Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1884)
THE WEST SHOBE. 132 THE MODOOS IN 1851. II. I N Mnrch, 1851, gold was discovered in Yreka Flats, And in a few weeks several thousand miners were working there and on Greenhorn Creek. In the summer following, a numlier of men took up claims m owu Valley and cut hay for the Yreka market Besides the ox teams used in hauling the hay to town, they all ranched a number of horses, mules and cattle, belonging to themselves and parties in the mines. The Modoc Indians made occasional forays into the valley and drove off Hinall bands of stock to their country, a hundred miles to the eastward. Much stock that was no doubt stolen by whito thioves was charged to the account of theBe savage marauders, and it is very questionable if they wcro guilty of half of the thofta ascribed to them. Late in tho summer they stampeded a corral of animals near lluttovillo and made off with forty-six fine mules and horses, many of them belonging to the pack train of Augustas Moambor, then on his way to Yreka with a load of goods. That this act was committed by the Modocs there was ample evidence to show. A company of twenty men was raised, consisting chiefly of miners from tho vicinity of Yreka, to follow the thieves into the heart of the Modoc country, punish them for their roguery, and, if jMissiblo, recover the Btolen property. Willi them, as scout and general adviser, went Ben Wright, tho mountaineer whose exploits the following year gavo him great notoriety on the coast, and two Oregon Indians, who wero his close companions. Well supplied with jerked beef, the little company set out upon tho trail of the robbers, which they followed across tho Butte Creek Mountains, and on the third day arrived iu tho vicinity of Lost River. After a scout of two days Wright and one of his Indians reported the discovery of nn Indian village on the river bank, containing over 200 warriors, near which was being horded a large quantity of stock. Somo of tho men wanted to rush off at once and nmko an attack upon the rancheria; but they were informed that such a metluxl of fighting Indians, espe cially -, they woro in such superior numbers, would result in tho extermination of the attacking party slratogy mst be used to toko the enemy by surprise. Iho bndgo acroHs Lost River, on the emigrant trail one provided by Nature. A rocky wall crosses tJS u o stream, running from shore to shore, on the top of Jlach U,o water ,s very fallow, formig an excellent which ,s known far and wide as the S bridge. I was but a short distance from this the Indian rnnclu-riu UhhL ltru,i..i i , . . ne "Wft tho party rode Mw ly towa. tho vilf though they woro but a mrtv J " . T allayed. Kight n ih,8 f f "V SClt0ment mdo all U.e uil pCrat l f r " and rancheria witli tho information Unit thev , had gone into camp for the night. About an hour after dark the horses were brought in and saddled up; and leaving them with five men in the camp, with orders to bring them on at daylight, or sooner if Bent for, the other fifteen started back on foot on their errand of blooi The ford at the Ivtlui'al Liiug was recrossed, and the ' two or three miles that intervened between it and the doomed village were quickly traversed, when, to their chagrin, the party found themselves on the wrong Bide of the stream. The windings of the river had deceived them, and they were now on the side opposite to the rancheria, with, no means of crossing and no time to return by the way of the ford. In this dilemma they determined to attack the village from that side and accomplish as much as the circumstances would permit With the first signs of dawn a slight stir was made in the Indian camp. A brave emerged from one of the wickiups and uttered a peculiar cry, which was responded to by three or four others, who came into camp and dis appeared in the tent, having undoubtedly been on guard duty. The chief who had given them the signal of relief then turned to his pony and began to unfasten him from his picket His uplifted hand suddenly dropped, and the chief plunged forward upon the ground with the death cry on his lips, as the sound of a rifle Bhot echoed along the stream and startled the slumbering village. As the surprised savages rushed from their wickiups they were met by a shower of bullets from their assail ants. They defended themselves bravely, and for some time a stubborn contest was maintained by the parties across the narrow, but deep, stream which separated them. They discharged their arrows with great accu racy and several of the men were wounded by these missiles, while the archers endeavored to shelter them selves behind shields made of tule rushes and pieces of tin that had once been used for culinary purposes by murdered emigrants. ' The battle waged fiercely until the Modocs learned that their shields were not impervious to bullets, and then they began tq waver, and finally fled in haste, abandoning their village to its fate. The five men who had been left with the animals now came up to the deserted camp, and, thinking the battle to be on the opposite side, jumped into the canoes they found tied to the bank and crossed over. With these the whole party recrossed to the village. Sixteen dead Modocs were found, and in the abandoned wickiups were discovered Bcalps in abundance, many of which had been torn from the heads of white people. ; During the next few weeks several skirmishes we" had with the Indians, resulting in the death of a fe more of the savages. The whites, though few in number, had a deadly advantage in an encounter. With rifles and revolvers they could vanquish a hundred armed siinplj with bows and arrows; the more easily that the Indian were unaware of the long range of those weapons. Whe they learned that -Jo be beyond the range of an arro was no protection from the deadly bullet, they beca panic-Btricken and Bought only to save themselves &J flight .