Many in Wallace and the Silver Valley of Idaho were upset over the treatment of the miners in Idaho and the overt attempt to crush the union. One of those disaffected was the indomitable May Hutton. May had been actively supporting the union and its efforts to improve the lives of the miners. While the miners were rounded up and questioned May’s husband Levi was subpoenaed.
Levi had been operating a locomotive the day of the explosions; he was held at gun point and ordered to move with the mob. Some claimed that he could have done something to stop the events that unfolded and that his actions that day implied that he was a conspirator. He was thrown into the bullpen with the other suspects.
May was furious and set out to free her husband. She claimed that she had damaging information that would hurt significant figures in Wallace society and would use the information if Levi was not freed. She petitioned and wrote letters, she visited the bullpen everyday bringing food to the miners and her husband. Her disdain for the soldiers who were there to keep guard was not hidden and she made a nuisance of herself. The soldiers did not hide their feelings toward May making rude comments about her when she came.
During her visits May began to formulate the basis for a book that would chronicle the events of the time. It was a thinly veiled novel that was emotional, verging on libelous. When The Coeur d’Alenes or a Tale of the Modern Inquisition in Idaho was printed her acerbic words made clear her impression of the mine owners and the unions. Later she would move to destroy as many copies as she could to prevent potential libel lawsuits against her.
Though her book was an emotional diatribe she wrote with conviction. Her immediate cause had been the release of her husband but her long term vision was the improvement of those on the fringes of society. With her book she could raise the issue with a sympathetic audience; she hoped she could garner enough attention to make a difference.
Though her book was not the catalyst for change that she hoped, her activities in the days of the “modern inquisition” did help the cause of the unions in the valley. Her ability to have the book published and marketed while possessing a formal education of only a fourth grade level was a testament to her will and tenacity.
Sources:
Arksey, Laura. “Hutton, May Arkwright (1860-1915).” History Link: The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7547 (accessed March 8, 2009).
Horner, Patricia Voeller. “May Arkwright Hutton: Suffragist and politician.” in Women in Pacific Northwest History: An Anthology, ed. Karen J. Blair, 25-42. Seattle: University of Wasington Press, 1990.
Leinberger, Lisa. “Gravesite monument memorializes Huttons.” Spokesman Review, April 17, 2008.
Montgomery, James. Liberated Woman. Fairfield: Ye Galleon Press, 1985.
Schwantes, Carlos Arnaldo. The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.
Washington State Historical Society: Digital Collection. “May Arkwright Hutton Collection”. http://digitum.washingtonhistory.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/hutton (accessed March 8, 2009).
