The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1910-01-11
Famous Old Indian Passes Away in His Little
Home on the Reservation.
4 SON OF RULERS AND A BORN AR|S1OCRA1
Lifelong Friend Of the Whites the Old Man Suffered Many
Wrongs at Their Hands Which Embittered Him
but He Remained True to His Principles
and Died as He Had Lived, King.

! The rest Of the tribe went to the
reservation. The government named
| Arlcc as chief and this further en-
bittered Chariot. But the Indians
/ never recognized this appointment;
! Chariot was always their chief.
| The grudge which Chariot bore on
/ account Of this incident lasted until
| a few years ago. His only belief was
/ that somebody had forged his name
knew he had not signed it. and all the
/ government agents declared he had
/ signed it. 1t was in 1904 that the
matter was cleared up. Judge Sloane
/ was visiting Chariot at the agency and
/ the chief showed him a certified copy
| of the Garfield treaty. The question
| of the supposed forgery was under dis
| cussion and Judge Sloane looked at
! the document with interest.
Chariot" said he. after he had
| looked at the paper, you never signed
/ this and ii does not say here that
you did "
That was the happiest news that
Chariot had had in years. For 80
years he had been told that he had
signed the treaty and for 80 years he
had insisted that he had not. The ex-
PLANTATION was. after all, simple. When
the treaty was signed. the clerks of
General Garfield had written the names
of Chariot and his head men at the
! signatory place on the document. Then
each of the Indians, except Chariot,
had made his mark-his tribal sig
nature-opposite his written name. But
there was no mark against Charlot's
name. The government men had taken
it for granted that the written sigma
ture was Charlot's own; the old chief
knew that his mark had never been
placed on the paper by himself
He Loved Home.
|. Until 1891 Chariot and the 40 fam
lilies lived on in the Bitter Root. The
old chief. always an eloquent orator
was never so eloquent as when he was
describing the Bitter Root and his love
for it's mountains and his attachment
to the place where reposed the bones
of his ancestors. But he became mo-
rose brooding over the indignities
which he felt had been heaped upon
him. The settlement of the valley
crowded the white man close upon him
and his people. their wonted freedom
was circumscribed. there was not the
happiness for him and his tribe that
there had been in the old Bitter Root.
Father Ravalli. Charlot's friend had
died; the ties We're loosening that
bound him to his ancestral home.
In 1891 came Major Darlington for
another council with Chariot This
pow WOW was successful. Arlee had
died and the government persuaded the
old chief to resume his place amongst
his people He and the 40 families
moved to the Jocko, where close un-
der the mountains. the old chief ended
his days.
His last few years of life were Meas
anter than the preceding decade had
been. lie understood better and the
explanation by Judge Sloane of the
treaty signatures cleared up Il matter
that had weighed heavily upon him
He had. too. found friend whom he
could trust in Major Morgan. the pres
ont superintendent Of the reserve. He
felt more reconciIed than he had ever
been to the relentless advance of the
whites.
Tribute Of q Friend.
Chariot had. as has been stated
many warm friends amongst the
whites. Oldest of these, i'm point of
acquaintance. are Major Catlin and
Judge Woody. When a Missoulian re-
porter yesterday told Major Catlin of
the death of the old chief. the major
WAS deeply affected. Il knew Chariot
for good many years. said he. "and
he was as good a friend as l ever had
IL was in 1865 that l met him first:
that was at StevensyiIle and during
all the years of my residence in the
valley our friendship grew. His ranch
was on the west side of the river. next
to the Silverthorn farm. He was not
much of rover, even then, and he
came to town only once fortnight
or SO. But he always came to see
us. He was splendid man. physie-
ally and mentally. and he was thor
oughly honest. He was reserved TO
the point of sternness and he was as
naughty as hereditary chief should
be. He felt his pride of ancestry and
never forgot it. When l was allotting
the reservation lands l had my last
intimacy with the old man. He was
failing rapidly then. l am sorry To
hear of his death, but l expected il.
/ knew he could not last long
Judge Woodys EuIosy.
Chief Chariot was one of the most
remarkable Indians l ever met" said
Judge Frank H. Woody yesterday
when he was told of the old mans
death. He Was honest and straight
as string. His love for the whites
was second only to his love for his own
race and his dealings with the settlers
Continued on Page Four)