MARTHA MAXWELL - CHARLES E.H. AIKEN

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

In the late 1880s and early 1900s, there was a fascination with nature, especially for those back east. The Audubon Society and Sierra Club were two of the organizations that have lasted although there were others prior to and after the above mentioned. Taxidermy was a means of studying the animals and birds, allowing others to observe them in museums and exhibits.

Both Aiken and Maxwell were taxidermists. Aiken focused on birds and Maxwell wild animals. They both collected their own specimens and both were in Colorado. Aiken in Colorado Springs and Maxwell in Boulder.

Charles Edward Howard Aiken was born on September 7, 1850, in Vermont. The family later moved to Illinois. It was there at the age of eighteen, Aiken began his study of birds. After the family business was destroyed in the Chicago Fire of 1871, they moved to Colorado Springs. Charles continued his study of birds and used the standard method of study by killing them. Aiken went the further step and stuffed and mounted them. He had a music store and museum on Pikes Peak Avenue in Colorado Springs. His collection from his years in Colorado Springs was donated to Colorado College. The Aiken Audubon Society is named for him. For more information: https://libraryweb.coloradocollege.edu/library/specialcollections/Manuscript/Aiken.htmlYou can also access his book "Birds of El Paso County, Colorado" here: https://archive.org/details/birdselpasocoun00unkngoog/page/n64/mode/2up

Charles Aiken died in January of 1936.

Charles Edward Howard Aiken

Martha Dartt Maxwell was born on July 31. 1831 in Pennsylvania. According to the information included when she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, she was five feet tall and life long vegetarian. She and her husband arrived in Colorado around 1863 and she ran a restaurant in the Boulder area. When her mother was ailing she went to Wisconsin to care for her. Here the story gets a bit cloudy. Some say she became interested in taxidermy while in Wisconsin, but other sources say it was when she ran a taxidermist off her property she became interested. No matter what the story by 1868 she opened a museum in Boulder showing her panoramas of animals she had caught, skinned and stuffed. Helen (Hunt) Jackson was so impressed she wrote an article that appeared in publications on the east coast.  If you would like to read her book "On the Plaines, and Among the Peaks, of How Mrs. Maxwell Made Her Natural History Collection" you can access it here on Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/On_the_Plains_and_Among_the_Peaks/ePpGAQAAMAAJ?kptab=editions&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiL9b2wn63pAhUPCs0KHW9PDK0QmBYwAHoECAEQBw

Martha Maxwell died on May 30, 1881, in Massachusetts. For more on Martha:https://americacomesalive.com/2014/04/05/martha-ann-maxwell-1831-1881-naturalist-taxidermist/

Marth Dartt Maxwell

Although the animals in "Angel of Salvation Valley" were living, they also played an important part in the story. Below is an excerpt:

 She was even younger than Luke and the others made her seem. He'd expected someone harsh, old and lined, not someone like this. Drew wanted to explore that thought, but her care took priority. He needed to see to her wounds; then, if the pain or voices in his head would let him, he would try to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly he remembered Ham and Luke talking. "She's a she-devil," Ham had said. "Walkin' like she was offering what you wanted, but then cuttin' you off like you wasn't nothin' she would touch."

"Women like that don't have a reason to be in this world. Women are evil, they can wind a man around their fingers and then squeeze the life out of them," Luke had added.

Looking down at the pale, perspiration–covered face, watching the struggle she was going through to breathe, he wondered whether what they said was true. The dark brown, almost black hair plastered to her face, a face so sweet looking.

"They are evil," Luke's voice sounded in his head. Drew recognized the voice this time.

"Shut up, Luke," Drew muttered, "get out of my head." Drew staggered under the force of the pain that suddenly lashed him. At his words, both the dog and cat moved close, as if to comfort and support him. "Thanks," Drew said, as he placed a hand on each. A sense of peace and support flooded through him, and the pain disappeared.

Drew returned his attention to the task at hand, working to remove the lodged bullet. Once completed, he bandaged her shoulder, then cleaned and did the same for the wound on her left calf. When finished, he pulled a chair over and sat back to wait. He knew Luke would wonder why he didn't immediately return to camp, but he felt compelled to make sure the woman was okay. He couldn't explain it, but he wouldn't leave until he had the chance to talk with, and learn more about, this woman. She didn't seem to fit the picture the others had painted; still, Luke had done so much to help him.

Round and round the thoughts continued. Drew grew dizzy and his head began to throb again, but a dull ache, not the searing pain he'd felt earlier. Perhaps he was still feeling the effects of the poisoning, his body not yet regaining its full strength. The dog came over to lie between them. The woman's hand moved to the dog's head and, without thinking, Drew placed his hand over hers. Soon he fell into a calm sleep, without dreams or worries.

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Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

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