Phillips, Walter Shelley (1867-1940), a.k.a. "El Comancho"

[NATIVE AMERICANA / AMERICAN WEST OUTDOORS - ARCHIVE OF LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS]. "El Comancho" (together 14 vols. containing more than 3,000 leaves)

Seattle (et al.): 1912-1925. 14 vols., large 4to., ca. 29 cm (tall) x 22 cm (wide) x 36 cm (linear), mostly in 3-hole side-stiched black leatherette covers, preserved in very good condition. Item #3079

Large and interesting literary archive of typescript stories and novels by "El Comancho," a popular author who specialized in stories of Native American lore and folktales, the American West and Western Expansion, the Pacific Northwest, Hunting and Fishing, and much more. Includes typescripts of "Three Boys in the Hills" and many stories published in "Outdoor Life," often with corrections and annotations (SEE FINDING AID BELOW). This appears to be the only substantial collection of "El Comancho" manuscripts in private hands. The archive, which is preserved in excellent condition, easily contains more than 3,000 typescript leaves. Some of the works appear to be unpublished.

¶ Walter Shelley Phillips (1867-1940), also known as "El Comancho," was a self-educated and self-trained naturalist, geologist, newspaper reporter, free-lance writer and author of numerous books. In his early life, Phillips became familiar with the Sioux, Blackfeet, and Crow Indians, devoting himself to recording Indian life and lore. All of the tribes he encountered welcomed him and referred to him as some variation of "Lone Man." As a child, he spent much of his time with the Otoes and often lived for weeks at a time with the tribe’s chief and the chief’s family in their lodge and accompanied them on buffalo hunts. Phillips was given the name "Comanche" by Chief High Horse of the Sioux Tribe.

¶ He began writing about outdoor life and his experiences in the West around 1887 and worked for midwestern newspapers as a cartoonist and journalist. In 1891 he worked for the Press, Telegraph, and Post-Intelligencer in Seattle. Phillips became a founding member of the Washington State Game and Fish Protective Association; in 1904 he began Pacific Sportsman magazine which became Outdoor Life in 1907. Phillips wrote thousands of articles on outdoor life, lore, and his own personal experiences growing up in the age of covered wagons, cowboys, and western expansion, including the syndicated newspaper features "Teepee Tales" and “Sign Talk.” He also wrote books and illustrated his own and others' from the 1890s to 1920s, including juvenile works, Indian legends, and more. SOURCE: University of Washington, Walter Shelley Phillips Papers, Finding Aid.

¶ SCOPE OF ARCHIVE: Typescripts and related material by "El Comancho" including unpublished books, all from Phillips’s own collection.

FINDING AID of all 14 volumes:

1. [Typescript]. Poems of an Optimist. 1921. A Philosophic Appreciation. - Apparently unpublished (?)

2. [Typescript]. A String of Brass Beads, A Novel. 1917. Bound March 1918. 26 Chapter Serial. -- Apparently unpublished (?)

3. [Typescripts]. Short Stories – in Manuscript. 1912-1914. Index. Blackfoot Words and Names. Schultz. M.S.S. 1916. Blackfoot Names. Hofer. M.S.S. 1916. Notes: The Old North Trail. McClintock. M.S.S. 1916. Blackfoot Names: Old North Trail. McClintock. M.S.S. 1916. What a Totem is and Why. Westerner. 1912. The Big Winter Storm. Westerner. April 1914. How Nature Waters the Earth. Westerner. May 1914. What the Water Does For Us. Westerner. June 1914. The Story of Ice and Fire. Westerner. 1914. Real Stories of the West: The Winter Counts. Westerner. 1914. The Man Who Ran the Ferry. Westerner. 1912. The Case of Pete Czarvich. Westerner. Nov. 1911. The Man Who Got Tired of Work. Westerner. 1912. Concerning a Blue Eyed Woman and Some Others. Westerner. Dec. 1911. Emil: The King of Little Sweden. Westerner. Jan. 1912. The Failure. Westerner. Feb. 1912. Lars, The Chicken Man. Westerner. 1912. Industrial: The Berry Patch and What Came of It. Westerner. Aug. 1914. The Story of the Hop Vine. Westerner. Sep. 1914. Consider the Wheatfield. Westerner. Oct. 1914. Just Oil. Westerner. Dec. 1914. Bends In the Trail: The Man I Found in the Valley. Westerner. Aug. 1914. Bob Heckathorn. Westerner. Sep. 1914. A Citizen in the Making. Westerner. Oct. 1914. My Friend joe. Westerner. Nov. 1914. How Christmas Came to the Nesters. Westerner. Dec. 1914. Reddy. Westerner. Jan. 1915. Shore Bird Shooting on the West Coas. Pac Motor Boat. Sep 1914. With the Upland Birds. Pac Motor Boat Oct. 1914. Deer Hunting for the Motorboat Man. Pac Motor Boat. Nov. 1914. Camping for Pleasure. Westerner. May 1913. Camping and Tramping. Seattle Argus. May 1913. Where to go and How to Get There for Outdoor Sport. Seattle Argus. 1910. When We Go A-Fishing. Seattle Argus. June 1912. The Time of Scarlet and Gold. M.S.S. The Tale of Ten Percent. Sold to W.W. Trust Co. 1917. “And the Cat Came Back” – Comedy. M.S.S.

4. [Typescripts]. Mixed Short Stories. 1918. Contents. 1. Moving Picture Synopsis by Chapters of “The Green Opal Ring”. 2. Moving Picture Synopsis- short form- of “The Green Opal Ring”. 3. The Girl Who Didn’t Care. 4. The Girl Who Changed her Mind. 5. The Girl from the River Bogueshiel. 6. The Great Service Syndicate. 7. The Swede. 8. Bull Hawkins. 9. How the Big Boss Went to War. 10. The House in the Sage. 11. When the Red Gods Listen. 12. Bends in the Trail: A Tale of Early Railroad Days. 13. An Adventure in Advertising. 14. Original Comedy Scenario: “And the Cat Came Back”. 15. Revise of “And the Cat Came Back”. 16. Second Revise of “And the Cat Came Back”. 17. Original M.S.S. Perkins’ Cat. 18. Revise of Perkins’ Cat. 19. Original: A Tale of Ten Percent. 20. Revise of A Tale of Ten Percent. 21. Re-revise of A Tale of Ten Percent. Bound March 1918.

5. [Typescripts]. 1922 NY Stuff & Motorboat Stuff File Copy. File Copies. (1922 NY Stuff). Bob Davis Stuff. Geological Note. Spanish Words etc. The Symbol. Indian Fortune Telling Cards. In the Open with El Comancho. That Daughter of Mine. Outdoor Negatives Reprinted.

6. [Typescripts]. Outdoor Recreation 1924-25. Covered Wagon Days. Index. 1. Crossing the River. 2. A Million Acre Fire. 3. Blizzards and Indians. 4. Buffalo Hunts and Hunters. 5. Hot Winds and Grasshoppers. 6. Politics and Poker. 7. Over the Hump and Back. 8. Riding Wide. 9. The Ragged Edge of Things. 10. The Last of the old Plains. 11. Desert Days. 12. Trying to Stay Put.

7. [Typescripts]. Outdoor America. Little River- David- Series. 1924-1925. 12 Stories.

8. [Typescripts]. Outdoor America. (Other than Little River- David Series.) 1924-25. Series of Stories Written for the “Isaac Walton Monthly”. Chicago 1923. 1. The Friendly Wilderness. 2. “Boy, Page Henry Ford”: A Letter. 3. The Little People of the Wilderness. 4. A Bit About Woodcraft. 5. Spring Woodcraft. 6. The Story of the Twentynine. 7. I Hobnob with Some Cavemen. 8. I’ll Tell You About a River. 9. Springtime Along the Little River. 10. The Moon of H’Nash-ka, The Jumping Frog. 11. When September Comes to the Little River.

9. [Typescripts]. Outdoor Life. Copies of Original MSS for 1924. Sign-Talk. 1924. Index. 1. An Appreciation: January 1924. 2. Roads That Run to the Sky. February 1924. 3. The Old Freighters. March 1924. 4. How the Trees Came to the Plains. April 1924. 5. Merchants of the Short-grass Range. May 1924. 6. The Railroad Builder. June 1924. 7. Desert Rats. July 1924. 8. Fish in the Desert. August 1924. 9. Pleasurable Hardships. September 1924. 10. When the Hot Winds and Grasshoppers Came. October 1924. 11. A Little Story of Sodhouse Days. November 1924. 12. Circus Day. December 1924. Various Letters of Comment.

10. [Typescripts]. Short Stories. Outdoor and Others. Bound 1918. Contents. 1. Camp Eats. 2. Some More Camp Eats. 3. About Camp Grub. 4. Practical Woodcraft. 5. April Woodcraft. 6. May Woodcraft. 7. Fur Trapping Near Home. 8. Mouse and Bighorn Sheep Hunting for the Motorboat Man. 9. The Time of Scarlet and Gold. 10. Bear Hunting for the Motorboat Man. 11. Right Around Home. 12. When the Woods are Russett (Sic) and Gold. 13. Just April. 14. Something You’ve Always Wanted. 15. Fishing in the Pacific Northwest. 16. Stock Letter Answering Fishing Questions (for above). 17. What Snow does for the Forests. 18. Why is a Tree? 19. Story of the Teepee. 20. Indian Boy- Games and How to Play Them. 21. Jim Poynes Sermon. 22. The Voice of the Prophet. 23. Index to Series of 37 Short Outdoor Articles.

11. [Typescript]. Three Boys in the Hills. Published by The Page Company Publishers. #53 Beacon St. Boston. 1918. 27 Chapters + Forward by the author.

12. [Typescripts]. After All It’s a Good Old World. 1919. Subtitles Index. 1918-1919. 1. The Woman in Overalls- God Bless Her! 2. Consider the Ships of the Seas. 3. Concerning One Hohenzollern. 4. The Man With the Grouch. 5. The Man Who Went to France. 6. The Passing of a Rose. 7. A Certain Girl and Jimmy Grunwell. 8. A Man Called The Aryan. 9. Belle Wheeler’s Rose. 10. The Man with the Rivet Gun. 11. The Coward. 12. The Story of Marie. 13. About a Little, Half-Forgotten Town. 14. About a Flag. 15. Cap’n Barkus’ Story. 16. She-Who-Is-Always-On-The-Job. 17. When Johnnie Yank Comes Home Again. 18. A Word to Everyman’s Boy. 19. The Story of the Unlucky Boy and the Busy Man.

And a Complete Index of the Outdoor Encyclopedia (together two volumes):

13. Vol. 1: Outdoor Encyclopedia File Copy 1922. The Outdoor Man’s Handbook. A Complete Encyclopedia of the Practise (Sic) of Living Next to Nature. What to do Outdoors and How to Do It. "Look in the book and see." Contains: Forward, Index Plan, Index A-Sheet 1-11 to C-Sheet 8-69-P137

14. Vol. 2: Encyclopedia File Copy 1922. Contains Index D-Sheet 9-70 to N-Sheet 18-155A-P27. [Partial Contents]: 70- Dishwashing: With moss and sand; how to clean greasy pots and pans without soap. 71- Daily Routine: System in camping habits. See Doing Things. 72- Dope: For mosquitoes, flies, etc.; how to make; how to use. 73- Drugs: See first aid. 74- Dirty Bag: For odds and ends; see personal outfit; see equipment; see one-man outfit. 75- Desert Travel: Equipment for; usages; character of country; water; sun; sandstorms; cold; lost; snow; inhabitants; ways. 76- Devil Clubs: (fatsia horrida). Where found; uses, etc.; see naming the plants. 77- Dandelions: Where found; habits used for medicine; for greens. See naming the plants. 78- Decoy Ducks: How to use; how to paint; how to make. 79- Don’t Go to the Wilderness Alone. 79A- Don’ts: In camp and on the trail; common sense. 80- Dogs: Their place in the scheme of things. 81- Daredeviltry (Sic): A few facts for tenderfeet. 82- Doing Things: System applied to life in the open.

PROVENANCE: Estate of Russell Johanson, Ravenna Rare Books, Seattle, WA.

Price: $3,000.00