Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-01-13
'IHE CAREER Of REYNOLDS.
Sketch of the Career of the Western
Scout Who Fell in the Fight
with Custer. ....
Was an Atchison County, Kansas, Man
and His Career is Sketched by
the Globe.
Romance of His Life, and Some of the
Adventures of His Life in the
Far West. u-. r

Recent references tC the noted char
acters of this section of the west. re-
mind the Globe that the most noted
Of them all was an Atchison county
man, Charles Alexander Reynolds, bet
ter known as Lonesome Charley. He
was a famous western scout. hunter
and trapper, and was killed on the Lit
tie Big Horn river, in Montana, in
1876, in the Custer fight VIM. 7.
Reynolds. who now lives at Cummings.
was his brother.
Charley Reynolds was born in Stew
ensburg, Hardin county. Kentucky, in
1912. His father was a physician, DR..
j. B. Reynolds. who removed to Alb
bington, ILL.,, in 1851. There Charley
Reynolds attended Arlington College
for three years. In 1858. the family
removed to Pardee, in this county,
where the father practiced medicine.
In the summer of 1860, Charley Rey-
nolds crossed the plains as a teamster.
During the winter of 1S6O-1, he trapped
in the Rocky Mountains, and for
time carried mail across the snowy
range on snow shoes. The following
summer he returned to Atchison
county, and enlisted in the Tenth KAN
sas. in which he served three years.
He was in the battle of Prairie Grove.
but did not see any hard service in the
south. In the fall of 1864, in company
with German he had known in the
army, he left for Arizona. with two
yoke of oxen, wagon. and lot of
goods with which they expected to
trade. His brother, w. T. Reynolds.
says Charley Reynolds had been in
Arizona and New Mexico as a soldier,
and had become acquainted there.
Somewhere on the Santa Fe trail.
Reynolds and his partner We're ATTACKED
by Indians. The German was killed
at the first attack, and Charley Rey-
nolds stood the Indians off until night
killing five or six of them The In
dians had surrounded the wagon, but
Reynolds slipped through them, and
escaped. finally reaching the wagon
train. His entire outfit was captured
by the Indians. Reaching a fort on
the road travelled by the wagon train.
he engaged as a government scout. In
1860, he came home, but soon went
away again, and was never again seen
by his relatives.
He was always a quiet man, and lit
te could be learned of his exploits in
the west His disposition to say little
caused the Indians to name him Lone
some Charley and this name stuck to
him. The brief facts above related
are all his brother knows about him:
all Lonesome Charley ever told. After
he left home in 1865, at rare intervals
he sent. his brother newspaper clip
pings. NFrom one of these it was
learned that he acted as guide for the
Grand Duke Alexis during his memoir
able hunt in this country; also, that
he was employed at intervals as gov
ernment scout
He never married; his brother says
he used to talk of a. girl he knew in
New Mexico. He was possibly on his
way to see her when attacked by In
dians, his partner killed, and outfit can
tured. Mrs. Custer mentions him in
her book, Boots and Saddles as be-
ing character around Fort Lincoln,
from which point Custer left with his
command for the memorable Indian
campaign which ended in wiping out
Clusters entire command; about three
hundred men. Mrs. Custer greatly
admired the man, as did her husband.
Mrs. Custer speaks of the romance" of
Lonesome Charley's life although she
admits that little was known of him
around Fort Lincoln. and General Gus
ter mentions him in one of his letters
from the field as brave. silent Char
ley Reynolds"
{ 1t will be remembered that General
Reno was with Custer at noon on the
day of the Custer massacre; that Reno
was sent down the river, where he
crossed, and had a hard fight in the
river valley. finally being driven back
across the river, where he formed his
command in a circle, and fought the
Indians until they withdrew. 1t was
in this fight across the river that Char
ley Reynolds was killed. Gen Reno
wrote to W. T. Reynolds that Charley
REYNOLDS was wounded, and that he