The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-06-06

These lines were found by our re-
/ porter in the Modoc camp, after their
retreat, and were evidently written by
/ the great Jack himself for the Ameri-
can public, and we give them for what
/ they are worth.-NelC York Lyre.
! I'm Captain Jack of the Lava Beds,
And l am chief of the NIodoc Reds,
l scalp the white men round the heads,
For I'm King of the Modoc Indians.
The white men taught me how to lie,
How To lie,
How to lie,
And that is now the reason why
There's war with the Nodoc Indians.
Spoken, in Big Indian character, a
Ia Coriolanus, with old plug and patent
leather moccasins:
Yes, gentlemen, taught me how to
lie, not that | did not lie before in
! fact, / thought myself pretty good in
+ that line, till | came across the white
man. OH! why, why did they cross
the red mans path g.? Why did they
not leave us alone happy and contented
in our wigwams, scalping the few set
! tiers that came along, and stealing
/ after our primitive fashion? But now
all is changed, since the agents and
traders came and daTkened our path.
/ Lie eh, | remember one. He came
and sat beside me so calm, and told
me about Mr.. Washington and a tree.
| thought | was pretty good myself
! till then, but Mr.. Washington beat me.
/ then asked him if he believed the
story. lie said yes. l then thought
( he beat Mr.. Washington. lie said he
l, / L 1
been selling people wooden oats, but
/ they didn't want any more, and that
/ he had come out West to treat with
! the noble red man, the Indian. He
/ told me that he always read the dime
novels, and thought that nothing was
more majestic than to see the Red In
dian stalking on his native volcanoes
! with plug hat. He said it was grand,
/ especially the hat | told him | had
no scgars, when he told me he had
some splendid stuff for the hair, to pre-
vent it falling off, and wanted to trade
for skins It's a fearful death Well
| tried the stuff on his own head, and
/ then | knew lie lied.
For raised the hair from off his head,
And laid him in his lava bed.
L wcpt to think of what he said
To Jack OF the MUdoC Indians.
To shoot an Indian is no sin,
! But what tiX they viii I've in
! When they have no red men left to skin
In this great American country.
oh, what then will the agents do,
The Qualers, too,
And all their crew,
When they have no job left to put thro'
On the North American Indians.
Spoken: Yes, jobs. Talk of NOV
ing on the first of May, that's nothing.
/ They keep us moving all the time.
Oh, when | think of my poor country
men it almost makes me weep. Car
actacus and his little Britains amt a
patch to it How these agents will
come and pOw-wOw, with their Fourth
Ward whisky (aside, l wish had some
now, and try to steal the red mans
brains, and make the poor Indian sell
his birth-right for al old army blanket,
4 box CT paper collars turned with a
few imitation brass earrings, Cash.
Yes, these fclIcrs came again to me the
other day, and thought | would ask
the white men when they were going
to settle for that little Modoc real es-
tate. They said that was all right,
that the Great Father was very busy
| trying to get honest commissioners for
! the Vienna exhibition, when | wcpt,
and that they were investigating the
Credit Mobilier, and when they had
got at the truth of it, why then, Ger
tainlv. my case would be attended to.
[ was too much affected to speak or to
ask when these things would be.
For that was more than I could bear,
SO | was forced to take their hair,
1t broke my heart | do declare,
It's rough on the hOdoc Indian.
I'm sick of talk, its overdone;
But if you want to some fun,
! Xuu ought to see the white man run
| Away from the Modoc Indian.
thought they'd talk us out of breath;
Out of breath,
| Out of breath,
You know ii is Il terrible death,
! For chief of the ModOC army.
Spoken: Yes, gentlemen, if you
only knew what we poor Indians have
to stand YOU wouldn't begrudge us the
few scalps we take. Yes, gentlemen,
and the way we are libelled in the dime
novels is terrible Peace! why there
is no peace for the Indian. Twas only
the other day, as l was quietly sitting
in my lava bed reading, man came
in and wanted to know if | wasn't lost.
| asked him what he meant. He said
he had come from the New York Her
/ aid, and his business was to find peO-
/ pie | asked him who said | was lost,
| and he said General Gillem said So |
said there must be mistake; it's Gil
lem that's lost, and not me. He then
asked me what thought of cotton |
told him it was good to stuff in the
ears. He then said my case was very
bad. l asked him if anybody killed
nl-n or.o Ii. ~, -. L. e. IL