D. M'Farland, Once Carlisle Star, Dies

Leading Nez Perce Passes Away Here From Appendicitis - On Famous "Pop" Warner Grid Teams.

David McFarland, leading member of the Nez Perce tribe of Indians, is dead.

Had this announcement been printed 30 years ago residents of every city, town, village and hamlet in the United States and in foreign lands, possibly, would have had some comment to make, and even after the passing of three decades McFarland's death will refresh the minds of many.

David McFarland passed away at St. Joseph's hospital at 6:30 o'clock yesterday morning from acute appendicitis. He had been ill but a comparatively few days but like so many other cases the disease had made such inroads on his powerful system that he failed to rally from all surgical and medical treatment.

In the late '90's David McFarland, coming from a distinguished line of forbears of the Nez Perce tribe, left his home near Lapwai and journeyed to the Carlisle Indian school in Pennsylvania, there to receive his education. Corbett Lawyer, attached to the force of the United States Indian agency at Lapwai, was a classmate of McFarland.

On Warner Team.

During his stay at the college McFarland showed an aptitude for football. He won a place on the eleven that eventually distinguished itself from one end of the country to the other. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton were among the teams that suffered defeat at the hands of the red-men when McFarland was a player at Carlisle.

Those were memorable days for football enthusiasts of the country, days that still hold much charm for "Pop" Warner, now coach at Leland Stanford. Warner was coach at Carlisle when McFarland was a student and it did not take the mentor long to find that in McFarland he possessed one of the greatest athletes the country had known up to that time.

McFarland graduated from Carlisle and went back to his reservation. The next year he returned to his alma mater and Warner tried his best to have him remain as assistant coach in football. The Indian refused. He returned west and for two years was coach in football at the university at Moscow. In baseball he also occupied an important niche in the local hall of fame in the earlier days, although his activities in this branch of sport were confined to playing at his home, in Lewiston or other nearby points.

Served as Interpreter.

Not only was McFarland distinguished in the line of sports but as a citizen of the reservation as well. Until last fall, when he resigned, he had served the United States government for many years as interpreter. He was a farmer and a confidant of his tribesmen. His education made him an outstanding figure among the Nez Perces and his counsel was sought in many matters of importance. He was of splendid physique and of pleasing personality.

He leaves a wife to mourn his loss. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and active worker for its advancement among the Indians.