The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-04-15
The Mcdoc Massacre-General Candy.


The Modoc Massacre-General CanOy.
The treachrry of Captain JACK IN the as
s,S<ina,ion Of General CASBr, Rev. Df.
THOMAS, and Mr., MEAcHAM was rs in'ia'ha"
,,d savage rs II could be. II has so greatly
excited the army and the Executive at wash
;ng,oD that we may look for swift revenge
,n,n the ModoeS. We cannot expect deiio'
<r,,;on nor much Discrimination in the mea.
s;,rcs taken with this view. Omcers aed
soldiers alike are deeply aroused, and very
no;nyallv 50. They will probably, sweep the
,lo,.ocs away without wasting time asto the
,c,ylh they should go in visiting upon the
very small tribe. or rather family. Of Modocs
tae punishment due to the brutal crime OF
their leader. The orders from headquarters
warrant the Interpretation that 1t means a
clean sweep of the Modocs, and the northern
r-csS assume that there no other policy
.hould be thought of.
Oar own opinion has always been that deal
irgs with savases should be always positive,
and with no more cruelty than Is necessary.
Te.npoyizin. won't do. Thorough snhlec'
t;oa must come before civilization, If that
may ever come, rs to which we have our
own opiaion. The philanthropistS have
never made Roadway III the matter OF chang
;nr the nature of the red man. We say
changing the nature; for that must be
changed before he can he made docile and
domestic and disciplined in the ways Of liv-
ing by industry, and moving III The lines OF
civilized order and gentleneSs. He is rover
ind hunter, AMI willis and dies under the
restraints OF civilization.
So, whenever he comes in contact with
civilized people he shows his irrcprcssible
,cpugpance to its customs, and either main
tains constant war with it or grows misera'
DE, and fades and dies.
The recent attempts at pacifcation have
only piled upwoik and peril tor the army
The savage understands from these at
tcmpts that he has grown in power and
consequence, and becomes more exactins
and intractable than ever. Offers OF peace
attempts to conciliate-could not save
us from severa. terrible Indian wars
for instance, the Seminole and Black
Hawk wars. Aud such protlers never will
avoid the resort to rigid and positive
measures. This is now sufficiently clear tc
call for the abandonment Of all temporizing
and philantbropic expedients. The Indian
must lie controlled by force, whatever be
his fate. Civilized populations near the
tribes of sayages cannot have peace by any
other means. The fate of the indian will
that policy we suppose is clear to all think,
i'll. men; but, be that what it may, it will
bc Il consequence Of the condition of this
continent and the natures Of the conflicting
races, and so must it be accepted Us un-
ayoiGable. The ttte>t will survive.
General HOWARD, that shallow. patcd phi
lanIhropiSt and parIor soldier, who controls
the negro college. made a speech in Wash
ing:on city OF Saturday night, in which, in
view of the Modoc massacre, lie still adyo-
Gated The peace policy and blamed The whites.
lie said General GRANT had broken the " cor
rupt ring" CT tie Iudian frauds and put the
said be when lie saw the orders to push the
war against The indians to the extreme?
General CANDY left nothing in his admins
tration in this city to enitle him to the kind
re :arl OF our people. Tue inflated and
un,o!Qcrlihe order of General SHERMAN,
sl-ucd by Adjutant General WulrrLE, speaks
OF General CANDY rs having had superior
knowledge of law and civil government, and
having Leca for this reason chosen for con-
n:.nds in which delicate questions would be
presented for his decision. This was the
great mistake with regard to the General.
lie lad Just enough law TO mi>lead his mis-
1lGcn philanthropy into the most cgregious
plumbers. He wronsed our people by mis-
takes of this kind. In this city, by bis un-
warrantable interference, he caused blood
s;lcd in the assassination of an officer Of the
peace unGer circumstances hardly less savage
than that act which terminated his own ex-
istence.
Yet We believe General CANDY was at heart
kindly disposed gentleman. He was Of
tlicteh with monomania which clouded his
judgment. He treated most unjustly PEG.
PIE OF whom General ScHoEIELD-that man OF
large brain and sound judgment-said they
were the most orderly people in the world,
and could maintain peace and order without
any government. But, nevertheless, we all
dcplore the death of General CANBY. So sad
"a fate is rare indeed. He stood well in the
army, and had passed with credit to himself
through the Mexican war and the late civil
conflict to perish ingloriously by the hands
ofa savage.
Tbs course pursued by the Kentucky Lc'
gi>!uture respecting the death pe1alty is, to
hay the least, little questionable; for while