The Biography of Indiana Botanist Charles Clemon Deam
"Suddenly, Charlie quickly opened the drawer, pulled out the gun, and fired two or three shots through the open window, making some disparaging comments about the "canine ancestry of a rabbit," which had been terrorizing his garden."
July 16, 1987
On this day, The Indianapolis Star announced that the biography of Charles Clemon Deam, the legendary turn-of-the-century Indiana botanist and author, had been published.
The book was written by Robert C. Kriebel, editor of the Lafayette Journal and Courier.
Charlie Deam was a self-taught botanist and served as a state forester for Indiana.
In his home herbarium, Charlie kept a loaded pistol in his desk drawer.
One time, Charlie and a guest were discussing something about taxonomy.
Suddenly, Deam quickly opened the drawer, pulled out the gun, and fired two or three shots through the open window, making some disparaging comments about the "canine ancestry of a rabbit," which had been terrorizing his garden.
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Charles C. Deam
Charles Deam
Charlie and his wife, Stella, with a pinecone at their arboretum in 1940. Image from Robert C. Kriebel, Plain Ol’ Charlie Deam
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