davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

face of that gallant soldier and gentle
man. Walking hurriedly back and
forth, swapping his finger, he finally
exclaimed: MY God, gentlemen, the
country will not Justify this sacrifice
of human life. We have lost too many
men already-zfive times the number
Jackson lost at New Orleans. You
cannot go with my consent"
Meanwhile Colonel John Green and
Captain Perry of the United States
army with a company of California
volunteers under John Fairchilds and
PRESLEY Doris and the Indian scouts
under Donald Mckay were forcing their
way along the lake shore to join and
relieve Colonel Bernard, who was hard
pressed. The lighting here was fierce
and, had not the commands of Appel
gate and Kelly pressed the savages
hard, reaching the edge of their camp
In the stronghold, must have been an
initiated. At sundown signals from
Colonel Bernard announced the safe ar
rival of the relief column under Colonel
Breen. They carried out the wound
ed, but left the dead where they fell.
A retreat was then ordered from both
sides by General Wheaton. Night
closed in and the volunteers, with APP
pelgate bringing up the rear and Kelly
guarding the left. and with our wound
eu anu ammunition IN the center, be-
gan a retreat along the shores of the
lake. 1t was a night of stygian black
ness, the only sound heard being the
low command of officers and groans of
wounded as the litter bearers stumbled
over the rocks. All dreaded an attack,
which must have been disastrous with
undisciplined troops. We finally
reached camp at Gillam's bluff at
o'clock In the morning. We had thus
been marching and fighting unceasing-
ly for "a hours and all were exhausted.
The next day the retreat was continued
to Van Bremer's ranch
When the news of the disastrous bat
tie reached the country universal cry
of 'blunder, blunder" was raised Gen
eral Wheaton was superseded in COM
mand, and after time General Candy
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

instant Of attack He was followed
some distance. but made his escape.
Meantime General Candy was stripped
of his uniform and scalped. The saw
ages thought Meacham was dead and
negan scalping him, when the Modoc
woman told them that the soldiers
were coming, and in their haste to get
away they left him and fed.
Thus ended the dreary farce OF the
Modoc peace commission. The end had
been a CHASTITY, sickening tragedy The
curtain had been raised for the closing
tableau, and what a spectacle of treach-
cry and murder burst upon the aston
ished gaze! In the foreground lay the
gallant Candy, prone upon his face,
cold and still and dead. having breast
ed the flaming hurricane of a hundred
battles to fall at last by the treacher-
Gus assassin hand of prowling savage
to whom he had come on a mission OF
peace! There is another, a man of
peace a preacher of the gospel OF eter-
nal love, stricken down with the words
of mercy and forgiveness. upon his
lips. his gray and reverend locks all
dabbled in his own blood. And there
is another, shot and stabbed and hacked,
covered with wounds, beaten down
with cruel blows. motionless and un-
conscious, but still alive. And there il
yet another. fleeing for his life, with
war whoop and pistol shot ringing at
his heels. While yonder, at the side
scene, is Captain JACK. stage manager
of the awful play-arch demon of the
massacre. with the pistol that took the
life of noble Candy still smoking in his
hand. leaping with glee. his dark face
all aglow with the dread spectacle, like
a fiend dancing in the freight of hell.
No wonder that a shudder of mingled
horror and wrath ran through the heart
of the nation at that awful scene. NO
wonder the grim soldier at the White
House forgot for a moment his peace
policy and said. IL is enough. Now,
let slip the dogs of war" No wonder
the pulpits of the nation were stilled in
contemplation of the awful sickenfng
tragedy.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

careless OF them He was painting
metal window frame, on the fifth
story of building at Front and Cali
fornia streets when, to support himself
as he reached to give a finishing touch
on a far corner, he leaned out and
monty used to hold the window frame
in plumb. The bar was only slightly
soldered, and as soon as he rested his
weight upon it it gave way.
The hod carrier was unfortunate in
that he saw his death coming some
time before il reached him. 1t Is the
duty of hod carriers to prepare and re-
move the platforms upon which the
brick layers work. This one, Thomas
Nolan, was engaged in removing some
planking in a light well in the En-
porium building when he teetered a
plank across beam with the heavy
end away from him. The weight was
so great on the other end that il pulled
him off his feet and hurled him into
the air Is or 20 feet The force of
the catapult ended he began to fall
with nothing to stop him for so feet.
James Murphy. a machinist. dupli-
He stepped off an elevator, and. be-
lieving it was still there. stepped back.
Meanwhile it had dropped down half
dozen stories.
In the whole list there are only two
structural iron workers, George Graves.
who lost his footing on the top of the
Emporium building and fell 100 feet.
and Joe Turner, who met with a SINH
lar mishap on the same building and
fell so feet.
Four of the remaining who are to
be accounted for We're working in ele-
vator shafts, and. seeing the frail lit
tie platform shoot skyward stopped TO
their work beneath it. forgetting that
there is counterbalance which comes
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

assumed direction Of affairs. Mean
time President Grant was besieged by
ministers and reiigionists of every de-
nomination. begging that a peace COM
mission be appointed to treat with the
savages. Pulpits rang with denuncia-
tions OF the white settlers. The great
Beecher, from his Brooklyn pulpit, sent
up prayer for that poor. prosecuted
people whose long pent up wrongs had
driven them to acts of violence and
diabolical murder"
peace commission was the result
and after months of weary waiting
meeting was arranged midway between
the lines. The commission consisted
of General Candy, A. B. Meacham, Dr.
Thomas of Oakland and Mr. Dyer, agent
at the klamath reservation. On the
morning of the fatal day Captain Appel
gate used every effort to prevent the
meeting. He warned and begged them
not to go. He knew the Indians, knew
they were treacberous cutthroats
desperadoes who had fed their tribes
and sought safety with the renegade
chief In that hole in the wall" the
lava beds Frank Riddles Modoc
woman, employed as interpreter, with
tears streaming down her dusky cheeks,
begged and pleaded with General Can
by and other commissioners not to go,
But all to no purpose.
The Killing of Candy
The meeting took place about 10
o'clock on the morning of April IL,
1873. Jack was there with five of his
most desperate men. He explained to
General Candy his terms, talking
through the Riddle woman. The terms
were such. as could not be accepted,
and General Candy told him so. In
stantly Jack said: That's enough, all
ready" And drawing a revolver from
beneath his blanket he shot General
Candy dead. AT the same moment DR..
Thomas and Mr.. Meacham were shot.
the former falling dead, while the lat
ter was only stunned. Mr.. Dyer. who
had been walking back and forth be-
hind the tent ran for his life at the
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

down as fast as the elevator goes up.
Each received a fractured skull.
OF the other laborers killed. several
fell distances OF less than 10 feet. frac-
turing their skulls One. w. T. Keaney.
attempted to let himself down a rona
from the eighth floor. when there was n
flight of stairs he might have taken
NO one saw him fall. Harold Glover
had an accident in the Pioneer build
ing similar 10 that OF Thomas Nolan
An italian laborer on the hall Of Justice
Went upon platform. of which he
had been warned He was killed when
II fell and two other men were seriously
injured.
Such is the record Of four months
aeclaents- Few of them could have
been safeguarded against. except bv
the men or their unions. The in
spectors sent out by the board Of
works seems to have done their work
as none OF the accidents are attribu-
table TO them. When you realize the
amount and haste of building. the
record shown above Is renarl<ahI,,
small 1t is a familiar sight 10 -
men travelling on the break neck eleva-
tors. riding in the hoisting chains to the
top or high buildings. reaching our
from a narrow perch to catch a swav-
Ing gtrder, and even taking a noon
day nap on a window ledge so bivh
that the sounds Of the street are but
2 drone.
Ihose who's dash out OF Offices with
their minds full Of business. only half
noticmg what is passing about them
az they dodge across the street. look
Up at the little figure hammering red
not rivets on heavy girder and thini-
tney are infinitely safer than he. Good
citizens from the interior gaze unon
the mutability OF city life with terror
To outward appearances they arr
right, but they are not.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

nish such a valuable lesson But. lest
in the description they should seem to
make the work of the builders seem
more dangerous than it is, consider
this:
Nineteen in four months is the same
as 81 in year. out OF the $4,000 men
who are at work building. The average
for $4,000 of the population as a whole
is 5S a year, or lie out of 1000 as
shown by the figures of the census bu-
reau which actually makes the life of
the man who seems to be doing dan
gerous work safer than that of the man
who sits at desk, or of his wife, who
stays at home.
The 10 killed so far this year, who
can be taken as examples, met their
death in the following ways
The engineer was running donkey
engine in the Palace hotel building and
was watching great steel beam in it's
upward flight, for which his engine
was furnishing the motive power. He
stopped to turn crank. when the beam
slipped from It's badly fastened chain
and struck him on the back of the
neck. or course he never knew what
hit him.
The foreman killed was r. c. Hovev.
who stepped into an empty elevator
shaft. evidently under the Impression
that the elevator was there. He fell
eight stories
c. E. Cook, a cigar salesman. walked
into an open light we'll in the sidewalk
in Powell street one night and frac-
tured his skull.
The lineman and electrician fell from
the ordinary danger of their trades:
one while stringing wires through the
heart of the city and the other on a
drydock.
The case of the painter, George Ray.
Is instructive. He was a young fell
low of 20, used to high attitudes and
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

enment, but the case is general and
must be attributable to the fact that
where there is intense activity, and
people are more awake TO what they are
doing, they avoid accident, and, even
though death hurtles by close beside
them. they know that 1t is there and
do not ignorantly shove out their heads
to have them knocked off.
A few figures given by the mortality
record of the census show how the case
stands. BY the latest reports. out of
every 100000 of the population San
Francisco is killing each year by vio-
lence l16 and has never killed more
than l2s. Sacramento is killing more
than $50 and has killed 179. Fresno's
average is over 160 and it's top notch
record is 218. In places like Pueblo
high record is expected and realized,
269, but no one would suspect that
Boston, with its comparatively small
amount of building and improved meth
DDS for handling crowds safely, aver
ages as many to the hundred thousand
as San Francisco in the midst of its la
bors.
Baltimore furnishes a fair analogy, as
IT also went through a fire and has
been rebuilding. There, in its year of
greatest activity in reconstruction, the
average was 144
Another way to get at the same fact
is that of total deaths and the number
due to violence in other cities of nearly
the same size. BY the latest complete
report. out of the 7,1o5 deaths in a
year in San Francisco 429 were due
to violence. Buffalo shows a rate of
472 out of 6.367. Los Angeles even,
with half the population and 3,s01.
little more than half the deaths.
has a record of 265 scored UP against
violence. Cleveland is the closest anal
ogy. with total of 1870. 45S due to
violence.
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

hands full, but when the record is ex
amined the rebuilding of the CITY f,,r-
nishes very little work, The accidents
Tor which rebuilding is accountable are
almost always surrounded with pecu-
liar circumstances and are almost en-
tirely due to carelessness or a moment
OF forgetfulness. Quite a good deal is
que to overconfidence. Men who work
at high attitudes acquire a sort Of
pride in their GOODNESS of nerve, and
that pride is often their undoing. One
day they will look out upon the wide.
open space Of air with head clear and
eyes steady. They actually feel safer
than when down on the crowded street
But the constitution of man is not a
steadfast thing, and the next day the
same men viii have one among them
who is not quite himself; his foot slips,
or he puts his hand out to reach
support that is not there, and he is
gone. Women will sometimes say: Il
can't hold thing today; every dish I
pick up ! drop" 1t is the same with a
structural iron worker; but an uncer-
tain move with him means death.
But. taking full account of the acci-
dents which happen daily incident to
the gigantic task of making a city rise
from ashes in the shortest possible
time, the records here, compared with
those of other cities, are shown by the
census bureau, which has worked out
comparisons with infinite care The mu-
liability of life in great city is so no.
torious that it is surprising to realize
that more people come to a violent
death each year in Sacramento and
FRESNO than, by comparison of numbers
IN san francisco. Strangely enough
there is many peaceful New England
town which sends more of its inhabit-
ants to an untimely end than this rest
less community. The unexplained fig
ures stand without giving any enlight-
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

children and horses he would have had
the renegades at his mercy, and the
long, bloody and costly war been
2verted. But against the earnest pro-
tests of Captain Appelgate and Dave
Hin, he permitted the women to pack
their belongings on the horses and
join the renegades in the hills. AS
soon as the women were safe, war
party started down the shores of Tule
lake, butchering the defenseless set
tiers as they went. Seventeen Unarmed
man and boys. pursuing their labors
about the ranches -rere .)utchered in
cold blood. One boy Charlie Brother
ton, IL years of age. escaped while the
men were being killed and reached the
house. Here he built a fort in the cen
ter of the floor with sacks of -four to
shield his mother and little sister, and
for two days held the Indians at bay
with a rifle. He was nnally relieved
by Captain Appelgate, who had hastily
gathered a few settlers and gone to his
relief. The bodies of the settlers were
gathered and buried, while Major jack
son was caring for his wounded
The Indians retreated to the lava
beds and then continued that long Sc
ries of blunders ending in the butchery
of General Canhy and the peace COM
mission. Immediately Captain Appel
gate organized a company of 100 men,
while another under Captain Kelly hur-
ried from Jacksonville and troops were
drawn from Warner and other outside
posts. By the 10Th of January, 450
troops, regulars and volunteers, had
been concentrated at Van Bremer's
ranch, 16 miles from the stronghold.
General Frank Wheaton was In COM
mand. He moved across the plateau
and took possession of the bluff over
looking the lava beds. Colonel Ber-
nard with ESQ dismounted troops had
been ordered to move down the shores
of the lake and attack next morning
from the north. while General Wheaton
with the regulars and volunteers was
to make an attack from the south
Colonel Bernard came upon the Indians
in the fog and lost heavily In the battle
that ensued.
General Wheaton's column started
down the bluff at 2 o'clock in the morn
ing. The plan was to surround and
capture the savages. At daylight the
battle opened and by the middle of the
afternoon they were hemmed in be-
tween two lines not 200 yards apart
Captain Appelgate, at this time occupy
ing the extreme right, had swung
around and almost reached the left of
Bernard's column. I was there and we
could hear the women and children
crying in the rocks. AS Captain Ap-
pelgate expressed 1t, I'VE were on top
of them"
But at what a costl Forty-two men
lay dead among the rocks. About this
time Captain Appelgate Colonel Bel
linger, afterward United States Judge at
Portland, and the writer asked General
Wheaton to signal to Bernard to cease
firing and we would charge with the
two companies Of volunteers. 1 can
never forget the look of pain on the
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

The coroners record in the light of
this comparison, shows an interesting
list OF accidents, which must be viewed
In their surroundings to be appreciated.
John A. Kennedy, the chief deputy of
the coroners Office besides keeping a
careful record of sudden deaths. notes
with care Just what caused the acct
dent, and the following facts regarding
the cases were obtained from him.
Since the first of the year there have
been 81 deaths from violence of a
KIND which places them in this list
Streetcars have killed II and automo-
biles three. Four were teamsters who
were thrown from their seats by a
sudden unevenness in the road. Eight
sailors Tell into open matches while the
vessels Were lying alongside the wharf
bulldlng is accountable for 19 alto
gether, an engineer, a foreman. Pc
destrian, lineman, an electrician. a
painter, a hod carrier two structural
IRON workers, machinist and nine la
borers.
The streetcars and automobiles killed
their victims In the usual way, mostly
by running them down. With the sail
ors 1t was largely carelessness. The
teamsters can hold the streets RESPONSE
often curse the apparent obstinacy of
drivers of heavy wagons which do not
move immediately off the track as soon
as they hear the clang of the bell be-
hind them The reason generally is that
they see chuckhole to one side which
would give the wagon such a jolt that
IT would hurl them to the curb upon
their heads and kill them outright The
teamsters especially those hauling lum-
per- nave very precarious seats-the
record shows how pfecarious.
The accidents which killed the men
who are actively engaged in building
are worth taking up in detail, they fur
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19
By Robert Bolton

Az no is being killed in the rush
N Of rebuilding San Francisco
w the fellow who takes his
nerve in his hands and walks
dizzy beam. or the fellow on the
street who lodges an automobile to be
hit by car?
Two professional high altitude men
were working on a boom on the ex-
terror Of The Call building when some
one was run down at the corner of
Market and kearny streets, 315 feet
below them A stenographer who was
just inside the window heard one of
them say, as he gazed down on the
diminutive figures in the street:
Bill, what d'you think O. that-man
killed down there2"
Pretty dangerous crossin' them
crowed streets. Guess I'm glad enough
70 be here, where there amt no danger.
= isSt d'you think2"
You bet: a safe job for me-"
ParadoSical as II seems, they were
right Many more people are run down
In the streets than are killed on dan
gerous work. and, in spite Of the fact
that some $4,000 900 has been spent
rebuilding, the accident record has
been very low, compared with normal
conditions in other cities.
II is not the man who Is watching
for danger who is killed. It Is the
man who does not suspect that II is
near and does not keep a sharp look
out for IT.
And. note this: the accident record
Tor San Francisco is lower in these
hurried and hard days OF reconstruc-
tion than in any city Of its size. There
are accidents. and bad ones: suicides,
murders and sudden death in all it's
forms. sSA~ the coroners Office has its
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19

ie4pect and confidence Of his warriors.
He last saw service during the mem
orable Modoc war Here / wish to re-
mark, and I know personally whereof
I speak. that Captain Appellate never
received justice at the hands of the
military. At the outbreak of the war
he was assistant superintendent of In
dian affairs under General superin-
tendent T. b. Odeneal Orders were
received from Washington to place the
renegades under Captain Jack on the
reservation 1 say renegades for the
reason that not much more than
half Of the savages who fought under
Captain Jack were Nodoc Indians.
Jack was not an hereditary chief. but
renegade who had collected about
him desperate characters fro n the Mo-
doc and other tribes. Desperadoes of
surrounding tribes. guilty of crime
against the whites and their own peo-
pie, found a safe asylum in Jacks
Hole in the Wall"-the lava beds
Bogus Charlie. an Umpqua Indian.
raised by a white man named William
Phipps, was one. while others belonged
to the Columbia Umatilla, Piute and
Major Jackson. commanding at Fort
klamath, consulted Captain Appelgate.
He was told that so men could bring
the renegades to terms Instead of tax
ing so Jackson took but SO men. By
an all night ride the village was
reached at daylight A mile from the
village the troops were dismounted
saddle girths frightened, soldiers
stripped of their oVercoats and car
hines loaded = = Al
command should be divided so as to
rake the bank Of the Lost river and the
brush in the rear from two sides of the
village. Instead of doing this Major
Jackson wheeled his men in line on the
open ground between the village and
the river. The troops were then dis
mounted, the fifth man being left tc
hold the horses. The line was then
advanced to within 80 yards of the
village and halted. while Captain Ap-
pelgate went forward to talk to the
Indians. Scarcely had he reached the
hrst hut when the women and children
ran and threw themselves face down
in low piece of ground between the
village and the line of soldiers. Can
tain Appelgate called to Lieutenant
Boutelle. that the Indians were going
TO fire, and hurried to his side. Just as
he reached the lieutenant the soldiers
received the first volley. The soldier
standing by Captain Appelgates side
fell mortally wounded and called to
Appelgate, who was unarmed, to take
his carbine and belt. Meantime volIev
after volley was fired by both Indians
and soldiers. Seven men lay dead.
Captain Appelgate called to BouteIle
that If they did not drive the Indians
out OF the village they would all be
killed. Lieutenant Boutelle, although
sorely wounded, ordered charge and
headed the troopers, with Appellate by
his side. The Indians were driven out
Of the village through the brush and
on to the open hills. Leaving Boutelle
TO night the savages at long range, Ap-
pelgate returned to find the women
and children gathered around Major
jackson. One woman had been killed
by the volleys of the troopers and the
balance were badly frightened.
Major Jackson's Mistake
Meantime Dave Hill, a klamath. In
dian scout, had swum the river and
run in the Indian horses Thus Major
jackson had everything in his own
hands 10
The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19
Major Jackson's Mistake

Meantime Dave Hill, a Klamath In
olah scout had swum the river and
run in the Indian horses. Thus Major
jackson had everything in his own
hands. Had he kept the women and