[From the New York Herald,
1873; story by Edward Fox]
[Editor’s note: At this
point Fox’s dispatches give out for about a week. New York Herald readers continued to stay informed through
Associated Press dispatches relayed through San Francisco, but Fox was silent. There
is no obvious reason for this silence, and both Alex McKay and H. Wallace Atwell continued
reporting for their papers.
During this period peace
negotiations fizzled out and the Commission dissolved in chaos. An explosive
meeting on the morning of 9 March (sunday) ended with the peace commissioners
hopelessly deadlocked, and Jesse Applegate, who had already resigned, openly
denounced the commission as a fraud before vanishing from the scene. Tensions
built when that afternoon Samuel Case announced that the Modoc woman who had
brought Jack’s message the day before had stolen some ammunition; some feared a
Modoc attack was imminent. The crowning touch came that evening when Toby
Riddle went to General Canby to say that the Modocs had no intention of
surrendering, and only wanted to capture the horses and wagons that were to be
sent out to meet them. Extra guards were posted that night.
The next day came as an
anti-climax; the Modocs did not appear at all, either to surrender or to capture
the wagons. Steele went out to meet them, but there was no sign of them. Nobody
knew what it meant. Did the Modocs still intend to surrender? Had they taken to
the hills in preparation for raids on the settlers? Various possibilities were
discussed, but nothing at all happened for several days. No surrender, but no
raids either—in fact, no communication of any kind.
Meacham cabled back to
Washington that “every honorable means to secure peace has been exhausted,”
while at the same time Canby cabled that he did “not regard this last action of
the Modocs as decisive,” and intended to keep on working for peace. Both
telegrams made their way to the desk of Interior Secretary Delano, who
preferred Canby’s assessment to Meacham’s; his response was to place Meacham
under Canby and to appoint new Commissioners to replace Applegate and Case.
Not knowing of Canby’s
telegram, the correspondents at the front were surprised by Delano’s decision to
continue negotiations. They had fully expected some military action to be
taken. It was under these circumstances that Fox wrote the final judgment on
the efforts of the first peace commission that follows:]
Van Bremer’s Ranch,
March 14, 1873.
|
T
|
he Modoc question is still puzzling the Indian Bureau at
Washington, and from the present aspect of affairs they will probably succeed
in running up a bill bordering upon a couple of millions before their peace
policy is successfully carried out. History credits the late President Lincoln
with a little common sense, found in a remark made by him to Secretary Stanton
when General Grant took command of the army in the late rebellion—i.e., “that
we had been commanding the army long enough, and it would perhaps be better to
let Grant see what he could do.” The good judgement displayed in that remark
was plainly exemplified by the record of current events, and if the Indian
Bureau were to take the matter into consideration they would see that the
cheapest and most expeditious method of settling the difficulty would be to
hand over their authority to General Canby, an officer whose years of
experience among Indians, coupled with his actual presence on the ground and an
army to back him up, would enable him to treat more successfully with the
Indian, who has more respect for the force of arms than for promises which
experience has taught him are only too often made to be broken.
We have just had the painful experience of the efficacy of a
Peace Commission acting under the authority of the Indian Bureau, and their
labors have formed a fit subject for the laughter of the citizens of California
and Oregon. The history of this Peace Commission may be told in a few words. The
Modoc trouble broke out, and Mr. A. B. Meacham, the late Superintendent of
Indian Affairs in Oregon, happened to be in Washington at the time. This
gentleman is a gifted orator; as described by a contemporary, “words fell from
his silvery tongue like peas rolling off a hot platter,” [Bogart, 21 February,
San Francisco Chronicle, 1 March] and
he has for a long time felt deeply aggrieved at his removal from office and the
substitution of Mr. Odeneal in his place. This war was a perfect godsend to
this Micawber politician, and, seizing the opportunity, he hied forthwith to
Secretary Delano, and exploded one of those shells of oratory, scattering
pellets of peace in every direction. [Fox appears to be in error on this point.
See the note below.] The Secretary forthwith appointed a peace commission to
arrange these Modoc troubles, in which Mr. Meacham was to act in conjunction
with Mr. Odeneal and the Rev. Mr. Wilbur, of Oregon.
This, however, did not suit Mr. Meacham, as, perhaps in dreams
of the future, he had seen a picture in which a war that broke out through the
mismanagement of the present Superintendent was settled by the late
Superintendent, a happy termination of affairs which resulted in the
reinstating of the late Superintendent in full power, adorned by a wreath of
laurels. The silvery-tongued orator, therefore, hied once more to the
Secretary, and once more his dulcet tones charmed the ear of Mr. Delano, and the
names of Odeneal and Wilbur were struck out and Jesse Applegate and Samuel Case
substituted in their place. Everything satisfactorily arranged, Meacham started
for the Modoc country, and arrived at Dorris’ ranch like a conqueror come to
deliver an oppressed people. He had no doubt of the success of his mission, as
he could easily manage the rest of the Commission. Sam Case was an old friend,
he could be relied on, and as for Uncle Jesse Applegate there could be no
difficulty there, as Meacham knew Uncle Jesse and his partner (another man by
the name of Jesse [presumably Jesse Carr, a local rancher and landowner; Jesse
Applegate, usually resident in Yoncalla, Oregon, was at this time staying at Jesse
Carr’s place on Clear Lake]) had a little interest in certain swamp lands in
which he might be able to lend assistance.
The Peace Commission established their headquarters at
Fairchild’s Ranch, and in two days after their first meeting Meacham’s face
wore the expression of a much-abused man. It soon leaked out that the
Commission were at loggerheads, as both Uncle Jesse and the old friend Sam
expressed different ideas on the Modoc question to those propagated by the
oily-tongued Meacham. His eloquence was wasted upon these two Oregonians, who
only listened and laughed in their sleeve; in fact, one of them openly stated
that the Peace Commission was a mere humbug, used simply as a cloak to cover
the attack of Meacham against Odeneal.
Under existing circumstances it may be naturally inferred that
the Peace Commission proved a stupendous humbug, or, as more explicitly termed
by Mr. Jesse Applegate, “an expensive blunder.” General Canby, however,
fortunately arrived, and his suggestions were accepted by the Commission, and
would probably have resulted in the surrender of the Indians if the latter had
not been scared by the statement of a man named Blair [Charles Blair, a
resident of Linkville, recently pardoned for killing a Chinaman at Shasta, not
the Charles Blair who was foreman at John Fairchild’s ranch. (“Not the Man,”
Yreka Journal, 26 March 1873)], a
pardoned convict residing in Oregon, who told them he had a warrant to hang
nine of them when they came in and gave themselves up. These Indians have cause
to be afraid of treachery, as some years back Ben Wright murdered forty-seven
of their tribe at a peace feast; therefore such a statement totally destroyed
the negotiations of weeks, and the work will have to begin again.
During the past week Messrs. Jesse Applegate and Samuel Case
both resigned their positions on the Peace Commission and returned to their
respective avocations. Mr. Meacham, however, determined not to give up so soon,
and remained a commission of one at Fairchild’s.
Before leaving Mr. Jesse Applegate sent the following
characteristic letter to Mr. Clum at Washington, as a minority report:—
Headquarters Peace Commission,
Fairchild’s Ranch, Cal., March, 1873
Hon. H. B. Clum, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs:—
Sir—The Commission appointed to examine into the causes and bring
to a conclusion the Modoc war having concluded its labors submit the following
as its final report, to wit:—
First—The causes
leading to war were the dissatisfaction of Captain Jack’s band of Modocs with
the provisions and execution of the treaty of October 14, 1864, and refusal to
abide thereby. To what extent wrongs justified resistance, the Commission
having no power judicially to investigate, cannot say.
Second—The immediate
cause of hostilities was resistance by the Indians to military coercion.
Third—Unconditional
surrender of the Indians, and the trial and punishment of the guilty by the
civil authorities, would have been more satisfactory to the whites and a better
example to the Indians than more lenient conditions.
Fourth—Terms of
surrender were offered the Indians to save the further effusion of blood and
secure a permanent peace by the removal of the whole tribe out of the country,
a result scarcely to be hoped for by continued hostilities.
Fifth—The terms agreed
to by the Commission were suggested and must be carried into effect by the
military. A commission to negotiate a peace was therefore unnecessary.
Sixth—A commission to
inquire into the causes of the war should be composed of men wholly
disinterested in the findings of the commission, directly or indirectly, and
clothed with full power to investigate.
Seventh—Some of the personnel of this Commission being
obnoxious to the Indians it was a hindrance to negotiations. Having no power to
administer oaths nor send for persons and papers, and the official acts of the
chairman to be revised, its finding must have been imperfect and unsatisfactory
in regard to the cause of the war. We therefore consider the Commission an
expensive blunder.
Jesse Applegate
Before the Commission broke up Judge Rosborough, of Yreka, had
been added to the Commission, at the suggestion of General Canby, and that
gentleman, assisted by Mr. Elijah Steele, of Yreka, did good service in the
negotiations that followed General Canby’s proposition. Mr. Steele made several
trips to the lava beds, and would have succeeded in obtaining the surrender of
Captain Jack and his party if the lies of Blair had not upset all their
calculations. The Indians had gone so far as to agree to come out and
surrender. They were to be met by wagons half way to carry their baggage, but
on the appointed day not an Indian made his appearance. Things since then have
been in a state of statu quo, and
rumors were current that the Indians had deserted the lava beds.
General Canby finally ordered Major Biddle, of the First
cavalry, to come from Bernard’s camp, at Clear Lake, to Van Bremer’s with his
troop, and on the way make a scout through the lava beds. Major Biddle arrived
here last evening and brought in thirty-four Indian ponies with him. Major
Biddle reported to General Canby, who arrived here yesterday morning, that when
about four miles south of Captain Jack’s stronghold they came upon a nest of
ponies, guarded by five Indians, four [men] and a [woman]. Not knowing how
peace matters were going on, they did not fire at the Indians, but simply
surrounded the ponies and drove them into camp. [This violation of the truce
made the Modocs believe that Canby was unable to control his men, thus
weakening the peace party among them. sbh]
Matters are now on rather a peculiar basis, as a despatch
arrived to-day from Washington stating that Mr. Odeneal has been added to the
Commission. This brings matters to a most interesting crisis, as the Commission
will now comprise Meacham, Odeneal and Judge Rosborough, the other two having
resigned. It is very doubtful, however, whether Odeneal will accept and face
the music of the silvery-tongued Meacham.
How long this farce will be carried on by the Indian Bureau is
hard to say, but it does seem an outrage that they should have the power of
running up such an unnecessary debt as they are rapidly accumulating. Grain is
now twelve and a half cents per pound, which is cheap compared with the
thirty-five cents per pound paid during the first part of the war. On an
average each horse in the government employ costs about one dollar and
seventy-five cents per day for subsistence, and as there are about three
hundred horses now in this county for cavalry and fighting purposes we can
easily account for an expenditure of five hundred dollars per day on that
branch of service alone. The cost of freight on ammunition and rations for
seven or eight hundred forms also no inconsiderable item of expenditure. There
are also hundreds of other things that help to foot the bill to one of gigantic
dimensions.
This camp is at present the headquarters of the army, and we
have here batteries [A], E and M of the Fourth artillery, companies E and G of
the Twelfth infantry and troop K of the First cavalry, making in all about two
hundred and sixty rank and file. Everybody is getting very tired of the
inactive state of affairs and hope for some move that will lead to a conclusion
of these troubles.
[Note: Elisha
Applegate (not Jesse Applegate as is sometimes erroneously claimed) and Samuel
A. Clarke, both of whom were present in Washington at the time, agree that
Elisha Applegate originated the proposal to send a peace commission to the Modocs. Clarke
wrote “…Meacham took no part in the matter, and even accepted the appointment
with some reluctance, and only when the other members of the Commission were
appointed to suit his preferences.” Samuel Clarke, 14 April 1873, Sacramento Daily Union, 23 April 1873. sbh]
No comments:
Post a Comment