Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-03
USE OF THE WAR
MURDER OF CHIEF GEORGE AND
ASSASSINATION OF GEN. CANDY.
Indians Now Practically Civilized
Live by Farming and Ranching-
Stage Ride Over the Mountain.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

asNrater lake Is estimated by people who
have seen 1T as worthy to rank with Mag
ara Falls, the Yosemite valley and the
Grand Canyon of the Colorado-the great
est natural wonders of the continent. Few
people have ever heard about it, however
1t has been very little advertised. and still
fewer have seen its glory, because it is so
inaccessible The biologists and geograph-
ers of the government have spent a great
deal of time there. Major Dutton and DR..
Hfllyer have written elaborate reports con-
corning the geological formation and the
origin and causes of the phenomena that
surround It, They have measured its wa
tiers and its walls have made maps and
charts, and have taken observations so
that whoever cares to study Crater lake
from a scientific standpoint has plenty of
ma terial.
The Lake and Its Surroundings.
Several enthusiasts have written eloquent
and graphic descriptions of the lake and its
surroundings. In 1896 the Mazamas Club
or mountain climbers at Portland held it's
annual meeting there. and several of the
members printed their Impressions TIE
president OF the club described the lake as
fellows:
In volcanic days, say the biologists, oc-
CURED a terrific eruption. leaving an empty
cone six to seven miles in diameter and
1000 feet deep from the top of its granite
rim In time this huge basin filled with
water to depth of 1908 feet by actual
measurement, and there. fed by springs and
VIII ter storms, scharging by underground
channels, 1t stands with slight variation
nom season to season. its surface, GOO
feet above sea level-one of the highest
lakes of Its size in the known world"
That Is very accurate and matter-of-
fact description. The Gazetteer gives lit
tie more detail and says:
'Cratpr lax jS tad IN, he IL ne
the Cascade range In southern Oregon
about sixty-five m les north of the Califor-
MIA boundary The most favorable time
fot visiting this lake is in July August or
September. Earlier or later snow may
make the roads impossible as one gets near
TIL. lake.
Crater lake rests within the crater of
the extinct volcano, Mt. Mazama 1t is
ell.ptical In. shape, six and a quarter miles
long and about twenty miles In circumfer-
ence.9 It's contour is broken by only a few
moderately indented coves. and 1t is COM
pletely .encircled by a bold escarpment
ranging in height from $50 feet it's lowest
spot. To i,9S9 feet the highest point above
the water The surface Is $3.50 feet above
sea level. The water itself, in it's colors
cfearness and reflections. is one of the most
Striking features of the lake. At the center
the color is a deep ultramarine. From this
intense blue it shades off insensibly toward
tn, edges into turquoise; and. in,sa few
very shallow places, into a remarkably
transparent vitreous green. The clearness
OF the water is as !renarka BILE as the color
and, when one looks over a boats edge
down into it, 1t seems as If he were hung
suspended between the heavens and the
earth"
l have heard of a similar lake. called
Chelan, in the Cascade range of northern
Washington. which Is said to have several
of the features of Crater lake 1t lies on
line due east from Everett and empties
INTO the Columbia river, few miles above
the bridge of the Great Northern railway
Its waters are clear and blue and It fills
what was once the crater of a great VOL
cano. The cliffs on each side rise from
1000 to 2000 feet and the lake itself meas
ures 1000 feet in depth. 1t is s:yty-fiye
miles long and varies from a mile and a
half 10 two miles wide.
Created National Park.
In 1902 Congress created a national park
of 240 square miles surrounding Crater
lake. authorized the appointment of a su-
perintendent and made small appropria-
tlon. which has been expended in the con-
structton of roads They are not good but
are better than one would expect to get
for that amount of money. The superin-
tendent. Mr.. Arant. cannot perform mira
cles, but he has come very near doing so.
There Is no means of transportation to
Crater lake, no shelter when you get there
and no accommodations whatever for the
public. 1t is possible, however to hire
wagons, carriages, saddle horses and camp
Ing outfits at Ashland, Medford or kla-
math Falls. There are three routes
through the Rogue River valley from Ash
land or Medford, stations on the Southern
Pacific railroad; or from Thrall. a few
miles further south on the banks of Kla-
math river.
We took the latter route.
We left the cars at little station called
Thrall, on the Southern Pacific In Cali
fornia, just south of the Oregon line, and
there took little railroad which follows
the picturesque canyon of klamath river
up to a lumber camp called Poliega ma
where we spent the night and got a good
supper and breakfast. 1t is a switchback
road and climbs the mountain with great
difficulty, but gives It's passengers a scenic
panorama that is seldom surpassed.
Scene of the Modoc War.
From the car windows we could see the
lava beds where the Modoc war was fought
and where Gen. Candy was assassinated
in the early seventies. THE Modocs' last
stand" is a dig lava rock and cave. 1t was
wicked. useless war. caused by the folly
and indiscretion of Incompetent officials;
and what Is termed the treachery of Capt.
Jack the Modoc chief. and his associates,
for which they were hung, merely in
retaliation for the treachery of govern
ment officials in their treatment of the
Modoc people some years before. Chief
George of the Modoc nation, when a child,
was adopted by Gen Joe Lane and thor
oughly educated. After his return from
school in the east he settled down as
ranchman and farmer near the town of
Jacksonville. a few miles from Medford, on
the Southern Pacific line. 1t the latter part
OF the sixties and early seventies. there
was a good deal of trouble between the
Indians and the whites. who were begin
ming to come in and take up land In large
numbers. Chief George acted as a peace
maker and exercised a wide influence
among both races, for every had con-
idence In his honesty and judgment The
story told here is that the Indians killed a.
ranchman one day, and. knowing the in
fiuence of George among his tribesmen
Col. John s. Drew, who was commanding
the troops at Fort klamath, arrested him
and told him that his life would be for
feited unless he produced the murderers
George replied that he had nothing to do
with them and could not control them, but
Drew hung him, he afterwards ex-
planned, as an example to the Indians and
to assert the dignity and authority of the
United States government. It was equiya-
lent to the assassfna ton OF an innocent
man. by official authority, for Col Drew
was well aware that Chief George had
nothing to do with the murder
The event created SO much excitement
that Col. Drew sent courier to Capt
Kelly. who was at the Indian camp, to
arrest all OF the chiefs before they learned
of the execution. He found them holding