The weekly Arizona miner., 1873-05-10
MODOCOLOGY.


 An editor in commenting on any subject is not expected to express simply his own ideas, hut to give the feeling ot tue public in the nciyhborhood where his paper is published, aud he rarely fails to strike the proper chord
 The exchanges of the MINER from all breathing a spirit of horror, regret and indig nation, evoked by the treacherous murder of Gen. Canby and others by the Modoc Indi- ans. Consequently it is only fair to presume that such is the feeling of the American peo- pie: lst, feeling of depressing pain caused by the repulsive manner of the death of these eminent men; 2d, of mournful dissatis- faction over their untimely removal Sd, Ui passionate resentment against the peace policy of the government, which was the primary cause of the massacre of its agents
 The latter feeling is intensified and pro. longed in New Mexico and Arizona by the recollection of the results which followed in the train of the peace commissioners, Colyer and Howard, who visited these Territories in 1871 and 1872, ignoring the sufferings and complaints of the settlers, and the needs of the peaccable pueblo Indians while fleeing, feeding, and clothing the worst of the Apaches tribes and even distributin. arms and ammunition among them for bunting with, which were afterwards used for the de. structioE of white men, our friends and relatives
 But other emotions arc aroused in reflect ing on the progress of the ModOc wal, some of which are owing tO our peculiar situation, living, as we have for fifteen years, surround ed by half g dozen tribes Of hostile Indians, xah ma .Iar I. .f scores like the Modocs. We reflect that our appeals to Government in years past were answered in soine sections by feeding thous- ands of Indians, as st La Paz and Forts Goodwin and Grant, while from other posts feeble show of fighting the same tribes was kept up.
 Now, while owing to Gen. Crooks success Tn dealing with the Apaches, we are taking a rest, we forget, in a measure the sorrows of ten years past, and laughed to see the work. ings of the U. s. system of Indian opera tions in Oregon, observing that Captain Jack, with four score braves, is holding the same attitude toward the Government, that Capt John of Rogue river held eighteen years ago, showing that all those years of peace have not civilized the Oregon tribes. We smiled at the alacrity with which L. s. troops and Oregon militia were hurried towards Tule Lake after the first outbreak of the Modocs. contrasting such activity with the apathy shown, under similar circumstances, toward the Apaches in Arizona.
 We have been astOnished at the sensa- tIonal letters of the reporters, the telegrams, and the display headings in newspapers over the "news from the front" "gaIlantry of the troops" etc, etc., before any of the redskins were killed or captured. Even before Canby, Thomas, and Sherwood were murdered, we cursed the humbugging, shufIling tactics adopted at the lava beds: military force, outDumbering the Modocs ten to one. en- camped in battle array around their den for weeks, while peace commissioners were sent m begging the noble red men to make peace, offering almost any terms, and all this after the wretches had despoiled all the ranches in the neighborhood, and their hands were yet reeking with the blood of thirteen set tiers murdered by them. In fact, it was offering premium for murder, and brought legitimate fruit in the massacre of April llth, an act which causes us to pray that the per petrators may be hunted to the death in their dcns, as they deserved to be in the first instance, and that if the present army in the field is not sufficient for the purpose all the available troops in Uncle Sam's dominions may be sent at once to "the front"