... Monte Wolfe was enjoying his last summer on the Mokelumne. He had begun his preparations for a September visit to the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. He traveled to the Expo by "thumb" and appeared at the Oakland home of his adopted family, the Linfords. When he arrived in Oakland, he was in full Monte Wolfe costume; a vintage Army dress uniform with doughboy hat banded by a rattlesnake skin. Neighborhood kids playing ball in the street stopped in their tracks at the sight. When they crossed the Bay Bridge to attend the Expo, Monte wore his custom made fringed deerhide frontiersman jacket that he had commissioned for the 1939 4th of July parade in Markleeville. Many folks that attended the Expo wore costumes, as did Monte. He was in costume as himself.
After returning home to the Mokelumne River, he guided a few hunting groups including Jim Linford and his friend, attorney Bestor Robinson in November. Bear hunting was bad, but he sent Bestor home with a bear hide as a gift. On the way out, Linford drove Monte to Markleeville and then westward over Carson Pass. They dropped Monte at Plasse's near Silver Lake where he hiked down to his cabin through the Summit City canyon. That was the last time Jim Linford saw Monte.
Harry and Art Schimke had a similar story. They were visited by Monte in November at Alpine Lodge. When he departed through the deep snow, that was their goodbye.
Whatever happened to Monte, it probably happened on April 20, 1940. Strong evidence indicates this was Monte's last day. It also happened to be the day he had entered the world 54 years earlier.
Don
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
FORENSIC DESCRIPTION EVOLVES
There were a few times during Monte Wolfe's life when he was prodded, weighed, and measured by the law. Those measurements went into the public record and are part of Monte Wolfe's vapor trail that persists to this day. Through these descriptions we can begin to visualize his stature. His physical description evolved a little over the years due to the rigors of life and the evolution of forensic science.
On his 1909 induction into Folsom Prison at the age of 23, he was described thus:
DESCRIPTION: Complexion: Fair, Eyes: Lt. Brown, Hair: Lt. Brown, Height: 5'-5", Occupation: Miner, Nativity: North Dakota.
When he exited Folsom in 1911, his description had been refined with the following:
DESCRIPTION: Weight: 153, Hair: Dk. Blonde, Eyes: Lt Chestnut, Build: Muscular
Fifteen years had passed when Monte found himself on the receiving end of another law-imposed physical examination. He was arrested in 1927, and there was a strong attempt to identify him due to the changing directions of his case. The following information was added to the public record by the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department:
DESCRIPTION: Prominent cheek bones / right third tow amputated, third joint, right 4th tow amputated, second joint, Horizontal scar, right side of chin,. Oblique cut, sc front left wrist, Irregular cut sc first joint back left thumb. Large oval cut inside right calf.
A FINAL NOTE: People often comment on how short Monte Wolfe was by citing differing heights that would be considered short by today's standards. Now it clear that his true height was 5'-5". My question was, how does 5'-5" compare to a sampling of 1909 inmates?
Working with the CA state archives I was able to obtain 10 pages from the 1909 Folsom Inmate Ledger. Monte Wolfe was one of 200 inmates listed there. One item the ledger recorded was the height of each prisoner. I took the heights of the 200 inmates and plugged them into a spreadsheet and then sorted and averaged the heights. The results showed a bell curve where 5'-5" was very average, 5'-1" was on the shorter end and 5'-10" was relatively tall.
That's all, "by gawree." ("Monte talk" remembered by his family)
Don
On his 1909 induction into Folsom Prison at the age of 23, he was described thus:
DESCRIPTION: Complexion: Fair, Eyes: Lt. Brown, Hair: Lt. Brown, Height: 5'-5", Occupation: Miner, Nativity: North Dakota.
When he exited Folsom in 1911, his description had been refined with the following:
DESCRIPTION: Weight: 153, Hair: Dk. Blonde, Eyes: Lt Chestnut, Build: Muscular
Fifteen years had passed when Monte found himself on the receiving end of another law-imposed physical examination. He was arrested in 1927, and there was a strong attempt to identify him due to the changing directions of his case. The following information was added to the public record by the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department:
DESCRIPTION: Prominent cheek bones / right third tow amputated, third joint, right 4th tow amputated, second joint, Horizontal scar, right side of chin,. Oblique cut, sc front left wrist, Irregular cut sc first joint back left thumb. Large oval cut inside right calf.
A FINAL NOTE: People often comment on how short Monte Wolfe was by citing differing heights that would be considered short by today's standards. Now it clear that his true height was 5'-5". My question was, how does 5'-5" compare to a sampling of 1909 inmates?
Working with the CA state archives I was able to obtain 10 pages from the 1909 Folsom Inmate Ledger. Monte Wolfe was one of 200 inmates listed there. One item the ledger recorded was the height of each prisoner. I took the heights of the 200 inmates and plugged them into a spreadsheet and then sorted and averaged the heights. The results showed a bell curve where 5'-5" was very average, 5'-1" was on the shorter end and 5'-10" was relatively tall.
That's all, "by gawree." ("Monte talk" remembered by his family)
Don
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
THE LEGEND OF MONTE WOLFE
Hello friends:
My name is Don De Young. I have been fascinated and moved by stories of Monte Wolfe since 1966. It was during that summer that I and my fellow Boy Scouts camped in Pacific Valley in preparation for a 25-miler down the Mokelumne's north fork canyon the following morning.
The Scouts had a group camp fire with a special guest that night. He was a local old-timer by the name of Michael Hunt and his job was to introduce a bunch of boys to the legends and realities of his long lost friend, Monte Wolfe. We were transfixed when we learned about the remote cabins Monte had built and equipped with stoves, tools, and other heavy items that he had carried in on his back. Mr. Hunt went on to explain that Monte was half-Indian and took whatever he needed, even if it was in a closed cabin. Sometimes he would compensate the item donor by providing goods or services in return for their "generosity" and sometimes he didn't, but he always wanted people to know he had been there.
Monte Wolfe was a mountain man during the Industrial Revolution. He lived outside of an American society that he couldn't come to terms with. In the winter he trapped fur-bearing animals alone in the cold and lonely mountains. In the spring he maintained a large sub-alpine garden and in the summer and fall he guided anglers and hunters, guaranteeing limits.
As legendary mountain men tend to do, he mysteriously disappeared from his mountain paradise in the spring thaw of 1940 and was never seen nor heard from again.
We camped the first night (just) under a massive thunderstorm outside of Monte's upper cabin, elevation 6,560 feet. After our flannel sleeping bags were soaked and heavy (on night-1 of our hike!) many of us migrated into Monte's cabin to stay dry. At that time, the cabin had been long stripped of all of Monte's belongings except for the cast iron stove, which no souvenir hunter had the huevos to carry out.
On day two we hiked to Monte's lower camp. On the way, we stopped by Monte's cache tree, a giant first growth Ponderosa Pine that had been fire-hollowed and later filled by Monte with survival essentials if needed during his winter trapping.
Further down we traversed the bottom tread of the legendary Devil's Staircase below Meadow Lake. We stepped lightly across Rattlesnake Flat and entered the verdant Cabin Flat and Monte's lower cabin.
The 14' x 20' cabin was beautifully intact with bear spikes in place across the door and windows. When we entered the cabin many of Monte's belongings were still intact. His skis and poles were in the rafters and his bed was still in good shape. Outside, his wheelbarrow leaned against a tree as did many heavy tools. There were at least 15 large log sections that Monte had fashioned into guest chairs. We poked through Monte's old can dump that afternoon and had a great campfire that night.
During the entire trip we all had an uncanny feeling of Monte's presence. We all hiked much of the time in silence... listening, searching. That pre-trip campfire in Pacific Valley had really done a job on our impressionable 13-year old minds!
After departing Monte's lower camp we hiked on downstream to Camp Irene where we heard the sad story of young Irene Pecchenino who had tragically drown there on July 26, 1942. In that quiet place, Irene's memory mingled with Monte's.
The following day we continued our trek on to Cedar Camp and then to the spot where Grouse Creek enters the Mokelumne. There we began the Grouse Valley Death March up the canyon wall and into Bear Valley.
Ever since that experience, I have had a place in my heart for Monte Wolfe. My siblings and friends have had to endure my Monte musings for over four decades. I've revisited the Mokelumne Wilderness many times since the sixties and even had my bachelor party at Salt Springs. Go figure!
In closing, if you or anyone you know has a Monte Wolfe story to share, drop me an email at don@deyoung.org and I will post it here.
In Monte's Spirit:
Don De Young
My name is Don De Young. I have been fascinated and moved by stories of Monte Wolfe since 1966. It was during that summer that I and my fellow Boy Scouts camped in Pacific Valley in preparation for a 25-miler down the Mokelumne's north fork canyon the following morning.
The Scouts had a group camp fire with a special guest that night. He was a local old-timer by the name of Michael Hunt and his job was to introduce a bunch of boys to the legends and realities of his long lost friend, Monte Wolfe. We were transfixed when we learned about the remote cabins Monte had built and equipped with stoves, tools, and other heavy items that he had carried in on his back. Mr. Hunt went on to explain that Monte was half-Indian and took whatever he needed, even if it was in a closed cabin. Sometimes he would compensate the item donor by providing goods or services in return for their "generosity" and sometimes he didn't, but he always wanted people to know he had been there.
Monte Wolfe was a mountain man during the Industrial Revolution. He lived outside of an American society that he couldn't come to terms with. In the winter he trapped fur-bearing animals alone in the cold and lonely mountains. In the spring he maintained a large sub-alpine garden and in the summer and fall he guided anglers and hunters, guaranteeing limits.
As legendary mountain men tend to do, he mysteriously disappeared from his mountain paradise in the spring thaw of 1940 and was never seen nor heard from again.
We camped the first night (just) under a massive thunderstorm outside of Monte's upper cabin, elevation 6,560 feet. After our flannel sleeping bags were soaked and heavy (on night-1 of our hike!) many of us migrated into Monte's cabin to stay dry. At that time, the cabin had been long stripped of all of Monte's belongings except for the cast iron stove, which no souvenir hunter had the huevos to carry out.
On day two we hiked to Monte's lower camp. On the way, we stopped by Monte's cache tree, a giant first growth Ponderosa Pine that had been fire-hollowed and later filled by Monte with survival essentials if needed during his winter trapping.
Further down we traversed the bottom tread of the legendary Devil's Staircase below Meadow Lake. We stepped lightly across Rattlesnake Flat and entered the verdant Cabin Flat and Monte's lower cabin.
The 14' x 20' cabin was beautifully intact with bear spikes in place across the door and windows. When we entered the cabin many of Monte's belongings were still intact. His skis and poles were in the rafters and his bed was still in good shape. Outside, his wheelbarrow leaned against a tree as did many heavy tools. There were at least 15 large log sections that Monte had fashioned into guest chairs. We poked through Monte's old can dump that afternoon and had a great campfire that night.
During the entire trip we all had an uncanny feeling of Monte's presence. We all hiked much of the time in silence... listening, searching. That pre-trip campfire in Pacific Valley had really done a job on our impressionable 13-year old minds!
After departing Monte's lower camp we hiked on downstream to Camp Irene where we heard the sad story of young Irene Pecchenino who had tragically drown there on July 26, 1942. In that quiet place, Irene's memory mingled with Monte's.
The following day we continued our trek on to Cedar Camp and then to the spot where Grouse Creek enters the Mokelumne. There we began the Grouse Valley Death March up the canyon wall and into Bear Valley.
Ever since that experience, I have had a place in my heart for Monte Wolfe. My siblings and friends have had to endure my Monte musings for over four decades. I've revisited the Mokelumne Wilderness many times since the sixties and even had my bachelor party at Salt Springs. Go figure!
In closing, if you or anyone you know has a Monte Wolfe story to share, drop me an email at don@deyoung.org and I will post it here.
In Monte's Spirit:
Don De Young
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