Everett Ruess
Note: this is a continuation of my previous post
I've been thinking about the scope of Everett Ruess's wanderlust adventures and the many possibilities of danger that they presented. It's almost inconceivable that someone so young (and inexperienced) would even attempt such an epic journey, let alone do it with surprising expertise and undeterred enthusiasm.
The places where he traveled are the most desolate and perilous areas in the country - formidable to access even now, with the aid of modern technology and conveniences. I can only imagine the complete isolation and extreme vulnerability of a boy alone, armed with little more than stoic determination.
Ruess with his dog Curly
I've been to many of the places where he traveled: the Mohave Desert, the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park in Utah, the Colorado and New Mexico mountains. Anyone who has experienced these overwhelming wonders of nature firsthand can fully understand how they inspired such an obsessive rapture and enchantment in Ruess.
The great tragedy of his disappearance at age twenty almost seems an appropriate end to his short saga. It enhances the allure and intensifies the romance. In a hauntingly unnerving way, it almost seems that this is how he would have envisioned his final exit: immortalized in eternal youth and perpetual mystery.
The land he explored
This was a very roundabout way of getting to my point - - the grim reality of what really happened to Everett Ruess. My amature armchair deductions have completely ruled out suicide. He loved life far too much. An accident would be a much more plausible assumption, despite the fact that he was extremely competent and self-reliant. I have always tended to believe that perhaps something much more sinister was involved, and the other night I stumbled upon some startlingly reasonable proof.
The theory of murder has always been a possibility, and information uncovered by novelist C. Joseph Greaves (also known as Chuck Greaves) makes the theory very probable. In 2012, Greaves published an historical novel entitled Hard Twisted.(click title for link). It is a fictionalized account of the real-life psychopathic murderer James Clinton Palmer, who happened to be living in the area of southern Utah where Everett Ruess disappeared. Author Greaves' research yields reasonable evidence that Ruess and murderer Palmer might have crossed paths.
In 1934, shortly after being released from Leavensworth Penitentiary in Kansas, James Clinton Palmer went to Oklahoma. There he befriended a man named Dillard Garrett and his thirteen-year-old daughter Lucile. Palmer killed and decapitated Garrett and kidnapped Lucile, forcing her to be his child bride. He took the girl to Utah and they settled in a very remote area called John's Canyon. Palmer found work as a sheep herder and eventually murdered (and decapitated) two more people - a retired sheriff and his grandson.
The site at John's Canyon where murderer James Clinton Palmer lived with his kidnapped child bride Lucile Lottie Garrett
Everett Ruess was last seen in Escalante, Utah, before he disappeared in November, 1934. Escalante is about 40 miles away from John's Canyon, where murderer James Clinton Palmer was. Recently discovered evidence indicates that Ruess traveled east after leaving Escalante and was in the vicinity of John's Canyon.
Everett Ruess often referred to himself as"Nemo" (Latin for "no man"). One of his trademarks during his travels was to carve the name Nemo into stone at various locations where he had been. He carved the graffito "Nemo 1934" at an Anasazi ruin near Escalante, Utah, shortly before he disappeared.
Near Escalante, Utah
In
1984, a previously unknown "Nemo 1934" etching by Reuss was discovered
in Grand Gulch, north of the San Juan River - which was less than ten
miles from where murderer Palmer was living with his kidnapped child
bride.
Recent studies have confirmed that the "Nemo" etching at Grand Gulch is authentic, and definitely written by Everett Ruess. Due to this discovery Reuss was assumed to have been headed towards John's Canyon, where he would have almost certainly encountered the dugout homestead of Palmer.
It's only a theory that Everett Ruess was murdered, but this newly-uncovered information is strong enough evidence to be seriously considered.
by Jon V.
(copyright 2016)
Postscript:
James Clinton Palmer was eventually apprehended and sentenced to 99 years. He died in prison in 1969. Lucile Garrett was prosecuted for "associating with a known criminal" and sent to a girl's reform school until she was 21. She died in 1991.
Excerpts from writings by Everett Ruess:
At evening I would go out into the glade and climb high above the river to the base of the cliff. I would gather scarlet flowers and come down when the stars gleamed softly. Sighing winds would eddy down the canyon, swaying the tree tops. Then the leaves would cease their trembling; only the sound of rippling water would continue, and the spirit of peace and somnolence would pervade and the red embers of my fire one by one turned black and shadows deepened into a gently surging slumber.
Always I shall be one who loves the wilderness:
Swaggers and softly creeps between the mountain peaks;
I shall listen long to the sea’s brave music;
I shall sing my song above the shriek of desert winds.
When I go I leave no trace.
The beauty of the country is becoming a part of me.
Now the aspen trunks are tall and white in the moonlight.
A wind croons in the pines, The mountain sleeps.
Alone, I shoulder the sky,
And hurl my defiance
And shout the song of
the conqueror
To the four winds,
Earth, sea, sun, moon, and stars.
I LIVE!
What a fascinating (and heartbreaking) account! These samples of his writings are so candid -- as if he's pulled back the covers to expose his soul.
ReplyDeleteDo you know, did Palmer (or Lucile) ever confess to the crime?
Palmer and Lucil never confessed, nor did they ever mention Ruess. The murder is only a theory, but a plausible one, since Ruess was definitely in the vicinity where Palmer had his makeshift "homestead".
DeleteThe poems and diaries of Everett Ruess are so intriguing (and surprisingly mature). They do indeed expose the depths of his soul.
This sounds HIGHLY credible! I was also wondering if it could have been possibe that he was killed by a wild animal of some kind? But with this new evidence - most likely murdered!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many possibilities concerning his disappearance. I thought about snake bites, poisonous insects, wild animals, or falling off a cliff. The murder theory does seem very plausible - especially since Ruess was friendly and trusting with strangers.
DeleteThanks, Jon, for this follow-up on the mystery of what happened to Everett Ruess, who does seem highly unlikely to have committed suicide. He embraced his lifestyle and nature too much it seems to have done so. The murder theory seems very plausible or as has been noted an accident. But with no admission of guilt by Palmer and no body, the mystery prevails over what really did happen to Ruess.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some of his writings…beautiful and insightful for someone so young.
There were several extensive searches for Ruess shortly after he disappeared - but the area is so vast and desolate that the efforts almost seem futile. It's rather strange that his two burros were found alive four months after he vanished.
DeleteMurder does indeed seem very plausible, but perhaps we'll never know for certain. The intriguing mystery continues....
The tale has always fascinated me too. It's always so hard to believe how some peoples lives end, or go missing, and can never be solved or the bodies recovered. I like to think his spirit is at least still roaming the land out there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteConsorting with nature is always risky and tends to tempt fate. Ruess packed an enormous amount of living in his few short years and probably had no regrets. He was a true romantic and I'm certain that his adventurous spirit still wanders.
DeleteLooks like you may be onto something.
ReplyDelete