The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-04-19

severe punishment of the Modocs, and hope
to hear they have met the doom they so rich
" have earned by their insolence and periidy
/, Consult Mrs Candy, and have every honor
+ paid to the remains of Gen. Candy You may
be sure that any measure OF severity to the
savages will be sustained.
1t is probable, however, could he even UNI
dcrstand their full significance, that these
boody minded dispatches would scarcely
change line in the face Of Captain Jack or
his followers The character of the Modocs
is little understood.
Not far from where they now stand at
bay" says the st Louis Republicaa, they
point to IA high rock upon which IA sand OF
their warriors was once bcleagurcd. All re
treat being cut off, and no escape possible
Except by voluntary death, the Modocs stood
up in line upon the brink OF the dizzy preci-
picc, sang their death song with defiant
4 gestures in full view OF their enemies on The
plain below, locked their hands and sprang
with shout of triumph to instant death.
The spirit of this act has been manifest in
Can't. Jacks little band ever since they took
refuge in the lava beds. There they can sell
their lives one for twenty, and in all their
- pcacc talks their ultimatum has been the
! right of choosing their own reservation, or
death in their stronghold. They have done
all they could TO induce the troops to attack
them there. Even the treacherouS murder Of
Candy and the peace commissioners was
doubtless piece of savage strategy to eXas-
pcrate the troops and bring on an attack; for
the Modocs, after long contact with the
whites, are not rrputed trcachcrous. They
| boast with a sort Of chivalry rare among red
men, that they do not make war on women
4 1 II l,n tl,,ir .tI %,
the death of Candy, had not been character
lied by any of the treacheries and outrages of
other Indian outbreaks, and their avoidance
of such acts when other opportunities offered
would seem 10 indicate their motive in this
instance They had lost all hope of getting
back their homes; they wanted to strike
blow which would cut off all further nego-
tiatiOns, prcCipitatc an assault on their posi-
ton, end their suspense and bring them at
once the revenge so dear to the savage heart,
and the warriors death as Il release from u
miserable cxistance."
1t is hardly probable that the |. s. troops
will be fool-hardy enough to attempt to-
attack and eXterminatG these Indians in their
rock bound fastness but that they will bel
forced out by starvation and afterwards hunt
ed down Ike wild beasts. 1t will be all The
same to Captain Jack, for in any event he has
no other purpose EOW than 10 sell his lie as
dearly as possible.
1t is not pleasant to be compelled to say it. !
but it is true that no more in the causes and
than in such an ending Of this
Modoc war, is hcrc, or would there De, any.
hing to cOmpolt with the dignity Of our
government We gave a month or two AFRO, !
I brief history Of the causes Of this Modoc |
war. They had, by treaty, been assigned a
ON Lost River, III Southern |
Oregon. They observed their treaty stipula.
ions with scrupulous cXactncss. But about
500 certain squatters and spectators, head .
d by an Indian agent name Appicgaie-a
lrstcass scoundrcl-hatchcd up Il fraudulent
rcaty, to which not one in Il hundred OF the
ribc ever asscn,cd, by which their homes in
he Lost River Valley were taken from them,
nd they were asked to move upon Il new
on The Klamath, where they
would starye to death, unless fed by the gov
rnmcnt. This APPLICABLE Decides his land
populations, had secured IA contract at ST.
100 year to supply the Indians with a few
thousand dollars worth of beef 20 keep them
rom starvation, and if was to enable him TO
realize" from this contract, that ihis Apple
ate got the war department at Washington
} order the Modocs from Lost River. This
as virtually conceded by Commissioner
,elano at meeting in Washington on Mon
ay evening, where he is reported as saying:
Secretary Delano, in regard TO the murder
t Gen. Candy, said the whole trouble arose {
ut of IN attempt to force Capt. Jack and his '
and upon Il reservation where il was impOs- g
ibic for them to remain. After McaCham -,
nd Apologize had been several weeks vainly
wing to accomplish something with the '
lodOcs Dcano became convinced they had
ct so much influence as they pretended 10
ave when appointed and that that they wrrc
Violently afraid TO venture into the lava bed. =
Dclano might well say that There is 10
roundrcl on the Pacific slope whom Captain
ack would sooner pcriorate with Il bullet ,
han This Applcgatc 1t is to him
ally as much as to Captain Jack that The !
ountry is indebted" for the loss of the d
alant, the noble and generous Candy, and >
Ill, rs well AS poetic justice would only be /
'achcd should Captain Jack and Applcgatc "
leet and in one final desperate encounter,
lose the career of both. II
We are not however, apologising for the IL
lodocs. In their present state they are mis- {
rablc vcrmin, and like the ApachcS and O
Their Arabs on The plains with whom cruelty J.
nd trcachcry are nbOrn, and whose chief v
occupation is to plumber and scalp the set q
crs, there will be no peace with them until c
icy are wiped out. Il
REDUCTION OF FREIGHTs. l..
The managers Of the New York and
Central railroad, the Hudson
liver. The Erie and other eastern trunk lines .