood’s final plea for the preservation of our
wildlife, a movement in which he was a veritable crusader. He hated game
hogs, with an undying hatred, because he loved nature with an undying
love. Here you will find, simply and sincerely expressed, his creed of
the wild.
_The Editor”_
Two days after his death, on the fifteenth of August, James Oliver
Curwood was laid to rest in the quiet, peaceful little cemetery of Oak
Hill, in Owosso.
The Detroit _Free Press_ recorded the ceremony:—
CURWOOD RITES HELD IN OWOSSO
Simplicity marks services for noted
author; business at standstill.
SPECIAL TO FREE PRESS
Owosso, Mich., Aug. 16—With Governor Fred W. Green, the state
conservation director and several members of the conservation
commission acting as honorary pallbearers, James Oliver Curwood,
author and conservationist, was laid to rest here this afternoon
following funeral services at his home.
Burial took place in Oak Hill Cemetery, beside the graves of his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Moran Curwood.
The rites were marked by simplicity.
The home of the author was filled with intimate friends while
hundreds stood about the spacious grounds and streets adjacent
to the residence. State Police led the funeral cortege. Members
of the Shiawassee Conservation Association, of which Mr. Curwood
was a director, attended in a body, as did members of Owosso
Lodge No. 81, F. & A. M., which the author had recently joined.
Dr. J. Twyson Jones, pastor of the First Congregational Church,
and an intimate friend of the author, in the funeral sermon,
eulogized Curwood as “a man who has written his own eulogy on
the imperishable scroll of undying fame.”
The pastor said Curwood’s three hobbies were writing,
conservation and social betterment, declaring that “the passive
and selfish politician” did not command Curwood’s respect. Dr.
Jones also paid the writer tribute for the many things he had
done for Owosso, the town of his birth.
Following the services, the massive copper casket was carried to
the waiting hearse through a line formed by the Masons.
The cortege moved through the streets lined with sorrowing
fellow townsmen of the author, to the cemetery where, after a
brief service, the body of Owosso’s most distinguished son was
interred.
Business activities throughout the city were suspended during
the services.
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Transcriber’s Note
Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
Italicized words and phrases in the text version are presented by
surrounding the text with underscores.