How do I make use of the backspace key

[Pathbreaker <pathbreaker earthling net>]

Hi
	I've installed gnome using rpms on a redhat 5.2 machine. I would like to
know how to make my backspace key function as nackspace. Earlier under my
previous window managers, I had a file called .Xmodmap in my default
directory with the words
keycode 22  = backspace
keycode 107 = delete.

It used to work. But it stopped after I installed gnome.