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APPENDIX
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APPENDIX[1]
The following extracts are made from papers accompanying
the report of the Commissioner of Indian affairs, 1873,
which show in some measure the complaints of the Indians and
the foundation for them.
From Report of J. G. Ames on California Indians.
“The burden of their complaint was to the effect that they had been
gradually driven from the lands which they or their fathers once occupied,
the title to which they thought justly belonged to them, until at the present
time but little available land remained to them; that white men were in
many cases endeavoring to take from them the lands upon which they are
living, and by the cultivation of which they gain a partial support; that they
were frequently annoyed by the settlers interfering with water upon which
they depended for irrigation, corraling their stock, and subjecting them to
fine for the same, or taking it from them altogether, threatening them with
violence, and in other ways invading what they believe to be their rights;
that in disposing of lands the agents of the Government have never recognized
the possessory rights of the Indians, and that in consequence they
have been, and are still, obliged to abandon lands which they have held in
immemorial possession, and to remove from places to which they are specially
attached, as the home and burial-ground of their ancestors, and this without
any provision being made for them elsewhere.
“They desired the Government to interfere to prevent this being done
hereafter, and to secure them in the possession of the lands now occupied
by them. If this was done they could readily support themselves, and were
willing to do so, without aid from the Government, except in the matter of
farming implements and seed and clothing for the supply of their immediate
wants.
“They urged, furthermore, as a special grievance, that their right to elect
their own chief had been interfered with by the late superintendent, and that
the Government recognizes as chief an Indian who was repudiated by nearly
all the tribe, against whom they protested at the time of his appointment,
two years ago, and whose authority they had since disregarded. They
wished a new election ordered, that the tribe might choose its own chief and
be no longer even nominally subject to one to whom so few owed allegiance.”
“In accordance with this view, the assumed Indian title has always been
disregarded by the land-officers of the Government in this district and by
settlers. As expressed by the present register of the land-office, the location
of an Indian family or families on land upon which a white man desires to
settle is, in law, no more a bar to such settlement than would be the presence
often driven from their homes and their cultivated fields, the Government,
through its officers, refusing to hear their protests, as though in equity as
well as in law they had no rights in the least deserving consideration.”
“While they complain of the manner in which they have been treated by
the whites, I discovered very little of the spirit of revenge among them. So
far from this, I think no other race would have borne so patiently and with
so little effort at retaliation the indignities and wrongs to which they have
been subject.”
From Report of L. E. Sleigh on California Indians.
“The villagers began to assemble early. At the appointed hour the
captain rose, and in a short speech in the Indian language, which seemed to
be both eloquent and well appreciated, gave his hearers to understand the
errand upon which I visited them. A lively interest was manifested by
every one. They complained of the encroachments of their American
neighbors upon their land, and pointed to a house near by, built by one of
the more adventurous of his class, who claimed to have pre-empted the land
upon which the larger part of the village lies. On calling upon the man
afterward, I found that such was really the case, and that he had actually
paid the price of the land to the register of the land-office of this district,
and was daily expecting the patent from Washington. He owned it was
hard to wrest from these well-disposed and industrious creatures the homes
they had built up. `But,' said he, `if I had not done it somebody else
would, for all agree that the Indian has no right to public lands.' These
Indians further complain that settlers take advantage of them in every way
possible; employ them to work and insist on paying them in trifles that are
of no account to them; `dock' them for imaginary neglect, or fail entirely
to pay them; take up their stock on the slightest pretext and make exorbitant
charges for damages and detention of the stock seized. They are in
many cases unable to redeem it. They have therefore little encouragement
to work or to raise stock. Nor do they care to plant fruit-trees or grapevines
as long as land thus improved may be taken from them, as has been
the case in very many instances. Among the little homes included in the
pre-emption claim above referred to are those adorned with trees and vines.
Instead of feeling secure and happy in the possession of what little is left to
them, they are continually filled with anxiety. They claim that they ought
to be allowed to remain where their forefathers have lived for so long, and
that they should be protected by law in the peaceful possession of the homes
that have been handed down to them.”
From Report of J. W. Powell and G. W. Ingalls on Indians in Utah,
Nevada, &c.
“In their association with the white settlers in the valleys of Utah, many
difficulties have arisen from time to time, and frequent complaints have come
up to the Indian Department at Washington against these Indians, on the
ground that they would not remain on the reservation. But it has not been
possible for them to remain; they have been compelled to go elsewhere to
obtain a living.
“When told that they would be forced to go back, they openly defied the
authorities, and challenged some of the officers who were present to fight.
When afterward informed that they would be furnished with food on the
agency, that herds of cattle and loads of flour should be immediately taken
there, they agreed to go, and some of these Indians have this summer told
the commission that, at that time, they had determined to fight rather than
stay on the reservation and starve, for they feared hunger more than they
did the soldiers. Under the existing state of facts, it is unreasonable to
expect these Indians to remain on the reservation.”
“In war we deal with people as organized into nationalities, not as individuals.
horse, a vicious Indian commits a depredation, and flies to the mountains.
No effort is made to punish the real offender, but the first Indian met is shot
at sight. Then, perhaps, the Indians retaliate, and the news is spread
through the country that war has broken out with the Indians. Troops are
sent to the district and wander around among the mountains and return.
Perhaps a few Indians are killed, and perhaps a few white men. Usually in
all such cases the white man is the chief sufferer, for he has property which
can be spoiled, and the Indian has none that he cannot easily hide in the
rocks. His methods of warfare are such that we cannot cope with him
without resorting to means which are repugnant to civilized people; and,
after spending thousands or even millions of dollars, on an affair which, at
its inception, was but a petty larceny, we make a peace with the Indians,
and enter into an agreement to secure him lands, which we cannot fulfill,
and to give him annuities, the expense of which are a burden on the public
Treasury.”
From Report of A. B. Meacham on the Modoc Indians.
“The first difficulty with the emigrants, as they (the Modocs) reported,
grew out of the efforts of the emigrants to recapture horses found in their
possession, which they claimed they had purchased from the Snake and Pitt
River Indians.
“After hostilities began, continued at intervals, during which time many
Modocs were killed and many emigrants were cruelly butchered. Perhaps
the most revolting among the many scenes was that of the killing of seventy-five
white persons in 1852.
“This terrible tragedy called out a company of volunteers `for the protection
of emigrants,' who, under command of Ben Wright, of Yreka, Cal.,
arrived on Tule Lake, at Bloody Point, the scene of the wholesale butchery
above referred to. Failing to engage the Modocs in a fair battle proposed a
`peace talk,' which was finally accepted, and forty-six Modoc warriors
responded, and were by him and his company attacked, and forty-one of
them slain. This act of treachery has always been remembered by the
Modoc people, and had much to do in perpetuating the bitter feelings that
have since existed, and doubtless had influence in the late assassination.
Ben Wright was received at Yreka with great demonstrations, bonfires and
banquets, and was afterward appointed an Indian agent as a reward for this
heroic act of treachery to a trusting people, and a violation of the sacred
rights of a flag of truce. Had he been held to account for this unauthorized
act, it would have done much to secure the confidence of the Modocs, and
other tribes as well. Hostilities continued until 1864, when ex-Superintendent
Steele, of California, made a temporary treaty with the several tribes in
the vicinity of Yreka, including the Modocs. In October following, Superintendent
Huntington, of Oregon, under authority of the General Government,
held a treaty-council at Council Grove, near Fort Klamath, with the
Modocs and Klamath Indians, when all the country claimed by these tribes
was ceded to the Government, except so much as may be embraced within
the boundaries of what is known as Klamath reservation, and described in
the second article of said treaty. Schonchin, as head chief, (a brother of the
Schonchin who was executed,) Captain Jack, (as Kient-poos,) and other
members of the Modoc tribe, signed the treaty in the presence of witnesses.
It is in evidence that the Modocs, including Captain Jack, in conformity of
said treaty, accepted goods and subsistence, and remained on the new reservation
several months, and finally left, returning to the Modoc country, and
ignored the treaty, and refused to return to the reservation until December,
1869, at which time he accepted annuity goods and subsistence; and, under
promise of protection from the taunts and insults of the Klamaths, he again
took his abode on the Klamath reservation, together with the remainder of
the tribe, selecting Modoc Point as the site for a home. They began to make
arrangements for a permanent settlement, and no doubt with bona-fide intentions
interested, Klamath and Modoc Indians included. The former, however,
began soon thereafter to taunt the latter with being `strangers, orphans, poor
men, etc.,' claiming the timber, fish, grass, and water, and in various ways
annoying them. Captain Jack appealed to Captain Knapp, then acting agent,
for protection from their insults. Agent Knapp, not fully comprehending
how much was involved in his action, removed Captain Jack's band of Modocs
to a new location, where they began again to make nails, and prepare
logs for building, when the Klamaths, emboldened by the success of their
first interference, and being in no wise punished, or reprimanded, repeated
the insults. Captain Jack again appealed for protection to Agent Knapp,
who proposed still another home for the Modocs. Captain Jack again
sought a resting-place for his people, and not finding one to his satisfaction
he called them together, and declared his intention to leave the reservation,
which he did, returning to the Lost River country, where he remained
several months, and until persuaded to return to Klamath reservation, at
Yalnax station. Unfortunately he here employed an Indian doctor to act
as a physician, and, under an old Indian law, when the patient died, he
killed, or caused to be killed, the Indian doctor. The reservation Indians
demanded his arrest and punishment. He fled to the Modoc country, was
pursued, but, eluding arrest, he sent messengers proposing a conference.
Commissions were sent to meet him, and a temporary peace secured, on the
condition that he would keep his people away from the settlements, and submit
to arrest, if demand should be made. He insisted then, as he had previously
done, for a home on Lost River. The commissioner, under instructions
from superintendent of Indian affairs, promised to lay the request
before the Commissioner at Washington, which was done, together with the
reasons for so doing, also recommending that a small reservation of six
miles square be allowed them at the mouth of Lost River. No action was
ever taken.”
“1st. In 1869, satisfied that force would be employed if they resisted,
they (the Modocs) went on to Klamath reservation under promises of protection.
“2d. Had they been thus protected in their rights as against the insults
of the Klamath Indians they would have remained, and no second stampede
would have followed; that the failure to keep the promise of protection impaired
the confidence of the Modocs in subsequent promises.
“3d. That in 1870 an understanding was had that an effort would be
made to obtain a small reservation for them on Lost River, on condition that
they kept the peace. No action was taken by the Department on this matter.
The Modocs, discouraged by the delay and emboldened thereby, became
an unbearable annoyance to the settlers, and removal of location could
not be deferred.
“4th. A small reservation, as recommended, would have averted all
trouble with these people, and the failure to notify them that no action would
be had on the matter was a blunder.
“5th. Had they been fully apprised of the fact in a way to give them
confidence that no home would be allowed them on Lost River, and an
appeal been properly made by some officer of the Indian Department, they
might not have resisted.
“6th. Superstitious Indian religion had much to do in causing them to
resist.
“7th. Want of adaptability of Government agents produces confusion
and sometimes war.
“Finally, this war was the result of changing agents and policies too
often, and the absence of well-defined regulations regarding the relative
duties and powers of the Indian and military Departments, the citizens, and
Indians.
| Unwritten history | |