24 Riley Bio Williams

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.COM

"Where we celebrate the child in us all"

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY
THE POET AS FLYING ISLANDS OF THE NIGHT
by Thomas Earl Williams with primary illustrations by Katherine Kuonen and the great assistance of Robert Tinsley with Riley artifacts, Copyright, 1997, Thomas Earl Williams

Can't you h'ise that winder higher? La! they've all got past like "scat!"... Night's as black as my old hat -And it's rainin', too, at that!...

It out - nen smash it! - An' it's in there yit! But I ain't goin' to cry no more, no more!

Oo! I'm so wickud! - An' my breath's so hot - Ist like I run an' don't res' none

I'm a-startin ag'in, hut I won't, fer shore! -I ist ain't goin' to cry no more, no more!

1. In an epoch before pain-killing medicines, children suffered afflicting childhood conditions and often fatal childhood diseases.

3. pleuresy is a disease causing pain in the chest or side thought to be the result of taking a chill in Riley's day, an inflammation of the pleura into the pleural cavity.

4. Wire mesh fence was introduced in Indiana in the 1890's which invited children to climb the fences as never before.

Johnny Gruelle, whose artist father was a friend of James Whitcomb Riley, created a doll eighty years ago whose name came from two of Riley's most famous poems: "The Raggedy" from "The Raggedy Man" and the "Ann" from "Little Orphant Annie." Struggling to support several members of his family, Gruelle was a cartoonist for the Indianapolis STAR who took refuge in flights of fancy. When his work did not take up his full time, he enjoyed making drawings and inventing adventures for his little girl's rag doll, "Raggedy Ann."

He was hired to do a full page cartoon called "Mr. Twee Deedle" in which the first drawing of Raggedy Ann appeared, just as a background figure.

His hobby grew into sixteen books, and there were thirty more in the -Raggedy Ann" series by his son, Worth and brother, Justin after Johnny's death in 1938. In the preface of his book, "Raggedy Ann Stories" Gruelle

tells the story which has become legend. His little daughter, Marcelle, liked to play in her

tired of whirring the old spinning wheel there and flopped down to rest on an old horsehair sofa.

Standing on a couple of trunks, she yanked out of the barrel some interesting relics: old tintypes, old pictures, a little white bonnet. Then she came upon an old rag doll, with only one shoe button eye, a painted nose, and a smiling mouth. Grandma rejoiced with Marcella at the find of her old rag doll; and quickly went to her sewing machine for another black, shiny shoe button which she sewed on to match the other. The doll joined Marcella's doll family and became her very favorite. Of course she was somewhat different from the doll that emerged later on commercially.

It seems that a New York bookstore undertook to sell Johnny's book, "Raggedy Ann Stories," and had a stack of them in a show window which were not selling. Someone had the idea that a rag doll to accompany the display might help to sell the books. Thus, it was that probably Johnny's sister, Prudence produced a doll for the purpose.

The result was electrifying. There were more demands for the doll than for the books. It was priced at $2.50. A business woman, Molly Goldman, saw an opportunity to profit from the popularity of the dolls and began to manufacture them in 1934. Gruelle sued Mrs. Goldman, but the lawsuit broke his health. However, others had started to make the dolls, some in Norwalk, Connecticut under the direction of Gruelle himself. These early dolls, some with brown, some with orange, some with red hair dressed in blue flowered material like the original doll, or green, are not worth hundreds of dollars. Gruelle had moved to Connecticut sometime after 1910.

1n 1928. a Ek4n.ed Bandy, &way Ann. or kozeedy And, doll _"mid he hod $n $1 .5 IP. the Sean F2velnA4 ,alatryiue

During the Twentieth Century when mail order purchases were frequent, Raggedy Ann dolls were available from the catalogue of retail giant, Scars Roebuck and Co., of Chicago.

Johnny Gruelle, born in Arcola, Illinois in 1880, typified the American Dream, for he was rewarded for his hard work, perseverance, and creativity. The pathos in his life came from the death of his daughter, Marcella, when she was sixteen.

Riley's children's poetry caused Riley to be given a special place in the nation's heart. The people of America recognized Riley for his concerns about them which were their own as well. This regard caused an appreciation of Riley which

The James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children was originally conceived as a
new in literary histo- small hospital to correct child deformities and treat diseases of children. It was
erected by popular subscription at a cost approaching $3,000.000 and received the
ry. Never before was first patient in 1924. Since then it has grown into a national medical center with

was Riley. This was the thrust of an editorial in the Christian Science MONITOR of October 7, 1915 which stated that Indiana honored Riley as Massachusetts had never honored Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, or New York for William Cullen Bryant. The MONITOR then went on to draw a comparison between Riley and Lincoln. "You have to think of Riley in his right setting doing the same humanizing work as a poet that Lincoln did as a statesman, and with the same instruments - pathos, humor, and sincere lover of men as men."

The humble message of the Philippian's Christ Hymn had reverberated through Riley's chords of rhyme through the curtain of time. Time appreciated the favor.

I take this opportunity to assess what I consider to be Riley's place in the greater world of literature.

I find his kenotic poetry of humilty to be his greatest contribution. I do not state this because his "Old Swimmin Hole and 'Leven Other Poems" sold thousands of copies in his epoch or represented America's vision of itself in humility before God or "hope" for itself. I like his kenotic poems because they are a poetry for the "unfit to survive," written "in the face" of the social Darwinists of his Nineteenth Century who saw the poor and humble as merely those being selected out by evolutionary forces. Riley participated back." Trick photo taken at Knightstown, in an American recovery from its experi- Indiana.

America an innocent dream. Riley's poetry gave America hope t o cheer its participation in life. No age in history was faced with questions about humanity and life more bluntly than the Nineteenth Century. Evolutionary theory permitted a definition of humanity undreamed of before. Industrialism brought concern about the role of workers in society. Civil War amendments to the United States Constitution demanded equality of all people and an end to racism and sexism. The menu of all of this was terribly hard to stomach and digest. And yet the poetry of Riley entered into the dynamics of the age too. Humanism and the value of even the humblest life was at stake. Riley carried its banner.

I ask myself how in the world could Riley have sat down in the midst of all his problems in the same year of his castigation for forging an Edgar Allan Poe poem, shortly after an arrest in his hometown for intoxication, and tiring from his job on the Anderson DEMOCRAT, and separated from his Nellie by her husband spiriting her away to write as the Hoosier Deutschman he was, "Das Krist Kindel?"

Reputedly, James Whitcomb Riley "front and back" (From the Julia Wilson Riley Collection)
Courtesy of Riley Old Home Society, Greenfield, IN

I had fed the fire and stirred it, till the sparkles in delight Snapped their saucy little fingers at the chill December night;

And in dressing-gown and slippers, I had tilted back "my throne" -The old split-bottomed rocker - and was musing all alone.

I could hear the hungry Winter prowling round the outer door, And the tread of muffled footsteps on the white piazza floor; But the sounds came to me only as the murmur of a stream That mingled with the current of a lazy-flowing dream.

With the lamplight gleaming through it like a mist-enfolded star; -And as I gazed, the vapor like a curtain rolled away, With a sound of bells that tinkled, and the clatter of a sleigh.

A quaint old man that chuckled with a laugh as he appeared, And with ruddy cheeks like embers in the ashes of his beard.

On a damask-covered hassock that was sitting on the hearth; And at a magic signal of his stubby little thumb,

And looking there, I marveled as I saw a mimic stage Alive with little actors of a very tender age;

And some so very tiny that they tottered as they walked, And lisped and purled and curled like the brooklets, when they talked.

And their faces were like lilies, and their eyes like purest dew, And their tresses like the shadows that the shine is woven through; And they each had little burdens, and a little tale to tell

And they mixed and intermingled, weaving melody with joy, Till the magic circle clustered round a blooming baby-boy; And they threw aside their treasures in an ecstasy of glee, And bent, with dazzled faces and with parted lips, to see.

'Twas a wondrous little fellow, with a dainty double-chin, And chubby cheeks, and dimples for the smiles to blossom in; And he looked as ripe and rosy, on his bed of straw and reeds, As a mellow little pippin that had tumbled in the weeds.

And I saw the happy mother, and a group surrounding her That knelt with costly presents of frankincense and myrrh; And I thrilled with awe and wonder, as a murmur on the air Came drifting o'er the hearing in a melody of prayer: -

By the splendor in the heavens, and the hush upon the sea, And the majesty of silence reigning over Galilee, ‑

We feel Thy kingly presence, and we humbly bow the knee And lift our hearts and voices in gratefulness to Thee.

Thy messenger has spoken, and our doubts have fled and gone As the dark and spectral shadows of the night before the dawn; And, in the kindly shelter of the light around us draw, We would nestle down forever in the breast we lean upon.

And the light of Heaven grew dimmer when You sent him from Your side -But he comes to lead Thy children where the gates will open wide To welcome his returning when his works are glorified.

By the splendor in the heavens, and the hush upon the sea, And the majesty of silence reigning over Galilee, ‑

We feel Thy kingly presence, and we humbly bow the knee And lift our hearts and voices in gratefulness to Thee.

Then the vision, slowly failing, with the words of the refrain, Fell swooning in the moonlight through the frosty window-pane; And I heard the clock proclaiming, like an eager sentinel

This poem not only marks Riley's genial Hoosier Deutsch heritage within the transitional frontier culture of America but also some "touch" of destiny. There is some inspiration in Riley that I leave to others to place in words. I simply cannot further explain what I mean.

that Riley's poetry was a poetry of humility, mystery and love and a proper reflection of its appropriation of the "Christ Hymn" with which it dialogued.

Just as the Philippian's "Christ Hymn" - a basic reference to the kenotics of Riley's age - is essentially poetry as well as song, so does its message, to be grasped, require poetic expression even more than metaphysical theological argument. The theologians discoursed and argued about its themes within the framework of the theological controversies of the Nineteenth Century, but it was in the poetry of James Whitcomb Riley that the point of Incarnation was made and triumphed in the United States in the Nineteenth Century. It was the poetry of James Whitcomb Riley that echoed the message calling for harmonious neighborliness, accommodation, racial toleration and the reconciliation possible because a "humiliated" Christ lived and thought enough of humanity to choose to live as one. Riley's poetry stands for the proposition that the unfortunate, the erring, the broken are subjects not just of kindness but also mercy. I like that thought. Maybe, I think we all kind of depend on it.

I also like the thought that Riley's poetry challenged the vision of Americans. Instead of the John D. Rockefellers and the railroad magnates or their ilk being the "great ones" of the Nineteenth Century, Riley's vulnerable and humble characters, the honest and tranquil Herr Weisers, the friendly and loyal William Leachmans, and the tragic but redeemed Mahala Ashcrafts for the adults -the Little Orphant Annies, Raggedy Men and the

Wellwishers outside the Indiana Statehouse waiting to see Riley's body lying in state inside. (From the Barton Rees Pogue glass positive collection.)

imaginative boy of Riley's famous "Bear Story" for the children-stormed into the American consciousness.

And so Riley's poetry remains in the American dream for us his children of the future - to sing to our souls of the old things, the wholesome things, the good things.

Carrying on the Riley Tradition: Standing, Mayor Pat Elmore, Top L to R: Ann Osborne, Curator; Terese Fargo. hostess, Lee Ann Petropoulos, Riley Old Home Society Pres.; Ellen Clift, Hostess. Bottom row L to R: Clark Ketchum. Parks Superintendent, Joan Ream, Hostess

In the news account of Riley's death, the absence of any real Riley biography was noted on its page one by the New York TIMES, which commented under the headline, "Early Life a Mystery," "James Whitcomb Riley was born at Greenfield, Indiana, probably in 1853. The poet made a secret of his age. A good deal of his early life is legendary for the reason that Riley refused to consent to have a biography published. A few years ago some of his admirers in Chicago, after consulting most of his early friends who were still living, wrote an account of his life and submitted the proofs to him.

The poet was greatly disturbed and protested, asking his friends to let him alone. He said his life was too commonplace to interest any one. He revised the proofs, however, but doctored the biography so that no specific or direct statement and no dates were left standing. He decided to allow it to be published that way, but later changed his mind, bought up the rights to the book, and had it destroyed. When friends in his later days pressed him to write a biography, he said: "No, no; it seems too conceited."

Did Riley leave no biography? My own conclusion is somewhat different from the conclusion of the New York TIMES. I think Riley wrote his own life into his cryptic poem "The Flying Islands of the Night" and wished to leave it at that. I have tried to follow the play/poem's themes in this extension of his life as much as I could. Riley revised the poem several times to include later experiences which permit us to go beyond Riley's depressed and alcoholic "Crestillomeem" dominant period of his late 20's. Thank the God who looks out for America for this.

I often thought of this book as a "payback" to a dead man who has always been the source of much inspiration to me as his writings have been to many Americans. Particularly when writing my CHILDREN OF A NEW ABRAHAM, (my "logos" of America), I often found myself encouraged by Riley's writing to "reach" into the vulnerability of human life to extract its existential as well as ordinary value. I thank you James Whitcomb Riley-the thanks of a grateful student to an old, beloved friend.

The University Press of Kentucky gave me specific permission to quote from SLAVE AND FREEMAN, the writings of George Knox. Mrs. Richard H. Dickson, a member of one of Indiana's "first families," gave me permission to use a memorandum written by her father, Walter Dennis Myers, an attorney of James Whitcomb Riley. The Indiana State library, its newspaper division,"Indiana Room" and reference section were often very helpful as were their contemporaries at the Indianapolis Public Library. The Indiana Historical Society is due much credit, particularly for their permission to use Millikan family photographs and other materials and visuals. Susan Sutton of that society was a great resource. Paul Henderson provided basic research for the "Leonainie" poem/hoax. A great section in "Jucklet" came from an unpublished manuscript of his. Acknowledgment is made to Felix Post, author, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Belgrave Square, London for specific permission to quote material from their 1996 Article in the BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY entitled "Verbal Creativity, Depression and Alcoholism." Likewise, Mark Brunke, chatted with me while giving his permission to quote from his article "Alcohol and Creative Writing," in Psychological Reports 71(2):651-8, 1992 Oct. As always I owe much to the insights of my friends, Calvin Porter, New Testament Professor at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, and the same institution's theologian Edward Towne, as well as my Greek Orthodox brother, the "missionary to the Hoosiers," Charles Ashanin who first acquainted me with the literature of the Protestant Incarnation movement of the Nineteenth Century some years ago. Many libraries and librarians -Carol Graf comes to mind of the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, county historians-especially Joe Skvarenina (of Hancock) and Monisa Wisener (of Randolph)-and journalists have been my friends in this undertaking. The Anderson Public Library's "Indiana Room" is a "ginoine ar-tickle" for Riley materials and I spent many happy days there. I have sought permission to use more recent materials under copyright and specifically thank the Lafayette JOURNAL AND COURIER for Delphi background material. I deeply appreciate the experience of walking in Delphi's Riley Park and driving the area to Camden as Riley and Dr. Wycliffe Smith did. Also I acknowledge

The National Archives and many college libraries, particularly those of Indiana University, both at Indianapolis and Bloomington, the Universities of Harvard, Virginia and Wyoming (which has the great Bill Nye collection), and particularly the Lilly Library at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana which lovingly preserves much Rileyana. Letters are sometimes quoted from the Lilly Library's Riley Letters Collection. Others are from copies of almost all of Riley's correspondence purchased from the Leslie Payne estate by my friend, Robert Tinsley, or from publications of various sorts. All of the staff and its great director, Susan Wagonner, of the Greenfield (Indiana) Public Library have been very helpful. Marcia Hunt of that library found John T. Hatfield's book THIRTY THREE YEARS, A LIVE WIRE. Larry Fox, Archivist of the James Whitcomb Riley Museum in Greenfield, Indiana, read the manuscript and offered valuable suggestions. He also helped me with illustrations from the life of Riley in the Riley Museum as did the great docent of that museum, Camilla Miller. Many photos derive from the Barton Rees Pogue glass positive collection which I wished to help preserve. In publishing these glass impressions, I wish to remember another Greenfield native son, the poet, Barton Rees Pogue. Pogue was born in 1883 on North Spring Street, Greenfield. He first was on the faculty at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana before going into public entertainment in the new media of radio at that time. He wrote numerous poems for broadcast on Cincinnati's famous channel, WLW. Pogue was very proud of his -hometown" connection with Riley and composed a visual program about Riley for schools from which these glass negatives derive. Camilla Miller provided me with illustrations from the Howland photography collection. I also thank the Riley Old Home Society for the photographs from the Julia Wilson Riley family album and other illustrations. Kenneth Ross of The Department of History, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Philadelphia assisted greatly in helping me determine the course and extent of Incarnation Theology into the American heartland and background information on Riley's friend, Myron Reed. I have tried to use materials from those who knew Riley as much as possible. Such people included Booth Tarkington, Minnie Belle Mitchell, George Ade, Meredith Nicholson, Hamlin Garland, William Neff, George Richman, Marcus Dickey,

William Lyon Phelps, Edmund Eitel, Riley relatives, and many others. I include material from a genealogy of James Whitcomb Riley by Patricia Jean Zumwalt, Livingston, TX, based in part on the pedigree work of Hannah Foster Dowling. Ms. Dowling born 1907 of Dayton, Ohio, used as sources material "from my grandfather" Jesse A. Foster of Preble Co., Ohio - a Riley relative, cemetery stones, and correspondence with Sam Riley of Texas and Jim Smith Berry of Cincinnati, Ohio. Philip Kabel's writings provided much information on the Riley family history from Randolph County. I am indebted to Arville L. Funk, Corydon, Indiana for background on Morgan's Raid. Death records relating to James McClanahan were obtained from Saint John's Health System Medical Records Department, Anderson, Indiana, the Madison County Board of Health and other sources. Anna Chittenden information was primarily provided by the Indiana Archives Section of the Indiana State Library which maintains records of the former Central State Hospital where Ms. Chittenden was committed by Court order. Much more information on William Bixler is contained in a wonderful article in the Milwaukee, WI JOURNAL of May 15, 1941. Phyllis Arthur and Tina Nehrling of the Riley Children's Theatre unwittingly helped me select the poetry for children included in the "Bud" Section. The quotes from the press on Luther Benson are from the book, Banta, INDIANA AUTHORS AND THEIR BOOKS. The literature on German Settlers in Indiana is surprisingly scarce considering the huge number of the Hoosier Deutsch. GERMAN SETTLERS AND GERMAN SETTLEMENTS by Dr. William A. Fritsch of Evansville, Indiana is among the best sources. Riley is proudly mentioned in this publication. The list of contemporary Hoosier poets with Riley was compiled from Benjamin Parker and Enos Heiney's POETS AND POETRY OF INDIANA, 1900. The Russo BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY was extremely helpful in locating background materials but I have also concentrated on "local sources" most heavily. The greatest of these was my mother, Dorothy June Williams. She wrote extensively on James Whitcomb Riley. Before her death, she and I wrote A HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY, INDIANA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY which contains much Riley material. She is also the author of the "Riley Home History" and many other writings. Her

weekly newspaper columns in the Greenfield Daily REPORTER, the Hancock JOURNAL and the Hancock County AD-NEWS as well as my own (covering a total period of close to half a century) have gone into this book. Other references are found in the text. I do not name all those I should acknowledge. As always whenever military actions during the American Civil War come up, I leaf through the mountainous OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE WAR OF REBELLION at the Indiana State Library Reference Room. The material on the little known Civil War Battle of Rich Mountain comes mainly from those records. Many anonymous newspeople who interviewed Hartpence, McCrillus, Haute Jameson, the Davis boys, and many, many other people in Riley's life are not named here but should have been. Their published newspaper articles in numerous newspapers and journals have constituted the main body of this book. There are simply too many. THE LOVE LETTERS OF THE BACHELOR POET JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY TO MISS ELIZABETH KAHLE of the Boston Bibliophile Society, 1922, was interesting although I still wonder why Riley wrote Miss Kahle the letters. I have quoted from some of these. I have perused earlier biographies of Riley with great admiration. In fact, however, I started this project by taking a COMPLETE WORKS of Riley's poetry with me for a stay on the island of Rhodos, my favorite place, with Venice, in all the world. Riley and I had a marvelous time in the Mediterranean as we became more acquainted than ever before. Perhaps this biography will offer somewhat different conclusions about Riley's life based upon local history and folklore sources primarily. Riley was so famous that even to this day "local" stories about him survive. I have files full of reference materials should anyone wish to contact me about some specific fact. Biographies are not of course footnoted but I have "cheated" where necessary.

Angela McMahan at the typesetters, the Greenfield (IN) DAILY REPORTER, and Gary George, are the wonderful layout specialists. Angela you are so very appreciated by all of the "Riley" family for your help with this work of preservation. My fine assistant Bill Allford was always interested. In the middle of this project, Becky Mayhugh joined my office and has helped immeasurably.

Academy Club, 205; Ade, George, 244; Adelphians, 110, 177, 207213; advertising doggerel, 411, 479; Alcoholism, 4 great periods of, 265; Alcoholic's Confessional Genre Literature, 60; Alexander, Mary Tarkington, 95; Allison, James, 372; American Academy of Arts and Letters, 605, 609; Anderson, 104, 611; Annie, 3; arrest and conviction, 250; artist, Riley as, 212- 13, 572; Atkinson, Lucy, 477; Attitude toward children, 635; audience, Riley primary, 421; Babb, Kate Milner, 531; Baptist Hymnal of 1887, 406; Battle of Rich Mountain,Virginia, 554,557; Battle Song, 417-418; Beard, Frank, 160; Belleville, IL,181; Benson, Luther, 16, 60, 61, 231-235, 490; Beveridge, Albert, 355; Bierce, Ambrose, 548; Birthplace, 571; Bixler, William, 599; Blake, William, 350; Blind Painter Prank,68; Bloomington, IN, 524; Blowney, Major, 206; Books by Riley, 495496; Bottsford, Clara Louise, 213-8,443; Boulton, Sarah, 423, 509; Bowen-Merrill, 405,494; Branham, A.J., 378; Bryant,William Cullen, 139, 443; Bryce, A.B., 377; Bud's themes, 633; Burns, Robert, 443; Burdette, Robert, 158,524-5; Buzz Club, 345; Campbell, John W., 224; Campbell, McLeod, 401; Carmichael, Hoagy, 405; Carr, Thomas, 209; Cast of Flying Islands of the Night, 20; Cawein, Madison, 600; Cellar Prank, 69; Cemetery, Crown Hill, Indianapolis, IN, 10; Cemetery, Park, Greenfield, IN 268; Centennial of Riley's Birth, 512; Charlottesville, IN, 74; Chatterton,Thomas, 156, 333; Chickering Hall, New York City, NY, 462, 505, 531, 592; Children's Poet, 620, 636; Chittenden, Anna, 352-355; Christ Hymn, 2, 11, 401, 420, 654, 658; Christy, Howard Chandler, 497; Circuit riding, 510; Civil War, 596; Columbia Club, Indianapolis, IN, 366, 591; Commercial Club, Indianapolis, IN, 603; Cooke, R.J., 378; Cooley, George, 177; Cooley, Nellie Millikan, 16, 98, 106, 170-97, 286, 290, 319, 323-331, 572, 594; Copyright League, 505; Cox, Emma, 184; Darwin, Charles, 420, 461; Davis Brothers Band, 209; Davis, John, 268; Davis, William B., 97; Debs, Eugene V., 239-40; Deer Creek poems, 467-474, 529; Degrees, Indiana University, Univ.of Pennsylvania, Wabash College, Yale College, 164; Delphi, IN, 241243, 467; dialect, 513, 590; Dickens, Charles, 102, 441-443, 512;

Dickey, Marcus, 14, 556; Downing, Arthur, 508; Downing, Helen, 446; Dreiser, Theodore, 499; Dumont, Julia,498; Dunbar, Hamilton J., 583; Dunbar House Inn. Greenfield, IN, .222; Eggleston, Edward, 498; Eitel, Edmund, 358, 481; Eitel, Henry, 356; Elizabeth, Riley, as AEo, 16; Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 443; Ethell, Will, 226; ethos, 405; Fairbanks "Tea Party", 246; Field, Eugene, 247; Finley, John, 421; Fishback, William, 545; Fisher, Carl G., 372; Fortville, IN, 318; Four great platform engagements, 505; Frontier Hoosier songs, 411-413; Garland, Hamlin, 272, 417, 418, 494; Ghost story, 167; Glasscock, Will H., 438; Goble, D.H., printing, 406, 437; Golden Age of Hoosier Literature, 498,555; 499; Grand Army of the Republic, 578,601; Grant, U.S., 587; Graphics, 68, 109, 110, 111, 226; Gray, Harold, 3; Greenfield, IN, 609, 615; Greenfield (IN) Literary Club, 352, 508; Greenfield IN Post Office, 508; Gruelle, Johnny, 652; Guest, Edgar Allen, 617; Hamilton, Clint, 6, 96; Hancock Agricultural Society, 320; Hancock Guards, 563; Harris, Lee 0., 90, 437-441, 446, 560, 627-629; Harrison, Benjamin, 475, 593, 603; Harte, Brett, 289; Hartpence, William, 182, 480, 481; Hatfield, John, 62; Hayes, Frank, 58; Henderson, J.0., 117; Henderson, Oscar, 506; Herrick, Robert, 441; Hitt, George, 492; Holmes, Oliver Wendall, 469; Holstein, Major and Mrs., 365; Hoosier Deutsch, 76,630; Hoosier poet, 488; Hoosier poets, listing, 445-446; Hoover, John, 69; Hough,William R., 611; housepainter, 213, 575; Howe, Julia Ward, 600; Howells, William Dean, 606; Howland, Hewitt Hanson, 271; Hum (Humboldt Riley, the poet's brother), 17; Illustration, 498; Incarnation embedded in literature, 379; Incarnation theology, 2, 11, 378, 420, 552; Indianapolis, IN, 586, 588, 607; Indianapolis, IN, Literary Club, 505, 508, 545; Indianapolis (IN) Public Library, 493; Ingersoll, Robert, 420; Inn, Guyman, Greenfield, IN 75; Johnson, Benjamin, 4, 388-389, 449; Johnson, Richard Malcolm, 360; Johnson, Robert Underwood, 592; Kagan, Jerome, 636; Kahle, Elizabeth, 219, 351, 526; Keats, 443; Keefer, Almon, 480; Kemmer, William, 306-15; Kenoticism, 11, 388, 451; Kenotic literature, 379; Kenotic Poetry, 655; Kiefer, John, 108, 271; Kingry's Mill, 628; Kipling, Rudyard, 3, 623-4; Kokomo, IN, 112, 489, 506; Knox, George, 100, 101, 108, 322, 475; Lafayette, IN, 243; Last days, 519; Lincoln, Abraham, 88, 413, 555, 573; Livingstone, Howland, 545; Lockerbie Street, 365,616; Loder,

Cornelia, 427; Logansport, IN, 548; Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 187, 382, 429-31; Lowell, James Russell, 462, 532; lung tester, 158; Lyceum, 524; Lyceum circuit, 523; lynching incident, 306-15; "Made in Anderson" event, 227, 612; Major, Charles, 499; Marcel, Adrian, 196; Marine, Elizabeth, 83, 198-203; Marion, IN, 211; Marine, John, 84; Marvel, Ik, 304, 482; Martindale, Elijah B., 483-487, 583; Masonic Hall, Greenfield, IN, 59, 210; McClanahan, Jim, 109, 110, 207, 219, 224-31, 287, 290; McClellan, George, 558; McCrillus, Dr. Samuel, 266, 274-82, 291-93, 576; McCulloch, Dr. Carleton B., 371; McCutcheon, George Bar, 499; McKinley, President William, 405; Merrill, Meigs and Company, 494; Methodist Church, 305; Miller, Henry, 109,206; Millikan, Jesse, 178; Millikan, Rhoda Houghton, 98, 178, 184; Mitchell, Minnie Belle, 58, 446, 610; Monrovia, IN, 513; Moody, William Vaughn, 499; Moore, John, 306; Moore, Oliver, 481; Morgan, John Hunt, 560-5; Morgue, The, 322, 520; Morton, Oliver P., 88, 466, 556; Murphy, Elizabeth Fisher, 242; Murphy, Frank, 287; Murphy, pledge, 16; Musselman, Catherine, 205; Myers, Kate, 219; Myers, Ora, 611; National Greenback Party and Reuben Riley, 585; National Institute of Arts and Letters, 609; Nature poetry, 446-8; Neill's school, 89; Negley, Lester Sr., 608; New Castle, IN, 509; New England Society, 541; New Palestine (IN) Home Guards, 564; Newspaper poetry, 474-93; Nicholson, Meredith, 7, 221, 244, 403, 629, 630; Nickum, John, 372, 602; Nye, Bill, 533; Nye, Edgar Wilson, 8; Ohio, Lima, 317; O'Neil, Paddy, 366; O'Reilly, Jamesy, 626; Othell, Will, 514; Page, Thomas Nelson, 593; Palmistry, 633; Paine, Dan, 490; Parker, Benjamin, 383; Pedigree, 78-84; Peattie, Donald Culross, 446; Peru, IN, 68,205; Phelps,William Lyon, 608, 631; Philadelphia, IN, 622; Phillips, Charles, 235- 37, 489; Philips, Theophilus C., 489; physical description, 361, 529; Pioneer Association, 509; Platform Lecturer, 504; Poe, Edgar Allan, 105, 115, 297-300, 443; Poems set to music, 408-9; Poet, Children's, 2; Pond, James B., 8, 524; Porter, Gene Stratton, 499; poverty of family, 272, 565-9; Press summaries, 536; Proclamation of Riley Day, 613-614; prose, 492; Racism, 306; Rafter room, 88; Raggedy Ann, 652; Ralston, Samuel M., 614; Randall, Anna, 552; Redpath Bureau, 524, 526; Redpath, James, 8; Reed, Rev. Myron, 219, 377, 401-5, 491, 509, 589; Richards, Myra, 6; Richman, George, 24; Riley Day, 610;

Riley, Elizabeth, 269-70, 362, 577; Riley, Elva May, 273; Riley Hospital, 654; Riley, Hum ,428; Riley, John A., 16; Riley, Martha Lukens, 428: Riley, Mary, 223, 274, 523; Riley, Margaret, 82, 401, 561; Riley, Reuben, 79, 89, 114, 424, 476, 522, 554, 560-85, 569-71, 574, 598; Riley's Declaration of Independence from prior American poetry, 334-5; Roberts Park Methodist Church, 514; Robinson, Reuben D., 510; Rockefeller, John D., 381; Rowell, Adda, 203; Rumrill, Lionel E., 481; Sargent, John Singer, 13; Schrieker, Henry, 638; "Seminary," The, 106, 273; Shelbyville, IN, 499; Shirley, 522, 588; Sisters and brothers, 84; Skinner, John, 222, 317, 318; Smith, Mary Alice, 622; Smith, Wycliffe, 240; Smoot, Walter, 231; Sneathen, "Smallpox", 240; Snow, Tom, 115; spirit writing, 220; Social Darwinism, Riley and, 399-401; Society of the Army of the Tennessee, 547; Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Indianapolis, IN, 405, 590-2, 608; song as basis of Riley poetry, 405; sound recordings, 493; Sousa, John Philip, 405; South Bend, IN, 206, 287; Spanish American War, 604; Spencer, Herbert, 399; Stafford, William, 224, 339, 344; Stamp Issue, American Poets Postage, 508; Stein, Evaleen, 243; Stein, Orth, 243; Stevenson, Robert Lewis, 247; stroke, 452; suicide, 331; Sumner, William Graham, 399,461; Swope, Elmer, 87; Take Radway's Ready Relief Prank, 69; Tarkington, Booth, 212, 499; Tarkington, Hautie, 221; Taylor, H.S., 238; Tea hour, 600; temperance, 282-6, 300-3; Temple, Tremont, Boston, MA, 505; Tennyson, Alfred Lord, 441; Terrell, William H.H., 466; The Old Swimmin' Hole and 'Leven More Poems, 529; Townsend, Doc, 266, 315-9; tremens, 350; Twain, Mark, 534, 543; Uncle Sydney, 626; Vawter, Will, 4, 498; Walker, A.J., 364, 532; Walker Block Building,194; Walker, Horace, 357; Walker, John, 224, 253, 339, 487, 488, 490; Walker, Will T., 481; Wallace, Lew, 377, 499; Wallace, Zerelda, 282; Warsaw, IN, 204; Weiser, Herr, 241; Wells, Harriet Eitel, 97, 600; Western Association of Writers, 594; Western Lecture Bureau, 509; Western Lyceum Agency, 530; Wheeler,Ella, 219; Whit, Jay, 426, 473; Whitcomb, James,589; Whitman,Walt, 409; Whittier,John Greenleaf, 441; Wick, William, 87; Wills, Elizabeth T., 283; Wilson, President Woodrow, 10, 553; Windsor, IN, 78; Winslow, Marshall, 508; Wizard Oil Company, 316; Wordsworth, William, 157; wunk,