News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1892-03-31
CAPTAIN JACKS SIGNAL

| headed by Captain Jack and Il son of the
| hereditary chief. SchOnchin. Orders were
| sent by the Indian agent to the army to re
! move the ModOcS to their reservation with
or without force Accordingly Il detach
ment of cavalry made il night march, sur
| prised Captain Jack camp while the lead
| err and his warriors were in bed shOt down
s or Band wounded others, and retired with
a loss of ~ man killed and wounded.
| The Modocs got away to the Lava Beds
massacreing citizens along the route, and
| once more the war was ON.
The soldiers 40 strong. attacked the
Lava Beds in January, 1873, with n loss
of 30 killed and wounded, and then Gen.
Candy, commanding the department, took
hand. Bringing his long experience with
Indians to bear he had previously advised
that force be dispensed with, 4 new reseT
walton be set apart and the ModocI allowed
time to move to it, and other measures to
protect the Indians from injustice and set
tiers from annoyance. After this advice
had been rendered the Indian bureau had
set the army Oh the warpnth with the re
suit as above stated, of hunting he Modocs
into the Lava Beds beyond the reach of
force or diplomacE.
After the bloody failure of January,
Candy reported to the war department
that peace would not be possible until
Captain Jacks bitnd should he "subdued
and punished" The president stepped il
and turned the matter oyer to the peace
men, Candy being told to keep his troops
on the defensive. During February and
March the peace commissioners tried their
hands and reported failure. One request
of Captain Jack WAS that the commits
siOners, with six unarmed men, meet the
full ModOc band. Late in March. the sec
rotary of the interior asked that Gen
Candy take sole charge of the negotiations
and, acting under instructions from the
interior department and army headquar
tiers, he marched upon the Modoc lair viz
tually holding the sword in one hand and
the olive branch in the other. The Lava
Beds were surrounded, The soldery at
tempting to cut off the Indian supplies
and to prevent their escape.
Thus matters stood when Capt. Jack re
qucsted "peace talk at II tent three
fourths of Il mile outside the army lines on
April H. lie specified that Gen Candy and
Col GiIlenl, who was in immediate com
napd of the troops, and the commission
ers, Meachem, Dyay and Dr. Thomas
should meet himself, Schonchin and two
or three Others. The mrdiatnrs for this in
terview were two Modocs Boston Charley
and Bogus Charley, who entered Canby's
camp on the 10th with the message from
their chief, and Bogus Charley remained
over night Boston Charley passed the
night in the Lava Beds and on the morning
of the 18th returned to the army camp and
said it was all right Capt. Jack would be
on hand to negotiate for Il reservation
IN Canby's camp at the time there was "A
white interpreter name Riddle. whose
wife was u MOdOc loyal TO her husbands
friends The squaw known rs ''TObe
frequently visited the Lava Beds, and
about the time that Captain Jacks atti
tude was apparently for peace she insisted
that he was meditating treachery On the
night that Bogus Charley and Boston
Charley came in with their proposal she
became more earnest than before and
begged the officers and commissioners to
put no faith in the matter On the morn
ing OF the conference she and her husband
joined in their pleas and declared that if
the party would go they washed their
hands of the whole matter" When the
hour arrived Gen Candy, Meachem Dyer
DR. Thomas, with Riddle, "Tobe" and the
two Modoc mediators, went out through