D. S. Mitchell
CDV Portrait of the Western Journalist J.P.C. Poulton AKA "Fluke MaGilder", c. 1875
Albumen print
4 x 2 1/2 inches
Studio backmark verso.
Studio backmark verso.
A charming composite CDV of the colorful western journalist James P.C Poulton, A.K.A. 'Fluke MaGilder,' shown 'preparing to take notes for the Cheyenne Daily Sun.' Born in Iowa in 1841,...
A charming composite CDV of the colorful western journalist James P.C Poulton, A.K.A. "Fluke MaGilder," shown "preparing to take notes for the Cheyenne Daily Sun."
Born in Iowa in 1841, Poulton began his career as a Washington correspondent to various Iowa papers during the early part of the Civil War, writing under the pen name “Potomac.” He then went West, first to Colorado where he wrote for the Colorado Springs Mountaineer before settling in Wyoming around 1875. He soon became an associate editor for the Cheyenne Daily Sun, publishing under the alias “Fluke MaGilder” (sometimes written as “Flake Macgilder”).
Poulton died in Cheyenne in 1880 and, according to his obituary published in the Daily Sun, alcohol consumption was the cause. The paper declared that, “at evil hour the long slumbering appetite for strong drink broke forth anew and took possession of the man, fettering him in its chains…Thru the efforts of his wife and friends he made two determined efforts to free himself and recover his self-possession, and was rejoicing over the triumph he had achieved, when again he fell, never to rise again.”
The 19th-century humorist and editor of the Laramie Boomerang Bill Nye wrote in his 1888 memoir that Poulton was “the most persistent and tireless news-gatherer” he ever knew.
Born in Iowa in 1841, Poulton began his career as a Washington correspondent to various Iowa papers during the early part of the Civil War, writing under the pen name “Potomac.” He then went West, first to Colorado where he wrote for the Colorado Springs Mountaineer before settling in Wyoming around 1875. He soon became an associate editor for the Cheyenne Daily Sun, publishing under the alias “Fluke MaGilder” (sometimes written as “Flake Macgilder”).
Poulton died in Cheyenne in 1880 and, according to his obituary published in the Daily Sun, alcohol consumption was the cause. The paper declared that, “at evil hour the long slumbering appetite for strong drink broke forth anew and took possession of the man, fettering him in its chains…Thru the efforts of his wife and friends he made two determined efforts to free himself and recover his self-possession, and was rejoicing over the triumph he had achieved, when again he fell, never to rise again.”
The 19th-century humorist and editor of the Laramie Boomerang Bill Nye wrote in his 1888 memoir that Poulton was “the most persistent and tireless news-gatherer” he ever knew.