Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-24
"OUR WAR WITH THE MODOCS.''
A Regular Army officer Criticises the
Banners Criticism.

Banners Criticism.
To the Union and American:
NASHVILLE, April 23.-Some years ago,
an old gentleman residing in New Jersey,
advertised valuable quarry for sale. A
wealthy stone mason OF Philadelphia called
one day to examine the quarry, with view
of purchasing, and was shown the premises
by a young son of the proprietor, who
deemed it necessary 10 expatiate largely on
the value of the stone and its accessibility
to market, winding u p his remarks by stat
ing that it was the most valuable quarry IN
the State. The stone mason heard him
through, and then replied "YOung man, it's
fine thing to be a judge"
This anecdote was foreibly brought TO
my recollection on reading an article IN yes
terday's Banner on "Our war with the
Modocs," and while do not affirm or deny
the correctness of the assertions as to the
causes of the war, the rapacity of the In
dian ageTts, or the wrong doings of land
grabbers; yet the confidence with which the
statement is made, that regular soldiers are
unfit to fight Indians, and "that regiment
of two or three hundred mounted police
solicited from the frontiersmen of Kansas
or Texas, and led by such man as Col.
Jack Hays, of California, would soon settle
the Modoc trouble" is such an assump-
ton of superior wisdom, only equalled by
its profound ignorance and want OF expert
ence, that when l read it could not but
think to myself, ".t's tiue thing to be a
judge"
The experiment Of fighting Indians with
volunteers selected from frontiersmen has
been tried several times, and almost invari-
ably with the same result, an immense
flourish of trumpets in the newspapers, no
Indians hurt and bill of stupendous di-
mensions passed by Congress to pay ex-
penses. Oregon and California have both
furnished samples Of this kind within the
past twenty years, and the last Congress
has just passed a bill to pay The expenses
incurred ia calling out a battalion OF Mon
tana militia in 1867 to clean out the Indians
that committed depredations in Gallatin
Valley.
The writer of this happened to te in
Montana during the time these gallant
frontiersmen were in the field, and was toll
erabIy well "posted" on the whole affair.
Four hundred men, were enrolled under as
brave, active and energetic an Indian fighter
as Col. Jack Hays, (for knew both men
Il
after the troublesome redskins, two In
dams were killed, (both of whom, unfortu-
nateiy, were friendly Bannacks,) and the
battalion was disbanded, after about three
months service, and cost the Government
somewhere in the neighborhood Of a mil
lion and half dollar.
About the time this expensive outfit was
disbanded three small companies of regular
infantry were sent to Gallatin Valley to
protect the settlers and punish depredating
IndiaIs. In about Ell hteen months the
result figured up eight encounters with In
diaus, thirty or forty indians killed, (war-
riors), five hundred head of horned cattle
and seventy-five horses and mules recovered
that had been driven off by Indians, and
the population of that county increased
| five fold. ask the settlers of Gsllatin Val
ley which proved the most efficient protec-
tors, regulars or frontier militia.
The author of that article in the Banner
cannot surely have any very clear idea in
| his head of the nature of the country where
the Modocs are fighting, when he proposes
| to operate against them with amounted
police" 1t might, no doubt, be advantage
Gus to The soldiers to have extra legs and
arms TO enable them to Chamber over the
rocks and fissnres, but horses legs in that
locality are manifestly inappropriate. am
afraid our friend of the Banner will have to
reconsider bis plan of Modoc campaign 3
little, and provide his frontiersmen with
wings in lieu of horses to assist them over
the rocks and "oloody chssms," for our &C
counts state that the "Lsva Beds" COM
prise about ten miles square of terribly
rough country, and three hundred men,
even if mounted frontiersmen, would be
bothered to surround this in sufficiently
strong line to capture the Modocs fleeing
from the deadly attack of the Banners NJ. P
The concluding paragraph of the article
is at par with what precedes it. "Up Il
date the killed and wounded altogether
amount to about-well, say half a dozen.'
If we are t. credit the telegraph dispatche:
| in the Banner OF this morning, the troops
| lost six killed and eleven wounded, while
| the bodies of seventeen Modocs have beer
| found. So we must decline to 'say half {
| Dozen" If the Banner man does.
REGULAR.