The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-01-05
RATTLED WITH REDSKINS.
John Chandler Shot Three Times
Talks of Life on Western Frontier

From the Baltimore News.
wounded three times in his IS wears
J OF active service in Indian warfare
John Chandler, better known as Can.
! tain Jack" the caretaker of Ponlar
Spring Shore. at Back River. has had
an unusual experience as a fighter Of
REDSKINS. Few knew his name as
! Chandler, although he was born in
Baltimore 81 years ago, and is alone
In the world today-a confirmed bach
elor. Captain Jack" has seen life in
its widest. Bronzed hardened. and
battle Scared this old veteran stfll
has the flash of fire in his eve. the
erect bearing of the soldier, and the
keenness of wit born of life's expe
| rience.
Eighteen years in the saddle as cav
airy trooper along the western from
tier and in the wilds of the Rocky
/ mountains-no home. no love of family
circle, often the bare ground for a bed
and the sky for a shelter, ever watch
full of the bloodthirsty redskin-this
old man has served his country I'M
| finchingly until age and wounds com
PEELED his honorable discharge with a
life pension.
Captain Jack" entered the army in
! June, 1870. having enlisted at the re-
cruiting office on Marsh Market space,
and served three years in the Twenty
| third infantry in the west. In 1873 he
enlisted with Troop c, First cavalry
! and served ten years. In 1888 he
| Joined Troop c, First cavalry, and
| served until 1888 While lighting In
| dams he was wounded in the forehead
in his first battle with the Modoc tribe
| In 1878; he was shot in the ankle in
g1.&I d., fIao lrr
| in 1881. He was acquainted with near
| ly every tribe in the west, their chief
tains, and such less notable chaarac-
| tiers as "Scarface Charlie shack
nasty Jim" "Hollow-tooth Mike
| "Coffee-cake joe" ct al.
After leaving Baltimore he went
| with the troops to st. Louis, staying
| awhile at the arsenal there, and then
to Nevada, where he began active
service. For IS years thereafter he
| never recrossed the Rockies, but
moved about the wild western country
! from the Mexican frontier to the Can
| adam border and out to the Pacific.
1.-THE Indians" said Captain Jack"
| as he gave pine fagot to the dying fire.
| ARE not as bad as our people Imagine
| do not coincide In the opinion that the
| only good Indian is dead one.' They
have cause to resent the treatment of the
whites They have been driven like cat
! tie from place to place and sometimes
| they stampede. They can be reasoned
| with, and are often faithful friends.
have never known them to scalp promis-
| cuously in warfare otherwise, even
! with ample opportunity to do so. They
| are loyal to their dead, and it Is difficult
! to ever tell how many of the enemy you
have moved down, as the living almost
| invariably make off with the slain or
| wounded.
Indians are poor Shots" continued
Captain JaJck." land can only shoot
on a rest. They will not fight in the
| open. but resort to ambuscades. Their
great play is to stampede stock by driv-
Ing a herd of buffalo into camp, or set
ting fire to the grass. To counterfeit this
| latter practice our men, as soon as hit
ting camp. would cut the grass In a
large circle around 1t. so that fire would
not reach us. We were never ordered to
| annihilate the redskins, but to give them
every show for their lives and induce
| them to return to peaceful vocations. An
Indian is better than a Mexican, any
| how. And that reminds me that In
| Tombstone, Ariz-appropriately named
| winged treacherous Mexican ana
| when brought before the squire Tor
| hearing was released with the admonition
that l should practice shooting