Jack Atkinson and Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party

~ Nick Fielding ~ Leave a comment

In February 1917 we published a detailed biographical study of Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson by Marianne Simpson. The article noted that Alatau – the son of famous Victorian explorers Thomas and Lucy Atkinson, had migrated to Hawai’i in 1869 with his wife and infant daughter to take up a position of Master at St Alban’s Missionary School.

Alatau later rose to become Inspector General of Schools, a position he held until being appointed Superintendent of the 1896 Census. He was also editor of the Hawaiian Gazette from 1881 and the Hawaiian Star from 1897, the latter dedicated to union with the United States.

Between February and July 1898 Alatau Snr served as district representative in the legislature of the Republic of Hawai’i. Atkinson Drive in the Ala Moana area of Honolulu is named in his memory. Alatau and his wife Annie had seven children, of whom Alatau Leonard Charles Atkinson (1871-1927, known as Jack) was their first son.

Documents that have recently come to light about the life of Jack Atkinson reveal another chapter in the story of a remarkable family and show how, through his close friendship with Theodore Roosevelt he nearly became Governor of Hawai’i. Marianne Simpson continues the story.

A L C ‘Jack’ Atkinson

Alatau Leonard Charles (popularly known as “Jack”) Atkinson (1871-1927) was the oldest son of Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson. Between 1903 and 1907 he occupied the second top post in the government of Hawaii – Secretary (Lt. Governor) of the Territory – during which time he acted as Governor over extended periods. I provided a summary of his life at the end of the biography I wrote about his father, published on this blog in February 2017.

Since then, I have become aware of other aspects of his life which deserve much closer scrutiny. These concern, first, the significance of Jack Atkinson’s granting Sun Yat Sen[1] a US birth certificate and, second, his relationship with President Theodore Roosevelt, which led to the active role he played in Roosevelt’s Progressive Party. This paper explores both issues.

  1. “Jack” Atkinson and Sun Yat Sen

In 2018 this blog published a paper referencing an essay by Patrick Anderson on the reasons why in 1904 Jack Atkinson, Secretary of the Territory of Hawaii, issued Sun Yat Sen, exiled from China since 1895, a certificate falsely stating that he was born in Hawaii. This document was immensely valuable to Sun because, in the wake of the US 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, he had also been barred from entry to the United States. The certificate instantly conferred on him citizenship of the United States and, with the territorial passport that went with it, he was, three weeks later, allowed into San Francisco.

Sun Yat Sen’s birth certificate, signed by Jack Atkinson

Sun Yat Sen famously declared that the overseas Chinese were the mother of the revolution which overturned the Qing dynasty in 1912 and replaced it with the Republic of China. Having seized power in 1644, by the late 19thC the Qing dynasty was collapsing from within due to official corruption, crushing famine, and public outrage over foreign imperialism. Sun had been exiled following a failed revolt. He made the claim about the overseas Chinese because, while local mutinies undoubtedly provided the spark, it was the Chinese diaspora in North America, Hawaii, southeast Asia and Japan[2] who provided the financial, logistical and ideological support that sustained the revolutionary movement’s long-term survival. By harnessing the critical support of the diaspora, Sun was able to transform a series of scattered, bankrupt insurrections into a well-funded political machine capable of effecting regime change.

Southeast Asia (Nanyang) served as Sun’s base of operations – the logistical, military and organisational hub – and the Chinese diaspora in Singapore and (British) Malaya provided large sums to directly support his many uprisings. In 1905 Sun formed the Tongmenghui (United League) by merging several anti-Qing[3] factions and the first overseas branch was established in Singapore in 1906. The League circulated uncensored, revolutionary newspapers throughout the Nanyang diaspora and smuggled propaganda and arms into China to incite uprisings. Proximity also enabled direct military assaults through today’s Vietnam.

The Americas were the essential capital provider. In the Americas, the diaspora provided the mass scale, long distance, financial capital needed to buy weapons and sustain the revolts. Sun toured North America extensively, leveraging Chinatowns, local clan associations and the Chinese Freemasons. Labourers, farmers and merchants gave generously and the result was massive, consistent funding.

Sun Yat Sen

Foreign private banks were problematic so, to ensure continuous backing, Sun utilized regional fundraising bureaus across the US. One such bureau, the American Chinese Revolutionary Army Fundraising Bureau, issuing revolutionary bonds that promised buyers a financial stake and political recognition in the post imperial government, raised $144,130 (today’s equivalent of $4 million) between June and September 1911 alone. This specific American injection of capital provided the immediate liquidity needed to sustain the Wuchang revolutionaries (see below).

America, or more specifically Hawaii (annexed by the United States in 1898), was also the place where Sun was first exposed during his teenage years to Western political theory. In his 1959 book Hawaii, author James Michener includes a scene in which Jack’s father, Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson, discusses his dynamic interpretation of the world with the young Sun Yat Sen. For four years Sun was a student at Iolani School, of which Atkinson was headmaster over various periods, so Michener’s statement, sourced from an unidentified Chinese informant, may very well be true. It is generally agreed that the four years Sun spent at the school exposed him to Western history and American political ideas that planted the early seeds for his revolutionary vision for China.

In October 1911, when the uprising in Wuchang broke out, Sun Yat Sen was actually fundraising in Denver, Colorado. Rather than rushing immediately to the battlefield, he spent critical weeks in the United States[4], London and Paris successfully lobbying Western governments and banks to block emergency loans to the Qing dynasty. This effectively starved the imperial court of the cash needed to fight back and confirmed its downfall. The Republic of China was established on 1 January 1912, with Sun Yat Sen as the first President. Sun subsequently became the leader of the Nationalist Party and went on to ally it with the then fledgling Chinese Communist Party (1921).

Today he is called “the father of the nation” in the Republic of China and “the forerunner of the revolution” in the People’s Republic of China. He is unique among 20th century Chinese leaders for being equally revered in both mainland China and Taiwan and his political philosophy, expressed in his Three Principles of the People (Nationalism, Democracy and People’s Livelihood), provides a powerful conceptual bridge in the event of Chinese reunification.

That Jack Atkinson strongly supported Sun Yat Sen and the republican aspirations he entertained for Imperial China is not surprising. As the Hawaiian monarchy slowly collapsed, the Atkinson family had formed part of a narrow circle of Honolulu-based Europeans and Americans who were actively committed to the cause of uniting Hawaii’s fortunes to the United States of America. Indeed, in 1897 Jack’s father, Alatau, had become editor of the Hawaiian Star Bulletin, an unashamedly pro-American, pro-annexation newspaper. Why did Jack issue the certificate? Quite simply, he would have recognised in Sun Yat Sen a man possessed of qualities and abilities capable of both delivering China from a failed form of government and achieving the same republican transformation as had taken place in Hawaii.

  • “Jack” Atkinson and Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), a Republican, became president of the United States in 1901 following the assassination of the incumbent, the well-liked William McKinley. Roosevelt remained in the White House until 1909 and is today considered one of the five most effective US presidents.

Jack Atkinson left his legal practice to become Secretary of the Territory of Hawaii in 1903. He served under his close friend, Governor George Carter. Carter was absent from his post on several occasions due to illness, during which time Jack served as the acting governor, wielding full executive authority over the territory during critical periods of legislative development.

Several items of correspondence have now found their way onto the Internet from the Roosevelt electronic archive which throw light on the nature of some of the communications between Jack, Carter and the President. This newly available information, together with other information derived from press reports and the record of the President’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt, is set out below in chronological order.

  • On 8 November 1904 Governor Carter wrote to the President: “Owing to information received from New York relating to unfavourable sale of our bonds, I have concluded to dispatch Mr Atkinson at once to follow the matter up through the Interior Department; secure your approval as required by the Organic Act; then take up with Secretary Shaw the necessity of his again allowing them to be used as security for National deposits; afterwards going to New York to arrange the details of engraving and sale. Mr. Atkinson, you will remember from his friendship with me and devotion to his country, gave up his law practice and accepted the position of Secretary. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and possesses my confidence to a marked degree.”
  • In 1905 Alice Roosevelt, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and 21 years of age, was one of a large American mission to Asia headed by the Minister for War (later President) William Howard Taft. This mission, which took in the Philippines, Japan, China and Korea, reflected America’s growing influence in Pacific affairs and generated massive media attention. On their way to Asia the party spent a day in Honolulu where they were welcomed by a committee headed by Acting Governor Jack Atkinson. Jack’s passion for outdoor sports, including surfing, is well attested[5] and he is famously known to have introduced Alice to surfing and canoeing as part of the day’s programme.
Alice Roosevelt (c) with Col. Edwards (l) and Jack Atkinson (r) in Nu’uan Valley, Hawai’i in 1905
  • On 17 May 1906 Roosevelt wrote to Acting Governor Atkinson: “I have your letter of the 11th instant. I will help you in every way in your purpose to secure a white population of actual land tillers who are small landowners…Now will you tell me how I can help in having the land laws of Hawaii changed so as to further this purpose?” The background to this was that the Acting Governor opposed the powerful sugar planters lobbying for cheap Asian labour[6] and instead partnered with labour unions who feared low wage competition. He did this because he sought to limit what he feared would be Asian domination of Hawaii. The bitter labour struggles ultimately fractured the political alliance between the planters and figures like Jack.
  • On 17 May 1906, Governor Carter wrote to the President from his hotel in San Francisco, as follows: “This is simply to inform you that Mrs Carter and I leave San Francisco for Honolulu on the 25th. The effects of typhoid have disappeared, the long rest has done me good in every way and I shall take up my official duties feeling fine…Secretary Atkinson writes that he may be obliged to resign, that is that it may be the best thing for his future. His father‘s death[7] makes it no longer advisable for him to try to keep up their home as he can also help his married sister by paying her in the case of his mother and this he can best do by accepting an offer from New York of a salary larger than that paid the Governor and just twice his salary as Secretary.”
  • In 1907 both Jack and George Carter prepared to leave office. The question arose as to whom Roosevelt should appoint as the next governor. On 25 March 1907 Carter wrote as follows: “ I think his (Atkinson’s) giving up his law practice and taking the Secretaryship is a very great sacrifice on his part and, as he refuses to consider the question of taking my place, I wonder sometimes if he could not be of service to you in some position other than in Hawaii. His home is now broken up and his mother is living with one of her daughters, so he is, in a measure, footloose and free. And after the training he has had here in executive work, and studying different political problems, his experience, particularly in committees of mixed-race, ought to be an asset of value to those in authority and it appears to me to suggest to you that if opportunity offers, he would be available for active service at any post particularly where he could increase his salary (which is now $250 a month) and thus be enabled to remit to his mother a larger sum.
  • In this suggestion there is a motive which is in the interest of Hawaii’s future in that such a plan would enable us to give whoever you may choose to be my successor an opportunity from, say, July to November, of serving as Secretary and becoming familiar with the duties of my office.
  • After the loyalty which Atkinson has shown to me and the service he has rendered to the Territory and in consideration of his own private affairs, it would not be right to expect him to resign prior to the end of his term. He is exceedingly interested in immigration work of all kinds…and I think has no idea as to what to do after November.
  • In other words, don’t bother about me. I am not the kind of public man that wants you to give me another job. But I believe Mr. Atkinson would like to be promoted and go on in public service. He is exceedingly loyal to you, and I have not a doubt but that he could serve you well in many capacities, particularly in view of his legal training and the active experience he has gained here in the last three years.”
  • On 9 April 1907 the President replied: “I have your letter of the 15th instant and I’m very sorry at what you write me. Of course, if you feel that you ought to go out, that is all there is to it. Under such circumstances, don’t you think Atkinson would be willing to take your place? I haven’t an idea whom else to put in. Outside places are not common and I simply do not know whether a chance for a vacancy which would appeal to him will occur. With all good wishes, believe me, sincerely yours, Theodore Roosevelt.”
  • On 15 June 1907, the President wrote directly to Jack from his Oyster Bay home as follows: “My dear Mr Atkinson, The enclosed telegrams rather puzzle me. When I saw you last you told me you could not stay much longer in office and gave the impression that you could not afford it and that you were going into business. Governor Carter told us in effect the same thing. I had all along intended to appoint you governor, but in view of these facts I offered the appointment to Judge Freer. I take it for granted that Judge Freer sympathises with your policy. Otherwise, of course, he neither would nor could hold my commission. Will you trust this as confidential? With regard, sincerely yours, Theodore Roosevelt.” The telegrams referred to do not appear to have been uploaded onto the Internet so their content is unknown.
  • On 25 February 1909, the Honolulu Evening Bulletin ran as its front-page headline “ATKINSON GETS IT. A. L. C. Atkinson has been appointed United States District Attorney to succeed Robert W. Breckons. This is the substance of a cable message received today in Honolulu…Mr Breckons is even more astonished than anybody else – nobody appears to have even dreamed of Atkinson receiving the appointment. [Breckons said] “The last word I had on the matter from Washington came a few days ago and stated that the matter had gone over until after the new Administration should have come in. So I don’t understand how all this came about”.”
  • The newspaper commented: “Mr. Atkinson has to prove himself in this position. He has not hitherto made a leading feature of court work in his legal practice. He has not figured in the open as associated with any of the more important litigation of the Territory. Hence he has to make good along entirely new lines.”
  • On 3 March 1909, the last day of his Presidency, Theodore Roosevelt received the following telegram from Hawaii: “Roosevelt, White House, Washington DC: We are with you still, aloha. Carter and Atkinson”. The President replied on the same day as follows: “I was very greatly touched by the telegram from you and Atkinson. Will you tell him so? With hearty good will and renewed thanks, believe me, faithfully yours, Theodore Roosevelt.”
  • On 20 March 1909 the Pacific Commercial Advertiser ran the following article: “Breckons’ friends are fighting Atkinson and a mainland appointment is possible. The nomination of Mr A. L. C. Atkinson to be District Attorney failed of confirmation in the Senate. The cause was that President Roosevelt had singled him out in contravention of the rule he had laid down that he would make no nominations to office in the closing days of his administration but would leave such nominations to be made by his successor, President Taft. It is understood that there were no personal objections whatsoever on the part of Senators to Mr Atkinson…”.

Interestingly, Jack was appointed Deputy Attorney General in 1921.[8]

Comment:

What could speak more convincingly of the high regard in which Jack was held by the President? An AI overview contributes that, “Jack Atkinson had a close professional and personal relationship with Theodore Roosevelt… The President trusted Atkinson’s counsel, corresponding with him and territorial leadership regarding land use, the conservation of small islands to prevent deforestation, and regional geopolitical awareness.”

Apart from confirming the relationship, this comment points to an area in which the two men clearly shared a common bond. Theodore Roosevelt was passionately interested in the outdoor life and conservation and used his authority to create the United States Forestry Service, also establishing 150 national parks and 51 national bird preserves. Indeed, he is today remembered as the “conservationist president”. The Hawaiian Board of Agriculture and Forestry was established in May 1903 and Jack, also committed to the environment and outdoor life, was to hold the position of President of the Board from May 1920 to July 1925.[9]

THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY (ALSO KNOWN AS THE BULL MOOSE PARTY)[10]

On 8 November 1904, immediately after winning his first full presidential term, Theodore Roosevelt announced that he would not run for another term. He later deeply regretted this pledge but honoured it in 1908 by stepping down and endorsing William Howard Taft, who went on to win the election. During his tenure, Taft drifted to the right which, along with Roosevelt’s increasingly progressive ideas, alienated Roosevelt with the result that he decided to make another attempt at the White House.

Roosevelt came extremely close to winning the June 1912 Republican nomination, actually securing the majority of the contested primary delegates. However, the incumbent president held control over the Republican National Committee[11] which ultimately disqualified enough of Roosevelt’s delegates to hand Taft the nomination. Roosevelt’s response was to leave the Republican Party and create a new Progressive Party.

The Progressive National Convention of 1912 in Chicago

The platform of the Progressive Party aimed to reverse the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled the Republican and Democratic parties alike. The party’s platform asserted that: “to destroy the invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day”.[12] To that end, the platform called for strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions and registration of lobbyists.

The platform backed goals years ahead of that era’s mainstream politics. In the social sphere it called for a national health service, social insurance to provide for the elderly, the unemployed and the disabled, limiting the ability of judges to order injunctions to limit labour strikes, a minimum wage for women, an eight hour work day, workers’ compensation for work related injuries and an end to child labour. The platform also called for female suffrage.

On 12 July 1912 the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported the following: “Bringing back from Chicago, the Rooseveltian slogans that were sounded there against bossism, ex-Governor Carter and A. L. C. Atkinson yesterday received cable permission to organise Hawaii on “Progressive lines.” Carter and Atkinson take the attitude that there is no longer a national Republican party.”

This was followed by the following on 22 July: “PROGRESSIVES LAUNCH NEW PARTY IN HAWAII Fourteen attend meeting – Atkinson goes to Chicago – A Declaration of Faith is adopted The Progressive Party of Hawaii was formally launched today when Honolulu men held a meeting at noon at the offices of A. L. C. Atkinson and adopted a “declaration of faith”…The meeting decided that A. L. C. Atkinson should go to Chicago to secure representation, if possible, for Hawaii in the Progressive convention in August. Atkinson leaves on the Siberia this afternoon.”

The Bull Moose convention took place in Chicago between 5-7 August 1912.

On 20 August the Star Bulletin reported the following: “BULL MOOSE BUTT INTO HAWAII…How “Our Jack” fought for and won representation for Hawaii. ‘A. L. C. Atkinson, Hawaii Progressive’s delegate to the Bull Moose convention at Chicago, waged a vigorous “campaign of education” on the subject of territories in general and Hawaii in particular. He found most of the delegates bitterly opposed to giving Hawaii representation…Atkinson says, “The charge against us… was that we were not developing that country [sic] along traditional lines because of our cheap labour, using Japanese and Filipinos for development, and that only a few men owned everything. It did seem unjust that I, of all men, should have to bear the brunt of such charges, when I have been doing so much to remedy above conditions, constantly working along lines to correct our evils. However, I showed them how much advance we have made since annexation, what we developed from working through the Board of Immigration[13]… and [the] results obtained in assisting the white immigrant to develop and settle in Hawaii to take the place of Oriental cheap labour…But what a lot of educating I had to do…The members of the committee would insist on classifying us with the insular possessions.”

Jack Atkinson and the Bull Moose Party

Jack’s argument, supported by representations direct from Hawaii, ultimately prevailed and the Territory received delegate status shortly after. After the convention, Jack became national committeeman for Hawaii and worked hard for the Party. On 20 September 1912 the Star Bulletin reported the following: ““Our Jack” Atkinson won’t return to Hawaii for at least two months, and perhaps longer…Jack Atkinson… has been placed at the head of the committee in charge of the collection of funds for the Bull Moose Party. Headquarters have been established on the eighth floor of the Manhattan Hotel, New York City, and Atkinson has generously consented to take charge of the supply of [funds] for the paltry sum of $1000 per month.”

On 5 November 1912 the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, was elected President of the United States. The strong Progressive showing, however, led to optimism that Progressives would supplant Republicans. The Hawaiian Gazette of 3 January 1913 reported the following: “TO PROGRESSIFY THIS TERRITORY. “Jack” Atkinson returns from running Bull Moose race with optimism. “The Republican Party will be absorbed by the Progressive Party” said A. L. C. Atkinson yesterday after leaving the Korea, on which he returned home after an absence of six or seven months, during which time he was one of the leaders of the office staff of the Bull Moose Party in New York, and a close friend of Colonel Roosevelt… Mr Atkinson has returned from the Chicago conference and is all enthusiasm as to the future of the organisation…”It was decided at the Chicago Convention to perfect the organisation,” said Mr. Atkinson. “I stayed back there to help them collect some money for the work. We had $50,000 pledged for this year‘s work and there are promises for more. We are not the third party anymore. It has taken the place of the Republican Party. In those states where we had no representatives on the ballots we are certain of representation now. The principal thing now is to perfect the organisation in every precinct in the country… Personally, I have never worked harder in my life than I did during the last campaign. It was a great experience, and it is a splendid thing to be able to rub elbows with men of national prominence.”[14] Atkinson states that while the work of the Bull Moose organisation was splendid during the past campaign, yet there was very little time in which to properly organise.”

Teddy Roosevelt in 1912

An item in The Star Bulletin dated 16 January 1913, which reported on an informal talk subsequently given by Jack to University Club members stated that he had been assistant treasurer of the National Progressive Party. It also stated, “from his account [it had been] a tremendous job to tackle, with no regular Party lists of Party purses to tap. Progressive literature, stamps, hymn books and certificates netted as a whole a tremendous sum of money…”.

In her 1933 book Crowded Hours, Alice Roosevelt commented as follows: “Yet if a third-party ever had reasons to succeed – or, at least, after the great vote it had pulled, to establish itself – it was the Progressive Party. It had the clear-cut issue on which the split was based. It had a program, policies, ample financial backing, and a leader who inspired his followers. But it did not have the organisation – the plodding organisation in precinct, ward and county – that is on the job in season and out, and that seems to be essential to the existence of a political party. Without organisation, no party has a survival value.”[15]

In 1916, convinced that a divided Republican party would guarantee another Woodrow Wilson victory, Roosevelt effectively dissolved the Progressive Party to unite the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican Party. Around the same time the Star Bulletin ran a satirical article about Jack’s devotion to the Progressive Party. Perhaps Jack took comfort from Roosevelt’s famous 1910 “Citizenship in a republic” speech:

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

It can be seen from the above that the contribution of the American Chinese diaspora was integral, and indeed it could be argued vital, to Sun Yat Sen’s ultimate success. Jack Atkinson was part of an Hawaiian ruling elite which had supported republicanism even before annexure. If he had not signed the false birth certificate, it is possible that someone else occupying his position may have done so. Be that as it may, it was the signature of Jack Atkinson that opened America to Sun Yat Sen, whose impact on Chinese history resonates down to this day.

Theodore Roosevelt’s life and presidency were driven by vigorous action, moral accountability and an intense dedication to public service. He believed that a life of ease was not worth remembering and actively pursued physical and mental challenges. As a domestic guiding principal, he believed in a “square deal” for all citizens. His goal was to combat special interests, treat labour and capital fairly and prevent the wealthy or powerful from exploiting everyday Americans. He also believed natural resources were not for unrestricted exploitation but belonged to all the people. That he held Jack Atkinson in high regard shows that he saw in Jack someone who shared his principles. Jack emerges from their relationship as a man of thought and conviction, keen to stand squarely alongside Roosevelt for the sake of those shared ideals that both agreed could only add benefit to the lives of millions. They were ahead of their time but that those reforms did eventually occur is a tribute to their vision and, ultimately, their memory.

Note: Information about the support of the Chinese diaspora for Sun Yat Sen has been largely gathered from Google AI searches.

[1] Sun Yat Sen was brought up and educated in Hawaii and in 1911 founded the Chinese Republic.

[2] In Japan, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 had ended 260 years of Tokugawa shogunate rule and established a centralised bureaucratic government and a western constitution. Following Japan’s victory in the first Sino Japanese war (1895) thousands of Chinese students flooded Japanese universities where they were exposed to western political philosophy, absorbed revolutionary ideas and provided intellectual recruitment for the revolution.

[3] Following the establishment of the Republic of China, Sun reorganised the Tongmenghui to form the nucleus of the Nationalist Party.

[4] Sun had earlier laid important groundwork with his English language pamphlet, published in New York in 1904, entitled The true solution of the Chinese problem. The pamphlet helped garner American sympathy for the republican movement by reframing the anti-Qing struggle as a modernisation effort that would ultimately benefit western commercial interests.

[5] In 1908 Jack was to head a list of charter members soliciting organisational support for a proposed Outrigger Canoe and Surfboard Club at Waikiki. Five years later he was part of a fundraising effort to support a young Duke Kahanamoku, who would go on to transform the obscure regional pastime of surfing into an internationally recognised sport.

[6] They were seeking exemptions from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

[7] Jack’s father, Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson, had died the previous month.

[8] The Maui News, 13 May 1921

[9] He left Hawaii for a new home in Chicago in May 1925.

[10] The “Bull Moose” nickname originated in 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt declared he felt “strong as a bull moose”. He used the phrase after losing the Republican presidential nomination to William Howard Taft, prompting him to adopt the animal as the symbol for the new party he established.

[11] The committee favoured Taft’s defence of traditional constitutional governance and institutional stability over Roosevelt’s increasingly radical progressive reforms.

[12]At the beginning of the 20thC, America was struggling with the effects of industrialisation, corporations wielded vast economic and political power and underpaid workers toiled in hazardous work conditions.  

[13] Jack was president of the Board of Immigration from 1907 to 1913.

[14] A letter to Jack dated 9 July 1914 from New York (quoted in the Honolulu press) described the activity: “Colonel Roosevelt was here at the office all day yesterday… the office was crowded with people all day long – men of all political faiths from several parts of the state. There were a great many Democrats and some Republicans; of course, a great many Progressives… it was extremely interesting to hear the Republicans and Democrats from up the state tell him how thoroughly disgusted the voters are with both the Republican and Democratic machines in this state.”

[15] p224

The doors of the Khoja Ahmed Yassawi Mausoleum in Turkestan

~ Nick Fielding ~ 1 Comment

For several years Krim Altinbekov, perhaps Kazakhstan’s best known archaeological restorer, has been working to repair the 600-year-old doors to the Khoja Ahmed Yassawi Mausoleum in the city of Turkestan. The Mausoleum itself was built on the orders of Emir Timur – better known in the West as Tamerlane – at the end of the 14thC. It is rightly acknowledged to be one of the greatest historic buildings in Central Asia.

Having completed his restoration of the Mausoleum’s inner doors, he is now working on the main doors to this remarkable building. Made of walnut and each weighing half-a-tonne, the doors were probably made by Persian artisans in situ. Instead of hinges, the outer edges of the doors were slightly lengthened so that they could sit in a shallow hole and thus rotate open and closed. In May I visited Krim Altinbekov’s workshop in Almaty, where the two outer doors are presently undergoing the restoration work.

Carved panel from one of the two exterior doors to the Khoja Ahmed Yassawi Mausoleum in Turkestan.

The work to restore the doors will likely take several years. Krim told me that one issue that had perplexed his team was the exact patterning that had been inlaid into the doors. Most of it had disappeared over the years. However, when he removed the two huge gilded bronze door knockers, he found that the original inlay pattern had survived beneath them – see pics below. The first shows the brass door knocker in the form of a leopard. Below that is the door as revealed beneath the knocker. You can clearly see the inlays, made up of various woods and other materials.

Krim says that the black wood is ebony from Africa, whereas the brown inlays are rosewood that originated in Madagascar. The white inlays are bone. There are also thin tin wires set into the wood. All show the enormous lengths to which the skilled artisans went to obtain the finest materials.

When finished the doors will be returned to Turkestan, but will not go back to the Mausoleum. Instead they will join the original inner doors in a special museum close to the Mausoleum where their superb workmanship can be examined in detail.

The doors have always been objects of wonder. The Russian painter Vassily Vereshchagin painted a famous picture of them which forms part of his Turkestan series, now in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. At the Door of the Mosque is a slightly idealised version of the doors. It shows two dervishes waiting for the doors to open. Vereshchagin, who was an official war artist during the Russian campaign to capture Samarkand in the early 1870s, clearly took a great deal of trouble to ensure that he made a good job of copying the complex patterns carved into the wood.

However, a photograph of the doors, taken in 1871 for the Turkestan Albom, gives a more accurate guide to their condition. The Turkestan Albom contains over 1,200 rare photographs and was released in 1872 by order of the first Governor-General of Russian Turkestan, Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman. It was designed to acquaint Russian and western researchers with the Central Asian territories recently conquered by the Russians. At present, only three complete set of volumes and parts of the book are known. They are held by the National Library of Uzbekistan, the Russian State Library and the US Library of Congress.

As can be seen, the doors in this photograph appear to be in poor shape. There is a step to left and right that does not appear in Vershchagin’s painting and the condition of the building is clearly not good. The area above the doors appears to be in a state of collapse.

Until comparatively recently the Yassawi Mausoleum remained in poor condition. That has since changed and an enormous amount of money has been spent improving the surroundings with parks and new monumental buildings. The great cauldron known as the Taykazan, for example, with a diameter of almost three metres, was removed from the Mausoleum in 1935 and taken to St Petersburg, along with two of the six superb bronze candlesticks from the same era. The Taykazan was returned, reluctantly, in 1989, following representations over many years by the Kazakhs. Sadly, the two remarkable candlesticks that once adorned the building remain in St Petersburg. Another, only partially complete, is in the collection of the Louvre, which received it as a bequest in 1916 from industrialist Georges Marteau.Who gave permission for these priceless objects to be removed? I for one believe they should be returned to their original location (along with many others treasures looted from Central Asia in the 19thC.

One of the six original candlesticks from the Mausoleum
Krim Altinbekov

A talk on the Aral Sea at the Globetrotters Club

~ Nick Fielding ~ 1 Comment

On Saturday 7th February I will be giving a talk at the Globetrotters Club in Covent Garden, London, about my expedition last May from Almaty, across southern Kazakhstan, to the Aral Sea, or what remains of it. You can find details of the meeting here. Entrance is open to all and tickets are available on the door – £10 for non-members. I have around 100 slides to show, so if you want to know what’s happening to the remnants of the Aral Sea please come along.

Snow leopard spotted in Almaty

~ Nick Fielding ~ 2 Comments
A snow leopard photographed in Almaty three days ago

A friend in Almaty recommended that I check out the Insta account of Dmitry Dotsenko (dots_foto). Three days ago he achieved a lifetime ambition when he spotted a snow leopard on the outskirts of Almaty, former capital of Kazakhstan. Let him tell you in his own words what he saw:


“I’m sharing with you a selection of photos of a snow leopard that I managed to take yesterday in the mountains near Almaty. Photographing a snow leopard has long been my dream. In fact, just seeing one with my own eyes in our mountains would be a once-in-a-lifetime event! I’ve been hiking in these mountains since childhood, and the thought that snow leopards live here seems completely natural to anyone from Almaty. We all know about them, we’ve heard about them since we were kids, but at the same time, the snow leopard remains a mystery—something almost mythical, hidden in dense spruce forests and rocky cliffs.

Very few people ever get to see one. Even those whose lives and professions are connected to the mountains often have never encountered this graceful predator. Most of the time, we have to settle for tracks in the snow or rare shots from camera traps.

But this time, something truly rare happened. The snow leopard had taken down a maral (a type of deer), throwing it off a cliff. And by a twist of fate, I happened to be in the right place at the right time. After almost an hour of waiting in ambush, the leopard appeared. The feeling was incredible—adrenaline was off the charts, and time seemed to compress into a single moment. It was hard to keep control of myself and the equipment, but in the end, I managed to get these rare and, without exaggeration, unique shots!

After the shoot, an interesting thought came to me: I’ve walked here hundreds of times, these mountains are like home to me. And now, here I am, photographing the true master of these mountains—the snow leopard. That’s the essence of this shoot. All the stories about leopards in our mountains suddenly stopped being just words—they became reality, right in front of me.

The photos were taken with a 600mm telephoto lens from a safe distance, so as not to disturb the animal—or, let’s say, not to end up as its lunch myself 🙂. This allowed me to get very close and detailed shots. Here it is—our Almaty snow leopard! Look, examine, enjoy every detail: the color, the shapes, that gaze! 😍

By the way, on my Telegram channel, I’ve made a series of covers featuring the Almaty snow leopard for your smartphones. Download them and enjoy. Let every resident of Almaty, every Kazakhstani, have a piece of our nature’s greatness on their phone. 🙌😍”

Snow leopards are now highly protected in Kazakhstan and the policy appears to be paying off. A little bit of good news…

Anthony Jenkinson and Aru Sultan – Ambassador or slave girl?

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On Monday next week (12 January) I will be giving a talk at the Royal Geographical Society in London entitled Anthony Jenkinson and the Mystery of Aru Sultan. It is a subject on which I have written previously, but never spoken publicly.

As it explains in the outline of the talk: “In the spring of 1560, a small ship docked in the Port of London having sailed from the north of Russia. On board was a young Central Asian woman called Aru Sultan, brought to England by merchant adventurer Anthony Jenkinson, who had come across her during his remarkable journey through Russia, down the Volga and across the Caspian Sea to Bokhara. Within a few months Aru Sultan had become a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth and a fashion sensation, introducing the Elizabethan court to high boots and other innovations.

“Who was this remarkable young woman? Was she, as some Kazakh historians now claim, a diplomat from a Central Asia khan, or a slave girl picked up by Jenkinson in the wake of Ivan the Terrible’s campaign against the Golden Horde?”

If you want to find out more about this fascinating story, please book a place through the RGS website, as places are limited. You can find all the details here. See you there!

Exploring The Northern Silk Road

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On Monday night I gave the Younghusband Lecture to the Adventure Circle of the Army and Navy Club in London. My subject was Kazakhstan: Exploring the Northern Silk Road, based largely on my trip earlier this year from Almaty to the remnants of the Aral Sea in the far west of the country.

Having now spent 15 years or so exploring various parts of Kazakhstan, mostly in the east and south-east, I was finally struck by the importance of the route across the southern part of the country that is sometimes referred to as the Ferghana-Syr Darya Corridor. This east-west route follows the course of the great Syr Darya River as it meanders its way to the northern part of what remains of the Aral Sea. It is a route that has existed for thousands of years and once would have led caravans from the Pamir Mountains up past the Aral and on towards the Volga River and the former Golden Horde city of Kazan or further west, across the top of the Caspian Sea towards Krim (Crimea).

The Syr Darya is almost a mirror image of the more southerly Amu Darya River – known in antiquity as the Oxus – but is much less well known. When most people think of the Silk Road they tend to think of the cities of Samarkand, Bokhara and Khiva, all closely linked to the Amu Darya.

These two great Central Asian Rivers have always been important in the history of the region, providing water for agriculture and defining borders and spheres of influence. And yet while many people are familiar with the great cities associated with Timur and the Uzbek Khanate, very few know much about the northern route. It too has associations with Timur, particularly the city of Turkistan, but it also has its own rich history. Along this northern Silk Road can be found the remains of many great cities that flourished in the period before the discovery of the sea routes between China, India and Western Europe.

These cities include Otrar, Sauran, Kyshkala, Asanas, Syganak, Yassy and Zhankala, all now nominated by the Kazakhs for UNESCO World Heritage status. Along this route can also be found the magnificent ancient petroglyphs at Arpauzen and the cosmodrome at Baikonur.

The remains of Sauran
Otrar
Zhankala
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan
Another view of the Mausoleum.

There are still many discoveries to be made along the Northern Silk Road. Friends in Kazakhstan tell me that they have come across the remains of ‘lost’ cities in the Kara Kum Desert that are not mentioned on any maps or history books. Adventure beckons!

A photo portrait of General Muravyev

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I recently obtained a photographic Carte de Visite (CDV) for General Mikhail Nikolaevitch Muravyev (1796-1866), someone of great significance to both Thomas Atkinson and his wife Lucy (nee Finley). For it was while visiting the General’s home in St Petersburg in 1847 that Thomas first set eyes on Lucy, who was working as a governess looking after his young daughter Sofia.

General Muravyev was Vice-President of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society at the time and Thomas needed his backing to get permission to travel extensively in Siberia and Central Asia where his aim was to paint the landscapes that were, up until then, barely known in Europe.

Lucy, whose family lived in London, was 29 by the time she met Thomas, who was 18 years her senior. The couple must have been attracted to each other, but Thomas was due to leave the Russian capital on an extended tour to the east. It was not until a year later that he made a westward dash by sledge of almost 2,000 miles back to Moscow in the middle of winter in order to marry Lucy. She too had travelled, from St Petersburg, to meet him. In the intervening year the couple had written more than 60 letters to each other – now sadly lost – in which they no doubt declared their mutual love. The couple were married a few days later, on 18 February 1848, and within days set off together by sledge back to Siberia and the Great Steppe regions where they would travel for the next six years.

It seems more than likely that General Muravyev, in the absence of Lucy’s father, sanctioned the marriage. Indeed, in Moscow Lucy stayed in a grand house connected to the Muravyev family in Tverskoye Street. During their travels in Siberia the couple visited members of the Muravyev family who had been exiled for their part in the Decembrist uprising in 1825, bringing letters and gifts with them from St Petersburg. And doubtless on their return to St Petersburg in 1853 they were reacquainted with the General and his family.

After the Atkinsons returned to England we have little information about Lucy’s connections with her former employer. We know that the couple were visited by various exiles and other Russians in their London home in the four short years before Thomas died in 1861. There are hints – including a note from Sir Francis Galton – that after Thomas died Lucy may have returned to Russia to work for the Muravyevs. Most of her siblings and her mother had already emigrated to Australia, so she had little to hold her in England, except her son Alatau, who emigrated to Hawaii with his wife and baby in 1869. There is a surviving note from Lucy dated December 1869 from a grand hotel in Nice in the south of France, which strongly suggests she was working for a noble family. She cannot be found in the 1871 Census.

She could even have been working for the General’s daughter, Sofia Mikhailovna Muravyeva, who had married in 1856 and had several children, including Pelageia, born in 1865.

As for the CDV for General Muravyev, the photograph was taken in Paris by the famous French photographic company Charlet & Jacotin, which specialised in aristocrats and royals. Presumably it was taken in Paris in or before 1866, the year he died.

But it also has a small imprint in the lower right corner which reads ‘Ferd. Finsterlin, Műnchen’. Finsterlin was a well-known German landscape photographer. Why his mark appears on this CDV is a mystery, although it is known that many Russian aristocrats visited Germany at this time, particularly to visit the spas. Therme Erding near Munich is the largest spa in the world. Whatever the reason, the CDV is a brilliant memento of a man who played an important part in the dramatic love affair between Thomas and Lucy.

Tales from the Aral Sea

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My recent trip to the Aral Sea was memorable for many reasons, not least the incredible scenery and the impression it made on me. But there were several incidents that stand out for entirely separate reasons and I would like to share some of these with you.

The first occurred on the day after we arrived at Kambash Lake, one of the relict lakes left behind following the disappearance of the Aral Sea. The lake itself is a beautiful location and full of fish and with a healthy wild bird population.

Zhomart Beketov

Soon after breakfast a man arrived in our camp, having heard there were strangers in the area. This was Zhomart Beketov, a 62-year-old local. He immediately brought out of his bag an old picture. It portrayed a woman and a group of children dancing in the garden of what looks like a European house and was clearly quite old – probably from the middle of the 19th century. He also had a small embroidered cloth and a boxed German harmonica.

The painting was not entirely an original. It was an early colour print, to which painted highlights had been added. It was intrinsically of little financial value. But this little group of objects held some secrets. Zhomart explained that these items had all belonged to Latvians who had been exiled to this remote spot on the north-east coast of the Aral Sea in the 1940s, after Russia had invaded the Baltic states. Zhomart did not know their names, but he told us that all of them had died – long before he was born – and that these items were all that was left to remind anyone that they had been there.

The Hohner harmonica that had come from Latvia

The items had eventually been passed on to Zhomart by his father, a teacher. But Zhomart  had always thought that they should be repatriated to Latvia and he had been trying for some time to find a way to do this. He had found the name of the framemaker on the back of the picture and tried, without luck, to trace a living relative. There was also a name written in ink on the back, which he assumed could be the artist, so he had also tried to see if he could find any descendants.

He had even written to the prominent Latvia artist Andris Eglitis – who has the same name as the signature on the back of the picture – to ask for his help in tracking down someone connected with this painting. And now, as soon as he heard that there were strangers in the area, he had decided to show the items to them in the hope that someone might be able to help.

Without more information it is probably impossible to find out the original owners of the picture and other items. These were little comforting objects that probably helped the exiled Latvians to remember where they came from and which they had managed to bring all the way from north-west Europe to this remote place in the deserts surrounding the Aral Sea. I suggested that Zhomart should contact the Latvian embassy. They might be willing to take the objects, which could form part of a collection connected with the history of Latvian exiles from that period. There is also just a chance that by writing about them, someone might see a connection. If so, please get in touch and I will pass on the message.

The second incident I want to mentioned happened in the little sand-blown village of Kulandy, where we stayed the night in the house of Kurman Ali, a local camel breeder. With 12 guests in his house Kurman made sure that we were well looked after. Indeed, his wife and daughter-in-law prepared a substantial dinner for us of beshparmak, a Kazakh horsemeat delicacy.

Our hosts in Kulandy

In preparation for the meal the ladies took great pains to lay fresh linen on the long, low table. And as soon as they had done that they covered the entire table in old newspaper, to protect the linen from the food.

After we had been sitting there for a while waiting for dinner to be served, one of our group, Abzal, began to read the yellowing newspaper pages that were scattered across the table. First, he noted that the paper dated from September 2018 and we had a laugh about that. Then, he began to laugh aloud. Of course, we all wanted to know what was happening. Abzal explained that he had begun to read an article about an expedition made that year from the Caspian Sea to the Aral Sea and had suddenly realised that it was an interview with our friend Dauren Raptayev, the organiser of the present expedition, who was sitting opposite him! Dauren confirmed that he had indeed given an interview to a local paper back in 2018. Like us, he was amazed to find it now spread out on the table in front of us. What were the chances of that?

Dauren hold up a copy of the 8-year-old article from the paper that was lying on the table

There’s no point in trying to explain how this happened. Coincidence? How else could you explain it?

I never did find out that name of our host’s wife, although later she offered to show me how she milked the camels. We were taken to a little shed in which there was a solitary baby camel. As we were waiting there, the baby’s mother pushed her way into the yard. Mrs Ali (as I will call her) was well prepared for what was undoubtedly something of an ordeal. She had wrapped a scarf around her face, as the camel was more than likely to spit at her. Then she had to tie up the big camel, including tying its back legs together, to stop it kicking her. Even so, it was still trying to bite her. It would only give milk if the baby was suckling, so as soon as this began, Mrs Ali had to stand on one leg and balance a bucket on the other to collect the milk.

Warning: Do not try this at home

After 10 minutes or so she had about a litre of warm, fresh milk. That was taken back to the house to be pasteurised and transformed into sharbet, a delicious and wholesome drink.

Happy camel

Tengri in Cyanotype

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Dorota Bronikowska is a Polish artist who specialises in cyanotypes – the photographic process that produces a monochrome, blue-coloured print and is often used for art and reprography in the form of blueprints. I met her last September at the World Nomad Games in Astana, Kazakhstan, where she had travelled to take images that could later be processed into cyanotypes.

Dorota Bronikowska

I’m delighted to say that Dorota is now about to launch the results of her endeavours in a major new exhibition in Lublin, Poland. From the 7th – 21st June she will be exhibiting as part of the Second Eastern film Festival in the city. Her show of cyanotypes, entitled Kazakhstan – Tengri Kingdom, can be seen at the Dominican Monastery in the city*.

Explaining the show, Dorota says:

“Tengri is heaven. For centuries, Tengri has led its children and their herds across the sea of ​​the steppe. So that they do not lose their way in space and time.
Today’s Kazakhstan is an ethnic mosaic. In addition to Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Chechens, Koreans, Germans, Poles live here. In total, over 130 nationalities are registered.
Tengri lives in the Kazakh soul. Modern Kazakhs have one foot in modernity but still cultivate traditions from the times when Tengri was a god. The most striking example is the main axis of the capital of Kazakhstan – Astana. The main boulevard of this ultramodern city was led along a sacred road, and in the middle was erected a tower, referring to the shamanic tree of life.
I have been to Kazakhstan twice. I made my first trip by bike. Then I visited holy places, met fascinating people. I saw how life is under the wings of Tengri. During my second trip, I watched ethnic sportsmen and women compete at the World Nomad Games. The different sports eloquently reflect the character and life of the ancient nomads on the Great Steppe.”

*Kazakhstan – Tengri Kingdom” will be on show at Lublin Monastery, entrance in Dominikanski Square, 20-112, Lublin from 7pm on 7 June – 21 June. Entrance Thurs-Sun, 1pm-5pm. Organised groups by appointment. Free admission. Created in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Poland, and Air Astana.

Here are a few more exmples of Dorota’s work. If you get a chance, visit the exhibition. More about the Festival here.

North Aral Sea on track for expansion after years of shrinkage

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Some good news! Last week Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, together with the World Bank, reaffirmed their commitment to joint efforts aimed at the restoration of the North Aral Sea.

At a meeting held at the Kokoral dam in Kyzylorda region – which I visited two weeks ago – Mr Nurzhigitov met with Sameh Wahba, Regional Director for Sustainable Development at the Europe and Central Asia region in the World Bank, to review the second phase of the North Aral Sea restoration project.

The North Aral Sea is the portion of the former Aral Sea that is fed by the Syr Darya River. After years of shrinkage, it split from the South Aral Sea in 1987–1988, with the introduction of inappropriate irrigation programmes for agricultural use.

The 12-km long Kokaral dam, which splits off the North Aral Sea from its southern counterpart, was completed in 2005 to control the water levels and restore them to previous levels. As a result of the first phase of the restoration project, the volume of water in the North Aral has increased by 42% to 27 billion cubic metres, the salinity of the sea has decreased nearly fourfold, annual fish catches have risen to 8,000 tons, and 870 sq kms of the dried-up seabed have been covered with water, reducing the wind-driven removal of salt deposits.

The Kokaral Dam

Now the Ministry is completing a feasibility study for the second phase of the project, aimed at heightening the Kokaral dam and thus raising the North Aral Sea level to 44 metres. The plan will also allow for the construction of a hydroelectric complex near the village of Amanotkel to stabilize water resources in the Akshatau and Kamystybas lake systems in the Kyzylorda region.

The aim of this second phase is to increase the water surface area of ​​the North Aral to 3,913 sq kms and its volume to 34 cubic kms within the next 4-5 years.

Sameh Wahba reconfirmed that the World Bank, which is financing the feasibility study, remains committed to further participation in preserving the North Aral Sea. Together with Minister Nurzhigitov he visited a local fish processing plant and saw how many jobs have been created in the region in such sectors as agriculture, livestock farming, and tourism. “The North Aral Sea conservation project is very important for us, as it shows the world an example of restoring an entire ecosystem,” he added.

This is what the Aral Sea looks like now in many places

Once the fourth largest lake in the world, much of the Aral Sea basin has turned into a dustbowl due to poorly thought-out irrigation strategies introduced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s-70s. The North Aral Sea conservation project aims to increase the volume and improve the quality of water in the sea, restore the Syr Darya River delta, reduce wind-driven removal of salt deposits from the bottom of the Aral Sea, develop the fishery in the Kyzylorda region, and improve the living conditions of local residents.