TEN QUESTIONS, WITH EDWARD BUTTS
Submitted by Grace on August 17, 2011 - 5:02pmMore Sharing Se
The newest edition to Dundurn's Quest Biography Series is Edward Butt's Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior. The book sheds light on a misunderstood historical figure, an American (often vilified in US history books) who aligned himself with the Native population and eventually settled in Canada.
Edward Butts talks to Open Book about the man known as 'the white savage', his writing life and some essential Canadian reading.
Open Book:
Tell us about your latest book, Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior.
Ed Butts:
Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior is the true story of a Revolutionary War era frontiersman who was an arch-villain to the Americans, a Loyalist hero to the British and Canadians, and a champion for the cause of the Natives who were fighting as British allies to protect their homelands. Girty was captured by Natives as a boy, and was adopted into the Seneca tribe. He became an expert woodsman, and learned to speak several Native languages fluently. This made him invaluable as a scout and an interpreter.
When Girty realized that the American rebels intended to seize Native lands, he became an agent for the British Indian Department. In that capacity he served as a raider, interpreter, negotiator, and spy. After the British defeat, Girty acquired a farm in Upper Canada, but he continued to assist the tribes in resisting American expansion. The Americans declared him an outlaw and put a price on his head.
Girty’s life story reads like an epic novel of high adventure and great tragedy. He crossed paths with such famous individuals as Joseph Brant, Tecumseh and Daniel Boone. There’s a historic plaque marking the site of his old homestead near Malden, Ontario, but in Canadian history he is a largely forgotten figure. I hope that my book will make more Canadians aware of this amazing man and the tumultuous time in which he lived.
OB:
What drew you to Girty as a subject? Do you feel there are previous texts (American or Canadian) that have portrayed him accurately?
EB:
I first heard about Simon Girty from the writer James Reaney. I was a student in the Department of Integrated Studies at the University of Waterloo, and I was working on a paper about outlaw folk heroes. I did some research, and decided to do my IS degree project on him. It was just too good a story to let go of.
Previous texts: there are two American biographies that are long out of print; The History of the Girtys by Consul W. Butterfield, and The White Savage by Thomas Boyd. They are one-sided treatments that helped perpetuate the myth that Simon Girty was a blood-thirsty fiend. The very best, and most accurate, American biography is Simon Girty: Turncoat Heroby Phillip Hoffman. I did a chapter about Girty for Pirates & Outlaws of Canada, which I co-authored with Harold Horwood. My new book, Wilderness Warrior, is the only Girty biography written by a Canadian.
OB:
You wrote a play about the life of Girty early in your career. How did that earlier work inform Simon Girty?
EB:
My play, The Fame of Simon Girty, was part of my university degree project. We made a pretty good amateur production of it on the university stage. I realize now, however, that some of the information I based the story on was inaccurate. But that’s all part of the process of historical research. Nothing is ever carved in stone. Researching for the play and then staging it brought Girty alive for me. But the play would need a major re-write if it were to be staged again.
OB:
What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
EB:
Imagine trying to write a factual book about a historical character whom one country has all but forgotten, and another country regards as the equivalent of Jack the Ripper. Most Canadians don’t know anything about Simon Girty. Those who do have most likely heard of him in terms of “Dirty Girty”, “White Savage” and “Fiend of the Frontier” — the names that the Americans tagged him with. Rescuing such a character’s reputation can be a daunting task.
OB:
Did you have a specific readership in mind when you wrote your book?
EB:
Like all of the biographies in the Quest series, Simon Girty was written for young adults, with the hope that it will help stimulate interest in Canadian history. At the same time, I kept in mind that the story should also appeal to more mature readers. The story tells of bloody battles, massacres and the torture of prisoners. I tried to tone down some of the more gruesome information that is found in firsthand historical accounts, but still keep the narrative at a level that respects adult integrity. I have an uncle who is retired from the Canadian Coast Guard, who has read all of my books. In his valued opinion, my Quest book about the explorer Henry Hudson is the best one I’ve done. The author John Robert Colombo also told me that he considered the Hudson book my best. While writing Simon Girty, I didn’t forget that I have readers like them, as well as young people.
OB:
In terms of writing and literature, what differences do you observe in the American and Canadian approaches to history?
EB:
There was a time when it would have been easy to give a generalized answer to that question; Americans will glorify anything in their history, and Canadians will turn the most exciting moments in their history into something as dull as pasta cooked in wiener water. But that is changing. American writers have been more willing to challenge the old idea that the USA was always on the side of truth and justice. The Simon Girty story is a case in point. American authors of romantic fiction, such as Zane Grey, found a very convenient villain in Simon Girty. More recent writers, such as the poet Richard Taylor, author of Girty, and Timothy Truman, who created a two-volume graphic novel called Wilderness, which is based on Girty’s story, have presented more objective views of his life and times.
As for the Canadian approach; I don’t think it can still be said that Canadians write dull history. There was a time when you had to be Pierre Berton to get a book of Canadian history published and read. That is no longer so. We still don’t blow our horns in the American fashion, but there are many great writers whose works celebrate Canadian history. See the books of Donald E. Graves for some excellent accounts of Canadian battles. Read the novels of Rudy Weibe and Fred Stenson for great Canadian historical fiction.
OB:
If you had to choose three books as a “Welcome to Canada” gift, what would those books be?
EB:
For children, I’d suggest something by Robert Munsch. For a great browsing book that offers plenty of tidbits of Canadian history and Canadiana, there’s Colombo’s Concise Canadian Quotations. And for something humorous that’s also Canadian; a collection of Stephen Leacock’s funniest stories.
OB:
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a writer?
EB:
Revise, revise, revise! When you write something, no matter how good you think it looks, put it away and then go back to it later. It can usually be improved.
OB:
What book have you read recently that you really loved?
EB:
There’s a Canadian writer named Rose Keefe who has made a career out of writing the biographies of American gangsters. I really enjoyed her book, The Man Who Got Away, which is the story of George “Bugs” Moran, the gang boss who was the intended target of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. I was surprised to learn that he had a Canadian background; his mother was from Quebec. It’s a great look into the prohibition era.
OB:
What is your next project?
EB:
I’m currently working on a book about the history of Sheridan Nurseries and its founders. It’s a rather fascinating story that reaches from Toronto’s University Avenue to the gardens of almost every urban home in Canada. I’ve also written a book for juveniles about the history of bodyguards that will be published shortly.
Edward Butts is the author of numerous books, including Henry Hudson: New World Voyager,Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador, Running with Dillinger and The Desperate Ones, which was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.
For more information about Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior please visit the Dundurn website.
Buy this book at your local independent bookstore or online at Chapters/Indigo or Amazon.
