The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-03-13
Hissoiy or tns s-MSd6sr MSsiSofSJ SSdf
OlMculties. :


The Yreka Union contains the follow.
ing interesting and instincsiys details Of
9In sbrdsr to understand this Modoo
question, Il may not bS amiss to tsks !
6ursoty view 81 the history 81 the tribe
Id its felationslwith the white fsue. The
depredations Of the tribe ON immigrants
to this State, and on settlers In this
County, commenced as early as 1861.
The irst expedition fitted out against
the Modocs was in 1851, and was got up
under tht iauspises and direction OF. Ben.
Wright. ah Old mclhtalneer and trapper,
and was intended to 'chassfse them Tor q
raid which they had made on the stock
Of settlers. It is generally understood,
however, that it killed but few, il any,
OF the thieving Indians.
The following year there was O ldrge
immigration, and great numbers OF i'm
migrants sought Northern California and
Southern Oregon by the trail through
the Modoc country. The Modocs at
tempted to stop this immigration by an
indiscriminate massacre OF men, women
and children. Word reaching Yreka of
these slaughters, Ben. Wright organized
seoond expedition againet the Modocs.
Wright with his company was, We be-
lieve, the first to reach the scene of mas
sacre, and to bring relief to the whipped,
frightened and despairing immigrants.
The scene of the slaughter extended
from the Natural Bridge, on Lost River,
to what has been known ever since as
Bloody Point, on the Eastern border of
Tule Lake, distance OF some fifteen or
eighteen miles. Over the whole of this
distance were found the dead and mutt
lated bodies of men, women and chill
dren. The greatest slaughter, however,
had occurred at Bloody Point-so called
from these massacres-a high bluff of
rocks over which the trail passed from
the high grounds beyond to the border
OF the lake. At it's Southern extremity,
this ledge rose out OF the waters Of the
lake, but. diyerging in it's course from
the lake as it extended Northward, there
and the water. The Indians concealed
seen by the immigrants. When train
of tho latter had come over the bluff and
reached the lakes odge, the Indians
would rush suddenly, with war whoop,
from their concealment, and drive the
train on the narrow slip of land between
the ledge and the lake. Having them
thus corralled, they proceeded to massa-
ore them at their leisure, as butcher
would slaughter corral full of Spanish
steers. In that way, one whole train
was murdered; another train was oor-
rallied for massacre, but fortunately
Wright's force arrived in time to save
them from their fate, and his party
wreaked on the murderers of innocent
women and children fearful retribution.
A hundred Modoc warriors bit the dust.
In hand.to-hand encounter with band
| OF forty-seven Modocs, all except seven
of the dusky warriors were cold and
stark in death at the end Of the fight.
We hear OF no further depredations of
any kind being committed by them till
the summer of 1856, when they made q
raid into Shasta Valley and drove of q
| lot of stock. This was the occasion OF
the Modoo war of 1866. In July or Au-
gust OF that year, force was organized
to chastise the Modocs. Gen. Cosby
claimed to have brought the enemy to
| terms, and to have made treaty with
them. What the terms of the treaty
were, We never heard.
We find that E. Steele, of this place,
claims to have made q treaty with the
Modocs in June, 1864, by which "they
(thc Modocs) were, in consideration of
consenting to live on amicable terms
with tho whites, to be permitted to re-
main in undisputed possession of all
their lands on Lost River, to hold and
use for fishing or hunting, as long as
they should exist as tribe. On their
part, it was agreed that they would
never molest any white man crossing
their lands; that they would ferry all
persons passing through across Lost
River; and also permit the cattle and
horses belonging to settlers near them
full range Of all their land" II a treaty
OF this character was made by compe.
tent authority, and never revoked, Capt.
jack most assuredly had legal right to
refuse to go on the reservation, and to
insis! on remaining on Lost River. The
authorities ct Washington did not re-.
gard what Mr.. Steele had done as invest
ed with the sacred character OF treaty;
for during the fall of the same year, two
citizens of Oregon, Messrs. Huntington
and Logan, were appointed and invested
with powers for the specific purpose of
making o treaty with the Modocs and
other tribes, and locating reservation
on which to oolonize them. The Mo.
docs ceded away their lands on Lost
River, and agreed to move on the reser-
yatior .Jack chpouladoad hiu oooaot