Publisher: Bison Books (October 1, 2012)
ASIN: B0091BV7IIReviewed by Christopher Hawthorne Moss
You’ve heard of William Clark, Kit Carson, John C. Fremont,
and Sacajawea’s baby boy, but such is the nature of the erasure of gay lives
from history that I bet you have never heard of William Drummond Stewart, who
knew them all. Stewart left England in
the early 1830s looking for that land where a man could live as he wished and
love whom he wished. He headed for the
Rocky Mountains, involved himself in the world of the Mountain Men, fur traders
for the most part, and found adventure, sport, love, and unaccountable
obscurity even though he was colorful, daring, well documented, and a Scottish
laird.
In this work of nonfiction, author William Benemann, who also wrote about
male couples in Colonial America, not only chronicles Stewart’s adventures and
romances, he also accounts for the peculiar place in the work of historians
that homosexuals hold, or rather, do not hold.
He describes how the French philosopher, Michel Foucault, stated that
“homosexuality” as a distinct identity was invented by “the medico-legal”
industry, claiming that sexual identity was a new concept in the late
1800s. The fact that this notion defied
common sense and plenty of evidence to the contrary did not stop historians
from making that assertion a shibboleth, a truism by which quality work is
judged no matter how apocryphal the standard.
Thus we have whole segments of society whose very existence has been
removed from the story of Mankind. It is
Benemann’s purpose to tell the nearly forgotten story.
One thing I find wonderful about reading books like this and
others is that I learn what sorts of sources reputable historians have at their
disposal. The more commonplace the
writing, whether letters or tabloid news stories, the more Foucaultian
assumptions are challenged. Lots of
people knew Stewart, respected him, and what’s more, they wrote about him. Journals and letters are full of stories
about him, and also his own accounts.
I have unfortunately found that some historical accounts are
replete with “he must have felt” and “certainly they knew”, where I should
think there is ample evidence of the content of the prolific recorders’
thoughts and ideas. I find this sort of
enthusiastic “no, really!” makes me wonder if I am reading logical accounts or
wishful thinking. But then, I’m a
historical novelist, not a historian.
Maybe I just think the speculative nature should be left to us
scribblers. This is perhaps a
particularly tempting instance, since two of the “sources” for Stewart’s story
is two semi-autobiographical novels (see below). One includes an enticing account of Stewart’s
seduction by the famous mountain man, Kit Carson! But is it history or a delightful wish
fulfillment on Stewart’s part?
This is the sort of book that when you read it you realize that
all those other more conventional histories left a bit, shall we rather say
tons, out of the true story. It is also
the sort of book where you make a point of reading the endnotes so you can go
learn more.
Have you ever heard that Queen Victoria once was delighted
at being presented with a couple buffaloes?
Well Stewart was the guy who brought them to Scotland. And he was gay as a … well.. Laird.
Books by William Drummond Stewart
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