Conviction by Kodak

Horace Sawyer “H.S.” Lydick (1880-1956) lived a colorful life. Newspapers devoted column-inches to his exploits, like the tale of the Two-bitted Injunction.

Today’s story is not a fanciful fable. This account relies not on rumor, but on solid photographic evidence.

Market Hunting

Last week, the blog post featured the story of Billy McKinnon. My great uncle Clint said that his dad, H.S., and Billy were hunting partners, hunting for the market before they became Forest Rangers. The phrase “hunting for the market” means that they would hunt for any game that they could find and bring the meat back to town and sell it. In those early days, there weren’t enough farms around to supply the residents with meat, so there were “market” hunters.

Were the two hunting for the market in the spring of 1903?

June 19, 1903

Horace and a companion (was it Billy?) were rowing down the Big Fork River in Itasca County, Minnesota. Down stream, they set their sights on an easy target: a cow moose and her calf.

Unbeknownst to Lydick, another pair of outdoor enthusiasts were coming up the river in search of wildlife. Noah Fletcher, of Deer River, and S.C. Farwell, a Big Fork sawmill owner, were looking for a subject for Farwell’s new camera. Up ahead they spotted the perfect subjects: a cow moose and her calf.

As Fletcher prepared to take a photograph of the animals, he heard shots ring out. The cow floundered and fell into the water. Before leaving the scene, Fletcher took a second photograph of Lydick in the act of extricating flesh from the moose.¹Grand Rapids (MN) Herald-Review, 1 Aug. 1903, pg 5, col 3.

August 1, 1903

Six weeks later, the Itasca County Deputy Sheriff brought Horace Lydick from Cass Lake to stand trial in Grand Rapids on August 1st.

In court, Fletcher produced his photographic images. There was nothing for H.S. Lydick to do but plead guilty. He was fined $100 and costs, a total of $122.50, for killing a cow moose on the Big Fork River in June.²Grand Rapids (MN) Herald-Review, 8 August 1903, p5 col3. That $122.50 is equivalent to about $4000 today!

Itasca County MN Criminal Convictions Book 1, pg 4-5 (at Minnesota Historical Society)

• Name of Defendant: Horace Lydick
• Name of Justice: H.S. Huson
• Offense Charged: Killing Female Moose
• Date of Conviction: Aug. 1, 1903
• Amount of Fine: $100
• Amount Paid: $100
• When Paid: Aug. 1, 1903
• Crime Convicted and Term of Confinement: Killing Female Moose
• Date of Filing Certificate: Aug. 3, 1903
• Remarks: [none]

Famous or Infamous?

Near and far, newspapers reported the story of the conviction by Kodak. Many Minnesota newspapers picked up the story. The Calgary (Alberta) Herald ran the story in their August 20, 1903 issue beginning with: “In the hands of one supremely clever, the kodak is mightier than the rifle.”

In November 1903, the monthly magazine of the American Canoe Association and the League of American Sportsman published this story:³Recreation, Volume 19, No. 5, November 1903, page 400.

Eastman Kodak Folding Pocket Camera

Kodak advertisement from “Recreation” magazine⁴Recreation, Volume 19, No. 4, October 1903, page 325.

Moral of the Story

Uncle Clint told me that this conviction had a lifelong affect on his dad. Never again would H.S. Lydick plead guilty.

SOURCES

• 1
  Grand Rapids (MN) Herald-Review, 1 Aug. 1903, pg 5, col 3.
• 2
  Grand Rapids (MN) Herald-Review, 8 August 1903, p5 col3.
• 3
  Recreation, Volume 19, No. 5, November 1903, page 400.
• 4
  Recreation, Volume 19, No. 4, October 1903, page 325.