Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-12-18

THE LAST OF THE MoDoCs.
Bogus Charley and His Diminishing
Braves.
Leaving the barbsric glitter and filth
of the camp of the Nez Psrces, with the
,hxy braves lying In their tents. the
sqaaws bartering their government n.
tions with the traders, the medicine men
beating the lodge-poles and making their
doleful mummery, we started on return
intending to visit some of the Modocs
who occupy q large reservation in the
vicinity. These people came here in
1873; or rather they were brought here
by the government, virtually as q pun
-ishment for having engaged in the Mo
doc massacre and the h0stilities in the
lava beds; and are compelled to remain.
The Modocs, / believes. had in a Measure
abandoned nomadic life, and were set
Ting gradually into pastoral habits be-
fore the outbreak of hostilities, &c that
at the close of the war, when the present
occupants of this reservation came
here: they were so far removed from the
blanket Indians in their progress towards
civilization that they settled down, a. .
general thing, to the business of Guilt
waiting the soil without feeling the
change very seriously. Wesaw only one
or two of the log buildings in which they
live, and these ut . distance. They
looked as though they might be comfort
able for shelter, but that was all. The
square log hut, for which the Indian ex.
changes his comical wigwam, is not an
inviting structure, eve though it be
roomier and better defended from the
weather; and when / came to contrast
the graceful form of the tent and the
bright colors of the camp in the
savage life We had just seen with the
somber and gloomy aspect of these ugly
square cabins, into which civilization
invites the Indian ~ his first step out Oi
savakery, I could hardly wonder tina,
the barbaric love of bright colors and
graceful forms should draw him back SC
strongly to the old life.
A field of $50 acres of corn, cultivated
by the Modocs, was shown us. In the
! field were several members of the trib<
gathering the crop, and among them Bo
gus Charley, the present chief. W.
stopped at the edge of the field to feet
our horses, and at our invitation BoguI
Charley came out, and we talked to hin
about the present condition and pros
poets of the tribe, He speaks Englial
quite we'll and understands readily or
binary conversation. Like all the In
dams we saw, he seemed shy and silent
answering questions freely, bu
making no conversation himself. H,
told us there was 1855 in the party tina
cam in 1873, but that they had dwindle,
down by death to 100. In answer to GU
inquiry if they were contented, he said
sadly, ooh, we'll, l expect we stay her
new. We no get back" "But dom
you like it here?" "NO, we not lik
it," he said. "Too many die. w
come here one hundred and ffty.fve-
we only one hundred now. All owe
there" and he pointed to the buris
place over on a hillside half a mile away
There was IN exquisite tenderness il
his way of saying this, and his con
hummer now" was $ full of gentlenes
and gravity that, though he did not air
at any effect beyond answering lis, h
did really touch the feelings of us al
Then when we asked him if he wante
to 60 back to his old home among tn
lava beds, his eyes just frightened
little and turned westward with the fan
away look of inconsistencies and longins
and he said, eyes, l like to go back; m
sister there; my friends there"
l was much interested in this chic.
Bogus Charley. Other Indians com
planned or begged, were suIlen or hsugt
ty either posed or groveled. This mar
with felt hat, blue shirt, and overall.
without bead or feather, or a touch @
color, an utterly unheroic person i
appearance, with no effort ut display o
attempt to excite sympathy or admirs
tion, seemed to me great in the simplicit
of his talk, his unstudied eloquence, hi
profound natural pathos, his dignit
without haughtiness, and grace withou
a~fiectation, and greatest of all in tn
!. philOsophic resignation with which b
!: accepted his fate with hardly a murm,
: or complaint. As he stood there on
: little eminence overlooking the corr
. field, his arms folded ard his 1.-THE fgul
limned against the sky, not looking
us as we drove away, it was not difitu
] to picture in him a heroic last of ii
!. Modocs. He had said little, but the tor
and name of what he did say 20 in
! pressed me that for a while l did feel
though this man represented an a
: grieved and despoiled race, and that
as representative of the ace that ha
wronged him, had something to be sorl
!. for, l presume ] idealize him. Well,
any rate, l have the picture and that
. shall retain. But what an urromant
name! Bogus Charley" Well,
}. him be Bogus, and go back to the squat
of his cabin. The picture in my mel
DRY is of "The Last of the Modocs," Al
f transfused with a glow from the sunst
Bogus Charley is a fact, and a clod,
course. NV Indian is a poem.-CM,