Scarface Charley was a chief of the Modoc tribe of Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

. He took part in the Modoc War

Modoc War

The Modoc War, or Modoc Campaign , was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc tribe and the United States Army in southern Oregon and northern California from 1872–1873. The Modoc War was the last of the Indian Wars to occur in California or Oregon...

 of 1872-73 in California, and is considered to have fired the first shot at the Battle of Lost River

Battle of Lost River

The Battle of Lost River in November 1872 was the first battle in the Modoc War in the northwestern United States. The skirmish, which was fought near the Lost River along the California-Oregon border, was the result of an attempt by the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army to force...

. On April 26, 1873, Scarfaced Charley led a victorious attack against a patrol of 63 soldiers. He killed all five of the officers in the patrol, as well as twenty others. It is widely written that he stopped the slaughter and told the soldiers, "We've killed enough of you, now go home."

After the execution of Kintpuash and three of his warriors for the murder of Major General Edward Canby

Edward Canby

Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War, Reconstruction era, and the Indian Wars...

 and Rev. Eleazer Thomas, Scarface Charley was appointed by Colonel Frank Wheaton

Frank Wheaton

Frank Wheaton was a career military officer in the United States Army during the American Civil War and Indian Wars.-Early life and career:...

 as chief of the Modocs who were to be sent to Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 as prisoners of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

. After a year in Oklahoma, Scarfaced Charley was replaced by Indian Agent Hiram Jones, as chief by Bogus Charley, partly due to the latter's better understanding of English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. Other accounts hold that he was removed because he refused to ban gambling.

Scarfaced Charley was also a gifted craftsman, designing an elegant typeface for the phonetic transcription of the Modoc language. He also developed a line of traditionally influenced domestic furniture, which was an important source of revenue for him after his political career was ended.