Charles Badger Clark Sr., his wife Mary, their son, Fred and newborn, Charles Jr. settled in the Dakota Territory in 1883. Mother and Fred would later die from Tuberculosis and the two Charles lived alone. Following graduation and a brief attempt at College, Charles Jr. made a two-year venture to Cuba which gained him nothing but a solid grasp of Spanish which would later prove useful. Back in the Black Hills it was discovered that he too was stricken with Tuberculosis. A doctor suggested the young man go to the desert southwest where the dry air might prolong his life.
Autumn of 1905 found him on a train to Arizona where he found work on a ranch about thirty miles East of Tombstone. Work was easy, driving cattle, mending fences and tending to the needs of guests who came by. The Spanish he learned in Cuba proved handy in this land so near Mexico. Charles sang with guitar to entertain friends at the ranch. In the evening, he would serenade the desert with his guitar singing such favorites as El Ultimo Adios and Juanita. A more vigorous life among the cowboys suited young Charles and in time his illness was "forgotten". He thrived in the harsh beauty of the desert writing letters to home along with poetry inspired by his new life. His father had married a schoolteacher named Anna Morris who saw quality in his verses and sent his work on to Pacific Monthly, a magazine in Oregon. Young Charles learned that he had been published in 1907 by receiving a check for ten dollars. This was very inspiring and he continued to write. He took on the name Badger Clark to distinguish himself as a writer. In 1910 he returned to the Black Hills to care for his ailing father and wrote of his adventures alongside his cowboy friends. He published his first book of twenty-two poems, Sun and Saddle Leather in 1915. Grass-Grown Trails followed in 1917. Around this time Badger was called upon for public speaking, telling of his poems and cowboy life. Later he would publish a book of short stories Spike in 1925, then a third collection of poetry Skylines and Wood Smoke in 1935.
During his public speaking career, he would sing some of his poems as songs while playing the guitar being trained in music. His musical experience allowed him to write musical scores for some of his poems. Others were put to music by Billy Simon, a cowboy in Arizona who put a tune to Border Affair in 1921. John I. White sent a slightly different melody for Border Affair to Badger in 1933 asking for permission to air the song on his radio show which was granted. Badger was honored by being named the first Poet Laureate of South Dakota in 1937. He claimed the title was “Poet Lariat.” That same year he took in a movie, Rhythm on the Range, while visiting Huron, South Dakota. As the movie played, he was astonished to see Bing Crosby singing his very own Roundup Lullaby as published in his first book. Another honor was the singing of his Lead My America at the Washington Monument in the Nation’s Capital, Independence Day, 1952. It was sung by Private first-class Charles W. Oliver, backed by the United States Marine Band.
Badger's work put to music appears in the Jack Thorp and John Lomax collections. More recently these songs have been recorded by some of our favorite artists such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Katie Lee, Emmylou Harris, Michael Martin Murphey and Don Edwards. His work is at the root of what we know as Cowboy Poetry and song today. It is known, sung or recited by anyone who takes an interest in this form of verse. He is one of our first cowboy poets and, I believe, the first to be recognized as one. This hermit by choice through what he wrote is now recognized and admired throughout the Cowboy world. So what would he think of the praise showered on him almost seventy years since he last walked his beloved Black Hills? He would surely be flattered but would likely shrug it off, Badger lived for the moment. As he said in his poem Deer Trails, "The joy is in the journey, and not in getting there." Rex Rideout
Awards:
- 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees