The Modoc Region, California

The Modoc Region, CaliforniaAuthor(s): William SimpsonSource: Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. 19, No. 4 (1874 - 1875),pp. 292-302Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of BritishGeographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1799708 .

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ADDITIONAL NOTICES. (Printed by order of Gouncil.)

1. The Modoc Regzon, Caltfornia. By WILLIAM SI31PSON, F.R.G.S. THE late savaCe contest which took place with the Modoc Indians may give some interest to the present account of the region where the events occurredv and as almost every mail from America is bringina news of risinCs and rumollrs of disturbances among the Indians in various parts of the Far Mrest, a slight sketch of the bloodthirsty struggle, which was dignified with the name of war will at least explain one cause of this unburying of the hatchet, and show why the red-skins are manifestinC so strong a tendency to enter upon the war-path.

ln the case of the Modocs, the subJect of dispute may be correctly termed geogra?htcal. Ever since the arlival of the white man in America he has been extending his occupation of the soil, and pushinC the oriCinal proplietor into the outlyinffl regions. At least, the few who have not been pushed out of existence altoCether can only find shelter in far away districts, and on the poorest kinds of land. Every day sees the area of cultivation enlarged, and the hlmting-grounds of the Indians reduced in extent. Considered from a philo- sophical point of view, the displacement of a race by another of a higher type is no cause of reCret; and yet there is a sentiment in the human heart which cannot look upon such vast tribes becoming extinct without some touch of sympathy; and it is most creditable to the American people that they have this feeling, and hasle attempted to ^,ive expression to it through their Govern- ment.

A department, known as the Indian Bureau, was appointed, money was grallted to procure necessaries for the Indians, and lands were reserved for them in some of the Western States. This Indian Bureau and its agents have not made for themselves a very hiah character. In fact, they seem to have earned no other repute than that of malversation in every branch of their department * and to this fact may be traced the trotlbles with the Modocs. The reservation lands in this section of the States, selected by the Bureau, are in Oreaon, east of the great Klamath Lake, and they are so hiah, cold, and poor, that nothinC but saCe- brush is to be found; and it is a current sayin(t, that lvhere you find sage-brush nothing else will grow: even the poorest crops of rye are produced with diffi- culty from such a soil. A number of the Modocs had been sent to these reservation lands; but they returned to their old haunts, for they said they could not live in a reCion so barren, and that they would rather die than go back again. It was from an attempt with troops to force the tribe to these lands that the lvar began. The Modoc Indians were lonC noted for their doaged determination; they were the most warlike of all the Indians in that region. Before the white settlers came there, they had thrashed all their neit,hbours and since the white man has come their relations to him have been marked by the most bloodthirsty struggles-the late war beinC perhaps the most sancrui- nary of all. I heard of another tribe, somewhere about the upper sources of the Missouri, who wele sent to the reservation lands, and being of a more peaceful character than the Modocs, went quietly away with the military, and after a march of a good many days, were deposited safely. The soldiers having



ADDlTIONAL NOTICES. 294

performed their dtlty, in this instance returnede I)ut guess their astonishment to find that the Indians had passed by another trail, and were all back again ifore them. This vvill indicate the antipathy these people have to live on the miserable locations which have been reserved for them, and will explain one cause of the late movement amonC them * and the geoCraphical nattlre of the question w ill also be understood now from what has been stated.

I chanced to arrive in San Francisco at the moment when there was an intense excitement resultina from the l;reacherous massacre of General Canby and others of the Peace Commission, by the Modocs, and I determined to visit the scene of events. The distance to be travelled ras nearly 400 miles axvar north to the boun(lary between California and OreCon. General Kelton, of the head-qu:rters of the army of the Pacific, kindly ,,ave me letters of introduction to facilitate my movements, and to insure my reception at the camp of the United States troops * and I must express my gratitude for the manner in which I was received by a11 I came in contact vvith durin my expedition. l'he railway is in working; order to the northern end of the Great Sacramento Valley which is terminated by the Sierra Nevada Chain, and what is known as the Coast Ranae of BIountains, coming together, and forminC a mass of hills and valleys, amonast which are the sources and streams which supply the Sacra- lnento and Klamath rivers with their waters. The expense of constructing a railway in such a country would be too Creat for the limited population who have as yet settled in it. So the " staCe," as it is called in California which means staae-coach, is the usual conveyance. These are to be found a11 over the country, and if the roads were good they xvould be a tolelable kind of conveyance. l'hey are larCe vehicles, painted red, and hunC upon a mass of stronC leather straps, which serve the purpose of springs. lfrom the condition of the roads, travelling in them is rather rough. By imaCining rourself rolled down a hill inside a barrel, you may form some idea of the amount of comfort to be enjoyed in this mode of conveyance * the chances which a trave'lel and the barrel would have from rocks and precipices are precisely similar to the risks to be encoun.tered in this piquant kind of travelling in California. I copied an account from a local paper of one of the frequent occurrences; lvbich take place by this mode of conveyance. It had an interest to me from the fact that I had made a journey in the same vehicle, and made the acquaintance of the owner, who was a noted character, named Foss. Ee is described as " the famous dare-devil staCe-driver of California." The account states, that " on the 29th Jllne, iFoss was drivinC his waon, with three or four gentlemen, a lady and four children, as passenCers, in his usllal dare-devil style, when somehow it capsized draCged alonC, tearin(r off every seat. The four leaders then became detached and ran away * the wagaon xvas left bottom upwards, the lady was found with her children all bruised, and her skull fractured; the four gentlemen have not since been heard of, and the dare-devil driver himself was discoverecl aCainst a fence, senseless and ravinC beinffl injured internally." A farther statement puts it, " that Foss is pretty badly bllnt,ed up, the coach is a perfect wreck, and what became of the horses no one is able to say. Altogether the daXe-devil driver of California seems to have demolished himself, his wagCon, his horses, and his passenCers, and to have added fresh laurels to those svhich already encircled his brow." Foss had sis horses in his coach, and I must speak of the great kindness with which he -and the same will apply to all the drivers I met with treated his animals I had nearly thirty-sis hours, continuously, in one of these staCes to get to Yreka, the base of supplies to the Zlodoc Exlredition. I could ha-e wished to have done it on foot, so as to have seen and enjoyed tize attractions of the scenery. At first it seemed much of it like an EnClish park, beautifully wooded; and whoever remembers the discovery of the auriferous deposits in California, and al?o remembers the numbers who rushed to that country-rold

VOL. IIN. X



294 ADDITIONAL NOTICES.

being the lodestone of attraction-would llave felt, I am sure, the same in terest which I did on seeina the spots still bearing evidence of the hard and laboriotls vzork which had been expended. The red earth was still bare and one could trace for miles the channels, with wooden aqueducts over holioxrs by which the water was brought to wash out the precious deposit. Here and there a Chinaman miaht be seen toiling away at the all-but-exhausted diaginos. These incisions and abrasions on the original surface are so nzany, and so deep and marked, that I believe, no matter how Nature may endeavour to covel them, they mrill be visible in the future, and the gold-digger's operations in that part of the world will have to be included as one of the geological or geographical features to be considered as influencing the strata of this peliod.

Our route lay up the main stream of the Ssacramento to its source at the base of Mount Shasta. All along were splendid pine forests * each tree was t211 and straiCht enough to be the mast of a ship. Mount Shasta is, accordin-a to the best American authorities, 14,440 feet higb, and it is said to be, with the exception of Mount Whitney, which is in the south of California, the lighest point of land in the United States. Mount Shasta is an old volcano, and is important because it is expressive of the past character of the region. It is the father of a larae family of volcanoes, all now extinct, which have produced the lava, in whose curious labyrinths the BIodocs fought so well. It is still evident that the underground fires are not yet quenched. Near the sl1mmit of Shasta is a hot spring, with sulphurous gas; I drank soda-water from a fountain flowing plentifully at its base. Hot springs are common and the tribe of " Warm-sprina Indians," by their name, express the character of the region. At Calistoga, to the west of the Sacramento, the ground for some distance steams with vapour, and there is an establishment, with hot sulphur baths, which is now being largely frequented. The Geysers, to the north of Calistoga are in a canon, estending for about a quarter of a mile, all steamina and boiling . in one place the vapour comes out with such force that it whistles like a railway engine. Sulphur, alum, cinnabar, and many other chemical compounds, are ejected at this spot. Earthquakes are still so frequent in California, that the people of San Francisco do not care to risk buildint, their dwelling-houses- of stone. Away to the east of the Modoc country is the lately-discovered region, known as theYellow Stone Rivel, which is noted for its splendid specimens of Gevsers and hot SprillgS. StlCh iS the present condition of the locality, and it all helps to tell us what the past must have beenv but onls a personal inspection of the numberless craters around Mount Shasta, and of the quantities of lava +^hich they have sent forth, canenable otle to realise the terrible forces which must have been in action in former times.

Motmt Shasta has much about it to recall Fuji-Yama in Japan. The alti- tude of both is something similar, but Shasta has a slight advantage in this respect. On the north-west side of Shasta there is an old crater, not much lonver than the highest peak- this forms a huge shoulder on that side, but seen from the other (lirections it is alrnost a perfect cone. Fxxji-Yama is a sacred mountain, and Shasta appears to have had a sin1ilar character with the Indians. It seems to have been their Mount Olympus, but there is a dash of the Inferno in their notion, for their god or gods existed within the fiery mountain, and they derive their own oriain from the crater. The Great Spirit dwelt in it; and, many thousand snows aao, he sent up his dallfflhter to the mouth of the hole, bidding her tell the storm, which blew from the sea to be more gentle, or it would blow over the mountain. In doing this shc was carried by the force of the wind down the steep sides, and fell into the hands of a family of bears, who seem, according to the tradition, to have been the hiahest development of life at the time. llhese bears kept the girl, and married her to their eldest Sola, and from that pair the Itldians originated



ADDITIONAL NOTICE<. 295

The girl was red, and from her they inherit their " P.ed SlSins," by which title the Indians are still known.

As the icy waters of Shasta on the south form the hibhest sollrces of the Sacramento, so the Klamath receives thc drainaCe on the north. It flows in a considerable stream throuOh Shasta Valley, whicll is an undulating plain extending about ten or twelve miles: at least, I take it to be about this from west to east, which was the line of my route. I passed it early in April, so it was still green and briCht with flowers of all colours, for which the whole of California is celebrated. lt is surrounded by motlatains, well wooded towards their bases; and the snowy summit of Mount Shasta towerinC high away in the south, ,ives a grandeur to this point which will make it a noted scene in times to come when tourists are more plentiful in that out-of-the- way quarter. The region of past volcanic eruption beains to appear as the traveller enters Shasta Valley; and from that point it looks as if the plin- cipal crop of craters had been produced to the eastward of Mount Shasta. The ridge of mountains which lay before me, and which separates Shasta and Butte valleys, was well marked with volcanic cones an(l away to the south round the ampler base of Mount Shasta itself, was an inoumerable ulass of brown mounds, having in the distance much the appearance as if a shower of plum-puddings had come down, each having been in its day a source of burning matter.

The boundary between California and Oregon is drawn alonC the line of the 42nd degree of north latitude, and is close to the north of Shasta Valley. Sis- kiyou is the name of the county, within which is Mount Shasta and the Modoc country. Treka is the name of the county town, situated on the north-east of Shasta Valley. It is a stragfflling town of a few streets, with wooden houses. It beCan with the mining, and is still a centre of importance for Cold operations. Being the nearest town to the Lava Beds, it was the base of supplies durinC the Modoc campaiqn. The stage-road goes on north into Orebon so that had to be left at Yreka, and the rest of the journey, which was estimated at about 80 or 90 miles, had to be done over nvhat was little better than a trail. } Just on leavinC Shasta Valley on the east we passed a mineral spring, the water leavinffl an incrustation of white all round. As we began to ascend the rocks bore evident marks of volcanic action in many places tlley had more the appearance of cinders than of stone. HiCher up the ravine this burned appearance ceased, and large mounds and ridges of stones and rocks came into view which I took to be glacial moraines if this is the case it indicates that the fiery and the freezing-powers must iave been in very ciose contact all over this district at some lonC past date. It was a lonffl pull up this glen; at last, " Bull's Meadow," by which the top is known, was reached and we descended to Butte Valley.

At the base of the hills here I made my acquaintance for tlle first time with the European settler who lives on the boundary, where otlr civilisation ends and the condition of the primitive race beCins. The Spanish word " ranch " is still retained, and in this quarter it means a areat many miles of land with thousands of cattle on it. The dwellinC was a rude log-hut, whose floor was not much different in cleanliness from the ground outside. My bed for the night was on this, with a blanket I had luckily brought with me. The morning ablutions, for those who cared to perform them, were done in a small stream near the door a dirty towel hung at the entrance, near to which was nailed, by means of a strinC, a comb with two or three teeth still left in it, and a small empty frame which had once contained a lookin-lass. In none of the ranches in this out-of-the-way quarter did I see a European woman. The proprietors, I was told, were very wealthy, and the number of dollars they were worth was often mentioned to me. Still if a sort of Mis-

x 2



296 ADDITIONAL NOTICEt.

sionary Society were to be formed to send out soap, brllshes, combs, needles and thread, and similar articles which we consider to be essential as the first necessaries of civilisation, with some person to t,ive instrtletions as to their use, I should at once subscribe to it as one having the most charitable of purposes. I think I never saw such dirty7 uncombed, and ragged specimens of humanity. In one of these ranches I was thouahtless enou,:,h to go into the place where the breakfast was being cooked: I will not describe the cuisine to you, it will be enouah to say it was quite in keeping rith the surroundings. It will complete this picture of the condition of these advanced settlers to state that their morality presented a similar tendency to backwardation, for there was generally at these ranches a wikie?lp, or rtlde tent of mats ancl branches, inhabited by Modoc women and a misture of races, which would, no doubt, be of the highest importance to the ethnoloaist, vas rapidly takincr place. I was very anxious to get on to the Lava Beds, for information had reached me that General Gillem had attacked the Modocs, and that fi,htina was goint, an. A courier had arrived with news that after three days of a hard struggle the Modocs had manaCed to escape with their ̂ Tives and children, and it was sut)posed that they would now be loose, and all over the country and it was hnown that, as they had unburied the hatchet, no quarter wouid be give to any white man; along with this came intelliaence of their havinC shot scalped, arld mutilated in various ways, one of the teamsters employed by the Government. Ball's Ranch was the first place of the kind I had reached in Butte Valley. It was full of teamsters en route with comonissariat supplies, and the courier who had just come in, was recountincr the events of the fighting. When he told that the Modocs had escaped, and were most probably scattered about with the object of murdering every person they came across, it produced a complete scare amont, the teamsters. They all declared, in language seventy- five per cent. of which had reference to a hot region far beyond the limits of our geographical lSnowledge, that they would not go on to the front. The man who had brouaht me from Yreka also refused to go on. This was very awkward for me; I was only about 50 miles fiom the scene of operations, and yet I could not move a step. I could do nothing btlt submit- and it was sittinC round a blazina log-fire that night listenina to these men that I learned something of the past history of the Modoc tribe. The most of the men I found myself amona belonaed to the reCion some of them were from Oregon. They all knew the Modocs, so that they could speak from personal knowledae. One of the routes by which the early settlers first came, in that weary journey across the Rocky Mountains and over the saae-brush deserts of the higher plateaux, passed throu:,h the Modoc huntint,- Crounds. As this warlike tribe had vanquished all the other Indiarls about the district, they claimed some kind of toll, or blacknlail, from all who passed through. This led to fighting, and many a train of emig;rants perished. When the settlers got more plentiful the war of races went on. The Modoc's hand was aaainst every man, and the hand of every man was acrainst this Ishmael of the West. The present war was only the continuation of a strife which had lasted for about a quarter of a century; and events of twenty years back were curiously linked to the murderous deeds wllich were going on. About that number of years past public feeling had been very strong against them, clnd their extermination was even proposed, alzd plans were laid to accomplish it. I heard it said that a " Big rl'alk," or council, had been sugCested, and the plan to be carried out was to make a " mllek-a-rnuck," or a dinner, a part of it, and poison them a11. The Big Talk was certainly carried out, where every white man came heavily armed, and at a given siCnal the slauvhter bet,an. About 40 or SO Modocs were present, and only about half-a-dozen escaped. A certain Ben Wright bears the reputation of having been the leader in this



ADDITIONAL NOTICES. 297

act of atrocity. The tlibe never forgave nor forgot. Some of them watched Berl \Vriaht tor years, and he was found one morning murdered in his bed.

NYhen the Washinvton Governmerlt appointed General Canby Dr. Thomas and others, as Peace Commissioners, to arranae with the Modocs about the reservation lands, or some suitable grounds for them to dwell upon, it was the memory of Ben Wright's massacre which rendered it so diflicult to arrane a bi talk with Captain Jack and the Modoc chiefs. Each suspected the other from past experience, and months had been wasted before either would risk the danger of a meetina. At last a council was agreed upon, to meet at a point halfway between the two camps, and each was supposed to come unarmed and without escort. l'he Modocs, either from a feelinC of revenge for past injuries, or from thinkina that their opponents would not act up to the telms, or perhaps impelled by their own traditions that while the hatchet was unburied blood must flow, or perhaps foolishly imaaining that if the chiefs of the White Skins were numbered with the dead, victory woul/l be certain to follow came with concealed arms, anll, at a sit,nal from Captain Jack, they all drew their weapons, and General Canby and the Rev. Dr. Thomas were instantly shot down; all the others of the party escaped, one only being wounded. This foul assassination naturally roused the indignation of the whole people of the United States. The misfortune for the Modocs themselves was, that they had murdered their best friends, for both General Canby and Dr. Thomas were men of the hiahest character, and were really anxious to carry out the -wishes of the Government, and make an arrangement which would be for the advantage of the tribe.

Round the log-fire that niaht in this wild region I was a good listener for I was hearinffl tales related from personal experience of those who had been engaed in them, which would have made novels or dramas. I heard stories of the digaers who came there when the discovery of the gold brought men from all quarters of the globe. Much of what I heard had reference to the Indian tribes of that region, and many deeds of murder and lawlessness were told. The men I found myself among were a rough lot; their quaint idioms and the overwhelming proportion of profane lvords were quite new to me, yet differences of character soon appeared, and I could see that some of them in spite of the rough manners and rude phrases, were very good fellows and my experience of them during the next two days confirmed this impression.

No news had come in durinC the niht, and ne2zt morning the teamsters were in the same state of mind as before. There was the usual amount of wilul oaths in explanation of what they would do. No one would venture a step towards the front. The certainty of beina killed and scalped by the Modocs, should any of them be encountered on the way, acted as a strollg motive to remain where we were. At last one said he would go if anyone else would go. I had dismissed my driver, so I at once volunteered and this led to other three teamsters coming on, one of them giving me a place with my small bundle of lucJ^,age.

The first part of our day's journey was alonC Butte Valley. The word Butte I take to be from the French, meanina a heiaht.* This valley is the old bed of a lake, part of whose waters are not dried up, and are yet to be seen on the north. The level surface of the ground was covered with small plants and bushes. Among them the well-known sae-brush predominated. Another feature of this part of the world here presented itself to me for the first time, that is al!sali: this with the sage-brush are the strikinC characteristics of the hiOher reOions of this part of America. Patches of the Cround between

* In the middle of the Sacramento Valley there stand up a number of high rocky peaks, and they are knonvn as the Buttes Blountains.




the saCe-brush are white frnln the alkali, as if hoar frost or snow had fallen. It is as if there were leprous spots on the ground. No vebetation grows where the alkali is seen. Bret Harte describes such a place as an "Alkali desert," and the description is true; they are perfect deserts, not quite so bare as the sandy Sahara, but they are bleak enouah, and sometimes of sufficient estent to be considered as the deserts o; the Far AVest. Some good specimens of these deserts are passed on the Pacific Railway one near the sink of the Bumboldt River may be instanced. Butte Valley may be about 15 miles across; we left it towards the north-west extremity, and passed some snaall lakes, and after gettin over what was considered to be about 25 miles, we reached Doris's Ranch in the evenina with our scalps all safe. Sfter supper four of our party ascended to a hay-ioft, svhich was a most comfortable bed- room after the hard, dirty floor of the previous niCht. Before turning in we looked to our deSences, for uTe had now reduced our distance from the Lava Beds to one day's march, and as the Modocs had escaped two or three days before, they might be upon us at any moment. We had a rifle and a revolver which were placed ready, and the logs of the buildin were quite bullet proof so we could have made some defence * but a lucifer-match would soon have dislodaed us, for the ground all round was littered with hay and straw. Luckily we were not disturbed during the night.

As nothing had thus far occurred, the confidence of the teamsters nras restored, and next morning there was no thollght of fear as to going on and luckily when we reached Fairchild's Ranch we found a cavalry escort coming out with some teams, and they returned back with us. One part of our route lay along the marCin of the lower Klamath Lake. Away to the north we could see a volcanic-lookint, cone, white with snow, known as Maclachlin's Peak. When we got to about 5 or 6 miles from the camp, we met a team with the body of the teamster who had been killed by the Modocs * his name was Eugene Hovey. l'he mutilated corpse was in a roufflh deal coffin. It produced a considerable impression on our teamsters, and a man belonging to Yreka, of the name of Glen, came up at the same time looking wild and frightened. He pointed to a spot about half a mile behind and stated that a rifle had keen fired at him as he passed. 'he two incidents combined to produce a feeling of great terror, and a corresponding amount of profane oaths. The sergeant in command of our escort made the teams keep close toCether, and he and one or two of his men went cautiously forward to reconnoitre the spot where Glen heard the shot, but no Modocs were to be seen, and we all went alonC undisturbed. The conclusion I came to was that, owing to the fear which the Modocs had produced by the determined way in which they had fought, and from the merciless manner in which they had murdered and mutilated all who had come in their path, the heated imaaination of this man, or perhaps the clink of his horse's foot on a stone, had made him believe he had been shot at. The rest of the way to the camp our road had a high rocky bluff on the right, from which two or three Modocs might have shot down the whole of our party with the greatest ease * the state of terrol every man was in would have paralysed them at once had an attacli been nade. When we were only about a nlile from the camp an advanced cavalry piquet gave us the information that the Modocs were just then makin(r an attack on the camp. The eXect of this news on my friends was great, they all wished themselves back aCain safe at Yrtka; but in making this, and similar statements, there was even more than the usual seventy-five per cent. Of terrible oaths put into requisition. It turned out that the Modocs had come down to the lake for water, and while doinc, so, they fired one or two shots into the camp merely to distract attention.

At last lve reached the bluff overlookinC the Laa7a Beds and the lake. The camp of the United States' troops lay belos us, at the south-west corner



<?i39 ADDITIONAL NOTICER

of the lake. About 3 miles to the east was the main line of the great lava stream which had run from the old claters, still visible about 7 or 8 miles axvay to the south, and it was in this now rocky mass at a point close to the lake that about 40 or 50 MOdocs, for t}at was the estimated number of the fi(rhting men, had kept ten times as many at bay for about sis months. The sheet of water is known as Tule Lake, the word Tule beinC the name of a hit,h reed which grows plentifully along the mar(rin. It is likewise known as the Modoc Lake, and also as Rhett LalSe, being named like many other places in America from the officer who first surveyed it. It forms one of a ,roup of lakes, of which the Great and Lower Elarnath Lakes, Goose Lake, and Clear Lake are the most important. A considerable stream runs fronl Clear Lake into the Modoc Lake, which is called "Lost River," becatlse no stream is seen to flow from the latter.

" Pit River " rises a number of miles away to the south, and as its name implies, its source is from a hollow or pit, from which it issues a full-rown stream, and the supposition is that it is the water of the Modoc Lake which finds its way throut,h by some underground passage produced by one of the volcanic convulsions of times long gone by.

The Modoc Lake tnay be about 10 or 12 miles in estent. It is said to be .about 600 feet above the sea, and its waters are very slightly salt, but thele are plenty of fish, which was one of the attractions to the Modoc tribe. The banks of this lalie and the Lower Klamath were their favourite huntint, and fishing-grounds.

They xvere encamped on both sides of Clear River, in wikieups, or wiCwaTe Stents, just wllere it enters the Modoc Lake at its north-west corner, when it was first tried to force them back to the Reservation Land. About 30 mounted troops came to ez;ecute this duty, the Modocs resisted, and a skirmisl ensued, il:l which the troops had to retire with soxne killed and wounded on their sidee This was the first victory gained by the Modocs. The Indians -then fell back with their squaws and papooses on the Lava Beds * those on the one sida of Clear Lake came by the west margin of the lake, and those on the other went round by the east. There were some settlers livint, on that side of the lalSe, whom the Modocs murdered as they went alon. In this out-of-the-way reaion, far away frol:n railways, and xThere thele are onlv handfuls of troops scattered about in distant parts, it was son:e time befole a sufficient force could be brought together by the United States authorities. At last about 450 men were collected * and as it was known that there not over 50 buclts, or fightin men, amone the Indians, it was assumed that they would not be able to resist. In this the soldiers found theinselves entirely mistaken. They had not as yet discovered the strength of the position talSen llp by the Modocs in the Lava Beds, and the result was that they were beaten back with a loss of 10 men killed and 29 wounded.

It was after this enaaaement that the Government at WashillCton appointed AGeneral Canby and others, as a Peac.e C)ommission, and made the effort to get the matter arranaed without further bloodshed, and which was frustrated by the Modocs assassinatinC the Commissioners at the first BiC Talk lvhich took place. General Gillem on whoin the c}lief command devolved after Canby's death, had over 500 men7 and he got ready to rnake another attack on the redoubted Lava Beds. Taught by former experience, the attack this time was made in the form of a siege, The Indians had good weapons, and the rifles and ammunition of all the soldiers who fell in fornzer enCaCenlents came into their hands, so that they were well armed and deadly in their aim. Accord- ;ngly the soldiers made cover with the ioose blocks of lava, and advanced slowly alld in safety. Instead of ffghl;inC a battle as before, the attaclS was

more in the character of a sieCe. The Indians were surprised at the new tactics for they expected that the soldiers would have retiled to their tents aCain in thuc




evening. There was another feature of this attack which very much astonished

the Modocs, and that was four small mortars, or cohorns, the shells of which

were quite a new sensation to them. These Indians never had seen or even

lleard of shells before. It was reported afterwards that the first which was

fired was lifted hy a Modoc, who held it in his hands to look at the fuze

burning; his conclusions regarding the novel phenomena are not recorded, but

his f3"te was most instructive to the rest of the tribe. They had very decided

objections to these projectiles, and expressed themselves afterwards that it was

nfair to fire cans of powder at them.

For three days and nights these In(lians foug,ht valiantly; but seein that

their opponents were slowly advancincr, and that they might be hemrned in,

they evacuated the place, and manat,ed to get clear oS with their squaws,

children, and baagage. This retreat was qllite as master]y as that of the

Russians when they left Sebastopol. The Modocs only retired a few miles

to the south, and took up another stronghold in the same stream of lava.

From the experiences of the past it was {elt that more troops were required

to follow up and attack the Indians on such ground.

While waiting for reinforcements, a scoutin^, party, on a reconnaissance, was

sent out, under the command of Major Thomas, a youn(r brave officer, who

had been all through the ^X-ar with the South. Its object was to get some

knowledge of the locality, and to see the sort of position occupied by the

Modocs. They went some miles over the lava, but could see no trace of the

Indians. There were about 60 men and 6 officers of the party. Beforc

returninC, they sat down to rest and to eat some lunch, and while doino so

a volley from the Modocs was fired into them. Although they had seen no

Indians, the Indians had seen them. Surprised and taken at a disadvantage,

and no doubt under the influence of that fear which all had for the Modocs, it

became a sauve qui peut. The officers did all they could to rally the men,

but to no purpose: 17 were killed, includinc all the officers, 12 wounded,

and 5 were missing, being more than half the whole number of the scouting

party. This war had now lasted about six months, and this mere handful o?

Indians xvere entitled to claim every battle if battle such skirmishes may be

called which had taken place. It formed a strange contrast to the Franco-

German War which had just preceded it. Ha(l the Modocs not committed

the crime of assassination they would have earned the sympathy of everyone.

After the engagement last described, dissension seems to have grown among

the tribe, and at last a number of them gave themselves up to the United

States troops; reinforcements also arrived and after a hunt of a few weeks all

the Modocs were at last captured. A military commission was appointed to

try them; and Captain Jack, Schonchin, Boston Charley, and Black Jim,

bein(r the principals connected with the assassination of General Canby and

Dr. Thomas, were sentenced to death, and esecuted at Fort Klamath.

Accounts one used to read of the American Indians representedthem as

bralrer, or more stoical, when underCoina punishment than when fighting;

with their enemies. If the Modocs are to be taken as types they seem to

have altered much. These men who fouCht so pluckily became abject cowards

when the gallows was before them. Captain Jack begged for his life, and

even proposed that Scaur-faced Charlie, who was a relative of his, should be

hanged in his stead. Boston Charlie was the only one among them who died

Came, and he called the others " women."

As my visit to tthe seat of war took place a day or so after the evacuation

of the stronahold in the Lava Beds, I was able to visit the spot. Seen from a

distance no one could imagine the e2zistence of such a place as it turned out

to be. On the first attack, those in command had no idea of the sort of

position they were going into. It was not till the Indians bolted and the



ADDlTIONAL NOTICES.

301 stronohold was, entered that its true character vzas seen and undelstood. Bret Harte's description of " Alkali Station " will so far describe the first loolS of the region:

" Alkali, rock, and sae: Sage-brush, rock, and alkali."

Standin^, at the camp there lay before one many miles of this sac,e-brush and hard lava rock, a perfect wilderness. Seen from the distance anyone would suppose that +sTalking across it would be easy, but this notion is soon destroyed. The lava seems in coolina to have cracked, and opened up into fissures of every shape and size. In some places there are deep valleys xvith steep precipices; in others there are round crater-like caverns: a piece of sponz,e would be a miniature model of parts; a rabbit warren on a gigantic scale, or an ant colony with Indians for insects, nzay convev some notion of this petrified stronChold. Anyone accustomed to fortifications might well fancy that a military enOineer had planned it. Long cracks and fissures did duty as trenches; there were places like ziazas, others like bastions, redollbts, redans, epaulments, curtains, sally-ports-in fact, every feature to be found in a fortified place all constructed of solid rock, as hard as adamant. As this intricacy of form has been all produced doxvnward3 into the oriainal bed of lava, these works were thoroughly on the Vauban principle, and hence it was that they could not be seen by the attackint party. The Indians had supple- aented the original construction by throwing in rocks to fill up gaps, thus

completely covering tbemselves. ()n commanding points they had erected small rifle-pits with blocks of lava, exactly like those which played so important a part in the sieCe of Sebastopol. Low dwarf walls of the same material had been thrown up where Nature had forgot to leave a ridge of lava, and from behind these the Indians could lie and use their rifles. Esery line of approach or point of attack was as completel covered as if a Todleben had been the engineer in command. This will now explain how it was possible for such a anere handful of men to hold out, and it will be understood that the first attack on it must have been as hopeless as if an army had been marched up in the open before the gllns of Metz or Strasbur.

I visited the much-talked-of cave xvhere (:aptain Jaclz and his family lived in the Lava Beds. It had the appearance of being a crater, or it suested that an air-bell had made its way out in the process of coolinC, and left a hollow space in the lava. It indicated the primitixre condition of civilisation reached by the Indian tribes of this region. Whilst sketching its details I could see the relics scattered about lvhich were left, an(l which differed but little from xvhat are found as vestiges of the ancient cave people. Not a stone seemed to have been removed to make the place comfortable. In the centre were the ashes of the fire; around it were bones, some of them picked, others with bits of meat in a putrid state. I may mention that the Indians lay past meat- cache is the word they use for this and that they rather prefer it in a hiCh condition, much as HiChlanders love braxie, or as some people like game. There vere horns of cattle and hoofs; sl,ins, some with hair on and others without,

such as they make mocassins from. Fish and fish-bones were scattered about. Nothing seemed to have been thrown out the kitchen midden-heap did not seem to have been invented, for all these articles were littered around in the cave, some in corners and some in ledaes of the rock- and it only wanted time to g;et them imledded into debris to folm such remains as are lJeinffl now found of the ancient cave-people.

The Indians, as I saw them in this part of the world, and while cominC east by the railway, have all, more or less, adopted parts of the Eurol)ean clothint,. This statement applies to both men and women- and I may add that it is the cast-oS clothing of the whites that they use. General Canby's body was found after the massacre in quite a nude state, and Captain Jacli had donned the



302 302 ADDITIONAL NOTICES. ADDITIONAL NOTICES.

uniform. They still manifest the primitive love of feathers and a liking for briaht bits of cloth, and the women rub a red colour on their faces, which shines like a concealed fire. Althouah they have breech-loading rifles of the latest pattern, bows and arrows were found in the Lava Beds. I manaCed to get one of these boBts and two arrows, which I sent home to Mr. Franks for the British Museum. Flint-headed arrows are still used, and one of those I sent home had a piece of obsidian for the head. They still poison their arrows - the poison is made from a coyote's liver, lshich is kept till it becomes putrid and a rattle-snake is made to bite it, so that it is injected with the deadly poison. With this the arrows are touched, not on the points, but on the shaft close to the arrow-head. I need scarcely say that even lvith the Indians these primitive weapons are become things of the past; I was told that only old men and boys use them now.

Cremation is a cllstom with the Indians * and during the three days' attack on the Lava Beds lar(re fires were seen, which were supposed to be the burnin^, of the dead with the larCer roots of sage-brtlsh. Only four dead bodies were found after the stronChold was evacuated, and from some ashes and teeth beina vdiscoveled, it was supposed that they had burned those who were killed in the earlier part of the fighting.

2. Notes on Arizona. By the lIon. CHARLES D. POSTON, U.S. ARIZO:RA is a territora of the United States of America. It is formed out of that part of the State of Sonora which was acquired by the United States from Mexico-the portion north of the Gila River havint, been ceded by the Treaty of Guadaloupe HidalCo in 1848, and the portion south of the Gila River havinb been purchased by the Gadsden Treaty in 1853, for the consideration of ten million dollars.

A civil governnlent was organised for the recently-acquired territory, by an Act of the United States C:ongre.ss, approured by President Lincoln, on the '94th }'ebruary, 1863. This Act of ConOress first defined the name of tlle new territory as " Arizona," the SpaniareRs havinC formerly called it Arizuma, after the Aztecs; the name probably meaning rocky country, from ari rock, z7hma -country. The territory contains 7T,383,680 acres of land, and is divided into five counties. The civil government of the territory is under control of a t,overnor an(l executive staS, appointed by the President of the United States, assisted by a leaislature composed of a council of nine, and a Eouse of Repre- sentatives of eighteen members, elected by the people. This legislature, with the approval of the executive, enacts the local laws- but all their acts are subject to the approbation of the Fefleral Congress at NVashinton.

'l'he first account Civen to the European wolld of this part of the American continent was the romantic story of Friar Marco de Wica, who made an expedition amona the Indians of this region in 1535. He reported a senwi-civilized people, living in stone houses, dressinC in clothes of their own manufacture tendinC flocks and herds, cultivating; the soil, and practising the arts of peace. This account led to the celebrated expedition of Coronado, which was organised and conducted under the patronaCe of the vice-royalty of New Spain in 1540.

The Indians described by the early Spanish explorers live in the north- eastern part of the territory, about 6000 feet above the level of the sea, in seven towns, which the Spaniards called the " Seven Cities of Civola " (the Cities of the Buffalo). The Spaniards called every hamlet a " city " and every stream a " river." These Indians are called " Moquis." Their viilaaes are in lat. 35? SS', lona. 110? 42', contain some six thousand souls, and have excited more than oldinary curiosity.

uniform. They still manifest the primitive love of feathers and a liking for briaht bits of cloth, and the women rub a red colour on their faces, which shines like a concealed fire. Althouah they have breech-loading rifles of the latest pattern, bows and arrows were found in the Lava Beds. I manaCed to get one of these boBts and two arrows, which I sent home to Mr. Franks for the British Museum. Flint-headed arrows are still used, and one of those I sent home had a piece of obsidian for the head. They still poison their arrows - the poison is made from a coyote's liver, lshich is kept till it becomes putrid and a rattle-snake is made to bite it, so that it is injected with the deadly poison. With this the arrows are touched, not on the points, but on the shaft close to the arrow-head. I need scarcely say that even lvith the Indians these primitive weapons are become things of the past; I was told that only old men and boys use them now.

Cremation is a cllstom with the Indians * and during the three days' attack on the Lava Beds lar(re fires were seen, which were supposed to be the burnin^, of the dead with the larCer roots of sage-brtlsh. Only four dead bodies were found after the stronChold was evacuated, and from some ashes and teeth beina vdiscoveled, it was supposed that they had burned those who were killed in the earlier part of the fighting.

2. Notes on Arizona. By the lIon. CHARLES D. POSTON, U.S. ARIZO:RA is a territora of the United States of America. It is formed out of that part of the State of Sonora which was acquired by the United States from Mexico-the portion north of the Gila River havint, been ceded by the Treaty of Guadaloupe HidalCo in 1848, and the portion south of the Gila River havinb been purchased by the Gadsden Treaty in 1853, for the consideration of ten million dollars.

A civil governnlent was organised for the recently-acquired territory, by an Act of the United States C:ongre.ss, approured by President Lincoln, on the '94th }'ebruary, 1863. This Act of ConOress first defined the name of tlle new territory as " Arizona," the SpaniareRs havinC formerly called it Arizuma, after the Aztecs; the name probably meaning rocky country, from ari rock, z7hma -country. The territory contains 7T,383,680 acres of land, and is divided into five counties. The civil government of the territory is under control of a t,overnor an(l executive staS, appointed by the President of the United States, assisted by a leaislature composed of a council of nine, and a Eouse of Repre- sentatives of eighteen members, elected by the people. This legislature, with the approval of the executive, enacts the local laws- but all their acts are subject to the approbation of the Fefleral Congress at NVashinton.

'l'he first account Civen to the European wolld of this part of the American continent was the romantic story of Friar Marco de Wica, who made an expedition amona the Indians of this region in 1535. He reported a senwi-civilized people, living in stone houses, dressinC in clothes of their own manufacture tendinC flocks and herds, cultivating; the soil, and practising the arts of peace. This account led to the celebrated expedition of Coronado, which was organised and conducted under the patronaCe of the vice-royalty of New Spain in 1540.

The Indians described by the early Spanish explorers live in the north- eastern part of the territory, about 6000 feet above the level of the sea, in seven towns, which the Spaniards called the " Seven Cities of Civola " (the Cities of the Buffalo). The Spaniards called every hamlet a " city " and every stream a " river." These Indians are called " Moquis." Their viilaaes are in lat. 35? SS', lona. 110? 42', contain some six thousand souls, and have excited more than oldinary curiosity.



Documents

The Modoc Region, California