Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-07-28
Christians and SayaSes.
WHO COMMENCED AGGREssIoNs-THR WHITE
OR THE MODOCSo


OR THE MoDOCs?
Editor Star. In command of an emigrating
party cross ed the Sierra Nevada mountains
in 1919, at point intermediate between Goose
Lake and the Klamath Lakes, or lava bed dis
trict. A few days before L reached the d ass.
Capt. Warner, of the U. S. Typographical En-
gineers, with several of his men, were massacre,i
In canon, some five or six miles north of the
pass. had been anticipating the pleasure of
meeting The captain i'll the mountains, knowing
that he was engaged surveying there. After /
reached the then northern Settlement of the
Sacramento Valley-Lassens rancho, had a
long conversation with old Pete Lassen the
veteran uapper, who had resided in that wild
country for nearly half century, and revertng
10 the massacre OF Capt. Warner, he told me
that when the captain left his rancho with the
intention OF tFaversing that particular locale,
he felt convinced that the Klamath (Modoc) In
dams would kill him; because, during the pre-
vious sc ason party of emigrants going to ore
gon, were on the margin of the Great Klamath
Lake, and their guide, (another old and well
known trspper, manned Hedgepeth observed the
Indians In their canoes quietly fishing on the
lake, these Indians hitherto inoffcnsiYe) and
called TO the men of his party TO get out their
guns and shoot the id redskins, which afro
city was promptly executed-a deliberate COLI
blooded massacre Of inoffensive sayages.
Since the preparation of that diabolical trans
action, from time to time, the tribe has COM
mitted excuses in retaliation, adding Warner
and his men to the victims, and lastly, goaded
on by long series of wrongs, the Modoc war
and all of It's consequences were the resnlts
Thus we see the alpha and omega of all the In
ulan troubles in that section. And thus it has
ever been, as far as my observations have
elected the facts And Furthermore, amongst
all the Indian tribes Of the western part Of the
continent particularly, have been and now are
numbers Of renegade white men, Disguised a.
Indians, conforming to all their modes OF life
teaching them the use Of frearm &C., and insti-
for plumber, SC. That Gunnison's party were
massacred by Mormons in disguise as Indians
is my firm opinion. And so with many other
such lsmentable occurrences.
In wild adventures among the Piutes of the
Sierra Nevada and the coast range mountains
Of California for nearly two yea- .,,,sr ys;.T
numerous bairbresssts eesstss' Learnt com com
siderable OF the WAYS of the White and red men
Of those countries, and Of many murders pro
ANU anar con. sme OF which occurred unPleasantly
Fist aggression was traced to the unprin-
cipled, reckless whites. In 1850, for the sake
Of adventure, 1 Joined party OF rough
GERS, and generally hard set. In wild dis
trict of the Sierra Nevada, below the pass, and
on the eastern slope, where the Piutes were
numerous and very hostile, and the first time
that their domain had been invaded by the
whites, uaversing at the time a narrow vale,
one Of our party espied in the distance a squaw,
apparently engaged in digging roots; putting
and informed us, on reforming the party, that
he had outraged her. A few nights after that
our sentinel, worthy young man, was killed
by arrows. Subsequently, when travelling on
foot from Trinidad, on the coast, to the mouth
OF the Klamath river, / noticed a deserted
Indian village in a wooded hollow near the
beach; visited it, admired its be- .t;ful snug
location and comfortable huts, aud noticed
among other things some miniature LODI es, and
bits of bone, crockery, shells, &c, where the
little children had been playing 1t appeared
to have been very recently vacated. Warned
OF the hostile character of the Indians of that
district, could not risk stopping to make a
sketch of the spot 1t was an old village. Why
abandoned? few months before 1 saw it,
party OF miners, going up the beach to the
Klamath country, stopped here to rest them
selves; soon some of them commenced taking
offensive liberties with the females; a row and
fight ensued, several Indians were killed and
wounded, and two of the whites slain. When
the whites reached their destination, they re-
ported that those Indians attacked them with
out any provocation and killed their comrades.
Thereupon large party was organized, came
down upon the devoted villagers, killed and
wounded many, and drove the rest into the
mountains. Travellers were occasionally m ur-
dered afterwards by the ruthless savages.
could relate hundreds of instances Of like
character, showing the white man to have been
the first cause Of the difficulties with the
Indians. OLD PIONEER.