SLEEPING DOGS

Akwesasne: Mohawk word meaning “Land Where the Partridge Drum”.

The present-day Mohawk territory known as Akwesasne is located ten miles east of Massena, NY and across the St. Lawrence River from Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.

The Mohawk people of Akwesasne have a long, proud history and culture that is not only dynamic but resilient as well.

And yet, it is quite amazing that even when an injustice occurs, the spirit of Akwesasne somehow absorbs the hit as a whole and becomes stronger for it.

On December 5, 1904, Louis Back married Elizabeth Hall and began their family in Akwesasne. They had four sons: Alex, Tom, Joseph and Francis. Marie was the only daughter.

For nearly two decades, life for the Back family was like most other families on the reservation at that point in time. Farming and basket making were still very much common amongst the population. Other opportunities for financial means included lumberjack camps or accepting the challenge of the St. Lawrence River and tributaries for the abundant variety of fish. Mohawk Smoked Sturgeon was a well-known secret amongst the North Country and had a long-standing reputation that had customers travelling sometimes for many miles to enjoy the local cuisine. In 1948, this unique attraction towards satisfying a specific taste for fish would influence a farm hand from Winthrop, NY to venture to Akwesasne for that purpose.

As the second decade of the 20th century began to unfold, family life for Louis Back and his wife Elizabeth (Lizzie) was as good as most any other family living at Akwesasne. Unfortunately, just before celebrating two decades of marriage, Louis Back suddenly died. He had not even reached forty years of age. This truly unexpected early death of Louis Back left his family financially impoverished. His untimely death was at least a decade before any type of available Social Services or Welfare Programs had been established. There was, however, a way for the three youngest of the Back children to be taken care of. A decision was made in 1923 (who made that decision is unknown) that due to the hardship of having five children with no visible means of support for themselves, the three younger children (Joseph, Francis and Marie) would be sent to The Thomas Indian School located on the Cattaraugus Seneca Reservation. Basically, The Thomas Indian School was an orphanage for children from the Indian reservations located within New York State. Unfortunately, it was almost three hundred miles from Akwesasne. Alex and his brother Tom were allowed to stay home due to them already being in their teen years and were potentially able to do some type of work to earn income for themselves and their mother. Unskilled labor and farm work was the starting point of employment for more than a few of the young men (and many women) of the reservation during those years.

Note: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) had not been established until 1938 although, there had been a push beginning a century before and throughout the 1800’s to address the issue of child labor laws. The Social Security Act was signed into law in 1935 which included federal/ state aid in part to aid to dependent children, blind people and old age assistance benefits.

Note: The Thomas Asylum for Orphan and Destitute Indian Children opened its doors in 1855 on the Cattaraugus Seneca Reservation in western New York. It was established by the missionaries Asher and Laura Wright to care for orphaned, abandoned or destitute Indian children from the several reservations throughout the State of New York. The name of the institution was changed to The Thomas Indian School in 1905. (The Thomas Indian School and the “Irredeemable” Children of New York. Burich, 2016).

With their father now on his spirit journey and their three younger siblings away at the Thomas Indian School, Alex and Tom had to find some kind of work in order to eat. Tom continued working various labor jobs within the community. Alex had other ideas.

Like most rural athletes of that era who came from humble beginnings, Alex started boxing with only his raw talent and drive. Boxing trainers and gyms were financially unavailable and geographically unreachable. Starting at the local level, wherever and whenever an opportunity for him to box arose, he was there. Within a short time, Alex had started to develop a winning reputation as a boxer.

Early on in his career while demonstrating his natural boxing abilities, someone had made a comment about how light Alex was on his feet. It was said that “He looked like he was as light as a Flying Cloud”. Thus, began the boxing career of “Alex Flying Cloud Back” in the 140-pound welter-weight division. He was also known to have the sports moniker of “Chief Flying Cloud Back” in some circles.

Although official documentation is scarce, he was known to have made the 175-mile trip to Syracuse, NY at least once to box. He was credited with the win for that bout. During the 1920’s, such a trip to Syracuse was a bit of a task, taking into consideration the availability and modes of transportation of the 1920’s. Local lore from the elders of Akwesasne had Alex Flying Cloud Back fairly well known for his boxing skills throughout Northern New York State.

There was also the story of a former Hogansburg Volunteer Fire Chief and store owner named Reyome who supposedly had boxed with Alex Flying Cloud Back. This possibility was explored in a casual conversation with his daughter (Pat) at the bar she owned in Rooseveltown, NY in the 1970’s. As she tended to her bartender duties, Pat mentioned that very few people remembered that her father was a former boxer during the 1920’s but that she was also surprised and honored that I knew that history about him. Although she recalled the name Flying Cloud, she was unable to officially verify if indeed they had been in the boxing ring at the same time as their boxing days had taken place close to 50 years prior to that conversation.

As the 1929 Stock Market crash on Wall Street took place and the United States headed into the Great Depression years, Alex Flying Cloud Back hung up his boxing gloves. He settled into everyday life on the reservation, residing with his brother Tom and their mother in the Frogtown area of Akwesasne. Whether it was a financial ripple effect from the national financial crisis or some other more personal factor, in May of 1935 Alex Back was charged with burglary in the third degree. It was alleged that he had broken into the Langtry store in Hogansburg, NY. John N. Cantwell Esq. was assigned by the court to be Defense Counsel.

In a bold move upon his appearance in court, Alex Back instructed his attorney to present a demurrer (objection) to the indictment on the ground that the Court was without jurisdiction. The contention was that; if an offense was committed on the St. Regis Indian Reservation by a Mohawk Indian, that this case is under the jurisdiction of the federal authorities; not under the jurisdiction of the State of New York. The case would be then sent to the Franklin County Court for trial the following month at which time the matter of jurisdiction would be determined (The Malone Farmer p.1 May 22, 1935).

While sitting in the Franklin County Jail awaiting his next court date, Alex Back had a change of plans towards addressing the criminal charge of Burglary in the third degree. At his next appearance, he withdrew his lack of jurisdiction objection and pled guilty. He was sentenced to 180 days, to be served at the Onondaga Penitentiary at Jamesville, NY (The Malone Farmer p.1, June 5, 1935). This was in addition to the ninety days that he had already accumulated while in the old Franklin County Jail awaiting trial.

It is understood that after Alex Back had served his time of incarceration at the Onondaga Penitentiary, he returned to Akwesasne. He again resumed his routine of working the odd job here and there for income. For the next two and a half years Alex Back participated in mainstream life on the reservation. The lack of his name in the local newspapers during that time period offers that presumption.

Then in February of 1938, Alex Back had gotten himself charged with a serious sex crime charge. As a repeat offender due to his prior conviction, he was looking at 20 to 40 years in prison. After some consideration, the Assistant District Attorney Allen Gurley and the Court conceded that such a term of incarceration was excessive. Alex Back was then allowed to plead guilty to Criminal Assault Second Degree. Still, he was considered a repeat offender and was sentenced to Five to Ten Years. His prison sentence was to be served at the Clinton Correctional Facility at Dannemora (Commercial Advisor p.2, 1938).

After having satisfied his term of incarceration at Dannemora and released before serving the maximum sentence, Alex once again returned to Akwesasne. To understand the everyday life of a person by not reading his name in the “Arrested” section in the local newspapers, is like saying “No news, is good news”. Then again, there was a second World War going on at the time.

The post WWII years offered a fresh start to many, including those residing in the North Country of New York State. On April 13, 1948, a local farm hand from Winthrop, NY named Clifford Paige had decided that he was going travel to the St. Regis Indian Reservation with a friend (Earl Proper) to buy some fish. Twenty-eight-year-old Clifford Paige was an Army veteran who had served in the Pacific during WWII and had returned to the Winthrop area upon discharge.

At some point in the late afternoon or early evening during their visit to Akwesasne, Clifford Paige and Earl Proper decided to stop at The Pines Inn Bar and Grill for drinks. The Victorian era looking building was located on the corner of Route 37 and 37C in Hogansburg, NY.

Note: As the 20th century was coming to a close, The Pines Inn Bar and Grill still had the large hitching posts that had tied the horses during the pre-automobile years. The original building and posts have since been torn down and replaced with a gas station/ convenience store.

The Massena Observer dated April 15, 1948 p.1, stated in part, “Charged with Second Degree Murder, Clifford Paige, 28, Winthrop, was arraigned yesterday before Justice of the Peace Roy Sweet in the Town of Bombay and was held for the action of the Franklin County Grand Jury which is scheduled to convene in Malone June 1. The arrest was made in connection with the death of Alex Back, 40, St. Regis Indian Reservation, and who was known in Northern New York boxing circles as “Flying Cloud”.

Mr. Back died at Massena Memorial Hospital at 12:30 Wednesday morning as the result of a knife wound sustained in a fight at Pines Inn in the village of Hogansburg. The fight occurred at about 11 o’clock Tuesday night outside the Inn. In the scuffle, Mr. Back fell to the porch with a knife wound in the right side of the chest between the ribs.

Mrs. Mae White, waitress, summoned the Massena Troopers. The Donaldson ambulance was called and Mr. Back was rushed to the hospital, being admitted at 11:40 Tuesday night, where he died a short time later after being given all possible attention by the hospital surgeon and two local physicians. An investigation was immediately started by Trooper from Massena, Capt. H.T. Muller of Malone, BCI Inspector R.J. McDowell, District Attorney Ellsworth Lawrence and Coroner Edward A. Cargill of Malone. The knife was turned over to the authorities by David Bertrand, owner of Pines Inn. It was a jack knife with a four-inch blade. The body was removed to the Donaldson Funeral Home and an autopsy was performed Wednesday morning by Coroner Cargill and Dr. M.M. Kissane of Malone. Death was due to internal hemorrhages. The liver had also been lacerated. The funeral will be held Saturday morning at the St. Regis Catholic Church and burial will be made in the parish cemetery. The Rev. Michael Jacobs, pastor, will officiate.”

The Courier and Freeman Newspaper Potsdam, NY dated April 21, 1948, p.7, reported in part, “According to David Bertrand, who was the Pines Inn manager at the time, Paige had apparently “Gone Wild”, brandishing a jack-knife with a four-inch blade. Bertrand said that Paige had stepped outside the Pines and later Back also went outside, evidently to part some persons who had gotten into an argument. Later, Back returned to the building for a flashlight to look for someone’s glasses which had been lost. Bertrand said he next heard someone pounding on the barroom door that had been locked. Then, Bertrand said, Paige jumped through the window, breaking the glass and climbed onto the bar brandishing a jack-knife and shouting “They’re going to kill me!”

Bertrand said someone in the barroom grappled with Paige and took the knife from him, turning it over to Bertrand. In the meantime, Bertrand said, Paige dashed into the kitchen and grabbed up a butcher knife. This was taken from him by Bertrand after a scuffle. Bertrand then called state police, detaining Paige until their arrival. Bertrand said that shortly after Paige had forced his way into the bar, Back followed him through the broken window and walked to a chair and sat down. Bertrand said that after his scuffle with Paige in the kitchen, he noticed Back slumped in the chair and was immediately concerned over his appearance. He said Back was “very pale, his face grayish and sickly looking”

Bertrand remarked about this to an unidentified woman in the bar. She opened Back’s shirt, found the wound and began applying wet towels. Mrs. Mae White, an employee at the Pines, phoned Massena hospital and Back was taken there in the Donaldson ambulance. He died shortly after midnight as the result of internal hemorrhage caused by a wound on the right side of the chest. Paige was apprehended by State Police from Massena at The Pines.

The Massena Observer dated May 17, 1948 p.11 reported in part, “MALONE. The court room in the Franklin County Court House in Malone is being readied for the Summer session of supreme court which convenes here June 1, Justice Daniel F. Inrie presiding. Paige, who is at liberty on $5,000 bail, is accused of fatally stabbing Alex Back 40, an Indian, who had gained a reputation locally back in the 20’s as a pugilist, who fought under the name of Flying Cloud Back.

The stabbing took place during an altercation at the Pines Inn at Hogansburg on the night of April 13. Back died at the Massena Memorial Hospital at 12:20 am on April 14.”

The Plattsburgh Press-Republican dated June 8, 1948 p.2, reported in part, “MALONE. Clifford Page, 28, a Winthrop farmhand was indicted yesterday by a Franklin County Grand Jury for first degree manslaughter in connection with the knifing death of a Hogansburg Indian. Paige was arrested by State Police April 14 on a second-degree murder charge after Alex Back, a 40-year-old former boxer, had been fatally stabbed the night before at the Pines Inn, Hogansburg.”

The Ogdensburg Journal dated June 16, 1948 p.3, reported in part, “MALONE. Trial of Clifford Paige 28, Winthrop farmhand accused in the fatal stabbing of a former Indian boxer, will open July 6. Paige pleaded innocent yesterday to a first-degree manslaughter charge before Franklin County Judge C.J. Carey Jr. Paige is accused of knifing Alex Back 40, Hogansburg, at an inn April 13. Back was known as “Flying Cloud” when he boxed during the 1920’s.”

The Massena Observer dated July 12, 1948 p.1, “MALONE. A jury of seven men and five women returned a verdict of “not guilty” Friday afternoon at 5:50 in the case in which Clifford Anthony Paige, 28, Winthrop, was charged with first degree manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of 40-year-old Alex Back at the Pines Inn, Hogansburg.

The jury was given the case Friday afternoon at 4:30 following an hour-long charge by County Judge C.J. Carey Jr., in which he thoroughly instructed the jury in the various phases of law which would govern the case. Attorney H.W. Main of the firm Main, Pond and Main, counsel for the defense, took one hour and 15 minutes in his summation. Proceedings in the trial started Tuesday morning at 9:30 and a jury was sworn in Wednesday morning at 10:30. District Attorney E.N. Lawrence called some 25 witnesses to the stand during the trial, including members of Troop B State Police, physicians and members of the St. Regis Indian tribe who were at the scene at the time of the stabbing.

Paige was arrested by state police and charged with second degree murder and released on a $5,000 bail pending action of a Franklin County grand jury. The grand jury returned a first-degree manslaughter indictment containing two counts against Paige in the June session of Supreme Court here.”

The Fort Covington Sun., July 15, 1948 p.1 reported in part, “Clifford Anthony Paige, 28, of Winthrop, on trial last week in county court in Malone on a charge of first-degree manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of Alex Back, 40, at the Pines Inn, Hogansburg, on the night of April 13th, was freed Saturday by a jury of seven men and five women who returned a verdict of “Not-Guilty”.

County Judge Cornelius J. Carey, Jr., presided at the trial. District Attorney E. N. Lawrence prosecuted the case calling some 25 witnesses to the stand including members of the State Police, physicians and St. Regis Indians who were at or near the scene at the time. Attorney H. W. Main of Malone was the counsel for the defendant.

Back, a St. Regis Indian and former boxer, was stabbed in the right side of the chest the night of April 13th about 11:30 in a brawl at the Hogansburg inn. He died in the Massena hospital about 12.30 the following morning of internal hemorrhages.

The trial opened on Tuesday morning July 6, and in his defense, Mr. Main cited the excellent record of Paige, who had served almost four years in the army air force, part of that time in the Pacific. He had gone to Hogansburg on the night of April 13th with a companion by the name of Earl Proper, to purchase fish, and they stopped in the inn for a drink.

On the stand for two hours Friday morning, Paige testified that he did not remember whether he did or did not stab Back on the porch of the Pines Inn.”

Epilogue:

Over the past year of (2020-2021) while stuck inside waiting for the Covid-19 pandemic to pass, I began researching the 1948 murder of my uncle; Alex Flying Cloud Back. I applied to the Franklin County Court in Malone, NY through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) to request any records that might further an understanding of what took place the night of his murder. I was denied.

The reply from the Franklin County Court Clerk basically explained that the defendant was found Not Guilty. Therefore, case closed. No further information was made available to me from the Franklin County Court Clerk as a result of this request.

I also did a FOIL request to the New York State Police for information regarding this case. Again denied. Imagine that.

For whatever their reasoning, nobody in the New York State criminal justice system wants to talk about what happened on April 13, 1948 at The Pines Inn Bar and Grill in Hogansburg, NY.

Question: How can a prosecutor call 25 witnesses to testify in court as to what happened the night my uncle Alex Flying Cloud Back was murdered and still lose the court case???

Plus, the defendant Clifford Paige himself stated while he was on the witness stand that; “He did not remember whether he did or did not stab Back on the porch of the Pines Inn.”

For now, apparently... I am out of ideas on how to get any further information regarding the murder of my uncle Alex Flying Cloud Back. The aforementioned information I am referring to, is (supposedly) still under lock and key by order of the Franklin County Court, Malone, NY and the NYS Police.

If anyone has any information that is related to the 1948 murder of Alex Flying Cloud Back, please contact me at the e-mail address below.

Sleeping dogs...

David J. Back - Karontowane

e-mail: [email protected]

Rest In Peace

Louis Back 1885 - 1920’s

Elizabeth Back-Conners 1888 - 1959

Alex Back 1908 - 1948

Thomas Back 1911 - 1951

Marie Back-Seibert 1914 - 1978

Joseph Back 1918 - 1970

Francis Back 1921 - 1991