Hot Town Poster, Andrew Jackson Mouth, and Modoc Basket

Tukufu: THIS WEEK, ON AN ENCORE PRESENTATION OF HISTORY DETECTIVES: WHAT ROLE DID THIS STRIKING POSTER PLAY IN THE EXPLOSIVE EVENTS OF 1960s AMERICA?

I DIDN'T THINK WE HAD REACHED THAT POINT WHERE WE WERE GOING TO START SHOOTING AT PEOPLE, MY GOD.

Elyse: HOW WAS THIS WOODEN FRAGMENT CONNECTED TO ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED POLITICAL PROTESTS OF THE 19th CENTURY?

Wes: WHAT TALES DOES THIS BASKET WEAVE OF THE HEROISM OF AN AMERICAN-INDIAN WOMAN?

JACK POINTS IT AT CANBY AND PULLS THE TRIGGER.

Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START ♪ ♪ BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ OUR FIRST CASE INVESTIGATES A POSTER THAT MAY BE FROM A CROSSROADS IN THE HISTORY OF THE 1960s.

AUGUST 1968: AS DELEGATES GATHER FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, THE STREETS OF CHICAGO FILL WITH DEMONSTRATORS PROTESTING THE WAR IN VIETNAM.

BUT ON NIGHT THREE, AS HUBERT HUMPHREY CELEBRATES HIS NOMINATION, NEWS CAMERAS SWITCH FROM INSIDE THE HALL TO THE SPECTACLE OUTSIDE: PROTESTERS, POLICE, AND NATIONAL GUARDSMEN CLASHING VIOLENTLY IN THE STREETS.

TO MANY, THE IMAGES COME TO SYMBOLIZE THE BREAKDOWN OF CIVIL SOCIETY.

MORE THAN 40 YEARS LATER, TIM SCHMITT OF DES MOINES, IOWA, HAS A STARTLING IMAGE THAT MAY BE A FRAGMENT FROM THAT CULTURAL EXPLOSION.

I'VE ALWAYS KNOWN THIS WAS A RADICAL POSTER, BUT I NEVER KNEW ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT IT.

I'M TUKUFU ZUBERI, AND I'M EXCITED TO TAKE A LOOK AT TIM'S POSTER.

HEY, HOW ARE YOU?

- ALL RIGHT, HOW YOU DOING?

- GOOD.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FOOT?

I HURT MY ANKLE PLAYING SQUASH.

THAT WAS SMART.

HELP YOURSELF, GO ON IN.

SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?

THIS IS A POSTER A FRIEND OF OURS GAVE US ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO.

OKAY, "HOT TOWN -- PIGS IN THE STREETS.

"BUT THE STREETS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE.

DIG IT?"

DIG IT?

NOW, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS POSTER?

NOT A WHOLE LOT.

THE FRIEND WHO PASSED IT DOWN TO US SAID IT HAD COME FROM SOME RADICAL POLITICAL GROUP IN THE LATE '60s, MAYBE AROUND THE TIME OF THE '68 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

AND HE TOLD US THIS NAME SUNSHINE JUBILEE WAS PERHAPS THE PERSON WHO CREATED IT.

WELL, WHAT CAN I FIND OUT FOR YOU?

WELL, BASICALLY, IF IT'S TRUE, IF IT CAME FROM THAT ERA, AND IF IT IS INDEED A PERSON AND IF THEY WERE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING IT.

WHY DON'T I TAKE THIS WITH ME, SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT FOR YOU, AND GET BACK TO YOU WITH IT.

- GREAT.

- ALL RIGHT?

APPRECIATE IT, THANK YOU.

"HOT TOWN -- PIGS IN THE STREETS, "BUT THE STREETS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE.

DIG IT?"

I MEAN, THIS SOUNDS VERY '60s, AND IT LOOKS A LITTLE BIT WORN.

YOU HAVE SOME SERIOUS CREASES RIGHT HERE THROUGH THE MIDDLE.

THE FIST, THE ANGRY COP.

WHOEVER CREATED THIS SEEMS LIKE THEY WERE TRYING TO PROVOKE A REACTION, AND THE LANGUAGE IS FAMILIAR.

THE WHOLE REFERENCE TO THE PIGS IS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY RELATE TO THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY.

WHEN I WAS A KID, I WENT TO THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY BREAKFAST PROGRAM.

I HEARD A LOT OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL SPEECHES, SO I REMEMBER THIS BEING SOMETHING THAT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY WOULD HAVE BEEN SAYING.

THE PROVOCATIVE TONE OF THE IMAGE IS CERTAINLY IN KEEPING WITH WHAT WAS HAPPENING THAT YEAR.

1968 WAS A PIVOTAL YEAR FOR AMERICA.

APRIL, MARTIN LUTHER KING IS KILLED.

ROBERT KENNEDY IS KILLED LATER THAT YEAR.

Television newscaster: Senator Kennedy has been shot.

FOLLOWING KING'S MURDER, RIOTS ERUPTED IN CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING CHICAGO.

EARLY '60s IMAGES OF NONVIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE WHICH HAD SWAYED THE NATION'S COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS WERE REPLACED BY PICTURES OF ANGRY YOUTHS FIGHTING WITH POLICE.

WHILE MANY PEOPLE SAW THIS AS A BREAKDOWN OF AMERICAN SOCIETY, OTHERS SAW IT AS A CALL TO ARMS.

THE PEOPLE ON THE LEFT FELT BETRAYED BY THE INSTITUTIONS WHO CONTROLLED POLITICS IN THIS COUNTRY.

BY THE TIME THE CONVENTION WAS TO BE HELD, PEOPLE WERE READY TO PROTEST.

BUT CHICAGO MAYOR RICHARD DALEY INTENDED TO KEEP ORDER AT ALL COSTS.

HE MOBILIZED HIS POLICE FORCE AND ASKED THE GOVERNOR TO CALL IN THE NATIONAL GUARD.

BY THE TIME THE CONVENTION BEGAN ON AUGUST 26, CONFRONTATION SEEMED INEVITABLE.

BUT I'M NOT FINDING TIM'S IMAGE IN MY RESEARCH.

CAROL WELLS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF POLITICAL GRAPHICS.

WE'RE MEETING AT SALSEDO PRESS, A WORKER-RUN COOPERATIVE THAT HAS BEEN PRINTING MATERIALS FOR CHICAGO'S PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY SINCE THE LATE 1960s.

Tukufu: SO JUST LOOKING AT THIS POSTER, WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT IT?

WELL, IT LOOKS FROM THE LATE '60s.

IT LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE STUDENT DEMONSTRATION PERIOD WHEN EVERYBODY WAS PROTESTING AGAINST THE WAR IN VIETNAM.

THAT'S WHEN THE WORD "PIGS," THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY REALLY POPULARIZED THE USE OF "PIGS" TO REFER TO THE POLICE.

THAT WAS MY FIRST IMPRESSION WAS THIS HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY BECAUSE OF THE PIGS AND THEN "STREETS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE."

AND THEN I THOUGHT REALLY WITH THIS FIST, IT JUST LOOKS FAMILIAR TO ME.

WELL, THE PANTHERS ACTUALLY USED THAT FIST, BUT I'LL TELL YOU, THE CLUE THAT THIS IS NOT A PANTHER POSTER, THE PANTHERS LABELED EVERYTHING.

THEY WERE A REALLY A VERY EARLY GROUP TO USE THE LOGO.

THIS IS VERY CLEARLY NOT A PANTHER POSTER.

IT'S ALSO NOT A SDS POSTER, BECAUSE THEY DID THE SAME THING.

SDS, OR STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, WAS ONE OF THE MAIN PROTEST GROUPS OF THE NEW LEFT DURING THE 1960s.

THEY PUT "SDS" ON EVERYTHING.

WHO MADE IT?

I HAVE NO IDEA.

THERE WAS NO INFORMATION ON HERE THAT WOULD LET ME KNOW WHO DID IT.

I EVEN LOOKED UP SUNSHINE JUBILEE, AND I COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING.

BUT CAROL DOES RECOGNIZE THE FIST, WHICH WAS CREATED BY CIVIL RIGHTS WORKER AND ARTIST FRANK CIECIORKA FOR AN ANTI-DRAFT EVENT IN 1967.

IT BECAME AN ICON FOR PROTEST MOVEMENTS THEN AND NOW.

THIS IS A SILKSCREEN VERSION OF THAT FIST, AND IT WAS DONE IN 1969.

THIS IS A PANTHER USE OF THE FIST.

IF YOU LOOK, IT'S KIND OF SMALL ON THE SIDE.

BUT THIS ONE IS THE ONE THAT I'M REALLY THE MOST THRILLED WITH, BECAUSE THIS ONE IS FROM 2006 OAXACA, AND IT'S USING FRANK CIECIORKA'S FIST.

WOW.

DID FRANK CIECIORKA DESIGN THIS POSTER?

I WOULD SAY HIGHLY DOUBTFUL, HIGHLY DOUBTFUL.

FIRST OF ALL, WHENEVER HE USED HIS FIST, HE HAD HIS NAME ON IT, SO HE WOULD HAVE -- IF HE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE POSTER, HIS NAME WOULD HAVE BEEN ON IT.

OKAY.

CAROL OFFERS TO E-MAIL THE IMAGE TO SOME COLLEAGUES WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH POSTERS FROM THAT PERIOD.

I'VE COME TO CHICAGO'S GRANT PARK, THE SITE OF SOME OF THE WORST VIOLENCE DURING THE CONVENTION.

RETIRED POLICE COMMANDER WAYNE WIBERG SAW THE RIOTS FROM BEHIND POLICE LINES.

NOW, THIS IS THE POSTER I'M TALKING ABOUT.

DID YOU EVER SEE THIS THING BEFORE?

TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION, IT MAY HAVE BEEN THERE, BUT THERE WERE LOTS OF POSTERS.

OKAY, SO HERE WE ARE, AUGUST 1968.

DESCRIBE THAT SITUATION TO ME.

WHAT WERE YOU LOOKING AT, AND WHERE WERE YOU?

WE WERE BROUGHT DOWN HERE BECAUSE THE CROWD WAS SWELLING AND THEY WERE -- SOMETHING WAS GOING TO GO OFF.

WAYNE SAYS HE REMEMBERS HEARING STORIES OF POLICE HAVING EXCREMENT THROWN AT THEM.

AS THE PROTEST GREW, HIS EIGHT-MAN UNIT WAS SCARED OF GETTING SUCKED INTO THE HOSTILE CROWD AND SEPARATED.

THE CROWD WAS AS FAR BACK AS YOU CAN SEE THIS WAY AND ALL THE WAY TO THE END.

AND WE HAD OUR BACKS TO THE HILTON HOTEL, WE'RE WATCHING THE CROWD, AND IT WAS SCARY, IT WAS VERY SCARY.

BECAUSE HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A CROWD OF 5,000, 8,000, 10,000?

YOU DON'T.

AS A DRAFT-AGED YOUNG MAN, WAYNE SAYS HE UNDERSTOOD THE FEELINGS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LINE.

AND BELIEVE ME, I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN ON THIS SIDE VERSUS THAT SIDE.

AND A LOT OF MY FRIENDS WERE.

AND THEN I HAD FRIENDS IN VIETNAM.

IT WAS REALLY -- YOU'RE TORN, BUT HERE WE ARE.

HE SAYS THE EVENING REACHED ITS VIOLENT CLIMAX AS THE NATIONAL GUARD ARRIVED.

AND THEY WERE DRIVING IN JEEPS WITH BIG SCREENS AFRONT, AND THERE WAS A COUPLE OF THEM SITTING ON 50-CALIBER MACHINE GUNS.

AND THE GUARDS STEPPED IN FRONT OF US, AND I WAS STANDING NEXT TO ANOTHER OFFICER, AND THIS GUARD PUTS A BIPOD RIFLE DOWN, AND I SAW HIM DO THIS.

AND THAT MEANS HE INJECTED A SHELL INTO THAT GUN.

AND I STEPPED BACK, BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK WE HAD REACHED THAT POINT WHERE WE WERE GOING TO START SHOOTING AT PEOPLE, MY GOD.

WAYNE REMEMBERS SEEING POLICEMEN HITTING PROTESTERS WITH NIGHTSTICKS... Go ahead!

Do it, officer!

AND DEMONSTRATORS ATTACKING THE POLICE.

WHO PROVOKED THE VIOLENCE?

NOBODY WAS AN ANGEL IN THAT GAME, OKAY?

I'M BEING HONEST WITH YOU.

THEY WERE ATTACKING, THEY WERE THROWING STUFF AT THE POLICE.

A LOT OF THE POLICEMEN DID NOT APPRECIATE BEING CALLED A PIG.

FOLLOWING THE DISTURBANCES, AN OFFICIAL COMMISSION, LED BY DANIEL WALKER OF THE CHICAGO CRIME COMMISSION, FOUND THAT THE POLICE HAD FACED WIDESPREAD PROVOCATION BUT HAD RESPONDED WITH UNRESTRAINED AND INDISCRIMINATE VIOLENCE.

THE WALKER COMMISSION REPORT CALLED THIS A POLICE RIOT.

- DO YOU AGREE?

- NO.

WE HAD THE IMMOVABLE FORCE AGAINST THE IRRESISTIBLE OBJECT, AND YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER, WE HAD A RIOT ON BOTH SIDES.

HERE WE ARE 40 YEARS LATER.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS POSTER, "PIGS IN THE STREETS," AND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE YOU, HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL?

BACK THEN, IT WAS TAKEN PERSONAL BY A LOT OF POLICE OFFICERS, BUT EVENTUALLY, SOMEBODY CAME UP WITH THE IDEA AND THE ACRONYM "PRIDE, INTEGRITY, AND GUTS."

THAT'S WHAT IT STANDS FOR.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF SUNSHINE JUBILEE?

NO, NOT OFFHAND.

WAYNE HAS HIS DOUBTS ABOUT THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE POSTER.

WELL, LOOKING AT THIS RIGHT NOW, I CAN TELL YOU THAT'S NOT A CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER.

WE HAD A STAR ON OUR HELMETS ALONG THAT SAID CHICAGO POLICE AND WE ALSO HAD OUR STAR NUMBERS ABOVE IT.

THIS MAN IS NOT A CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER AT ALL.

SOCIOLOGIST TODD GITLIN, WHO HAD BEEN ONE OF THE EARLY LEADERS OF STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, WAS ALSO IN CHICAGO DURING THE RIOTS.

COME ON IN.

THIS IS THE OBJECT THAT I'M LOOKING INTO, THIS POSTER.

YOU EVER SEE THAT BEFORE?

I HAVE.

IT WAS A POSTER PRODUCED IN CHICAGO AT THE TIME OF OR JUST BEFORE THE DEMONSTRATION.

MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT WAS PRODUCED BY SOME LOCAL PEOPLE.

CAN YOU DISCUSS YOUR MEMORIES OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROTEST?

I REMEMBER I WAS IN THE PARK ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE HILTON AND WE SAW THE NATIONAL GUARD COMING DOWN THE STREET.

AS THOSE CROWDS POURED DOWN MICHIGAN AVENUE, THAT WAS WHERE I FIRST HEARD THE CHANT "THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING."

Protesters: The whole world is watching!

The whole world is watching!

THE LANGUAGE OF THE POSTER IS CONFRONTATIONAL, AND TODD SAYS THAT THIS DESIRE TO BE HEARD WAS FELT BY MANY IN THE STREETS THAT HOT AUGUST EVENING.

WE HAD BEEN HEADING TOWARD A COLLISION WITH THE AUTHORITIES, A KIND OF DRAMATIC, THEATRICAL CONFRONTATION, FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

AND THERE WAS A KIND OF SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION, AS ODD AS THAT MAY SOUND, A KIND OF CULTURAL ECSTASY INVOLVED IN ACTUALLY SEEING THIS MOMENT PLAY OUT.

TODD SAYS THAT ULTIMATELY, THE PARTISAN TONE OF THE POSTER, LIKE THE SPECTACLE OF DISORDER IN THE STREETS, FAILED TO CONNECT WITH ORDINARY PEOPLE IN CHICAGO.

I SPENT TWO YEARS AS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER AMONG POOR WHITES IN CHICAGO.

WOULD THEY HAVE BEEN SYMPATHETIC TO A POSTER LIKE THIS?

I WOULD HAVE BEEN AMAZED IF THERE HAD BEEN VAST NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO WOULD HAVE EITHER THOUGHT OF THE POLICE AS PIGS OR WOULD HAVE BEEN EAGER FOR SOME SORT OF COLLISION WITH THE POLICE.

BEFORE I LEAVE, I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION FOR TODD.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SUNSHINE JUBILEE REFERS TO?

I'M NOT SURE THAT'S A PERSON.

IT MIGHT BE AN OCCASION.

BUT, NO, I'D NEVER NOTICED THAT, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH.

ALTHOUGH TODD RECOGNIZES TIM'S POSTER, I'M STILL NOT ANY CLOSER TO FINDING OUT WHO MADE IT.

BUT I DO HAVE A MESSAGE ON MY PHONE FROM CAROL WELLS.

AFTER HEARING FROM SOME OF HER COLLEAGUES, SHE SUGGESTS THAT I SPEAK WITH A LONGTIME CHICAGO RESIDENT NAMED MICHAEL JAMES, WHO RUNS A ROGERS PARK RESTAURANT CALLED THE HEARTLAND CAFE.

WELCOME TO THE HEARTLAND.

IT'S A PLEASURE.

SO THIS IS THE POSTER I'M INVESTIGATING.

YOU EVER SEEN THAT BEFORE?

I HAVE SEEN THIS POSTER.

YOU HAVE?

NOW, WHEN DID YOU SEE IT?

MY MOST DISTINCT MEMORIES ABOUT THIS POSTER CAME DURING THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

I THINK PROBABLY A LOT OF THIS POSTER GETS DISTRIBUTED DURING THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION AND AFTER IT.

AS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, MICHAEL SAYS HE WANTED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES.

POVERTY AND THE PLIGHT OF POOR AND WORKING PEOPLE WAS FIRST ON MY AGENDA, AND INCREASINGLY THEN, AN ANTI-IMPERIALISM AND AN ANTI-WAR IN VIETNAM EMERGED IN MY OWN CONSCIOUSNESS AND WAY OF THINKING.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING DURING THAT WEEK OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION?

I REMEMBER STARTING OFF THAT WEEK BEING IN LINCOLN PARK.

AND WE WERE LAYING UP, HAVING A GOOD TIME.

IT WAS LIKE -- IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A PEACE FESTIVAL.

THE NEXT THING I KNOW, THERE WERE POLICE IN RIOT GEAR WITH GAS MASKS COMING INTO THE PARK.

JUST -- THE GAS WAS EVERYWHERE.

THEY FORCED PEOPLE OUT OF THE PARK.

ONCE THEY DID THAT AND THEY DROVE US INTO THE STREETS, I WAS LIKE, "YEAH, OKAY, YOU WANT TO FIGHT?

WE'RE GOING TO FIGHT YOU," AND WE DID.

I REMEMBER A PADDY WAGON CAME CAREENING INTO THE CENTER OF MICHIGAN AND BALBO, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE HILTON HOTEL, WHERE A LOT OF THE DELEGATES WERE STAYING.

A NUMBER OF PEOPLE STARTED TO ROCK THE VAN.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A PICTURE OF IT.

THAT'S ME THAT STILL HAD BLOND HAIR, AND MORE OF IT.

THIS OFFICER COMES OUT OF THE CAR, HE GRABS SOMEBODY.

I GRAB THE OFFICER, I TAKE HIM DOWN.

SO YOU WERE IN THE THICK OF IT, BASICALLY?

WE WERE IN THE THICK OF IT.

OKAY, CAN WE GET BACK TO THE POSTER?

WHAT EXACTLY IS SUNSHINE JUBILEE?

WHAT MICHAEL TELLS ME NEXT IS THE ANSWER TIM'S BEEN LOOKING FOR.

AS YOU HAD THOUGHT, THIS POSTER WAS MADE IN 1968 AND IT WAS MADE IN CHICAGO.

THAT'S EXCELLENT.

IT WAS MADE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE CONVENTION, AND ABOUT 500 TO 1,000 OF THEM WERE MADE AND THEY WERE CIRCULATED ALL OVER THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

VERY COOL.

DID YOU FIND ANYTHING OUT ABOUT THE NAME, SUNSHINE JUBILEE?

YES, I DID.

SUNSHINE JUBILEE WOULD BE ME.

IT WAS ABOUT HAPPINESS AND KIND OF AN OPTIMISTIC FUTURE.

SO YOU ACTUALLY MADE THE POSTER.

IT WAS MY IDEA.

MY BUDDY PATRICK STURGIS I THINK PROBABLY IS THE PERSON WHO LAID IT OUT.

WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS POSTER?

I LOVED MY COUNTRY THEN, I LOVE MY COUNTRY NOW.

I DON'T LOVE NECESSARILY THE RULERS.

THIS FELLOW IS NOT ACTUALLY A POLICEMAN, AND WE DIDN'T LEARN THAT UNTIL LATER.

HE WAS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, A MOVIE DELIVERY GUY.

AND HE FITS THE BILL.

HE'S A SCOWLING DUDE WITH HIS SUNGLASSES, HIS HELMET.

BOOM.

AND THEN WE HAVE FRANK CIECIORKA'S BEAUTIFUL FIST, WHICH WAS SYMBOLIC OF THE TIMES.

THEN WE PUT "DIG IT," BUT WE PUT "DIG IT?"

WITH A QUESTION MARK.

THAT IS REALLY MY ONLY REGRET ABOUT THIS POSTER IS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE AN EXCLAMATION POINT.

WOW.

THIS POSTER REALLY DOES KIND OF SYMBOLIZE THE POLARIZATION AROUND THE POLITICS OF THAT MOMENT.

YOU KNOW, IN 1968, I WAS A YEAR FROM BEING BORN STILL, BUT I GREW UP KNOWING INSTINCTIVELY THAT IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT TIME.

I THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE A PIECE OF THAT THAT SURVIVED AND CAME THROUGH.

MANY AMERICANS WERE FRIGHTENED BY THE RADICAL YOUTH CULTURE THAT RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIOLENCE IN THE STREETS OF CHICAGO.

THAT NOVEMBER, RICHARD NIXON, HAVING CAMPAIGNED FOR THE PRESIDENCY ON A LAW-AND-ORDER PLATFORM, WON THE POPULAR VOTE BY A NARROW MARGIN.

IN THE YEARS AFTER 1968, MICHAEL JAMES TURNED AWAY FROM STREET FIGHTING, FORMING A POLITICAL ORGANIZATION CALLED RISING UP ANGRY AND SERVING HEALTHY FOODS IN HIS UPTOWN RESTAURANT.

HE NOW SERVES AS PRESIDENT OF THE 49th WARD FOR THE CHICAGO DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

TO SEE MORE PROTEST ART FROM THE VIETNAM WAR ERA, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

ICONIC ART AND SYMBOLS CAN FIRE THE POPULAR IMAGINATION AND SPREAD NEW POLITICAL IDEAS.

BUT THOSE ICONS OFTEN HAVE ROOTS THAT REACH DEEP INTO HISTORY AND INSPIRE MOVEMENTS THAT ARE VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEIR CREATORS INTENDED.

THE PEACE SIGN WAS FIRST DISPLAYED IN 1958 IN A MAJOR ANTI-NUCLEAR DEMONSTRATION MARCH IN ENGLAND.

ITS DESIGN INCORPORATES THE NAVAL CODE LETTERS N AND D, FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT.

THE RAINBOW FLAG IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GAY PRIDE MOVEMENT, BUT IT DATES BACK TO THE 16th CENTURY, WHEN THE RADICAL PROTESTANT THOMAS MUNTZER LED A PEASANT REVOLT, CARRYING HIS BIBLICALLY INSPIRED RAINBOW FLAG DIRECTLY INTO THE FIRE OF GERMAN PRINCES AND THEIR ARMY.

AT THE 1968 OLYMPICS, JOHN CARLOS AND TOMMIE SMITH RAISED THEIR FISTS IN PROTEST TO RACIAL OPPRESSION, PERMANENTLY LINKING THIS ICON TO THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT.

TODAY THE FIST HAS REEMERGED, REPRESENTING GROUPS AS FAR APART AS THE NEO-NAZIS AND THE JEWISH DEFENSE LEAGUE.

Elyse: OUR NEXT CASE INVESTIGATES WHAT THIS FRAGMENT OF WOOD CAN TELL US ABOUT A DARING 19th-CENTURY ACT OF VANDALISM AGAINST A NATIONAL SYMBOL.

JULY 1834: THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON SWELL WITH PRIDE.

SHELTERED IN THE CHARLESTOWN NAVY YARD IS A HERO FROM THE WAR OF 1812.

BOSTON-BUILT AND BATTLE-TESTED, USS CONSTITUTION, "OLD IRONSIDES," DEFEATED FOUR BRITISH SHIPS DURING AMERICA'S SECOND WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.

THE FRIGATE REPRESENTS THE PRIDE OF THE CITY AND OF THE NATION.

BUT ON THE MORNING OF JULY 3rd, BOSTON WAKES TO SHOCKING NEWS: VANDALS HAVE ATTACKED OLD IRONSIDES.

THE FIGUREHEAD OF PRESIDENT JACKSON ATTACHED TO THE SHIP'S BOW HAS BEEN DECAPITATED, AND THE HEAD VANISHES.

MORE THAN 175 YEARS LATER, A BODY PART FROM THAT TUMULTUOUS NIGHT MAY HAVE SURFACED IN THE TRUNK OF A STRANGER'S CAR.

I'VE BEEN WONDERING WHAT THE SECRET OF THIS MOUTH IS FOR 30 YEARS, BUT HIS LIPS ARE SEALED.

I'M ELYSE LURAY, AND I'VE COME TO BETHLEHEM, CONNECTICUT, TO MEET PJ WHELAN AND FIND OUT ABOUT HER STRANGE OBJECT.

SO YOU HAVE A BOX FOR ME.

I DO HAVE A BOX, AND INSIDE IS A MOUTH.

OH, YOU REALLY DO HAVE A MOUTH.

I DO HAVE A MOUTH.

WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS?

ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO, MY DAD, WHO WAS AN AVID COLLECTOR, WAS APPROACHED BY A MAN WHO HAD THE CAR FULL OF COLLECTIBLES, AND THE GENTLEMAN TOLD HIM THAT THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE MOUTH OF ANDREW JACKSON AND IT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL MASTHEAD ON THE USS CONSTITUTION.

- THE FAMOUS SHIP?

- OLD IRONSIDES, YES.

PJ SAYS HER FATHER COULDN'T PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN WHAT MIGHT BE A PIECE OF THIS CELEBRATED FRIGATE, SO HE MADE THE TRADE.

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT?

I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THIS IS THE ORIGINAL MOUTH OFF THE ORIGINAL MASTHEAD OF THE USS CONSTITUTION.

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE FOR ME TO GO ON?

ONLY SOME OLD NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS THAT TALK ABOUT A NIGHT IN THE 1800s WHEN SAILORS SUPPOSEDLY RODE OUT TO THE SHIP AND CHOPPED THIS MOUTH OFF THE MASTHEAD.

IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LOVE TO SIT HERE AND JUST LOOK THROUGH SOME OF THESE OLD NEWSPAPERS AND DO AN EVALUATION, AND THEN I'LL START.

- THAT'D BE GREAT.

- ALL RIGHT, I'LL SEE YOU SOON.

THANK YOU.

BYE.

THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE STRANGER INVESTIGATIONS.

I MEAN, IT REALLY IS A MOUTH.

IT LOOKS HAND-CARVED; IT'S VERY LIGHT.

THE WOOD IS PROBABLY PINE, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN USED DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.

IT HAS GREAT PATINA.

IT'S BEEN PAINTED, AND THE PATINA'S STILL VERY SHINY AND IT DOESN'T LOOK VERY WEATHERED TO ME.

IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE IT'S IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.

THERE IS A LABEL ON THE BACK.

NOW, I DON'T REALLY LIKE TO LOOK AT LABELS FOR AUTHENTICITY.

ANYBODY COULD PUT A LABEL ON ANY OBJECT, AND I SAY THAT ALL THE TIME, BUT IT IS A GOOD REFERENCE POINT.

AND THIS SAYS "PART OF FIG" -- WHICH I'M ASSUMING IS "FIGURE" -- "FRIGATE CONSTITUTION CUT OFF IN BOSTON HARBOR."

I GUESS THAT SAYS 1830.

OKAY, THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE IS JANUARY 9, 1977, SO IT'S MUCH, MUCH LATER.

IT'S AN ARTICLE ABOUT FIGUREHEADS AND HOW THESE CARVED WOODEN SCULPTURES ADORNED SHIPS FROM THE 16th TO 20th CENTURIES.

THE ACCOUNT SAYS THAT IN THE 1830s, USS CONSTITUTION WAS BEING RESTORED IN THE BOSTON NAVY YARD.

ORIGINALLY, THE PLAN HAD BEEN TO RESTORE A FIGUREHEAD OF HERCULES, THE SAME FIGUREHEAD CONSTITUTION HAD CARRIED FROM HER LAUNCHING.

AH, LISTEN TO THIS: "THEN, IN 1834... "THE POLITICALLY-MINDED PEOPLE OF BOSTON DEMANDED A LIKENESS OF GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON."

OKAY, SO I KNOW THAT ANDREW JACKSON WAS DEFINITELY ON CONSTITUTION, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A PART OF IT.

I THINK THE BEST PLACE FOR ME TO START IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.

USS CONSTITUTION EARNED HER NICKNAME "OLD IRONSIDES" DURING THE WAR OF 1812 BECAUSE BRITISH CANNONBALLS SEEMED TO BOUNCE OFF HER OAK HULL AS IF SHE WERE MADE OF IRON.

IN ANTICIPATION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE WAR'S BICENTENNIAL, SHE IS UNDERGOING A MAJOR OVERHAUL BUT STILL WELCOMES VISITORS, FIRING HER CANNONS EVERY EVENING.

WELL, THERE CERTAINLY ISN'T A FIGUREHEAD ON THE SHIP NOW, THERE'S JUST A SCROLL THERE.

I'M MEETING MARGHERITA DESY, OFFICIAL HISTORIAN FOR USS CONSTITUTION.

SHE HAS BEEN A KEEPER OF CONSTITUTION'S HISTORY FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.

WELCOME ABOARD, ELYSE, TO USS CONSTITUTION.

WOW, SHE'S BEAUTIFUL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UNBELIEVABLE.

SO I HAVE THIS PIECE, AND THE PEOPLE THAT OWN IT BELIEVE THAT IT MIGHT BE PART OF A FIGUREHEAD OF ANDREW JACKSON THAT ADORNED THIS SHIP.

DO YOU KNOW THAT STORY?

YES, I DO.

THE SHIP DID CARRY A FIGUREHEAD OF ANDREW JACKSON.

IT WAS PLACED ABOARD THE SHIP IN 1834 AS PART OF A MAJOR RESTORATION OF CONSTITUTION.

PART OF THE RESTORATION INVOLVED PUTTING A NEW FIGUREHEAD ON THE BOW OF THE SHIP.

ANDREW JACKSON WAS PRESIDENT AT THE TIME THAT THE SHIP ENTERED DRY DOCK IN 1833, AND HE WAS ACTUALLY A VERY POPULAR PRESIDENT.

COMMODORE JESSE DUNCAN ELLIOTT IS THE PERSON WHO OVERSEES THE RESTORATION OF CONSTITUTION, AND HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE PROBABLY A POLITICALLY CORRECT THING TO DO TO PUT A FIGUREHEAD OF JACKSON ON THE BOW OF THE SHIP.

HOWEVER, PRESIDENT JACKSON'S POPULIST POLITICS WERE SEEN AS FAVORING WESTERN INTERESTS.

THIS EARNED HIM ENEMIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE MARITIME CITIES OF THE NORTHEAST, SUCH AS BOSTON.

REGARDLESS, ELLIOTT PRESSED AHEAD WITH HIS PLAN.

SO HE HIRED LABAN BEECHER, WHO WAS A SHIPCARVER HERE IN BOSTON, TO CARVE REALLY QUITE A LARGE FIGURE.

THE ANDREW JACKSON FIGURE IS ABOUT 10 TO 12 FEET TALL BECAUSE CONSTITUTION IS A BIG SHIP.

AND WHAT HAPPENS?

MARGHERITA SAYS THAT THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO FIND OUT MORE IS TO TALK TO CURATOR SARAH WATKINS JUST ACROSS THE NAVY YARD IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE USS CONSTITUTION MUSEUM.

SARAH CONFIRMS THAT COMMODORE ELLIOTT'S CHOICE OF PRESIDENT JACKSON FOR THE BELOVED OLD IRONSIDES WAS MET WITH NEAR UNANIMOUS HOSTILITY FROM THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON, WHO TOOK TO THE STREETS IN PROTEST.

WELL, FIRST I HAVE A REPRODUCTION OF A HANDBILL FROM A PERIOD BOOK.

IT'S A HANDBILL THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED ON THE STREETS, AND THE TITLE IS "FREEMAN AWAKE OR THE CONSTITUTION WILL SINK."

"IT IS IN FACT THAT THE OLD GLORY PRESIDENT "HAS ISSUED SPECIAL ORDERS "FOR A COLOSSAL FIGURE OF THIS ROYAL SELF IN ROMAN COSTUME TO BE PLACED AS A FIGUREHEAD ON OLD IRONSIDES!"

AND IT ENDS WITH A CALL TO ACTION: "FOR GOD'S SAKE, SAVE THE SHIP FROM FOUL DISGRACE."

IT WAS SEEN AS A DESECRATION ON AN ALMOST SACRED SHIP.

HUH, AND WHY IS THAT?

WELL, NUMBER ONE, ANDREW JACKSON IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WHO CLOSES THE BANK, THE SECOND BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.

SARAH EXPLAINS THAT IN THE WINTER OF 1833, JACKSON HAD REMOVED FEDERAL DEPOSITS FROM THE SECOND BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.

JACKSON VIEWED THAT PRIVATE INSTITUTION AS AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONCENTRATION OF FINANCIAL POWER.

BUT REMOVING FUNDS FROM THE BANK SHUT DOWN THE FLOW OF CREDIT TO BUSINESSES, ANGERING BOSTON MERCHANTS.

ON JULY 2, 1834, ONE CAPE COD SAILOR NAMED SAMUEL DEWEY DECIDED TO TAKE ACTION.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT?

WELL, IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, AND OUR DAREDEVIL, SAMUEL DEWEY, STEALTHFULLY ROSE ACROSS BOSTON HARBOR AND REACHES CONSTITUTION UNDETECTED.

HE SHIMMIES UP NEARLY 25 FEET IN THE AIR WITH HIS SAW AND ATTEMPTS TO BEHEAD THIS FIGUREHEAD BUT REACHES AN OBSTRUCTION, AN ACTUAL ROD THAT'S ATTACHING THE FIGURE TO THE SHIP, AND SO INSTEAD OF CUTTING AT THE NECK, HE ACTUALLY HAD TO CUT RIGHT BELOW THE NOSE AND SUCCEEDED IN SEVERING IT THERE.

THAT MEANS THAT THE MOUTH WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE SHIP.

EXACTLY.

SO WHAT HAPPENS TO CONSTITUTION?

WELL, CONSTITUTION'S BEHEADED FIGURE IS DRAPED IN CANVAS, AND THE SHIP SAILS TO NEW YORK TO HAVE A NEW YORK CARVER REPLACE THE DAMAGE.

AND WHAT DOES DEWEY DO WITH THE HEAD?

WELL, DEWEY, SOAKING WET AND ELATED, ROWS BACK TO SHORE AND HIDES HIS PRIZE IN HIS MOTHER'S SHED.

AND EVENTUALLY, HE ACTUALLY TRIES TO TAKE THE HEAD TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AND RETURN IT TO ANDREW JACKSON HIMSELF.

JACKSON, UNFORTUNATELY, IS ILL AND NOT ABLE TO RECEIVE HIM, SO INSTEAD, WITH NAVY PROPERTY, HE ACTUALLY RETURNS IT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, DICKERSON.

SO HE BECOMES THIS HERO.

DEWEY WAS KNOWN FOR THIS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

SARAH SAYS THAT AFTER THE ATTACK, THE MOSTLY DECAPITATED PRESIDENT, CONSTITUTION, AND POSSIBLY OUR MOUTH SAILED OUT OF BOSTON FOR SAFER WATERS IN NEW YORK HARBOR.

[ ♪♪♪ ] HERE'S A PICTURE OF THE SEVERED HEAD.

THE BOOK CALLS IT THE BEECHER CRANIUM AFTER THE BOSTON SCULPTOR WHO MADE IT.

IT'S TINY, IT'S IN BLACK AND WHITE, SO UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T TELL IF THE PATINAS ARE THE SAME.

STYLISTICALLY, THEY LOOK PRETTY SIMILAR.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT SAYS HERE, "THE BEECHER CRANIUM, PRESENT WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN."

IT SEEMS THE HEAD DEWEY HAD SEVERED WENT MISSING LONG AFTER HE RETURNED IT TO THE NAVY.

AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMAGED REMAINS OF THE FIGUREHEAD WHEN OLD IRONSIDES GOT TO NEW YORK?

I'M ENLISTING THE HELP OF NEW YORK ART HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR RALPH SESSIONS.

HE'S AN EXPERT ON SHIPCARVINGS FROM THE 19th CENTURY AND HAS WRITTEN ON THIS FIGUREHEAD SPECIFICALLY.

DO YOU THINK THAT THIS PIECE COULD'VE BEEN PART OF THE FIGUREHEAD?

IF THIS ACTUALLY WERE THE ORIGINAL MOUTH, IT WOULD BE HISTORICALLY VERY IMPORTANT, BUT I'M SKEPTICAL.

OFFICIAL NAVY CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE PERIOD INDICATES THAT THE REPAIRS PRESERVED THE EXISTING MOUTH.

WE HAVE SOME LETTERS -- AND ACTUALLY I HAVE A COPY OF ONE -- IN THE NAVY DEPARTMENT THAT ESSENTIALLY SAYS THAT "NO MORE IS WANTED, THAN THAT SO MUCH OF THE FIGUREHEAD AS HAS BEEN REMOVED SHOULD BE RESTORED."

SO THIS COULD NOT BE PART OF THE ORIGINAL FIGUREHEAD, BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE DOCUMENTATION, THEY JUST REPLACED THE CRANIUM.

YES, THAT WOULD MEAN THAT.

HOWEVER, IN THINKING ABOUT IT SINCE YOU CONTACTED ME, IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT FROM A CARVING POINT OF VIEW, IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR A SHIPCARVER TO CUT OFF THE REST OF THE HEAD AT THE NECK AND CARVE THE ENTIRE PIECE, IN WHICH CASE, THIS WOULD'VE BEEN CUT OFF IN NEW YORK AND THEN THE NEW HEAD WOULD BE AFFIXED.

DID THE NEW YORK TEAM CREATE AN ENTIRE NEW HEAD FOR THE PRESIDENT?

IF SO, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMAGED MOUTH?

WHERE DO YOU THINK I SHOULD TAKE IT FROM HERE?

THERE CERTAINLY IS A WAY YOU COULD INVESTIGATE IT FURTHER.

WHAT'S THAT?

BECAUSE THE FIGUREHEAD IS NOW AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

IT'S ON EXHIBITION, IN FACT.

THE ORIGINAL PIECE WITH THE REPLACED HEAD.

RALPH IS BEING A LITTLE COY, BUT HE SAYS THAT WHILE I'M THERE, I SHOULD ASK THE MUSEUM ABOUT ANOTHER OBJECT THEY HAVE IN STORAGE THAT COULD HELP ME SOLVE THE CASE.

I'M MEETING DR. SARAH HENRY, CHIEF CURATOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

SHE'S ARRANGED FOR ME TO TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT ANDREW IN THE GALLERY.

Elyse: SO THIS IS HIM.

YEAH, HERE'S ANDREW JACKSON.

- HE'S HUGE.

- YEP, IN ALL HIS GLORY.

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL BODY, THE BEECHER BODY AND THE REPLACEMENT HEAD.

SO I HAVE THIS PIECE, AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, I WANTED TO MAKE A COMPARISON TO SEE IF OUR MOUTH COULD'VE BEEN ATTACHED TO THAT HEAD.

OKAY.

IT'S CLEAR THAT OUR MOUTH NEVER BELONGED TO THIS HEAD, AND RALPH'S SPECULATION APPEARS ON TARGET.

THE NEW YORK REPAIR TEAM GAVE THE PRESIDENT AN ENTIRELY NEW HEAD.

SARAH DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO JACKSON'S MOUTH, BUT SHE HAS A SURPRISE.

INCREDIBLY, THE HEAD THAT DEWEY CUT AND WHICH HAD LONG BEEN MISSING FROM THE NAVY PROPERTY LOCKERS HAS BEEN FOUND.

IT'S ACTUALLY DOWNSTAIRS IN OUR BRAND-NEW COLLECTION STORAGE CENTER.

SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK, WE COULD GO DOWN.

I'D LOVE TO SEE IT.

SARAH SAYS THAT AFTER DEWEY HANDED IT OFF, JACKSON'S HEAD, THE SO-CALLED BEECHER CRANIUM, REMAINED IN THE FAMILY OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY FOR GENERATIONS.

AT ONE POINT, THEY EMIGRATED TO FRANCE AND ITS WHEREABOUTS WERE THEN UNKNOWN FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS.

IT WAS TRACKED DOWN BY A CURATOR FROM THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK IN THE 1990s.

HOW'D SHE DO THAT?

WELL, SHE WENT AND LOOKED UP -- SHE KNEW THE MARRIED NAME OF THE FAMILY MEMBER IT HAD GONE DOWN THROUGH, AND SHE WENT AND LOOKED UP EVERYBODY WITH THAT LAST NAME IN PARIS AND CALLED EVERYBODY.

SHE'S LIKE A HISTORY DETECTIVE.

SHE WAS A HISTORY DETECTIVE.

SO THERE IT IS.

ALL RIGHT, THIS IS THE MOMENT OF TRUTH.

- LET'S CHECK IT OUT.

- OKAY.

THIS MYSTERY'S BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME, BUT IT WAS A HARD ONE TO CRACK.

IT WASN'T UNTIL I WENT TO THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK WHERE I WAS ABLE TO FIND SOME ANSWERS.

AND I THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THIS FOOTAGE.

Well, the first thing I notice is that the patina is the same.

AND IT'S TO SCALE.

I MEAN, THE MOUTH AND THE CHIN AREN'T BIGGER OR SMALLER.

IT'S DEFINITELY TO SCALE, AS IT SHOULD BE.

SO THAT'S A GOOD SIGN.

NOW LET'S SEE IF IT MATCHES.

LET'S SEE IF IT FITS TOGETHER, OKAY?

- YOU GOT IT?

- COME ON, ANDY.

- OKAY, HERE WE GO.

- LET'S SEE.

- LOOK AT THAT!

- YEP, IT'S A MATCH.

SO AFTER 150 YEARS, THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER.

TOGETHER AGAIN.

OH, PJ'S GOING TO BE THRILLED.

OH, MY GOSH.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

I'M SPEECHLESS.

I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY REAL.

SO YOUR DAD'S TRADE REALLY WAS FOR A TREASURE.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN THE BACK OF MY MIND THAT HE COULD BE REUNITED WITH ANDREW.

THAT, TO ME, IS THE FITTING END TO THIS STORY IS THAT ANDREW GETS HIS MOUTH BACK AND HISTORY GETS BACK AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.

SAMUEL DEWEY, THE BOSTONIAN WHO DECAPITATED THE FIGUREHEAD, SLIPPED FROM PUBLIC VIEW AFTER THAT FATEFUL NIGHT IN 1834.

DESPITE BECOMING A GEM SEEKER AND DISCOVERING BOTH THE LARGEST-KNOWN AMERICAN DIAMOND AND RUBY AT THE TIME, HE DIED POOR AT THE AGE OF 93 IN A TENEMENT HOUSE.

USS CONSTITUTION NEVER FIRED HER CANNONS IN BATTLE AGAIN.

UPON RETURNING TO THE U.S.

IN 1855 FROM HER FINAL VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD, OLD IRONSIDES WAS READIED FOR HER NEW ROLE AS A STATIONARY SCHOOL SHIP FOR THE NAVAL ACADEMY.

TODAY, THE OLDEST COMMISSIONED WARSHIP STILL AFLOAT CONTINUES TO SERVE AS AN HISTORIC SHIP, WELCOMING ABOARD A HALF-A-MILLION VISITORS EACH YEAR.

PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON'S DIVISIVE POLITICS AND VOLATILE PERSONALITY EARNED HIM A LOT OF ENEMIES.

IN SEASON SEVEN, I DID A STORY ABOUT A DEATH THREAT WRITTEN TO PRESIDENT JACKSON BY THE FATHER OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH.

"YOU DAMNED OLD SCOUNDREL!

I WILL CUT YOUR THROAT WHILST YOU ARE SLEEPING."

AMONG JACKSON'S PAPERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE IN KNOXVILLE, I DISCOVERED THE THREAT WAS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL MADE AGAINST THE PRESIDENT.

"DAMN YOUR OLD SOUL.

"IF YOU DO NOT DO SOMETHING FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY, I WILL MURDER YOU."

ON JANUARY 30, 1835, AS JACKSON EXITED THE CAPITOL, AN ANGRY UNEMPLOYED HOUSEPAINTER NAMED RICHARD LAWRENCE ATTEMPTED TO SHOOT JACKSON WITH TWO PISTOLS.

MIRACULOUSLY, BOTH GUNS MISFIRED.

PRESIDENT JACKSON RESPONDED BY BEATING HIS ATTACKER WITH HIS CANE.

RICHARD LAWRENCE WAS SUBDUED AND LATER JUDGED MENTALLY INCOMPETENT.

THE FIRST WOULD-BE PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSIN WOULD SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN MENTAL INSTITUTIONS.

Wes: OUR LAST CASE ASKS WHAT THIS BASKET CAN TELL US ABOUT AN UNSUNG HEROINE OF ONE OF THE LAST AMERICAN-INDIAN WARS.

THE LAVA BEDS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, 1873: MODOC INDIAN WOMAN AND INTERPRETER TOBY RIDDLE RIDES FROM THE U.S. ARMY CAMP INTO THE ARMED STRONGHOLD OF MODOC CHIEF CAPTAIN JACK.

THE SMALL BAND OF MODOC WARRIORS ARE IN AN ARMED STANDOFF WITH 650 U.S. ARMY SOLDIERS.

TOBY RISKS HER LIFE TO BRING JACK A MESSAGE HE DOESN'T WANT TO HEAR: TO SAVE YOUR PEOPLE, YOU MUST SURRENDER.

NOW A WOMAN FROM ALTO, NEW MEXICO, BELIEVES SHE HAS A BASKET THAT MAY HOLD A CLUE ABOUT THE CHARACTER AND LIFE OF MODOC HEROINE TOBY RIDDLE.

TOBY RIDDLE WAS AN AMAZING WOMAN, AND I WONDER IF THIS BASKET CAN BE PART OF HER STORY.

AS AN APPRAISER AND AUCTIONEER, I HAVE A SPECIAL INTEREST IN AMERICAN-INDIAN ITEMS.

CHERIE CLOUDT IS AN ANTHROPOLOGIST WHO STUDIES EARLY HOMESTEADING ON THE NEW MEXICO FRONTIER.

- HOW ARE YOU?

- COME ON IN.

GREAT LITTLE BASKET.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?

I THINK IT'S MODOC.

AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT'S MODOC?

WELL, IF YOU'LL TURN THE BASKET AROUND, YOU WILL SEE A NAME.

T-O-B-Y.

WHO'S TOBY?

I THINK IT'S TOBY RIDDLE.

SHE WAS A MODOC WOMAN, AND SHE WAS A HEROINE OF THE MODOC WAR.

CHERIE KNOWS THAT THE 1872-'73 MODOC WAR TOOK PLACE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN OREGON.

THE GOVERNMENT WAS TRYING TO MOVE THE MODOCS TO A RESERVATION, AND TOBY WAS ACTUALLY A MEDIATOR AND INTERPRETER BETWEEN THE MODOCS AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

WHERE DID YOU GET THIS BASKET?

WELL, IT CAME FROM AN OLD FAMILY FRIEND IN ARIZONA.

CHERIE EXPLAINS THAT HER FRIEND BELIEVED THAT TOBY RIDDLE HAD GIVEN THE BASKET TO ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER BACK IN THE EARLY 1900s.

WHAT DO YOU THINK I CAN HELP YOU WITH?

WELL, I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF IT'S ACTUALLY A MODOC BASKET AND IF TOBY RIDDLE ACTUALLY MADE THIS BASKET.

THE MODOC WERE ONE OF A NUMBER OF TRIBES WHOSE LAND STRADDLED WHAT IS NOW THE OREGON-CALIFORNIA BORDER.

WELL, CHERIE THINKS IT'S MODOC.

I WOULD HAVE TO AGREE WITH HER THAT IT'S MODOC OR KLAMATH.

IT'S CERTAINLY FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OR SOUTHERN OREGON, JUST JUDGING BY THE DESIGN MOTIFS HERE.

THIS IS ALL DONE BY HAND HERE.

AND IT LOOKS AGED ENOUGH TO BE FROM THE EARLY 1900s, BUT I CAN'T BE CERTAIN.

WHAT'S REALLY UNUSUAL ABOUT THIS BASKET IS THE NAME "TOBY."

VERY SELDOM DO YOU SEE ANY BASKETS FROM THIS PART OF THE WORLD WITH A NAME STITCHED INTO THE BASKET ITSELF.

I DON'T KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE MODOC WARS, AND I CERTAINLY CAN'T TELL IF THIS BASKET WAS MADE BY TOBY RIDDLE.

THE SHAW HISTORICAL LIBRARY AT THE OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IS LOCATED ON TRADITIONAL MODOC LAND IN KLAMATH FALLS.

IT HAS A LARGE COLLECTION ON THE MODOC AND THE WAR.

TOBY RIDDLE WAS BORN ABOUT 1850 AS A MEMBER OF THE MODOC TRIBE, AND SHE WAS AN EYEWITNESS TO THIS WAVE OF WHITE IMMIGRANTS WHO CAME INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

SETTLERS, GOLD MINERS, FARMERS, RANCHERS, SOLDIERS ALL CAME INTO THIS AREA THAT ALREADY HAD PEOPLE LIVING HERE: THE MODOC, THE KLAMATH, THE HUPA, THE YUROK.

IT WAS DURING THIS PERIOD OF INCREDIBLE UPHEAVAL THAT TOBY MET FRANK RIDDLE.

RIDDLE WAS A KENTUCKIAN WHO'D COME WEST TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE IN THE GOLD RUSH.

HE SOON BECAME TOBY'S HUSBAND.

AND THEY HAD TO STRADDLE TWO CULTURALLY DIFFERENT WORLDS, WHITE AND MODOC.

AS EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS LIKE FRANK RIDDLE SETTLED ON MODOC LAND, THE NATIVE PEOPLE RESPONDED BY DEMANDING RENT AND OCCASIONALLY RUSTLING CATTLE.

THE REAL FLASHPOINT, THOUGH, OCCURRED WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TOLD THE MODOCS, "HEY, LOOK, WE'RE HEARING ALL THESE BAD THINGS ABOUT YOU "FROM THE SETTLERS, "AND YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP YOUR TRADITIONAL HOMELAND AND GO LIVE WITH THE KLAMATH."

WELL, THE KLAMATH WERE THEIR TRADITIONAL ENEMIES.

THE GUERRILLA FIGHTING BETWEEN BANDS OF MODOC, KLAMATH, AND U.S.

SOLDIERS IN 1873 WAS FIERCE.

MANY OF THESE ENGRAVINGS WERE DONE DIRECTLY FROM PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WERE TAKEN ON THE SPOT BY EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE AND LOUIS HELLER, AND THEY SHOW THE ABSOLUTE CAPTIVATION THAT AMERICA HAD WITH THE MODOC WAR.

THIS BOOK IS BY ALFRED MEACHAM, A GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRAT WHO WAS ALSO AN EYEWITNESS TO THE FIGHTING.

HE KNEW RIDDLE VERY WELL.

IN FACT, TOBY RIDDLE SAVED HIS LIFE DURING THE MODOC WAR, AND THIS IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY ABOUT HER.

"THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN WITH THE AVOWED PURPOSE "OF DOING HONOR TO THE HEROIC TOBY RIDDLE" -- OR WINEMA, AS HE'S CALLING HER -- "WHO AT THE PERIL OF HER LIFE SOUGHT TO SAVE "THE ILL-FATED PEACE COMMISSION TO THE MODOC INDIANS IN 1873, "THE WOMAN TO WHOM THE WRITER IS INDEBTED UNDER GOD FOR SAVING HIS LIFE."

I WANT TO LEARN EXACTLY HOW TOBY SAVED MEACHAM'S LIFE.

BUT FIRST, IS THIS EVEN A MODOC BASKET?

I'M IN PORTLAND, OREGON, TO SEE MY OLD FRIEND NATALIE LINN.

SHE'S AN EXPERT ON NATIVE-AMERICAN BASKETS AND OFTEN CONSULTS WITH MUSEUMS AND PRIVATE COLLECTORS.

NOW, THE OWNER OF THIS BASKET THINKS THAT IT'S MODOC.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

WELL, I THINK IT IS DEFINITELY A MODOC BASKET, AND WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE OF THE MATERIALS THAT WERE USED.

NATALIE EXPLAINS THE TRADITIONAL MATERIAL FOR MODOC BASKETRY WAS TULE, A TYPE OF REED THAT GROWS ALONG THE RIVERS AND MARSHES OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

NOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE AGE OF THAT BASKET?

I THINK 1890s TO 1910 MAYBE AT THE LATEST.

OKAY.

AND BY THE WAY, A FEW YEARS MAKES A LOT OF DIFFERENCE.

THERE'S A CERTAIN PATINA THAT IS ADDED.

THE REEDS HERE HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO FADE, AND WE DON'T GET AS VIBRANT A BASKET.

LET ME JUST SHOW YOU ONE MORE THING THAT I THINK IS PRETTY INTERESTING ABOUT THIS.

THERE'S THE NAME WOVEN INTO IT: TOBY.

SUPPOSEDLY THAT NAME REFERS TO TOBY RIDDLE, THE HEROINE OF THE 1872 MODOC WAR.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF TOBY RIDDLE BEFORE?

OH, YES, SHE WAS A VERY HISTORIC WOMAN.

IS THERE ANY DOCUMENTATION THAT SAYS THAT TOBY RIDDLE WOVE THIS BASKET?

NO, IT'S ONLY WORD OF MOUTH, ONLY ORAL TRADITION.

I SEE.

WELL, IT IS VERY RARE TO HAVE THE NAME OF A WEAVER ON THE BASKET.

IF THEY WERE VERY PROUD OF THEIR WORK, OFTENTIMES THEY WOULD USE A MAKER'S MARK, AND A MAKER'S MARK WAS USUALLY A COUPLE STITCHES THAT DO NOT BELONG TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGN.

IT WAS NEVER A SIGNATURE PER SE.

NATALIE SAYS THIS IS BECAUSE TRADITIONALLY THE TRIBE DIDN'T HAVE A WRITTEN LANGUAGE.

WHAT WERE THESE BASKETS USED FOR?

THE BASKETS WERE USED FOR COOKING, FOR GATHERING, FOR STORING.

EVEN THOUGH BASKETRY WAS ORIGINALLY MADE FOR UTILITY, EVERYTHING WAS EMBELLISHED.

AND IT'S FUNNY, BECAUSE THERE'S NO NAME FOR ART IN ANY NATIVE-AMERICAN LANGUAGE, BUT BASKETS BECAME THE VANITY POINT FOR CERTAIN WONDERFUL WEAVERS THAT INCORPORATE WHAT WE KNOW AS ART INTO THEIR PRODUCTION.

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT TOBY ACTUALLY MADE THIS BASKET?

YOU KNOW, WES, I CANNOT SAY FOR SURE.

I WANT TO FIND OUT EXACTLY HOW TOBY BECAME A HERO DURING THE MODOC WAR.

BUT FIRST, NATIVE WEAVER NADRA GALLAGHER HAS OFFERED TO SHOW ME HOW BASKETS WERE TRADITIONALLY MADE.

I LEARNED HOW TO GATHER THIS STUFF FROM MY GRANDMA.

WE WERE YOUNG KIDS WHEN WE WERE DOING IT.

SHE WOULD JUST SIT IN THE BOAT, AND WE'D SHOVE HER THROUGH THE TULES, AND SHE'D SAY, "I WANT THAT ONE," OR WHATEVER.

THE TULE REEDS BOUND THE ENTIRE MODOC WORLD.

THE FIBROUS PLANT WAS USED FOR BASKETS, HATS, ARROW SHAFTS, EVEN LIGHTWEIGHT CANOES.

WE WOULD PULL THE WHOLE TULE UP, AND THEN THIS IS WHAT SHE WOULD GET.

SO HOW DO YOU PREPARE THE TULE TO WEAVE?

THIS WOULD BE SOAKED, SO YOU COULD JUST GO RIGHT UP IT, AND IT WOULD JUST CRACK IT RIGHT OPEN.

AND THEN YOU WOULD PUT THAT ON YOUR LEG AND YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP TWISTING IT.

HOLD IT AND ROLL IT ALL THE WAY TO THE END SO IT WOULD END UP BEING LIKE THIS.

THIS IS MY BASKET THAT I STARTED.

HE COMES UNDER... UP... INTERTWINING IT OVER THE TOP OF THAT.

OH, I SEE, OKAY.

OKAY, THAT'S HOW IT WORKS.

NADRA DOESN'T KNOW IF TOBY RIDDLE MADE OUR BASKET.

SHE SAYS BASKET WEAVING WAS LEARNED BY ALMOST ALL NATIVE WOMEN, INCLUDING HER GRANDMOTHER.

SHE DID BASKETS AND SHE DID PEOPLE, BOATS, LITTLE FISH, A COFFEE CUP, BOOTS, AND HATS.

THAT WAS HOW WE LIVED.

I'M IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TO SEE AUTHOR PETER COZZENS, WHO'S WRITTEN ABOUT THE MODOC WAR.

WE MEET AT THE LAVA BEDS, A PLACE OF HISTORIC IMPORTANCE TO THE MODOC.

MY INVESTIGATION INVOLVES THIS BASKET.

I TELL PETER THAT CHERIE THINKS THAT TOBY RIDDLE MAY HAVE MADE IT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, IT HAS WOVEN INTO THE SIDE OF THE BASKET "TOBY."

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?

WELL, GIVEN ITS AGE, IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THAT THIS BASKET, THE NAME HERE COULD REFER TO TOBY RIDDLE.

SHE BECAME FAMOUS FOR WHAT HAPPENED HERE AND WHAT SHE DID HERE.

PETER EXPLAINS HOW IN THE WINTER OF 1872, THE U.S. ARMY HAD TRIED TO FORCE A BAND OF MODOC OFF THEIR ANCESTRAL LAND AND ONTO A RESERVATION.

MANY REFUSED.

LED BY THEIR CHIEF, CAPTAIN JACK, THEY RETREATED TO THESE LAVA BEDS.

LOOKING AROUND AT THIS TORTURED TERRAIN, I IMMEDIATELY KNOW WHY THEY CALLED IT CAPTAIN JACK'S STRONGHOLD.

IT'S AN INCREDIBLE NATURAL FORTRESS.

I ASKED PETER TO TELL ME ABOUT THE BATTLE WHICH MADE TOBY FAMOUS.

THERE ARE 57 MODOC WARRIORS FIGHTING IN THROUGH HERE.

THEY LIVE IN CAVES IN THE AREA HERE OF THE STRONGHOLD WITH THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR WIVES AND THEIR ELDERLY, ABOUT 160 MODOCS IN ALL.

THERE ARE 650 SOLDIERS READY TO ATTACK, ARMY TO THE WEST, ARMY TO THE EAST.

SO THE MODOCS ARE -- THEY'RE BASICALLY STUCK HERE.

BASICALLY, YES.

WELL, WHAT DOES TOBY RIDDLE HAVE TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS?

PETER EXPLAINS HOW IN FEBRUARY 1873 ARMY GENERAL EDWARD CANBY PROPOSES PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CAPTAIN JACK.

TOBY GOES TO THE STRONGHOLD ON THE ARMY'S BEHALF, BUT JACK TELLS HER HE CANNOT SURRENDER.

SO THEN TOBY LEAVES THE STRONGHOLD, AND A WARRIOR STEPS OUT FROM BEHIND THE ROCKS AND ASKS HER TO WARN CANBY THAT IF THE COMMISSIONERS MEET WITH JACK AGAIN, THAT JACK AND HIS WARRIORS WILL KILL THEM.

SO TOBY RIDDLE LEAVES HERE KNOWING THAT IF THE MEETING TAKES PLACE, A DISASTER AWAITS.

SHE BEGS THE COMMISSIONERS NOT TO GO, BUT CANBY CAN'T CONCEIVE THAT THE MODOCS WOULD BE SO FOOLISH AS TO ATTACK THE COMMISSIONERS WITH SO MANY SOLDIERS AROUND.

THE MEETING TAKES PLACE ON THIS OPEN GROUND.

THEY MET HERE ON GOOD FRIDAY.

CAPTAIN JACK WAS HERE WITH SEVEN OF HIS WARRIORS.

JOINING GENERAL CANBY WAS ALFRED B. MEACHAM, WHO HAD SERVED AS SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR OREGON, AND TWO OTHER PEACE COMMISSIONERS.

NOW, THEY TALKED AND THEY TALKED, BUT CANBY COULD NOT RELENT AND GIVE THE MODOCS EVEN THE LITTLE PIECE OF LAND THEY WANTED.

SO JACK GETS UP, TURNS AROUND, PULLS OUT HIS PISTOL, POINTS IT AT CANBY, AND PULLS THE TRIGGER.

THE PISTOL MISFIRES.

AND WHILE CANBY STANDS THERE IN SHOCK, JACK COCKS, FIRES AGAIN, AND SHOOTS CANBY IN THE FACE.

THE OTHER WARRIORS START SHOOTING.

ONE COMMISSIONER FALLS DEAD.

TOBY TRIES TO PROTECT MEACHAM, BUT HE'S SHOT SEVERAL TIMES.

ONE OF THE WARRIORS BENDS DOWN AND TRIES TO SCALP MEACHAM.

TOBY GRABS HIS ARM, BUT HE SHOVES HER AWAY.

THEN SHE CRIES, "THE SOLDIERS ARE COMING, THE SOLDIERS ARE COMING!"

WELL, NO SOLDIERS ARE, BUT THE MODOCS DON'T WAIT AROUND TO FIND OUT, AND THEY IMMEDIATELY RUN TOWARD THE STRONGHOLD.

PETER SAYS THAT MEACHAM IS BADLY WOUNDED, BUT BECAUSE OF TOBY, ALIVE.

CAPTAIN JACK'S BAND SLIPPED OUT OF THE STRONGHOLD TO THE SOUTH, INTO THE LAVA BEDS.

AND OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, THE ARMY TRACKED DOWN JACK AND HIS BAND.

CAPTAIN JACK AND HIS LIEUTENANTS WERE TRIED AND CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES AND HANGED.

BUT PETER SAYS TOBY EMERGED FROM THE MODOC WAR AS A HERO.

SHE WENT ON A LECTURE TOUR WITH ALFRED MEACHAM.

WAS THE BASKET WOVEN IN HONOR OF TOBY OR MADE BY TOBY HERSELF, AS CHERIE SUSPECTS?

HAVE YOU HEARD OF ANY OTHER EXAMPLES OF BASKETS OR ANYTHING WITH HER NAME BEING ASSOCIATED WITH IT?

NO, I HAVEN'T.

I'M A LITTLE BIT STUMPED AT THIS POINT.

TOBY HAS SEVERAL DESCENDANTS, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THEM STILL LIVE IN THIS AREA, SO THAT'S WHERE I'D GO.

MY OFFICE HAS PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH DEBORAH HERRERA, TOBY RIDDLE'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER.

SHE NEVER MET TOBY, BUT IS THE RIDDLE FAMILY GENEALOGIST AND CONSULTS WITH VARIOUS MUSEUMS ABOUT MODOC HISTORY.

I KNOW HER AS TOBY RIDDLE.

WHAT WAS HER MODOC NAME?

HER MODOC NAME WAS NONOOKTOWA.

AND WHAT DID THAT MEAN?

IT MEANT "STRANGE CHILD."

WHY "STRANGE CHILD"?

SHE WAS BORN WITH RED HAIR.

SHE DID A LOT OF THINGS THAT MOST WOMEN HER AGE DIDN'T DO, LET ALONE BOYS, LIKE SHE WOULD GO ON THE HUNTING PARTIES AND GO GATHER HORSES IN OTHER PEOPLE'S CAMPS.

ANOTHER ONE, A BEAR WAS GOING TO ATTACK HER HUSBAND, AND SHE CAME TO THE RESCUE AND MADE HER SKIRT RUSTLE LIKE A BLANKET OR SOMETHING, LIFTING IT UP, AND SHOOED THE BEAR AWAY FROM ATTACKING HER HUSBAND.

SO SHE DID THINGS THAT NORMALLY IN TRADITIONAL MODOC SOCIETY WOMEN JUST DIDN'T DO.

RIGHT.

SO AFTER THE WAR WAS OVER -- SHE TRAVELED BACK EAST, AND SHE WAS JUST TRYING TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE BACK EAST WHY THE WAR TOOK PLACE AND PROBABLY HOW IT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED.

BUT SHE PRETTY MUCH LIVED HERE IN KLAMATH COUNTY.

THEN I SHOWED DEBORAH WHAT I'M INVESTIGATING.

HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OTHER BASKETS WITH THE NAME "TOBY" WOVEN INTO THE BASKET?

WELL, I HAVE SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU, I THINK YOU'D LIKE TO SEE.

NOW THAT I'VE GOT THE ANSWER, IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO CHERIE.

YOU KNOW, I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE MODOC WAR, SO THIS GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO REALLY DIG INTO THIS, AND I THINK THAT I'M ABLE TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS.

I VISITED THE BASKETRY EXPERT, WHO HAS SEEN HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN-INDIAN BASKETS, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THIS BASKET CONCLUSIVELY AS A MODOC BASKET.

THEN I TELL CHERIE THAT I FOUND TOBY'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER.

OH, WOW.

WHEN I SHOWED HER THIS BASKET, THOUGH, HER EYES LIT UP, AND SHE SAID, "I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU."

OH, WOW.

SO TRADITIONALLY YOUR FAMILY HAS UNDERSTOOD THAT TOBY MADE THAT BASKET.

RIGHT.

WHEN WE COMPARE THE NAMES, THE LETTERING IS ALMOST IDENTICAL.

WOW.

BUT THERE'S MORE.

OKAY.

SHE TURNED IT AROUND THE OTHER SIDE.

OH, MY GOSH, A DATE.

1916, FOUR YEARS BEFORE SHE DIED.

I TELL CHERIE THAT WHILE WE CAN'T SAY FOR SURE THAT HER BASKET WAS MADE BY TOBY, THE PROVENANCE AND CIRCUMSTANCES CERTAINLY MAKE IT A STRONG POSSIBILITY.

I'M HONORED BECAUSE SHE WAS SUCH AN UNCONVENTIONAL PERSON, A WOMAN, TO DO WHAT SHE DID IN THAT TIME PERIOD.

I'M GLAD THAT YOU FOUND ANOTHER BASKET WITH HER NAME ON IT, BECAUSE I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE.

AND IT'S GREAT THAT THE FAMILY HAS IT.

AFTER THE WAR, THE LIVES OF THE MODOC CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.

ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE MEMBERS OF CAPTAIN JACK'S BAND WERE TAKEN PRISONER AND RELOCATED TO THE QUAPAW RESERVATION IN OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, WHERE THEIR DESCENDANTS STILL LIVE TODAY.

THE MODOC WHO REMAINED IN THE WEST WERE MOVED ONTO THE KLAMATH RESERVATION, WHERE THE DIFFERENT TRIBES JOINED TOGETHER TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL RANCHING AND TIMBER ECONOMY.

DO YOU HAVE A BASKET, BLANKET, A JACKET, OR SOME OTHER PIECE OF FABRIC THAT YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT?

TEXTILE ANALYSIS CAN HELP YOU IDENTIFY AND DATE IT.

FABRICS CAN OFTEN BE ATTRIBUTED TO SPECIFIC COUNTRIES AND HISTORICAL PERIODS SIMPLY BY COMPARING THEIR VARIOUS WEAVING TECHNIQUES.

IF THE FABRIC HAS BEEN DYED, THE PIGMENT CAN ALSO BE TESTED AND MATCHED AGAINST DATABASES OF KNOWN DYES.

BUT SOMETIMES THE BIGGEST CLUES COME FROM THE STRUCTURE OF THE SMALLEST FIBERS, CAREFULLY REMOVED AND EXAMINED UNDER A MICROSCOPE.

COTTON IS MADE FROM HAIRS FOUND IN COTTON PLANT SEEDS THAT ARE TWISTED TOGETHER TO FORM FIBERS.

SILK FIBERS, TAKEN FROM THE COCOONS OF SILKWORMS, ARE INCREDIBLY THIN, ONLY 1/2,500ths OF AN INCH IN DIAMETER.

WOOL IS IDENTIFIED BY ITS TELLTALE SCALES.

BUT IF A FIBER APPEARS ALMOST PERFECTLY SMOOTH UNDER A MICROSCOPE, THAT'S A DEAD GIVEAWAY: IT'S MAN-MADE.

THE FIRST MAN-MADE FIBER, ORIGINALLY CALLED ARTIFICIAL SILK, AND THEN RAYON, WAS MANUFACTURED IN THE 1890s.

BUT MOST MAN-MADE FIBERS WERE NOT WIDELY USED COMMERCIALLY UNTIL THE 1920s.

IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE FOUND A PIECE OF FABRIC WITH AN INTERESTING STORY TO TELL, LET US KNOW AT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

DO YOU HAVE A MYSTERY THAT ILLUMINATES AMERICAN HISTORY?

I THINK IT COULD BE A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF CIVIL WAR HISTORY.

Wes: THE HISTORY DETECTIVES ARE ALWAYS ON THE HUNT FOR THE NEXT BIG CASE.

MAYBE YOU CAN HELP US OUT.

ALL YOU NEED IS AN OBJECT WITH A GOOD AMERICAN MYSTERY CONNECTED TO IT.

SO WAS THIS JUST STICKING UP OUT OF THE BEACH?

THERE MUST BE A STORY BEHIND THIS.

TO SUBMIT YOUR CASE, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org, THEN CLICK "SUBMIT YOUR STORY."

YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE CONNECTED THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.

Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪