Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-02-17
DAILY GAZETTE.
The Modoc Massacre.

OIL Friday, the truth aud the alsehoods about the |
massacre of the father and friends of Captain |
Jack we're brought out from authentic sources, and
the testimony as given below will be found inter
esting.ani have no doubt that 1t is true. 1t Is
hoped that Gen Sncrmln will now be + to deal
with tho Indians us they deserve
From the Congressional Record
Nj. SHANKS. Tne commitee Is now III order. |
and will proceed MIR. Chairman. We have heard
OF wrongs being done to white settlers which de-
plore as much as any other man can but wish
to call the attention OF this House and the country
to a provocation as terrible ever struck the
heart of mortal man. Some years ago, bslieye
lS47 but will not be particular az to the date,
this Captain Jack, who has become character OF
national notorety, IL not CT natiouaf fame. had
father, who though he may have been an Indian,
was near perhaps to Jack as the father OF the
gentleman from Oregon Is to him or mine is to me-
Wright and his citlzons had some difficulty with
the Indians. The provocation was charged to be
murders committed by the Indians prior to that
time, which murders By the Indians were charged
upon the whites.
Be that as it may, will now come to the state
ment desire to make. THIS man Wrlght-l be
lievs they called Inn Ben Wrght-had charge OF
some troops there, lmprovlsed for the OCCASION
perhaps Wright invited Jacks father, who was
then chief of the Modocs, to come to his camp,
which he did, and brought with him forty OF the
leading men of his tribe. This man Wright, after
inviting Jacks father the chief OF the tribe and the
other Indians, under flag oil truce, there in his
own camp laid Il plan 10 poison the men W )m he
had invited there. lie decided to poison the beel
which he invited them to his table to eat-poison
it with strychnine-that Le might Kill the men
whom he Invited to his camp uuder flag oi truce
But II reached the ears of the Indians that it was
not safe to eat Wnghts beef, and consequently
they did not eat At.
whom the gentleman from Oregon Mr.. Nesmithl
eulogizes so much, what did they duI Why, SIT,
under that iag OF truce, they shot down the chief
of the tribe and oIty OF its ule embers. Jack him
self was there, being tnen child, and saw the
murder OF his father and the sacrifice of his people
under that flag Of truce
Recognizing the atrocity of the crime that was
committed on has father aud his tribe, from that
hour he was not the friend OF the white Nor
could he be until the hour he went heme to ans
wer in the other country for the answer he gave
for that crime by the brave arm he upited against
the murderers OF his parents
Mr.. Shan6s-Jast one word iaore, ana then
will. Mr.. Meacham, who was present at the
murder of Candy and was himself wounded, told
me himself, with his own lips that when Captain
Jack murdered Candy, from the spot where he
stood when he committed that decd. he could
view the spot where his father and forty ot his
people fell murdered under the dlg of truce ny
the gentleman extocd by the gentleman from
Mr.. NesmithI desire lust three or tour min
utes more. E
Several Members-Go GU.
Mr. Nesmith-Suppose the gentleman tlom In
diana has recited the facts of history correctly
then consent to his pedigree OF Jacks patterns Al
ancestry! May not remark III such a connie
tion, that among Indians pedigree is very un
certain matter But setting that aside, and allow
ing the gentleman to give his own version OF thi
Jlck genealogical tree, want to say this tha
my friend has been imposed upon in reference t,
Ben Wright. / knew him we'll. He was my fel
low.soldier. We had marched together in Ions
weary campaigns n the layuse war. we hat
slept under the s4,no Blanket We had Tough
the Indians toget we had eaten from til
caicaases OF the sdlAe dead horses. | knew hin
we'll will say that more brave and eallau
man and soldier never l!yed. But he had suffered
al the hands OF these sayages. lie wanted, ma
he sought, retaliation.
Now, SO far as this matter Is concerned ahou
the lag OF truce and the butehery on Lost River
think can present to the gentleman some tact
which will relieve his mind Ill regard to the out
RACES which be supposes were perpetrated on tha
occasion. For long years those Modoc Indians a
Lost River had been oon4tl lntly butcherlng III
emigrants. Weary IN u, women and children
were winding ILeig way across that desert OF
thousand miles, aud on reaching that nelghbor
hood which they had hailed as an oasis in tn
desert where they could obtain rest ana waite
and grass tor their stock, they had been murdere
by hundreds. This had occurred only few day
before this fight. 1t was not massacre, but
fair fight 1t was a fair light between Ben. Wrieh
and his men aud those people at Lost River. Fh
gentleman from Indiana characterlzes ii as bu
cherry under a lag OF truce There no flag
truce Bon. Wright with not over forty or MT
lnen-and some OF them are In this city to-day
Mr. Luttrell-There were but fifteen all told.
Mr. Nssmith-My friend from California, NJ
Luttrel who resides in that neghborhood, tel
me that Wright had but fifteen men all told
was in Oregon at the time. Ii was about thif
hundred milcs from the scene. Volunteers wei
sent out They buried those men. women an
rAA N hl nln
barbarous manner. including, perhaps some
The constituents OF the gentleman from Indian
Ben Wright and his men gathered up their
mains and buried them with decency ana car
Ben. Wright went there aS well ior that pnrpo
AS for the purpose of protecting little remnai
of the emigrants still behind, who, without tn
protection, would have shared the same sad fat
While he was there Jacks tribe desired TO hold
consultation with him, and assembled ior IN
purpose on Lost River Wright had with HI
itteen men and with that force met the Mod
tribe 1t included many ot the warriors
could be assembled on that occasion. Den Nr'g
had positive information that these men lntend
to betray him in that councli-that tney intena
TO murder him and his party, and, sir, they We
numerous enough to do 1t. lie had that san
positive inform alton which Can5y, and Meacha
and Dr. Thomas had, that they would be murd,
ed Ben. Wright and his party took time by I
forelock When fight was inevitable they col
menced to fight first; and 1t was fair tight
which these sayages were Killed. lhey hau
sembled there for the purpose OF acting treacht
ousIy and numbering Ben Wright and his par
as ibev had murdered whole trains OF emigrar
before Gong into the camps OF these helpie
travei-worn people, under The guise OF frleadsh
and pretending to extend aid and assistance
them, they butchered them IN the most inetci'.
manner. They perpetrated other crimes
shocking, sir, for me to describe IN decent
civilized assemblage. | happen to know mt
about this matter Than the gentleman from In
ana am not great warrior like hs and {
not nour ont nv water like blood in the last w