McCrackin, Josephine (Woempner)Clifford

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McCRACKIN, Josephine (Woempner)Clifford

Born 25 November 1838, Petershagen, Germany; died 21 December 1920, Santa Cruz, California

Also wrote under: Josephine Clifford

Daughter of Georg and Charlotte Hartman Woempner; married James Clifford, 1864; Jackson McCrackin, 1882 (died 1904)

A journalist and short-story writer associated with western literary figures such as Bret Harte and Ambrose Bierce, Josephine Clifford McCrackin lived a courageous and romantic life. Born in Germany and brought to St. Louis as a child, she married a cavalry officer who became insane shortly after their marriage. Although she stayed with him longer than seems reasonable, she finally escaped him and left the desert outpost where they were stationed to make her home in California. There she wrote for Overland, Harper's Magazine, and other publications that were eager to print firsthand accounts of western life. A happy second marriage introduced her to ranch life. After the destruction of the McCrackins' ranch by fire in 1899 and her husband's death in 1904, McCrackin became involved in the conservation movement. During her last years she worked as a newspaperwoman in the Santa Cruz area.

Perhaps McCrackin's most famous piece of nonfiction was her letter to the Santa Cruz Sentinel (7 March 1900) attacking the depredations of the lumber business on the redwoods, for it served to mobilize public interest in preserving the trees, leading to the creation of what was then called California Redwood Park.

Much of the background and some of the actual experiences in McCrackin's short stories come from her own adventures in Arizona and Southern California. California is described as a flowery paradise with clean air, sea breezes, and distant mountain scenery to gaze at. Since McCrackin was born into a military family and married into the army as well, she praised the army men and glamorized the army life. While she often sympathized with the Spaniards and Mexicans, who were being bested by the Americans in the battle for land in California, she showed little concern for the Native Americans, portraying them as "red devils." The plots and characterizations are melodramatic and repetitious. Many of the stories end with a murder or suicide, the motive for the tragedy usually being thwarted love. Her fictional old Southwest was thickly peopled with brokenhearted heroes and heroines, lovers who had betrayed trusts, daughters who had been maneuvered by their parents into marriage to rich men they did not love, and strong-minded women pursued by evil husbands.

Whether they are good or bad, most of McCrackin's heroines are strong women. The bad ones are very bad; the cruel Mrs. Arnold of "A Woman's Treachery" tortures animals and cheats on her husband, eventually causing his death. Often the women are high-tempered and nervous, flushing easily and flashing their eyes a lot. They work hard and love horses; they suffer nobly under persecution and remain faultlessly faithful to their first loves. Her men are not very individualized. Most of them are either villains, in the form of dissipated, irresponsible husbands, or heroes, in the person of handsome young lieutenants. Physical and moral courage are both needed for one to remain alive (much more so to be successful in any way) in the landscapes of her tales.

While McCrackin's short stories are not valuable works of literature, they are an interesting source for details of life on the western frontier. Her career in the conservation movement, typical of those who turned so enthusiastically to that movement in the early 20th century, is also of interest. She was active in several conservation groups, seeking to preserve (in fact) the unspoiled natural reserves of her beloved California which she has helped to preserve (in print) through her descriptions of life there in the last 30 years of the 19th century.

Other Works:

Overland Tales (1877). Pen Pictures of Ventura County, California (1880). Another Juanita, and Other Stories (1893). The Woman Who Lost Him, and Tales of the Army Frontier (1913).

Bibliography:

Bierce, A., Introduction to The Woman Who Lost Him, and Tales of the Army Frontier by J. C. McCrackin (1913). James, G. W., in The Woman Who Lost Him, and Tales of the Army Frontier by J. C. McCrackin (1913).