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Show BECKWITH PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, DELTA CITY LIBRARY UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY anniversary of the event.44 The subjects that appealed to Beckwith more than any other, however, were those involving science. Kelly noted that Beckwith “had the mentality of a scientist and an almost fanatical desire to pursue any subject in which he was interested to the furthest possible conclusion.” 45 Beckwith himself remarked that he “would rather study Geology for vast intervals of time, and Astronomy for Vast distances, Light as I study it for Photography—and Chemistry for its wonders—well, I hump over those volumes more than you possibly imagine.” In the same letter to Eugene Gardner he wrote, “Science is the noblest, best, most fascinating thought in the world. As Pupin says, ‘It is God’s language: and we men must lear n it, Eugene—must learn its vowels, its words, its construction. We must master the physical laws of the universe.’”46 As he had done with A caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm II electricity as a young man in high school, as of Germany drawn by Frank an adult, Beckwith “studied radio activity Beckwith during World War I. until I was black in the face.”47 He also studied astronomy from an early age, and he had a telescope when he lived in Delta that he would let others use to observe the night skies. His granddaughter, Jessie Lynn Cook, clearly remembers nights spent staring at the stars, her grandfather pointing out the constellations.48 Beckwith’s interest in science naturally lent itself to creation, and by the time he moved to Delta, he had three inventions under his belt. In the 1890s, he had remodeled “an old-style Ideal powder measure fitted with a disk for loading a small charge of nitro powder, one disk for 10 grains and one for 12 grains of Laflin & Rand Sporting Rifle Smokeless.” His detailed account of the procedure, including drawings and tables, were published in 1899.49 Next, Beckwith invented a safety device for firearms that was “applicable to single and double action revolvers and rifles and shot guns.”50 For this invention, he was offered a fifteen thousand dollar capital stock and 44 Delta City Library, Beckwith Photograph Collection, Identifier 030gp.tif. Kelly, “Reminiscences,”1; This document is also published in Frank Beckwith, Indian Joe: In Person and in Background (Delta: DuWill Publishing Company, 1975). 46 Frank A. Beckwith, “Affliction, Agony and Torture,” 5, 6, 8. 47 Ibid. 48 Jessie Lynn Cook, “His Knowledge Ever Grows,” 1950-1951, typescript in the possession of Jane Beckwith. 49 Frank A. Beckwith, “A Powder Measure,” Shooting and Fishing, November 9, 1899, 68-69. 50 Wyoming Pun, April 28, 1906. 45 180 |
