Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-05-16
Our Washington Letter.
THE xoDoCs-RED BARBARIANs AND WHITE
BARBARIANs.
WASHINGTON, May 4, 1873.

wise words of the Brooklyn Eagle on tn,
Modoc campaign, followed since, as it ha.
been, by temperate and impartial article
As 1.-THE last of the Nodes are still quite
lively despite the mortar shells, the mount
ed lrishmen," the 'Warm Spring Indians. .
despite Generals Schofeld, Davis. Wheaton
and Glllem, they are, of course, still unfor
tunately included among the leading topics
oil the hour, and | have word or two to
add respecting the ineffcacy of our various
Indian Liniments' and Cherokee Rene
dies"
can't see any difference between the re-
taliation of the savage Indian, goaded by a
burning and ignorant sense of injury for
years, and that practised by the sayages of
civilization, like the followers of the French
Commune that butchered the good Bishop
oil Paris and his associate clergy; like the
draft rioters who killed Col. O'Brien. with
most horrible brutality, continuing hours
after his death to mangle and remangle his
body, and who hung helpless, unoffendine
negroes, burned orphan asylums. robbed
and plllaged public stores and private resi-
dences; like the Knownothing'' mob that
burned the Roman Catholic convent near
Boston; like the Fenian assassins that
killed Melee, and shot at the gentle and
gracious Queen Victoria like the party of
Irish roughs that lately in a Chicago dance
house threw a young German to the floor
and held him there while one of their num-
Der deliberately cut his throat. because the
German had answered an insult to the
ladies with blow of his fist like the white
brutes all the country over that beat and
kick wives to death, or rayish and then
murder little girls of tender years all
these were just as brutal, as cruel. rs des-
perately, ignorantly or insanely indiscrimi-
mating whether their thirst for retaliation
or for the qualification of ferocious animal
lusts was satisfied in the blood of the inno-
cent or the guilty, a. were the Modocs. who
saw in the good and wise General Candy an
illustrious s. big war chief Of a people that
for long years had been their most terrible
and INSCRIPTIONS enemies.
Now the point wish to make. Is that the
Modoc should suffer for his crimes lust such
penalties as we indict on our own white
savages for similar outrages. The French
Republic shot the Communists without
mercy. right. Canada hung McGee's mur-
derer; right again. We hung Anton Probst
who killed family Of nine persons several
years ago in Pennsylvania we shall.
if convicted, only hang the butchers of the
young German in Chicago mutilation
either before or after death has ceased to
have legal sanction under the flag Of any
English-speaking, neutrality-suspicious.
people So when the Modoc becomes a
murderer we have a right to shoot him in
arms, or hang him when captured if he Is
a robber to imprison him; but let Us stop
canting about being a Christian nation.
about Modoc barbarity when we allow eur
own soldiers to scalp, employ rival Indians
to do the same, and hand captive women
over TO them to be used As barbarian-
without distinction Of color are sure to use
female captiyes. During the war Col. |
Chiyington's white command massacred /
an entire yillaxeof Cheyennes. reposingI in |
the security Of n flag Of truce from. Col. /
Wynkoop, q United States officer. killing .
men, women and children. the soldiers Of /
the command afterwards swearing before
the Investigating Committee Of Congress
that they "ornamented' their saddle bows
with strips of skin freshly fayed from
various parts OF the dead Indian women's
bodies ; your own paper has already MOTTO
ed how Gen Sheridan Lamb, " Col. Baker.
put to the sword the men, women and
children Of a Piegan Indian smallpox
camp. sherman, who once blushed for the
monstrous deed Of Chiyington. Is now in
passion, and weakly talks a. though he
had forgotten his signature denouncing
such inhumanity
The cry from barracks and bar-rooms. and
to our shame, be it said, from more respec-
table and intelligent quarters, to immediate
The entire Indian race to appease the names
IF General Candy, sounds inefiably absurd
md wicked. Nat Turner played the black
'partacus in Virginia many years ago, and
'et nobody thought Of killing every negro
trough the length and breadth Of the
'outh, perhaps, however, because a. slaves
hey were too costly to be sacrificed for the
luxury Of revenge. We do not repeat on
he r,ar5,, ,f d, ~ 1,;t, -,,,-l ,-... ...- Ill :
t barbarity that he practised on his vic
i'm. So no more scalping, say |, no more !
ry Of determination against women and
hildren, no more presentation of female
lptiyes to the Warm Spring Indians Ig- =
ORANGE and barbarism are the same all the t
-orld over, no matter whether their human
learnation i red, white or black The .
-ue story Of the Modocs would appear to be o
lis, which is derived from the statements n
Mr.. Cree, Secretary of the Indian Com. y
ission, an intelligent, experienced man, a
hose reports, long before the Modoc diff Ii
lily occurred, had learned to look upon
having every appearance of fairness and
ndor re
Mr.. Cree, after the first Modoe fight, pI
ated that " the Modes never got cent Ii
ON the government, saving in January.
,bruary and March, 1870. when a few IA
ankets and rations were issued unto by
EN-. In 1861 treaty was made with the Dc
odocs, but owing to the hating Of the Il,
nited States Senate this treaty was not -.
titled or proclaimed until 1870. This
saty was signed by five chiefs, but Capt.
ck and two hundred and fifty-eight of the At
he refused to sign it, In 1869 Jack and
: band were persuaded to 90 to the Kla- le'
18th reservation, cold, bleak, dismal !
nntry. The klamaths imposed outra- o o'i
Gus exaetions on the Modocs. Mr.. DYER. 50
2 agent of the klamaths, told the MOdOcs 'o''
1t he had been ordered to stop issuing "a VIII
ns. The MOdOcS at once decamped to are
sir old ground on Lost River. where -
IRE was game sufficient to sustain them in ira
sence of the refused rations." In further an
1lanation to a New York reporter inter- POI
eating him. Mr.. Cree said: t ta,
eporter-By what title we're the Modocs put nr r
N the reservation devoted to the klamathsl fns
Ir. Cree-O, the klamaths didn't object.
epOrter-But why did not the agent protect the ! ,
iocs from the impOsitiOns Of the klamaths! - i
II. Cree-rhe agent should have protected them. Cal
mt know why he failed To do This trouble OF
the Modocs arose from the Efforts 10 rot them mu
% back 10 the Klamath reservation. There are nav
W settlers in the Lost River country, which is uur
isant and fertile district, and these demanded mol
removal Of the Indians The local autboritjes to {
tried persuasion. hut, acting under legal advice tra
these Indians were becoming addicted 10 some -re
ur civilized luxuries) the Modocs refused h stoI
ee an inch claiminr the Lost River country as h0u
own. Their legal adviser lives in Yreka, and 70 l
letters he wrote advising them to hold their mon
Is and To G aim citizepshp and half section Of ecu
each, still in existence. pac
rsuasion ing the authorities aided by thirty pre-
iers, and many farmers and hunters. surprised the
l. Jacks three villages before davbreak one coni
ming in December, and in the melee four or FIVE trai
ans killed. Then came Indian reprisals ever
life In that mart of the world became exceeding tran
-eearlous duct
.r dep
Is notorious tnat an influential element proc
he original white population that these II
ians first came in contact with we're trad