Home » Treasures from Our West: Photograph of “Captain Jack” Crawford in Panama
"Captain Jack" Crawford in Panama, 1912. MS 322 John Wallace Crawford Collection, McCracken Research Library. P.322.0255 (detail)

Treasures from Our West: Photograph of “Captain Jack” Crawford in Panama

“Captain Jack” Crawford in Panama

The Panama Canal may seem far from the American West—in geography, culture, and everything else western—but make no mistake: John Wallace “Jack” Crawford (1847–1917), pictured here at the canal construction site in 1912, was a westerner through and through.

An Irish immigrant, Crawford had the heart of an adventurer, the most important prerequisite for a true westerner. He was miner, soldier, Chief of Scouts for the Black Hills Rangers, Klondike gold prospector, army scout in the war against the Apaches, trader, “revenooer,” playwright, short story author, poet, and actor. In fact, Crawford joined William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s theatrical troupe (before Cody’s Wild West was inaugurated) for the winter season of 1876. There he starred as “Captain Jack” opposite Buffalo Bill in western melodramas.

A Treasure from Our West: "Captain Jack" Crawford in Panama, 1912. 	
MS 322 John Wallace Crawford Collection, McCracken Research Library. P.322.0255
“Captain Jack” Crawford in Panama, 1912. P.322.0255

By 1893, Captain Jack, known as The Poet Scout (the title of his first book), was devoting his time exclusively to a career as an entertainer and eventually was recognized as one of the country’s most popular platform entertainers. Was his travel to Panama just another adventure?

Captain Jack in Panama, 1912. Black and white photograph. MS 322 John Wallace “Captain Jack” Crawford Collection. P.322.0255

Post 100

Written By

Nancy McClure avatar

Nancy McClure

Nancy now does Grants & Foundations Relations for the Center of the West's Development Department, but was formerly the Content Producer for the Center's Public Relations Department, where her work included writing and updating website content, publicizing events, copy editing, working with images, and producing the e-newsletter Western Wire. Her current job is seeking and applying for funding from government grants and private foundations. In her spare time, Nancy enjoys photography, reading, flower gardening, and playing the flute.

You May Also Like