WEBVTT

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(mid tempo music)

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- You are watching a production

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of South Dakota
Public Broadcasting.

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(mid tempo music)

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(effects whooshing)

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(gentle music)
(seagulls squawking)

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- "I've got a date
with the sky today,

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"The suns got into my veins.

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"Soul, come on,
let's loaf and play,

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"I've got a date
with the sky today."

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(gentle music)
(seagulls squawking)

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- He saw beauty, he saw
things to reflect on,

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at a time when there
were just people

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holding on for survival.

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He helped people
see and appreciate

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that there's more to South
Dakota than just a rough life.

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(gentle music)

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- Free in one breath
to laugh and play.

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I've got a date
with the sky today.

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(gentle music)

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- Before he became known as
Badger Clark, Cowboy Poet,

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he was a college dropout.

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An early 20th
century ranch hand,

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then a Cuban prisoner.

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The legacy of the man born

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Charlie Clark Jr.,
though, is literature.

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An entire genre of literature

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sparked by the poetry
of a man whose verses

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are as timeless as the
mountains he loved.

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A writer who lived
alone in the woods,

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pondering the rhythms
of man and nature

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in the American West.

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(gentle music)

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Through his enduring work,

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he paints vivid tapestries
of nature's grace,

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immortalizes the
ways of the old West,

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and captures the relentless
trials that endured with him.

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- Badger Clark is
probably not only

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the godfather of cowboy poetry,

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but the godfather
of South Dakota.

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- His writings and
poems stand up today,

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because they're
relevant to being human,

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very relevant to
being a human being

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on the face of this earth,

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before all of the
other exterior things

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that involve your life

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and the complexities
of life surround you.

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Before all that, there's
Badger Clark's writings.

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(gentle music)

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(keyboard clicking)
(gentle music)

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- Major funding for "Badger
Clark Poet Among the Pines,"

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is provided by the
Badger Clark Foundation,

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in memory of R.
Brooks Christenson.

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- Donors to the Explore
South Dakota Fund

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support the production
of local documentaries

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and other programs of local
interest, presented by SDPB.

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Friends of SDPB

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appreciates their
support of this program.

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- Additional support for poet
among the Pines is provided by

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Custer State Park,

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where Granite Peaks and the
wide open prairie are calling.

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Your adventure is awaiting
among the Ponderosa Pines.

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Custer State Park,
open year round.

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(gentle music)

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- Charles Badger Clark Jr.

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Was born on New Year's
Day 1883 in Albion, Iowa,

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to Mary Ellen Clark and
the Reverend Charles Clark,

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a Methodist minister
who was wounded twice

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while serving with the Union
Army during the Civil War.

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- His father had been
invilated out of the Civil War

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and never really recovered,

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and doctors had come
up with different ways

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for him to have a longer life.

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They advised him
to become a farmer.

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- When Charlie was
three months old,

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the family joined
the Dakota boom,

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homesteading near
Plankinton, South Dakota.

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When they weren't busting
sod, they read literature,

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Dickens, Hugo,
Tennyson and the Bible.

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But it was the howling wind

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blowing across the
prairie landscape

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that left an early impression.

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(wind howling)

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- "It hissed through
the shaken grasses,

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"Rushing and swung by,

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"Flailing the empty land

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"Under an empty sky.

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"And I looked out the
window, a boy of six or so,

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"Wondering where
the wind came from,

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"And whether it all could go."

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(gentle music)

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- They had a phrase for
Charlie, he was the youngest,

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and so he had these two
much older brothers,

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but they'd be sitting
around the kitchen table

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or wherever in the house,

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and he'd pipe up
to say something,

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and they'd say,

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"Hold everything.

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"Listen to the
voice of the wind,

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"for the man with
the big ears speaks."

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And this was a wonderful
put down that he waited for.

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He expected it.

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- With his health improving,

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Reverend Clark gave up
the Plankiton homestead

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and turned to the pulpit.

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He ran a parish in
nearby Mitchell,

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and was part of a group
that helped to promote

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Dakota Wesleyan University.

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It's where Charlie's
older brother, Frederick

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attended college.

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Fred was known as the
brightest kid in the family,

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with a promising speaking
career ahead of him.

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But Frederick Clark died

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on August 23rd, 1894,
of tuberculosis.

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- He was going to do what
his brother was doing,

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and his brother was
already very successful

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in higher education.

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And then to lose him like that,

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then that kinda left
him without a rudder.

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- Tuberculosis was terrifying.

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If you got it,

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there was a very good chance
you would not recover.

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You might have to be
isolated in a sanitarium.

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And it was scary.

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I mean,

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you had death staring
you in the face.

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There was no cure then.

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And at the very best,

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you were probably
gonna have to go away

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and be isolated with other
patients in a special facility.

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And everybody knew about it.

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And if you knew he
had been exposed,

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it's sort of like, "Well,
when is it my turn?"

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- His mother,

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who had been the
caregiver for Fred

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for all those years, many years,

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not surprisingly, she
too had consumption,

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and which is transmitted.

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Think of the time she
sat right next to her son

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as he was coughing
directly on her.

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And that is exactly the
way this is transmitted.

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And this was before antibiotics.

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- After Mary Ellen
was diagnosed with TB,

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Reverend Clark accepted a call

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to be the pastor for the
Deadwood Methodist Church

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in the Black Hills.

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- They moved to the
Black Hills with the idea

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that the mountain air would
prolong his dear wife's life.

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And that was not to be.

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- Mary Ellen died on October
7th, 1898 at the age of 54.

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Charlie was 15 years old.

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(machine whirring)

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Deadwood in the early
19 hundreds was a
rough and wild town

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known for its lawlessness
and gold rush.

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- Deadwood had a lot of saloons,

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it had a lot of prostitution.

07:36.366 --> 07:37.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
In some ways it was struggling.

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It was still trying to find
an identity for itself.

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'Cause Lead is where
the big gold mine was.

07:43.066 --> 07:44.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So it was a rough
town, but he did,

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because of his father see a
different side of Deadwood.

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His father, when nobody
else wanted to do it,

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conducted the funeral
for calamity Jane.

07:54.600 --> 07:55.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- She was such a character

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that no church in town

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would give her a
formal church burial.

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They were gonna bury
her in city hall.

08:01.800 --> 08:04.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And now that the reverend said,

08:04.200 --> 08:08.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"No, I'm gonna give her a
proper burial in my church."

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- And that tells you something
about the Clark family.

08:11.933 --> 08:14.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They were always
looking for good.

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They weren't judging,

08:16.200 --> 08:18.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and even calamity Jane

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deserved a respectful
funeral at the end.

08:21.100 --> 08:24.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He was in terrific
awe of his father.

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Thought of him
almost as a saint.

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- Charlie attended and graduated
from Deadwood High School.

08:32.600 --> 08:35.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
There in the old mining
town of the Black Hills,

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he found love.

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Helen Fowler was
a fellow classmate

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and the daughter of
a Deadwood attorney.

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They were quickly engaged.

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- Helen's parents knew
this young suitor.

08:49.566 --> 08:52.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And he's a son of a minister,
a son of a preacher.

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He has no job,

08:55.200 --> 08:57.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
his prospects are very slim.

08:57.466 --> 09:00.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And so, yes, they were
not in favor of this.

09:00.900 --> 09:03.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Helen would soon call
off the engagement.

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- I think Helen Fowler
broke his heart,

09:07.000 --> 09:08.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
his old high school girlfriend,

09:08.566 --> 09:10.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and I don't think
he ever got over it.

09:10.100 --> 09:13.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I think she was a
very intelligent woman.

09:14.700 --> 09:17.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
She was seeing what
this young man needed

09:17.800 --> 09:20.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and also how he
needed to develop.

09:21.666 --> 09:25.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- In 1901, Charlie's father
married Anna Rachel Morris,

09:25.800 --> 09:27.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
who was a school teacher,

09:27.500 --> 09:30.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
a member of the Women's
Christian Temperance Union,

09:30.200 --> 09:31.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and an amateur poet.

09:33.100 --> 09:37.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
That fall Charlie attended
Dakota Wesleyan University.

09:37.033 --> 09:40.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- Whereby God, his father
helped to build that college.

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And where his brother,
Fred excelled.

09:43.633 --> 09:46.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Yes, there's no other direction,

09:46.166 --> 09:48.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but he has to go to this school.

09:48.666 --> 09:52.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And he's diligent working
through his freshman year.

09:52.000 --> 09:56.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And there are different stories
about how it went wrong.

09:56.866 --> 10:01.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He had this habit of smoking
and that got him in trouble.

10:01.466 --> 10:03.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And maybe that was
the whole problem,

10:04.833 --> 10:06.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but then there are other stories

10:06.533 --> 10:09.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
about where he was
getting into some mischief

10:09.800 --> 10:12.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and he brought a animal

10:12.533 --> 10:17.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
into a dormitory or
somebody's office.

10:18.700 --> 10:19.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I don't wanna say
anything more about that

10:19.633 --> 10:21.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
because that's just conjecture,

10:21.100 --> 10:24.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he got into some
trouble at the school,

10:24.066 --> 10:28.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and then he's no longer
going to Dakota Wesleyan.

10:28.300 --> 10:30.800 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

10:30.800 --> 10:32.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Well after college,

10:32.033 --> 10:33.266 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
now he's at loose ends

10:33.266 --> 10:34.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and he's probably not

10:34.900 --> 10:37.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in good relations
with his father, now.

10:37.800 --> 10:39.633 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

10:39.633 --> 10:42.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You might say this is a
desperate time for him

10:42.466 --> 10:44.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
to resolve something.

10:44.200 --> 10:47.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And then there's this
adventure going on in Cuba.

10:47.766 --> 10:50.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Wanting to be part
of a grand adventure,

10:50.400 --> 10:52.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he joined a Cuban bound
colonization group

10:52.866 --> 10:55.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that was based out of Mitchell.

10:55.033 --> 10:57.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- There are people that
are being oppressed,

10:57.266 --> 10:59.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and there are people
that need help,

10:59.033 --> 11:02.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and by golly, he's
going to Cuba.

11:02.033 --> 11:03.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Seemed like a good out.

11:03.966 --> 11:08.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- So you took a bunch of
farmers from the upper Midwest

11:08.500 --> 11:12.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and said, "Hey, come
here, we have this land.

11:12.733 --> 11:14.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"You can get a farm.

11:14.333 --> 11:17.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"We'll grow pineapples
and oranges and stuff."

11:17.833 --> 11:21.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- The colonization effort
failed within months.

11:21.233 --> 11:22.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
While the rest of the colonizers

11:22.800 --> 11:25.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
hurried back to
the United States,

11:25.133 --> 11:28.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Charlie stayed and found a
job working on a plantation.

11:29.700 --> 11:32.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
One day, his employer shot
and wounded a neighbor

11:32.500 --> 11:35.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
during a dispute while
digging up pineapple plants.

11:36.633 --> 11:38.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- When all of a said and done,

11:38.466 --> 11:42.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he was around when there
was a non-fatal shooting.

11:42.533 --> 11:45.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And it wasn't him that
pulled the trigger,

11:45.700 --> 11:50.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he wasn't any of that,
but he was incarcerated.

11:50.133 --> 11:52.000 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He did not endure,

11:53.400 --> 11:56.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
there was no beatings or
torture or anything like that,

11:56.600 --> 11:58.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and I'm sure he got to
improve his Spanish.

11:58.566 --> 12:00.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And he said there were
some other Americans

12:00.300 --> 12:03.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that were incarcerated and
they all sort lamented.

12:03.433 --> 12:08.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But eventually money was
raised to bail him out.

12:08.400 --> 12:10.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- He was just in the wrong
place at the wrong time.

12:10.933 --> 12:13.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And when they released
him, they said,

12:13.266 --> 12:14.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Get outta town."

12:14.600 --> 12:16.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He quickly returned
to South Dakota

12:16.800 --> 12:20.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and found a job working as a
land surveyor in the Badlands.

12:20.800 --> 12:24.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But he soon developed a
persistent cough and fell ill.

12:24.600 --> 12:26.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- And he'd been going
downhill for a long time

12:26.633 --> 12:28.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and not complaining
about it at all.

12:28.900 --> 12:31.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Somebody finally made
him go to the doctor.

12:31.633 --> 12:33.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He was diagnosed
with tuberculosis.

12:35.433 --> 12:37.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Based on his family
history with the disease,

12:37.900 --> 12:41.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
doctors advised he move
to a warmer climate.

12:41.233 --> 12:45.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So in April of 1906,
at the age of 23,

12:45.533 --> 12:47.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Charlie moved to the desert.

12:47.633 --> 12:48.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He became a caretaker

12:48.933 --> 12:51.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
of the Cross Eye,
quarter Circle Ranch

12:51.033 --> 12:53.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
outside Tombstone, Arizona.

12:53.800 --> 12:56.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- It was absolute,
as far as I can tell,

12:56.433 --> 13:00.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
it was absolute just pure
luck that he met somebody,

13:01.266 --> 13:03.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
who introduced him to
the Kendall Brothers.

13:03.733 --> 13:06.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And they needed somebody,
they couldn't pay him,

13:06.500 --> 13:07.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but they could feed him

13:07.866 --> 13:10.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and give him a place
to stay for free.

13:10.833 --> 13:15.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And their only question when
they interviewed him was,

13:16.266 --> 13:17.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Do you have a saddle?

13:17.233 --> 13:18.066 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
"No,"

13:18.066 --> 13:19.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
"Get one."

13:19.500 --> 13:21.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So he went and bought a saddle,
took him out to the ranch.

13:21.933 --> 13:26.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And on May 1st in 1906, he
was now a cowboy caretaker.

13:26.733 --> 13:30.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
(mid tempo country music)

13:31.733 --> 13:34.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- To the North and East,
rose the dragon Mountains,

13:34.933 --> 13:38.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
a landscape that reminded him
of his place in the universe,

13:38.600 --> 13:41.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the beauty and power
of the natural world,

13:41.500 --> 13:44.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
and of the infinite
possibilities that
exist within it.

13:45.766 --> 13:48.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
His nearest neighbor
lived seven miles away.

13:48.100 --> 13:51.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
(mid tempo country music)

13:54.433 --> 13:56.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Any symptoms of
Charlie's tuberculosis

13:56.800 --> 13:59.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
disappeared within six months.

13:59.533 --> 14:02.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He arrived there, insecure,

14:02.400 --> 14:04.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
unsure of what his
future was like.

14:06.300 --> 14:09.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Was he gonna die alone
in this old Adobe house?

14:09.866 --> 14:14.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I mean, that was obviously
had to be somewhere in his...

14:14.100 --> 14:16.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But he's feeling
better every day,

14:16.966 --> 14:19.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and all of a sudden
he's feeling great.

14:19.466 --> 14:23.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So he wants to reassure his
parents that he's feeling fine.

14:23.100 --> 14:25.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
(mid tempo country music)

14:25.333 --> 14:28.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He was so enamored
with the whole thing

14:28.266 --> 14:31.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
about Arizona cowboy
culture, cows.

14:31.266 --> 14:33.733 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

14:33.733 --> 14:35.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He couldn't contain himself.

14:37.100 --> 14:40.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And he wrote a poem about it,
sent it to his stepmother,

14:40.500 --> 14:43.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and she sent it to a magazine
and they published it.

14:44.733 --> 14:47.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And he was just gobsmacked.

14:48.800 --> 14:51.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- The poem was called "Ridin'."

14:51.400 --> 14:55.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"Sunset Magazine" published
it in July of 1903

14:55.366 --> 14:57.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and sent him a check for $10.

14:57.933 --> 14:59.766 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

14:59.766 --> 15:01.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "There is some
that like the city

15:01.966 --> 15:04.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Grass that's curried
smooth and green,

15:04.766 --> 15:06.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Theaytres and
stranglin' collars,

15:06.466 --> 15:08.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Wagons run by gasoline,

15:08.800 --> 15:10.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"But for me it's
hawse and saddle,

15:10.433 --> 15:11.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Every day without a change,

15:11.900 --> 15:13.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"And a desert sun a-blazin'

15:13.266 --> 15:15.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"on a hundred miles of range.

15:15.133 --> 15:16.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Just a-ridin', a-ridin'

15:17.966 --> 15:20.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"I don't envy anyone
when I'm ridin'."

15:20.800 --> 15:24.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

15:24.200 --> 15:26.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- "I don't need no art exhibits

15:26.700 --> 15:28.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"When the sunset does her best,

15:30.300 --> 15:32.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Paintin' everlastin' glory

15:33.533 --> 15:36.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"On the mountains to the West."

15:36.266 --> 15:37.600 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

15:37.600 --> 15:40.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- The subject is freedom.
(gentle music)

15:40.733 --> 15:43.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
That you have work to do,

15:43.433 --> 15:45.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you have responsibilities,

15:45.366 --> 15:50.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but you can be out and you
can ride for miles and hours

15:52.733 --> 15:56.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and not encounter a fence
or even another person.

15:57.833 --> 16:00.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And it was just the
wide open spaces.

16:01.966 --> 16:04.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And hat's what" Ridin'"
seems to be about.

16:05.433 --> 16:08.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- That's what give
him fuel for poetry.

16:08.200 --> 16:10.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And that's what
cowboy poetry is,

16:10.800 --> 16:15.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
really is recording
history through verse.

16:17.033 --> 16:19.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- "And your oprey looks foolish,

16:19.200 --> 16:21.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"When the night bird
starts his tune,

16:22.600 --> 16:27.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"And the desert silver mounted
by the touches of the moon."

16:27.400 --> 16:28.900 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

16:28.900 --> 16:32.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- And so he's not only
describing the place,

16:32.100 --> 16:35.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and the dust devils
and these other things,

16:35.366 --> 16:36.733 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and in the very end,

16:36.733 --> 16:38.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
the last verse, he goes,

16:38.500 --> 16:39.666 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
"Ridin', ridin'

16:39.666 --> 16:41.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Nothin' I'd like half so well

16:41.666 --> 16:43.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"As a-roundin' up the sinners

16:43.066 --> 16:44.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"That have wandered out of Hell

16:44.200 --> 16:47.133 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
"And a-ridin'."
(gentle music)

16:47.133 --> 16:49.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He also apologized to his father

16:49.000 --> 16:50.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
for having used the word hell.

16:50.966 --> 16:53.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He couldn't think
of any other way

16:55.066 --> 16:57.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
for a man was writing
and metered first.

16:57.300 --> 16:58.233 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
He goes,

16:58.233 --> 16:59.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Nothin' I'd like half so well

16:59.166 --> 17:00.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"As a-roundin' up the sinners

17:00.400 --> 17:01.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"That have wandered
out of Hell,"

17:01.066 --> 17:02.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
and you go,

17:02.333 --> 17:03.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Well, what was he
gonna say, Hades?"

17:03.700 --> 17:05.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
No, that's two syllables.

17:05.766 --> 17:07.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He needed a one syllable for it.

17:08.966 --> 17:12.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I can't imagine a grown
man writing his father

17:12.133 --> 17:15.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
apologizing for having
used the word hell.

17:17.266 --> 17:18.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He must have looked
at it and said,

17:18.733 --> 17:22.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"Well, here's this guy from
Arizona with South Dakota roots

17:22.066 --> 17:24.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"can really write poetry."

17:24.233 --> 17:27.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I think it really meant
a lot to him. (chuckling)

17:27.800 --> 17:30.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He said, "Shoot, if I
can get paid to do this,

17:30.433 --> 17:31.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"I'm gonna do it."

17:31.800 --> 17:35.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

17:35.266 --> 17:38.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- He'd spend the next
four years riding horses,

17:38.233 --> 17:41.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
caring for cattle and
penning poetic verses

17:41.233 --> 17:45.133 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
on the mundane routine
of toiling on the
unbound landscape.

17:46.433 --> 17:49.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "'Twas good to live
when all the sod,

17:49.266 --> 17:52.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Without no fence or fuss,

17:52.300 --> 17:55.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Belonged in partnership to God,

17:55.100 --> 17:57.066 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"The Gover'ment and us.

17:58.233 --> 18:02.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"With skyline bounds
from east to west

18:02.166 --> 18:04.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"And room to go and come,

18:06.333 --> 18:08.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"I loved my fellow man the best

18:09.433 --> 18:10.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"When he was scattered some.

18:10.933 --> 18:12.733 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

18:12.733 --> 18:14.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "I loved my
fellow man the best

18:14.166 --> 18:15.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"When he was scattered some."

18:16.900 --> 18:19.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
That just gets right
to the heart of me.

18:21.966 --> 18:24.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It's good when you can
have some space around you.

18:26.300 --> 18:31.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- A lot of his poems are just
about the day-to-day struggles

18:32.633 --> 18:37.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
of just meeting the
challenges of everyday life

18:38.800 --> 18:41.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and the challenges
presented by other people

18:41.700 --> 18:45.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and trying to
discipline yourself,

18:45.300 --> 18:48.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
trying to have focus
and trying to...

18:48.566 --> 18:50.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You know what you
want to happen,

18:50.700 --> 18:53.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but it's a struggle to
get from there to there.

18:53.333 --> 18:55.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(gentle music)
(crickets chirping)

18:55.233 --> 18:58.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- "When my trail stretches
out to the edge of the sky

18:58.666 --> 19:02.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Through the desert
so empty and bright,

19:02.900 --> 19:06.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"When I'm watchin' the
miles as they go crawlin' by

19:07.500 --> 19:09.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"And a-hopin' I'll
get there by night."

19:11.633 --> 19:16.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I think he was
writing for a world

19:16.366 --> 19:18.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
that looked upon cowboys

19:18.333 --> 19:23.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
as inferior laborers
sort of surfs.

19:24.200 --> 19:25.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And he wanted the world to know

19:25.700 --> 19:28.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that they're smarter than that,

19:28.400 --> 19:31.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and valuable human beings.

19:32.666 --> 19:34.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Even if they don't do anything

19:34.833 --> 19:39.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but the labor that the rest
of us don't want to do,

19:39.366 --> 19:40.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
they are so valuable,

19:40.700 --> 19:44.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and we often paint, "Oh,
that's just somebody,

19:44.666 --> 19:46.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"some poor schmuck that
never got an education

19:46.666 --> 19:49.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"and is working."
(gentle music)

19:49.933 --> 19:52.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- You know, I say he
was a ranch sitter.

19:54.033 --> 19:57.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
The owners would be out
working with cattle,

19:57.100 --> 20:00.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and he was there to
tend to the fences,

20:00.300 --> 20:02.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
tend to the animals there,

20:02.166 --> 20:03.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
whatever needs to be done.

20:03.866 --> 20:06.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And then sometimes
passers by would come by

20:06.600 --> 20:08.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and he would take
care of their needs,

20:08.800 --> 20:10.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but most of the
time he was alone.

20:12.133 --> 20:15.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And that seemed to
suit him just fine.

20:16.100 --> 20:17.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
And he would,

20:17.333 --> 20:18.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in the evenings when
all the work was done,

20:18.633 --> 20:21.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he'd go and sit
out on the porch,

20:21.000 --> 20:22.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and get out his guitar

20:22.500 --> 20:26.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and sing to the stars
in the Dragoon mountain.

20:27.866 --> 20:29.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He would write something

20:29.300 --> 20:31.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and then he would play a
little bit of it on his guitar

20:31.533 --> 20:35.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
just to see if it had
the right meter to it.

20:35.700 --> 20:37.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Because a lot of
times poets will write

20:37.433 --> 20:39.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and their lines will
extend off the page,

20:39.633 --> 20:42.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and you really can't
bring it together

20:42.033 --> 20:44.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and put it into
music very easily.

20:44.933 --> 20:48.300 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

20:48.300 --> 20:51.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- One day his stepmother
encouraged him to write a poem

20:51.033 --> 20:53.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
reflecting a cowboy's religion.

20:53.000 --> 20:54.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

20:54.400 --> 20:56.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
- And he replied that

20:56.233 --> 21:00.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he didn't have any experience
with cowboys praying.

21:01.266 --> 21:03.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
They would sometimes use words

21:03.666 --> 21:05.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that you would
find in the Bible,

21:05.100 --> 21:08.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but they were not in
a prayerful spirit.

21:08.100 --> 21:10.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
But his mother persisted.

21:10.300 --> 21:14.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And so he wrote a poem
about a cowboy's prayer.

21:14.200 --> 21:17.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- One of my favorite lines
that he ever wrote was,

21:18.466 --> 21:21.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"Oh Lord, I've never lived
where churches grow."

21:21.300 --> 21:24.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
What a fantastic line that is.

21:24.233 --> 21:26.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

21:26.333 --> 21:30.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- "Oh Lord, I've never
lived where churches grow.

21:31.166 --> 21:33.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"I love creation
better as it stood

21:34.466 --> 21:37.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"That day You finished
it so long ago

21:39.266 --> 21:42.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"And looked upon Your
work and called it good."

21:42.533 --> 21:44.466 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

21:44.466 --> 21:46.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "I know that others
find You in the light

21:46.000 --> 21:47.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"That's sifted down through
tinted window panes,

21:47.933 --> 21:50.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"And yet I seem to
feel You near tonight

21:50.066 --> 21:53.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"In this dim, quiet
starlight on the plains."

21:53.300 --> 21:55.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

21:55.933 --> 21:57.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Yes, who doesn't feel that?

21:58.966 --> 22:01.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You look up into the stars and
you see the great infinity,

22:01.833 --> 22:03.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and, you get that.

22:03.600 --> 22:05.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

22:05.333 --> 22:07.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He felt all the spiritual,

22:07.600 --> 22:12.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
the Christian stuff in a
setting that wasn't in a church.

22:13.766 --> 22:16.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I think those are
really courageous things

22:16.800 --> 22:18.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
for him to say.

22:18.500 --> 22:20.033 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

22:20.033 --> 22:23.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "Let me be easy on
the man that's down;

22:23.466 --> 22:26.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Let me be square and
generous with all.

22:28.100 --> 22:31.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"I'm careless sometimes,
Lord, when I'm in town,

22:32.566 --> 22:36.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"But never let 'em say
I'm mean or small!"

22:36.333 --> 22:38.166 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

22:38.166 --> 22:42.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- I think part of it is his
upbringing from his father

22:42.533 --> 22:45.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that gives him a connection

22:47.900 --> 22:49.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
to the Lord above

22:49.833 --> 22:53.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and the connection to
the nature around him

22:53.066 --> 22:56.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and his place in all of this.

22:57.766 --> 23:00.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And I think what he's giving

23:00.533 --> 23:04.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
is a pretty honest
assessment of himself

23:04.266 --> 23:06.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
as well as the world around him.

23:06.366 --> 23:11.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I think that anyone can
see themselves in this poem.

23:14.166 --> 23:16.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- "I thank You, Lord,
that I am placed so well,

23:16.400 --> 23:19.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"That You have made my
freedom so complete;

23:19.266 --> 23:22.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"That I'm no slave of
whistle, clock or bell,

23:22.633 --> 23:24.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Nor weak-eyed prisoner
of wall and street.

23:24.966 --> 23:27.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He appreciated it,

23:27.466 --> 23:29.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and I think other people said,

23:29.933 --> 23:31.000 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
"well, I,

23:31.000 --> 23:33.000 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"maybe I could live out

23:33.000 --> 23:35.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"for going out in the
desert or something."

23:35.833 --> 23:37.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

23:37.333 --> 23:40.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- Of the 62 published poems he
wrote in the Arizona Desert,

23:40.700 --> 23:43.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
none has as much far
reaching popularity

23:43.633 --> 23:45.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
as "A Cowboy's Prayer."

23:45.500 --> 23:46.800 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

23:46.800 --> 23:48.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- It was written years ago.

23:48.266 --> 23:51.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
There's hardly a rodeo
that they don't recite it

23:51.500 --> 23:55.200 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
and funerals.
(gentle music)

23:55.200 --> 23:57.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I used to play the
organ for rodeos,

23:57.666 --> 24:00.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and I played for
a lot of funerals,

24:00.100 --> 24:02.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and I've heard it many times.

24:02.433 --> 24:04.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Old ranchers, old cowboys,

24:04.133 --> 24:06.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
they always want
that at their funeral

24:06.333 --> 24:09.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
because it's cowboy,

24:11.166 --> 24:15.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but yet it's a
wonderful prayer really.

24:15.033 --> 24:17.600 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

24:23.100 --> 24:26.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

24:26.200 --> 24:28.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- One day while
reading a newspaper,

24:28.300 --> 24:30.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Charlie's attention
was caught by a quote

24:30.300 --> 24:32.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
from President Woodrow
Wilson, who stated,

24:32.866 --> 24:36.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"An individual who desires
to distinguish themselves

24:36.000 --> 24:38.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"should possess an
uncommon first name."

24:39.466 --> 24:41.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Spurred by the
president's insight,

24:41.666 --> 24:46.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Charlie adopted his middle
name Badger as his new identity

24:46.033 --> 24:47.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and signature for his poetry.

24:49.400 --> 24:52.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- Well, Charles Badger Clark Jr.

24:52.400 --> 24:56.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Was named for his father.
(gentle music)

24:56.300 --> 24:58.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And there came a time
when he felt like

24:58.800 --> 25:02.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he wanted to be able
to distinguish himself

25:02.633 --> 25:04.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
as being his own person.

25:04.933 --> 25:09.533 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
And he was getting
some suggestions from
the literary crowd

25:09.533 --> 25:13.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that he needs to be able to
find a way to stand out as well.

25:13.366 --> 25:15.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And so then he took on

25:15.300 --> 25:20.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
his father's mother's
family name, Badger,

25:21.033 --> 25:23.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and took that to be his handle.

25:24.766 --> 25:25.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
This is who I am now.

25:27.100 --> 25:29.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I think he was a
great self-promoter.

25:29.333 --> 25:30.900 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I really do.

25:30.900 --> 25:32.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He had something
inside him that said,

25:35.533 --> 25:36.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"I can make this work."

25:38.333 --> 25:41.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I mean, the guy's a poet
for crying out loud.

25:41.833 --> 25:43.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And that separated
him, I guarantee you.

25:45.366 --> 25:48.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It separated him from any
poet I've ever seen back then.

25:50.200 --> 25:51.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
In a good way.

25:52.600 --> 25:56.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- I think he always saw himself
as an outsider, an observer.

25:56.466 --> 25:59.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He never saw himself as
a cowboy, for example.

25:59.433 --> 26:02.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He wasn't really
handy with a rope,

26:02.166 --> 26:04.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he wasn't really handy
with working horses,

26:05.700 --> 26:07.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but he was an observer.

26:07.900 --> 26:10.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And so he was there to observe

26:10.933 --> 26:15.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
this exotic place that
he hadn't seen before.

26:16.366 --> 26:21.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And so I don't think he intended
on making that his life.

26:21.933 --> 26:23.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He didn't wanna come back.

26:23.700 --> 26:26.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He was already making
money, selling poetry.

26:26.633 --> 26:29.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He could sell it from Arizona
as well as anywhere else.

26:29.500 --> 26:30.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
The reason he came
back to South Dakota

26:30.933 --> 26:32.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
was his father's
health was failing.

26:33.900 --> 26:36.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He was devoted to his father.

26:36.200 --> 26:39.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And so he was coming back

26:39.000 --> 26:42.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to help him through
this difficult time.

26:42.466 --> 26:45.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- In 1910, Badger Clark
moved in with his family

26:45.600 --> 26:48.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

26:48.200 --> 26:50.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He'd spend the next
decade devoting his life

26:50.400 --> 26:53.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to his ailing father
and his poetry.

26:53.233 --> 26:54.166 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

26:54.166 --> 26:56.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He's back in his home turf,

26:56.100 --> 26:58.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
he's back among his people

26:58.533 --> 27:00.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and he is still an outsider.

27:01.800 --> 27:03.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He has been away for a while

27:03.300 --> 27:06.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and things have changed
and he has changed.

27:06.533 --> 27:09.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But he is back with his
father and his stepmother

27:09.333 --> 27:10.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and he adores them both.

27:11.666 --> 27:14.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And he continues to write,

27:14.100 --> 27:18.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and his stepmother is
encouraging him to publish.

27:18.766 --> 27:23.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And in fact, she gives him a
loan to publish his first book,

27:24.633 --> 27:27.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Sun and Saddle Leather," 1915.

27:27.733 --> 27:31.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- "Sun and Saddle
Leather" was so successful

27:31.200 --> 27:33.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that he paid back his
stepmother within a year

27:33.500 --> 27:34.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
on the royalties alone.

27:36.233 --> 27:39.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- I think Badger had no idea
of the success of his book.

27:39.766 --> 27:43.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I think he was publishing
it as an obligation

27:43.533 --> 27:44.900 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
that he should,

27:44.900 --> 27:47.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but I don't think he
expected the success

27:47.700 --> 27:49.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that he achieved with it.

27:49.066 --> 27:51.733 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

27:52.800 --> 27:56.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- I was going to Hermosa School,

27:56.066 --> 27:59.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
which like all other
schools in the country,

27:59.233 --> 28:02.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
they threw a little
poetry at you.

28:02.000 --> 28:04.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And it was people like Tennyson,

28:04.200 --> 28:06.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and excellent, wonderful poets

28:06.666 --> 28:10.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
who had nothing to do with
the life I was living.

28:10.133 --> 28:12.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I couldn't wait to get home,

28:12.133 --> 28:14.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
get on my horse and
go out and ride.

28:14.800 --> 28:18.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And here was a man who
understood about riding horses

28:18.166 --> 28:20.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and who wrote about the plains,

28:22.700 --> 28:24.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
beautiful, beautiful lines

28:25.900 --> 28:28.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that just seemed to
stick in your mind.

28:31.633 --> 28:33.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"I dream no dreams
of a nurse-maid state

28:33.733 --> 28:36.400 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
"That will spoon
me out my food."

28:36.400 --> 28:38.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And that was the cowboy,

28:38.566 --> 28:42.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
the rancher philosophy as
far as I was learning it.

28:44.933 --> 28:47.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Life flutters high when
you're lookin' to die;

28:47.066 --> 28:51.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"And that is the fun of the
hawse work." (chuckling)

28:51.400 --> 28:54.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Yet when I sigh and
the world is a lie

28:54.233 --> 28:56.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Give me a day on
the hawse work."

28:57.800 --> 29:01.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I was so glad to get
home from school,

29:01.333 --> 29:03.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
get on my horse, (chuckling)

29:03.400 --> 29:07.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
get away from school and
civilization and dresses.

29:07.566 --> 29:08.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- It was a different time.

29:08.800 --> 29:10.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It's when just the
general public,

29:10.500 --> 29:15.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
much more than they do today,
read poetry, read fiction.

29:16.366 --> 29:18.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So if you did those forms well,

29:18.133 --> 29:20.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you could acquire a
national reputation,

29:20.933 --> 29:22.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and he certainly did.

29:22.633 --> 29:23.566 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

29:23.566 --> 29:25.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- With his growing popularity,

29:25.100 --> 29:28.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he was often asked to recite
his poetry at public events.

29:29.400 --> 29:32.900 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
- And this was a
horrifying idea.

29:32.900 --> 29:36.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Here is a fellow that
enjoys his solitude

29:36.166 --> 29:41.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and his innermost thoughts
he keeps only on paper,

29:42.300 --> 29:46.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but to go out before
an audience and perform

29:46.266 --> 29:49.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
is something that
he never imagined.

29:49.533 --> 29:53.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And it was a difficult
wheel to get turning.

29:53.733 --> 29:55.000 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

29:55.000 --> 29:58.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He decided to grow a beard,

29:58.333 --> 30:01.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and he chose, for some reason,

30:01.166 --> 30:02.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
the perfect look for a poet

30:02.733 --> 30:05.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
would be a Van
Dyke, trimmed beard,

30:05.566 --> 30:07.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
carefully trimmed and so on.

30:07.433 --> 30:09.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He must have spent
a lot of time on it.

30:09.000 --> 30:11.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So you could tell how
he thought about it.

30:12.533 --> 30:16.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He began to caucus Stetson
always to the side.

30:16.533 --> 30:18.366 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
And that was,

30:18.366 --> 30:20.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
again, had a trademark

30:20.366 --> 30:23.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
rather than having it
sit square on his head.

30:23.233 --> 30:26.300 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
- It's like when
you're an actor,

30:26.300 --> 30:28.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you become a different person.

30:28.266 --> 30:30.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And so then you are free to do

30:30.766 --> 30:33.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
whatever it is that you
wouldn't normally do.

30:33.466 --> 30:35.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And Badger does
recreate himself.

30:36.600 --> 30:38.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He creates a uniform.

30:39.533 --> 30:42.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He's wearing almost
a military uniform.

30:43.266 --> 30:47.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I think that does
give him some freedom

30:47.533 --> 30:50.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
to be a performer,

30:50.200 --> 30:52.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
as opposed to being
a Badger Clark.

30:52.966 --> 30:55.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I think it was part
of the hip look, he had.

30:56.366 --> 30:59.933 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
We're coming out
of the Civil War

30:59.933 --> 31:04.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and then the West and
then the settlement,

31:04.466 --> 31:09.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the Indian Wars, the
Gun Slingers Wild Bill.

31:09.233 --> 31:11.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And then he's still kind
of the tail end of this

31:12.833 --> 31:15.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
with the hat and
the riding boots.

31:15.333 --> 31:20.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I think he was at the
guy at the perfect time,

31:20.100 --> 31:22.033 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
I really do.
(gentle music)

31:22.033 --> 31:24.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He did a lot of
campfire talks.

31:24.333 --> 31:25.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Being in the Black Hills,

31:25.800 --> 31:30.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
we had lots and
lots of kids camps,

31:30.000 --> 31:32.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
girls Scouts, boy
Scouts, you name it,

31:32.533 --> 31:34.066 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
at church camps.

31:34.066 --> 31:37.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And they would invite him to
do an evening campfire talk.

31:37.933 --> 31:40.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And the word started to spread.

31:40.366 --> 31:45.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Then he started getting
requests for graduations.

31:45.033 --> 31:47.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He used to call it
his hot air circuit.

31:48.800 --> 31:53.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Every spring, he was just
on the road all the time.

31:53.866 --> 31:55.166 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

31:55.166 --> 31:56.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- You know, I think
if you were a child

31:56.866 --> 31:59.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
who Badger Clark
came to your school,

31:59.833 --> 32:01.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you remembered that experience

32:01.466 --> 32:03.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
because you were
really meeting somebody

32:03.200 --> 32:05.000 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
who was a celebrity.

32:05.000 --> 32:07.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- He used to be a
superstar in South Dakota.

32:08.800 --> 32:10.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Everybody knew Badger Clark.

32:10.200 --> 32:13.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And when you see these
women from Custer

32:13.000 --> 32:16.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that remembered him
coming into town to shop,

32:16.166 --> 32:18.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and their eyes
would just light up.

32:18.866 --> 32:20.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Their whole bodies
would light up,

32:20.433 --> 32:22.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
'cause he was such
a great person.

32:23.766 --> 32:26.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He got paid a
pittance, I think,

32:26.400 --> 32:28.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
for some of his appearances.

32:28.200 --> 32:32.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But people asked him to
speak all over the state,

32:32.100 --> 32:33.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
probably all over the country,

32:33.566 --> 32:35.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
at high school
graduations and stuff.

32:35.166 --> 32:37.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And he remarked sometimes that,

32:37.766 --> 32:39.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"they invite me
to go to Aberdeen,

32:39.333 --> 32:41.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"and they say, 'Well, thank
you very much Mr. Clark,'

32:41.266 --> 32:43.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"when it's done, and that's it."

32:43.133 --> 32:45.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Then he started
really traveling

32:45.300 --> 32:47.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
when he joined the
Chautauqua circuit,

32:47.100 --> 32:49.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
a huge impact on his life.

32:49.833 --> 32:53.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He joined the National
Red Path Chautauqua,

32:53.033 --> 32:54.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
a traveling tent show

32:54.533 --> 32:58.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that set out to entertain and
inspire rural communities.

32:58.333 --> 33:01.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
For many small towns
across the country,

33:01.100 --> 33:02.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
the Red Path Chautauqua

33:02.566 --> 33:04.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
was a window to the wider world

33:04.866 --> 33:06.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and a chance to connect
with a community

33:06.766 --> 33:08.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that shared a
thirst for knowledge

33:08.766 --> 33:10.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and a love of entertainment.

33:10.800 --> 33:12.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He had met some famous people

33:12.700 --> 33:15.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
out on the Chautauqua circuit,,

33:15.166 --> 33:19.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and he was not impressed,

33:20.766 --> 33:22.033 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
because he felt

33:22.033 --> 33:24.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that some of them were
just slaves to these,

33:24.533 --> 33:27.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
they were hounded by
people all the time.

33:27.233 --> 33:31.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They were hounded by
requests, demands.

33:32.800 --> 33:34.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And he felt that these people

33:34.866 --> 33:36.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
were not their own
person anymore.

33:37.633 --> 33:39.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And it turned him off.

33:39.833 --> 33:42.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He stayed with it for a
while because of the money.

33:42.966 --> 33:44.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And then he finally
just thought,

33:45.800 --> 33:47.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"The Black Hills are beckoning,

33:47.066 --> 33:49.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"I'm just gonna go home."

33:49.033 --> 33:52.466 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

33:52.466 --> 33:55.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "The shadows
lengthen to the east,

33:55.700 --> 33:57.000 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

33:57.000 --> 33:59.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"The latter miles
are slowly scored,

33:59.633 --> 34:00.900 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

34:00.900 --> 34:04.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"And ere the long
day's work has ceased

34:04.566 --> 34:07.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"You ask of profits and reward."

34:07.533 --> 34:10.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

34:13.266 --> 34:15.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
- On June 10th, 1921,

34:15.600 --> 34:19.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the Reverend Charles Sr.
died at the age of 82.

34:19.366 --> 34:22.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
After his stepmother retired
to the State Soldier's Home,

34:22.733 --> 34:26.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Badger sought the solitude
of the new Custer State Park,

34:26.333 --> 34:29.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
renting a one room
10 by 12 foot cabin.

34:29.833 --> 34:33.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He would spend the rest of his
years connecting with nature

34:33.366 --> 34:35.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and writing poetry and essays.

34:35.800 --> 34:38.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- I think Badger Clark, when
he got out to the hills,

34:38.633 --> 34:40.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
saw the uniqueness
of Custer State Park

34:40.200 --> 34:42.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and wanted to make
this his home.

34:42.300 --> 34:44.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And at that time,
it was possible,

34:44.333 --> 34:46.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
we were renting out
and leasing out cabins

34:46.433 --> 34:47.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
for people to make
their summer cabins.

34:47.966 --> 34:50.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I think Badger
saw that opportunity

34:50.500 --> 34:52.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and knew this was
gonna be his place,

34:52.533 --> 34:55.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
this is where he could
connect and do his writing,

34:55.333 --> 34:56.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and kind of escape,

34:56.666 --> 34:57.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and knew it was his spot.

34:59.100 --> 35:02.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He came back directly
back to the Black Hills,

35:02.266 --> 35:04.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
which is where he'd grown up.

35:04.333 --> 35:06.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

35:06.700 --> 35:10.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I think that Black
Hills are mystic.

35:10.233 --> 35:13.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

35:13.200 --> 35:16.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
The Rocky Mountains, for
example, are majestic.

35:16.100 --> 35:17.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
The Black Hills are mystic.

35:17.600 --> 35:19.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

35:19.400 --> 35:21.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They're the oldest
mountains in the world.

35:21.633 --> 35:23.466 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

35:23.466 --> 35:26.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
They have a sense and the feel,

35:26.700 --> 35:28.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
like they're alive.

35:28.800 --> 35:31.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I think maybe he
derived a lot of his poetry

35:31.733 --> 35:35.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
from that sense that he
got from the Black Hills,

35:35.700 --> 35:36.800 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
that feeling.

35:36.800 --> 35:39.466 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

35:43.666 --> 35:47.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He just, I think spent
a lot of time observing.

35:47.966 --> 35:52.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So he's living near the base
of a mountain in his cabin,

35:52.833 --> 35:55.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and every day he's
gonna see deer.

35:55.200 --> 35:57.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
The deer would come
right up on his porch,

35:57.966 --> 35:59.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and look in the windows,

35:59.700 --> 36:01.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
he would see birds,

36:02.800 --> 36:06.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the wild flowers he
wrote about quite a bit.

36:06.666 --> 36:11.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So for him, I think the Black
Hills represented his muse.

36:12.266 --> 36:14.633 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

36:17.233 --> 36:19.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Badger publishes
a second book,

36:19.633 --> 36:21.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
which is "Grass Grown Trails."

36:22.900 --> 36:26.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He's continuing to write about
his experiences in Arizona,

36:26.100 --> 36:28.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he's also
adding some material

36:28.500 --> 36:32.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
from living up here in the hills

36:32.933 --> 36:35.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and up among the wild creatures.

36:35.233 --> 36:38.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And so he is adding some
of that material as well.

36:38.400 --> 36:39.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
- He loved the animals.

36:39.900 --> 36:42.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He fed the deer pancakes.

36:42.600 --> 36:45.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He knew the deer by
names that he gave them.

36:45.600 --> 36:50.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So he was immersed fully
in into the landscape,

36:50.133 --> 36:53.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the incredible landscape
of the Black Hills.

36:53.333 --> 36:55.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Yet at the same time,
he was a social person.

36:55.866 --> 36:59.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He would go out and
give talks all the time.

36:59.733 --> 37:03.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Anytime it seemed like a
building was being dedicated,

37:03.633 --> 37:05.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you could count on Badger Clark

37:05.133 --> 37:08.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
being interested in coming and
being part of that ceremony.

37:08.566 --> 37:10.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
So he had two worlds,

37:11.333 --> 37:13.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that hidden away
in the Black Hills,

37:13.500 --> 37:15.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but also going out and
meeting its public.

37:15.300 --> 37:18.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I think meeting
children especially,

37:19.633 --> 37:21.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he was a big, big
figure to them.

37:21.500 --> 37:23.566 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

37:23.566 --> 37:25.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- Pretty impressive figure.

37:26.133 --> 37:27.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He was a pretty big man.

37:29.266 --> 37:31.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I think he stood over six feet,

37:32.600 --> 37:37.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and he had that almost military
uniform (chuckling) he wore,

37:38.700 --> 37:42.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he was pretty impressive
to look at, intimidating.

37:43.966 --> 37:47.233 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
And,
(gentle music)

37:47.233 --> 37:50.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
he asked me how old I was,

37:51.666 --> 37:52.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and I told him I was 15.

37:56.166 --> 37:57.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He said, "Did you
go to high school?"

37:57.800 --> 38:01.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I said, "No, I went
through the eighth grade

38:02.233 --> 38:03.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"and that was it."

38:05.033 --> 38:06.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He said, "Well, we're
gonna fix that."

38:08.800 --> 38:10.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I said, "How?"

38:10.500 --> 38:13.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He said, I'm gonna have
you read some books.

38:14.566 --> 38:18.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He started me off on three
of Shakespeare's plays,

38:20.100 --> 38:24.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and then I had to give
him a written report.

38:24.900 --> 38:26.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I was terrified of the man.

38:26.433 --> 38:28.833 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

38:28.833 --> 38:31.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He would pick out some
chapter in that book

38:33.233 --> 38:35.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and ask me what I
thought it meant.

38:36.533 --> 38:38.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Well, I didn't know
what the hell it meant,

38:38.566 --> 38:41.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but I paid more attention
to what I read after that,

38:43.033 --> 38:44.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
because he would do that.

38:44.433 --> 38:46.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He knew all of those books.

38:47.633 --> 38:49.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He caused me to think.

38:51.333 --> 38:52.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You don't know how to think,

38:52.566 --> 38:54.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
'till you learn how to think.

38:55.600 --> 38:59.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And it helped me all
the rest of my life.

38:59.466 --> 39:01.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I didn't realize
it for a long time.

39:04.000 --> 39:05.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- I used to go over there
when I was a little kid

39:05.833 --> 39:07.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and slay on his hill.

39:07.833 --> 39:09.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He had a good hill for sledding.

39:09.933 --> 39:13.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I'd be out there
slaying sledding,

39:13.233 --> 39:15.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and he'd come out on
the porch and he'd say,

39:15.666 --> 39:17.266 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Kenny, come on in here,

39:17.266 --> 39:19.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"I got some hot chocolate."

39:19.266 --> 39:22.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
They'd stand over there and
he'd read his latest poem.

39:22.533 --> 39:25.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And then whether good
or bad, I didn't know.

39:25.300 --> 39:27.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But I always thought if that
was the best poem in the world,

39:27.166 --> 39:29.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
'cause I want another
hot chocolate.

39:29.100 --> 39:31.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(mid tempo music)

39:31.033 --> 39:33.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- During the summer of 1927,

39:33.366 --> 39:34.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
President Calvin Coolidge,

39:34.933 --> 39:38.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
spent a three month working
vacation in Custer State Park.

39:38.766 --> 39:39.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(mid tempo music)

39:39.700 --> 39:40.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- The Custer State Game Lodge

39:40.800 --> 39:43.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
was the summer White House.

39:43.366 --> 39:45.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
They put a library in there

39:45.533 --> 39:48.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and they put "Sun and
Saddle Leather" in there.

39:48.100 --> 39:52.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And Mrs. Coolidge saw
that she kinda liked it.

39:52.433 --> 39:56.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
This guy's a hip, hip
guy, Badger Clark.

39:56.800 --> 39:58.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
They went down to Hot Springs

39:58.266 --> 40:01.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
to dedicate the veteran's home.

40:01.366 --> 40:05.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The ladies of the town had
a tee for the president,

40:05.100 --> 40:06.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and the president asked 'em,

40:06.233 --> 40:07.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Where's the cowboy poet?

40:07.566 --> 40:08.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Where's Badger?"

40:09.733 --> 40:12.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- That's a very
embarrassing story.

40:12.100 --> 40:14.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
When Calvin Coolidge knew
who Badger Clark was,

40:14.733 --> 40:17.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and yet he had not been
invited to the ceremonies

40:17.100 --> 40:18.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
down in Hot Springs.

40:19.733 --> 40:24.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I don't know if Badger
Clark realized this at the time,

40:24.000 --> 40:27.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but he was summoned immediately.

40:27.300 --> 40:30.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Somebody drove up from Hot
Springs to pick him up and said,

40:30.833 --> 40:33.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"The president
wants to meet you."

40:33.233 --> 40:36.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And he quick pulled himself
together and went down.

40:36.366 --> 40:39.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

40:39.700 --> 40:42.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Well Badger upon the
death of his stepmother,

40:42.900 --> 40:45.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
he received an inheritance

40:45.100 --> 40:48.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that allowed him to
build a place of his own,

40:48.533 --> 40:51.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
his dream house, you might say.

40:51.600 --> 40:55.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And he builds a cabin
up in the Black Hills,

40:55.400 --> 40:57.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
again, he calls it
his Badger Hole.

40:58.533 --> 41:01.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And it took years
to complete it.

41:01.900 --> 41:04.366 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

41:04.366 --> 41:07.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- My dad was a
plumber, a carpenter,

41:07.300 --> 41:10.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and he was a really
good stone mason.

41:10.133 --> 41:13.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So he did the work on
Badger Clark's fireplace

41:13.733 --> 41:16.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in the front of his porch there.

41:16.066 --> 41:21.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And Badger Clark wanted to
have a roof on his porch,

41:21.933 --> 41:23.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but there was a big tree there.

41:23.700 --> 41:25.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So Dad said, you have
to cut that tree down.

41:25.866 --> 41:28.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Well, Badger didn't
wanna cut that tree down.

41:28.433 --> 41:29.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So dad went ahead
and built the porch

41:29.633 --> 41:33.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and he cut a big hole
in the porch roof

41:33.233 --> 41:35.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
so that pine tree can
grow up through it.

41:35.000 --> 41:37.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

41:37.133 --> 41:39.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- Those rocks are handpicked
that make the foundation.

41:39.566 --> 41:40.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
The wood is handpicked,

41:40.800 --> 41:43.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the colors, he picked,
the layout of the cabin.

41:43.333 --> 41:46.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He had two rooms in there
by the fire where it's warm.

41:46.666 --> 41:47.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He had the kitchen set up,

41:47.900 --> 41:51.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I think viewing the old
growth forest there.

41:51.700 --> 41:54.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And then just a big living
room to handle all his books,

41:54.466 --> 41:56.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
to do his writing.

41:56.133 --> 41:58.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He wanted to
live a simple life,

41:59.100 --> 42:01.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
getting down to the basics.

42:01.233 --> 42:04.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He wasn't so far away
from the pioneer years,

42:04.600 --> 42:06.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and he just kind of figured

42:06.266 --> 42:09.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he wasn't gonna become
a rich man as a poet,

42:09.666 --> 42:12.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
or even as a very
successful speaker

42:12.600 --> 42:14.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
on the Chautauqua circuit.

42:16.166 --> 42:19.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He thought, what would I
do with all this money?

42:19.200 --> 42:21.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So he lived a very simple life.

42:21.300 --> 42:22.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He was happy with it.

42:24.000 --> 42:25.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- And he does not
have electricity,

42:25.666 --> 42:27.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
does not have running water,

42:27.300 --> 42:29.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and these are by choice.

42:29.466 --> 42:31.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He is content to
live in the old way

42:31.900 --> 42:33.300 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(water dripping)

42:33.300 --> 42:36.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
to carry water from the creek.

42:37.266 --> 42:39.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
There's a privy
out in the backyard

42:40.700 --> 42:43.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and that serves his needs.

42:43.800 --> 42:45.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He didn't have a phone.

42:45.533 --> 42:49.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Somebody could try and get
all the way out to his cabin,

42:49.100 --> 42:50.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but the roads were not good.

42:50.800 --> 42:55.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I guess you could get
there on a horse easily,

42:56.966 --> 42:59.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he wouldn't have had
very much interruption

42:59.166 --> 43:00.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
from human beings,

43:00.400 --> 43:04.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
which are the most
demanding distractions.

43:04.600 --> 43:06.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He didn't have a wife,
he didn't have children,

43:06.900 --> 43:08.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
he didn't have
those distractions.

43:08.400 --> 43:10.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But the distractions
he had were,

43:10.800 --> 43:12.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
if he got stuck writing,

43:12.900 --> 43:15.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
put his boots on
and go for a walk,

43:16.966 --> 43:21.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and maybe something would
loosen up his thoughts,

43:21.400 --> 43:23.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
something he observed.

43:23.500 --> 43:26.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So I think it was a very
healthy environment for him

43:26.466 --> 43:27.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
as far as being a writer.

43:27.833 --> 43:30.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

43:32.400 --> 43:34.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Well, all through
Badger's life,

43:34.033 --> 43:36.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
it seems that people
observed him as,

43:37.466 --> 43:39.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
shall we say, an odd
duck, an outsider?

43:39.600 --> 43:42.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Someone who was
not like they are.

43:42.200 --> 43:44.100 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

43:44.100 --> 43:46.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
That was him all
through his life.

43:46.166 --> 43:48.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

43:48.933 --> 43:51.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He would learn to be frugal,

43:51.200 --> 43:54.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but he didn't think of it as
squalor, it was his choice.

43:54.933 --> 43:58.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And he would trade
any amount of money

43:58.600 --> 44:01.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to be able to live
the life that he had,

44:01.266 --> 44:02.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
especially with a new house.

44:02.600 --> 44:05.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It was just wonderful.

44:05.300 --> 44:08.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(gentle pipe music)

44:09.600 --> 44:12.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "Another year
grows calmly old,

44:13.266 --> 44:15.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"And frost is on
the morning grass.

44:16.766 --> 44:20.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"The quaking, aspens
shed, its gold,

44:21.366 --> 44:24.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"The mountain lake lies
as still as glass."

44:24.166 --> 44:26.833 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

44:28.000 --> 44:32.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
In 1937 South Dakota
Governor Leslie Jensen

44:32.000 --> 44:35.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
named Badger at the state's
first poet laureate.

44:35.333 --> 44:38.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It was one of the few
honors bestowed on Badger,

44:38.633 --> 44:41.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
as he didn't seek
out awards and fame.

44:41.433 --> 44:43.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He had no agent or publisher.

44:44.100 --> 44:46.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- Badger took it in stride,

44:46.200 --> 44:48.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
humbly as he always would do.

44:48.600 --> 44:53.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And he also liked to refer to
himself as the poet laureate.

44:53.166 --> 44:57.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- I never heard Charlie ever
tell anybody in front of me

44:57.133 --> 45:00.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
or talk about being South
Dakota's first poet laureate.

45:01.600 --> 45:04.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He really had mixed
feelings about it.

45:04.000 --> 45:08.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
For one thing, the governor
was a good friend of his,

45:08.333 --> 45:10.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
they were neighbors
in Hot Springs.

45:11.700 --> 45:15.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He just didn't really see a
need, I guess. (chuckling)

45:15.366 --> 45:17.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And people did make
a big deal about it.

45:17.866 --> 45:19.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

45:19.400 --> 45:23.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
- We were aware that Badger
Clark was the Laureate.

45:23.700 --> 45:24.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And it was kind of a...

45:24.900 --> 45:25.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It wasn't a joke,

45:25.833 --> 45:30.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
because it was a esteemed title,

45:32.000 --> 45:33.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he didn't make
very much money

45:33.200 --> 45:34.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
off of being South
Dakota's poet.

45:34.466 --> 45:35.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And we have a book

45:35.966 --> 45:39.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that I don't know was
ever printed at length,

45:39.766 --> 45:43.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but it's a book of
letters that he wrote.

45:43.666 --> 45:45.133 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
And almost every
letter in there,

45:45.133 --> 45:48.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he complains about how
poor and destitute he is.

45:48.100 --> 45:49.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And he's asking people,

45:49.866 --> 45:51.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Do you have a
couple extra bucks?"

45:52.933 --> 45:54.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
- He never had a car.

45:54.800 --> 45:57.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I think there's kind of
a legend of Badger Clark.

45:58.566 --> 45:59.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He was walking everywhere.

45:59.700 --> 46:00.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I hear people say,

46:00.966 --> 46:02.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Well, he was out
in the Custer Park,

46:02.933 --> 46:05.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
if he had to get some
food items or something,

46:05.700 --> 46:07.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
he walked into Custer.

46:07.533 --> 46:09.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But he was somebody people
would always pick up

46:09.666 --> 46:11.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
when he was out on the road,

46:11.233 --> 46:12.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and they'd give him a ride.

46:12.200 --> 46:16.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- And he dressed so differently,

46:16.466 --> 46:17.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
dressed like a cowboy,

46:17.600 --> 46:20.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but a very well dressed cowboy.

46:20.466 --> 46:22.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He was always recognizable.

46:22.033 --> 46:25.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And any anybody in the county
or Custer State Park knew him.

46:25.566 --> 46:27.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He would only get
a few steps along,

46:27.233 --> 46:29.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
somebody come and pick him up.

46:29.033 --> 46:32.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Same thing, he'd get
his supplies in Custer,

46:32.033 --> 46:33.233 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
head on back,

46:33.233 --> 46:35.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and there'd be somebody
who'd recognize him,

46:35.100 --> 46:37.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
or he just looked like
such a friendly fella.

46:37.666 --> 46:39.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And he would entertain
them in the car

46:39.833 --> 46:41.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
even if he didn't know them.

46:41.566 --> 46:46.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
♪ Desert blue and silver
in the still moonshine ♪

46:48.866 --> 46:50.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- One afternoon while
waiting for a train,

46:50.800 --> 46:52.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
he walked into a movie theater,

46:52.500 --> 46:55.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and was surprised to see
Bing Crosby sing his poem

46:55.566 --> 46:57.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"A Roundup Lullaby,"

46:57.300 --> 46:59.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
from the western musical,
"Rhythm on The Range."

46:59.966 --> 47:02.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
♪ Far sky line, ♪

47:02.866 --> 47:06.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
♪ Time for millin'
cattle to be still ♪

47:06.766 --> 47:07.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- Now, this was back in the day

47:07.700 --> 47:09.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
when people bought sheet music

47:09.733 --> 47:12.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
after they saw the movie,

47:12.066 --> 47:15.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he didn't get any
proceeds from that.

47:15.500 --> 47:18.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He probably could have made
a significant amount of money

47:18.333 --> 47:21.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
if he had bothered to copyright

47:21.400 --> 47:23.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the poems and music
that he wrote,

47:23.300 --> 47:25.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he was a little
sloppy about that.

47:25.700 --> 47:30.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So some of his things
got claimed by others.

47:30.266 --> 47:32.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And some of them, even today,

47:33.433 --> 47:36.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you'll say this is an
old cowboy folk song,

47:36.566 --> 47:41.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but it's really something
that Badger Clark composed.

47:41.133 --> 47:45.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So he resented it when
people plagiarized his work,

47:45.600 --> 47:48.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but on the other hand,

47:49.666 --> 47:52.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he didn't get obsessed by
it or embittered by it.

47:52.833 --> 47:54.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He just kept going.

47:54.800 --> 47:57.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- Badger continued to write.

47:57.066 --> 47:58.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He published a book
of short stories

47:58.833 --> 48:00.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
about his time in Arizona,

48:00.933 --> 48:02.733 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
another book of poetry

48:02.733 --> 48:04.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and the history book

48:04.133 --> 48:05.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
commissioned by the Kiwanis
Club of Hot Springs,

48:05.866 --> 48:07.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

48:07.200 --> 48:09.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
along with a growing
pile of correspondence

48:09.733 --> 48:12.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
from all over the world.
(gentle music)

48:12.200 --> 48:16.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- He was completely
unique as a human being.

48:16.666 --> 48:18.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He could live in an environment

48:18.666 --> 48:22.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
with nothing to
speak of around him,

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and draw people to him
because of his character.

48:26.933 --> 48:28.666 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

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And people really strove
to be with the man.

48:34.566 --> 48:37.500 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
He was dynamic.
(gentle music)

48:37.500 --> 48:42.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He must have had a personality
that was almost magnetic.

48:43.100 --> 48:45.366 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

48:46.666 --> 48:49.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "When I shall
top the last divide

48:49.266 --> 48:52.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"And journey down
the other side,

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"What vested here
on earth will be

48:57.000 --> 49:00.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"To prove that there
was once a me."

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(gentle music)

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- In the morning, Badger
Clark used to come out

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and he used to lean
over the porch,

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railing on his porch,

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and just cough and
cough and cough.

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You could hear that
from mile away,

49:20.200 --> 49:23.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and apparently due to
his respiratory disease,

49:24.900 --> 49:27.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but that's wasn't a good
indication that he was healthy,

49:28.766 --> 49:30.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but he never complained
to us about it,

49:32.933 --> 49:35.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
never asked us for an
aspirin. (chuckling)

49:35.400 --> 49:38.066 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

49:39.933 --> 49:41.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
- He knew he was dying,

49:41.666 --> 49:44.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
even though the
doctor didn't, he did.

49:44.066 --> 49:47.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

49:47.400 --> 49:51.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
If he was in a lot of
pain and had problems,

49:51.933 --> 49:53.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
he wasn't letting anybody know.

49:53.900 --> 49:55.833 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

49:55.833 --> 49:58.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- In early September of 1957,

49:58.733 --> 50:02.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Badger was diagnosed with
lung and throat cancer.

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A month later, he passed away
peacefully at the age of 74.

50:06.800 --> 50:09.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(somber music)

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- When Badger was gone,

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his funeral was
very well attended.

50:15.900 --> 50:19.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Again, being for such
a loner, such a hermit,

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for so many to come to honor him

50:22.333 --> 50:24.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
was quite a contrast.

50:24.666 --> 50:26.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(somber music)

50:26.400 --> 50:28.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- I was there at the funeral.

50:28.033 --> 50:33.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I was only 10, and
my memories are,

50:33.766 --> 50:35.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I was mostly in awe.

50:36.000 --> 50:38.500 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
There were a lot
of people there.

50:38.500 --> 50:42.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
They were famous people,
they were important people.

50:42.866 --> 50:46.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
A lot of South
Dakota legislators.

50:46.633 --> 50:48.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
The governor was there.

50:48.433 --> 50:52.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
A real show of
support and respect

50:52.000 --> 50:54.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
for the first poet
Laureate of South Dakota.

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And it wasn't just
respect, it was love,

51:00.100 --> 51:01.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
it was palpable.

51:02.100 --> 51:04.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And I was impressed.

51:04.233 --> 51:06.833 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(somber music)

51:08.200 --> 51:10.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- "I dread the break
when I shall die

51:11.800 --> 51:14.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Not from my human
friends, for they

51:14.566 --> 51:17.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Are shifting shadows such as I

51:19.600 --> 51:21.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"And soon must follow me away

51:23.433 --> 51:27.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"But from my earth
that still must swing

51:27.066 --> 51:31.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"From day to dusk,
from dark to dawn,

51:33.033 --> 51:37.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Slow shimmering on
from spring to spring

51:37.666 --> 51:40.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Through all the
years when I am gone."

51:40.366 --> 51:42.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(somber music)

51:45.133 --> 51:47.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
In the decades since his death,

51:47.433 --> 51:50.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Badger Clark, the
reclusive poet of nature,

51:50.633 --> 51:53.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
has become a fixture in
South Dakota history.

51:53.866 --> 51:56.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
His cabin preserved
since his time,

51:56.600 --> 51:58.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
houses his boots on the floor

51:58.566 --> 52:00.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and his typewriter on the desk.

52:00.866 --> 52:03.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Each year, thousands of
visitors explore the cabin

52:03.933 --> 52:06.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and traverse the same
wilderness trails he cherished.

52:08.333 --> 52:11.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Notably Bob Dylan
and other musicians

52:11.000 --> 52:15.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
recorded his poems and
turned them into songs.

52:15.566 --> 52:18.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The South Dakota State
Historical Society Foundation,

52:18.600 --> 52:21.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
ensures his poetry books
stay in circulation,

52:21.866 --> 52:23.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
while annual
community gatherings

52:23.833 --> 52:26.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
unite admirers and companions

52:26.100 --> 52:28.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in celebration of
the secluded poet.

52:29.766 --> 52:33.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
♪ But then I used to love ♪

52:35.133 --> 52:36.866 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

52:36.866 --> 52:39.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I think Badger
Clark's legacy is

52:41.500 --> 52:45.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
living a true life and
living a simple life,

52:45.166 --> 52:47.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but being true to your heart,

52:48.466 --> 52:52.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and not giving
up, creating more,

52:54.166 --> 52:55.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
even though there's
no profit in it.

52:55.400 --> 52:58.033 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(gentle music)

53:00.333 --> 53:02.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
- He lived a very simple life,

53:02.066 --> 53:04.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
a life he wanted to
live out in the woods,

53:04.166 --> 53:07.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
in a cabin he built
doing something he loves.

53:07.533 --> 53:08.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And he was okay with that.

53:08.500 --> 53:10.033 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
And that's okay.

53:10.033 --> 53:12.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And I think sometimes people
forget it's okay to do that.

53:12.400 --> 53:14.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You don't have to live up
to the standards of society

53:14.666 --> 53:16.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
because who knows,

53:16.033 --> 53:18.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
you may be making big footprints
that will make history

53:18.500 --> 53:20.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and people will talk
about you after that.

53:24.033 --> 53:25.266 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
- He was a cowboy poet

53:25.266 --> 53:28.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
before there was such a
thing as cowboy poets.

53:28.233 --> 53:30.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I mean, he helped
invent the genre.

53:32.533 --> 53:34.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I really feel
like Badger Clark

53:34.400 --> 53:37.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
is the godfather
of cowboy poetry,

53:37.200 --> 53:40.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
because he not only lived
the life and wrote it

53:40.300 --> 53:42.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
in such excellent form,

53:42.700 --> 53:46.000 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but he is modeled after,

53:47.100 --> 53:49.166 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
it's timeless.

53:50.000 --> 53:53.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(mid tempo music)

53:53.133 --> 53:54.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- And I think he
defines the success

53:54.400 --> 53:55.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
of what people think

53:55.666 --> 53:57.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
a famous historical
character should be.

53:57.366 --> 54:00.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He didn't do shootouts
like Wild Bill Haga did.

54:00.933 --> 54:03.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He didn't blaze the
trail across the prairie.

54:03.300 --> 54:06.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He was a poetry writer in
the middle of a state park.

54:06.000 --> 54:09.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But yet here he is and we're
still talking about him.

54:09.100 --> 54:11.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- Well, he was an
exceptional human being.

54:12.366 --> 54:14.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I've known a few of
those in my life,

54:14.733 --> 54:16.066 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and they just stand out

54:17.800 --> 54:21.333 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
and they influence
other people's lives
to a great degree.

54:22.466 --> 54:24.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And they leave the
world a better place.

54:24.566 --> 54:27.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(mid tempo music)