The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1873-05-01
IDAHO WORLD.
\ uoD0c STORY.
rrAnrr 10 sr TOLD FIFTY YEARS HENCE

You ask me, my cnllu, 10 Icil you
something Of the history Of our once
glorious people. And 0, my boy, my
heart bleeds as commence the sad re-
cital. for it is most humiliating to think
that our country, which had passed vic
toriously through wars with the strong.
er nations Of the world, and which had
conquered one of the greatest rebellions,
was to be whipped at last by misera;;
BILE bunch of Modoc Indians. Instead
of this wilderness Of reservation upon
which we are now confined, once these
valleys were filled with houses, pictures
of some of which I have shown you.
Wagons. stages, railroads, and hun
dred other like inventions of the whites
were in use then. But as soon as Capt.
Jack conquered this country, he imme-
diately set about undoing all that the
whites had done. He said he had a
mission from the Great Spirit to restore
this country to the condition it was in
before it was polluted with the white
mans presence He tore up the rail-
roads, burned all the houses except a
few which he kept for his own use, and
drove all the people of Oregon he did
not choose to kill, except some few who
were fortunate enough to escape, on to
reservations. You want to know, my
Child, how this could be possible, when
the whites so far outnumbered the In
dams? Be patient, and will tell you.
Our Government had conceived the
idea of an Indian peace policy. Under
no circumstances was an Indian to be
punished, for he'was poor, abused,
untutored son of the forest, who didn't
know any better. and he was not to be
blamed if his gun would go off every
time a white man got before it. Once
in a while, when too many Of Capt.
Jacks guns would accidentally dis
charge themselves in this manner. the
whites would turn in to fight them,
when he would Immediately retreat to
the lava bed. The Government on
hearing of it would send out Peace
Commission, with instructions to secure|
peace at any price. The first Commits
sion was not willing to give Jack quite
all he wanted A second Commission
was sent to Capt. Jack, but his terms
were even harder than before. In the
meantime Indian warriors all over the
country were swarming to his ranks.
A third and fourth Commission were
sent out to appease Capt. Jack, but
with equally fruitless result. Capt.
Jack finally offered his only terms of
peace, that the State of Oregon should
be ceded to him, that the refractory
whites should be placed on reservations,
and that he should at once be recog-
pized as the sovereign ruler of the Mo-
doc Empire, Shameful to relate, these
terms were finally accepted as the only
means of successfully carrying out the
Indian peace policy. From this time
forward the decline of the American
Republic was rapid. Year by year
fresh territory was ceded to the Modoc
Empire, to carry out the policy of peace.
Thus were the white people of the
western States forced to abandon their
homes and flee Eastward. Rapidly the
boundaries of the Modoc Empire rolled
toward the Atlantic Ocean, past the
Missouri, the Mississippi and the Ohio
rivers. The dense population of the
whites being confined in SO small Sec
ton OF country, famine and disease rap
idly wasted their numbers, and ship Ii
load after ship load went to Europe. in
obedience to Captain (then EMPEROR {
Jacks advice Of go East, pale faces,
go Eastp But as they didn't go East
fast enough he gathered his sayages
together for one final, Overwhelming Z
onslaught, and drove vast numbers oil
hem into the Atlantic Ocean, where
hey found watery graves, and but few /
we're fortunate enough to escape with {
her lives. Emperor Jack was now l.
master Of the whole North American I
continent. BE rapidly blotted out all ,
ne traces of the white mans civiliza- |
Ion. He burnt cities, destroyed steam a
,oats, tore up railroads fact rejected Ir
u the arts and sciences of the white Il
1an except whisky, which he kept. In
ils faYoflte amusement was to bring t
ut q lot Of whites before the needle a
uns of the Aodocs on gala days, to
ee if the gsns would explode. They
generally did. But with. few of the a
'hitea Emperor Jackwas very playful. a
! was bis custom to have Governor Il
rover brought before him every morn. J