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Many school children learn about General Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn, but few know the story of Captain Jack and General Canby during the Modoc War. General Canby was the only full general killed during any of this nation's Indian wars, and the Modoc Indians were able to hold off the U.S. Army for several months in the middle of a northern California lava field. It's an amazing story of botched decisions, bravery, and unfortunate circumstances. Few of us know the story now, but in the spring of 1873 everyone in the country knew what happened on April 11th, 1873.
Yreka, California
Hostility and awkward relationships between the Modocs and the white settlers had a long and unfortunate history leading up to the war. In 1846 Captain Fremont, the explorer, was on his way south to join the Mexican-American War when three of his men were killed by a band of Klamath Indians. To avenge the attack, he raided a village of Modoc Indians that was unfortunately located along his travel route. This was a violent introduction for the Modocs to white people.
Unfortunately, things would get even worse for the Modocs. In the 1850's the mining town of Yreka, California sprang to life and drew miners and settlers to the area west of the Modoc homelands. The relationship between whites settlers and the Modocs started violently with Modoc raids on several wagon trains. Many white settlers were killed and property was stolen. In retaliation, Ben Wright led attack parties against the Modocs and killed many men and women, including Captain Jack's father.
Killing many of the Modocs subdued them for a while, and the Indians learned to interact with the miners and ranchers near Yreka. They made several friends with the white settlers, including a Judge named Elijah Steele, a native of New York. Steele was reportedly the man who gave Captain Jack his name (his native name was Keintpoos), because he looked like one of the miners of the same name.
Klamath Reservation
As more settlers moved into the region, they grew nervous about the nearby Modocs. They asked the government to negotiate a treaty with the Modocs and move them to an Indian Reservation. In 1864 the Klamath Reservation was created and the Klamath, Snake, and Modoc Indians agreed to relocate there. However, both the Snake and Modoc tribes had a long history of hostility with the Klamath tribe and many of the Modocs didn't want to leave the Lost River region.
After several bitter disputes, in 1865 a group of Modocs left the reservation and returned to the Lost River. Among the Modocs was Schonchin John and Captain Jack. When they got there they were surprised to find much of the land was already inhabited by white settlers. They argued that their treaty was not binding to them and they charged the settlers rent for staying on their land. Instead of fighting, many of the settlers chose to pay the rent. A nervous peace existed while the government decided what to do. Several attempts at convincing Jack to return to the reservation failed.
With the new presidency of U.S. Grant came new appointments inside the Department of Indian Affairs, Alfred B. Meacham, a hotel and toll road operator from eastern Oregon, was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon in May of 1869. He was a strict business man who wanted to clean up what he believed to be a corrupt agency. In December of the same year he and the newly appointed sub-agent for the Klamath Reservation, Capt. O.C. Knapp, went to see Captain Jack to persuade him to return to the Reservation. They finally reached an agreement after Meacham promised Captain Jack that the Klamath Indians would not ridicule him.
However, Captain Jack did not stay long. Tensions grew between the Modoc and Klamath tribes, and then Captain Knapp cut off rations to the Modocs because of a decreased budget. In 1870 Captain Jack left the reservation again and returned to the Lost River.
Meacham tried again to reach an agreement with Jack, and this time he was moving closer to Jack's original request for their own reservation by the Lost River. In 1871, Meacham even convinced General Canby, Commanding General of the Department of the Columbia (Oregon and Washington), to agree to the new reservation. Conditions on the Klamath reservation also changed. Captain Knapp was removed, eventually replaced by L.S. Dyar in 1872. The situation seemed promising, but circumstances would change again.
In 1872 Meacham was preparing to end his appointment and he had second thoughts about a new reservation. He thought that the Modocs were potentially dangerous to the settlers so he sent a letter to General Canby suggesting that it may be necessary to send troops to forcibly return Captain Jack and his followers to the Klamath Reservation. Canby only agreed to send 50 to 60 men to Yainax to protect the settlers.
The Battle of Lost River
When T.B. Odeneal succeeded Meacham as Superintendent he supported military force in dealing with the Modoc situation. The Army agreed to patrol the region and Major Elmer Otis sent several reports back to Canby keeping him abreast of the situation. Otis warned that many of the settlers were worried and they complained about thefts and threats from the Indians. He recommended that the Modocs be returned to the Reservation.
In November, Odeneal traveled down to Linkville (now Klamath Falls) to coordinate talks with Captain Jack. He sent Ivan Applegate to Jack with his request to return to the Reservation, but Jack refused. Ordeneal pressured Major Green at Fort Klamath to send soldiers to forcibly remove Captain Jack. Green hesitated because he thought he didn't have enough soldiers, but he agreed to send a single troop as a show of force. Standing orders from Canby had specifically said that no direct action should be taken with Captain Jack, but Ordeneal's request convinced Green that action was necessary.
When the troops arrived at Jack's camp in the morning they apparently surprised the sleeping Modocs. The troop took up a strategic position and demanded that the Indians surrender and bring their leaders forward. Applegate translated the orders but he realized that the Indians may react violently to the demands.
A gun fight broke out and both sides shot volley after volley at each other. One Modoc, Watchman, and one soldier were killed. Another soldier died later from his wounds. The Modocs fled the village and the soldiers set fire to their lodges.
On the other side of the Lost River settlers learned of the action before the soldiers arrived and decided to raid another Modoc village on their side of the river. The citizens took up arms and went to the village to take control of the Indians. However, after entering the village they realized the potential danger of the situation and withdrew back to a settler's cabin. The Modocs shot at the cabin, but they didn't rush it. Instead they abandoned their village.
The Modoc War had begun with this Battle of Lost River. Both sides had experienced casualties and peace was lost. Captain Jack's band met up with the other villagers and crossed the thirteen mile wide Tule Lake to its southern shore over night. They decided to set up defenses in the lava beds with its craggy ravines and natural caves. They were later joined by another band of Modocs who were scared off by angry settlers. The united Modocs set up defenses inside what later became known as the Stronghold. Between 50 and 60 Modoc warriors prepared for the US Army.
All Ready!
On April 11, 1873 on the margin of a lava field near the Oregon and California border, General E.R.S. Canby and the other members of the peace commission were frightened for their lives. Eight armed Modoc Indians outnumbered the four officials, their white interpreter Frank Riddle, and his wife Toby Riddle. She had warned the General that the Indians had planned to kill him, but Canby was sure that the Modocs wouldn't try such a thing because they "dare not molest us because his troops commanded the situation" and "that where God called him to go he would go."
The general tried to calm everyone by passing out cigars. He also tried to assure the Modocs that he was only trying to work everything out peacefully. But everyone there realized it was an explosive situation.
"At-wey!" Captain Jack, the Modoc leader, yelled and raised his pistol straight at General Canby. In the Modoc language he had cried "All ready!" and now he was going to fulfill his promise to the others from his band. He was going to kill General Canby. But his pistol failed to fire. Some accounts say the general jumped but others say he just stood there apparently in disbelief. Captain Jack cocked his pistol again and this time fired directly into the face of General Canby.
The other Modocs attacked the rest of the commission and their interpreter. Boston Charley shot Rev. Thomas in the chest and head, killing him. Alfred Meacham was attacked by Schonchin John, Black Jim, and Hooker Jim. He was shot four times, but miraculously survived his wounds. He was even partially scalped by Boston Charley, but was saved by Toby Riddle. L.S. Dyar and Frank Riddle escaped but were chased for a few hundred feet and shot at by Hooker Jim and Black Jim.
Severe Punishment
From a signal station on a small outcropping of rock near the Army's camp, troops were observing the situation and sounded an alert as soon as they saw that something was wrong. Some troops ran back to their tents to get their rifles and then ran toward the meeting tent where Canby was already dead. The troops met Dyar and Riddle running back toward camp too hysterical to understand.
When they finally got to the tent they found two dead bodies and a severely wounded Meacham. The general had been stripped of all his clothing, and only Dr. Thomas's red flannel underwear was left on his body.
The sight infuriated the soldiers, but the officers calmed them down knowing it would be futile to give chase into the lava fields. They ripped a flap from the tent and covered the general's body and then withdrew back to camp with the bodies and Meacham. Back at camp they learned that another officer, Lt. W.L. Sherwood had been mortally wounded by three other Modocs near the Army's camp only ten minutes before Captain Jack gunned down General Canby.
When news of the attack reached the outside world, there was a tremendous outcry for punishment on the Modocs. General Sherman, the US Army Chief of Staff, wired Schofield, the Secretary of War, saying that "the President now sanctions the most severe punishment of the Modocs." Many called for the complete extermination of the Modoc tribe.
"A Cold Dismal Foggy Day"
After the Battle of Lost River, Hooker Jim and a band of Modocs took revenge on several unsuspecting settlers. They killed 17 male settlers (letting the women escape), including Henry Miller who had assured Major Otis that the Indians were peaceful only months earlier. Captain Jack only learned of these attacks two days later.
Now the Army had to react, and troops were called from Fort Vancouver. Governor Grover of Oregon called up his state militia and sent 120 volunteers. California, whose governor wasn't as excited about a fight as Governor Grover, sent only 24 volunteers. Lt. Colonel Wheaton, placed in charge of the troops, also sent for two howitzers and refused to advance on the Stronghold until they arrived. The guns wouldn't reach the lava beds until January 15, 47 days after the Battle of Lost River.
On January 17, 1873, 225 regulars and 104 volunteers enthusiastically began their assault on the Stronghold. The night before the planned attack, they had positioned the howitzers and slipped their soldiers onto the lava beds in the dark. They were going to attack from both the east and west and surround the Modocs. However, when the sun rose on the 17th the weather worked to the Modoc's favor.
A thick fog had covered the lava beds. Combined with the rough surface and craggy ravines, the soldiers couldn't see very far. Although the howitzers did sound the signal to advance, they didn't fire another shot during the battle because the artillery crew couldn't be sure what they were hitting.
Twenty Years in Leavenworth
On the lava beds the advance started at a walk but eventually slowed to a crawl and then stopped. Occasional shots could be heard in the fog and soldiers were hit, but nobody could see the Indians. As the day progressed, the morale of the soldiers dropped, and several ran from the battle. When the order to withdraw was finally given, 24 soldiers lay dead and another 13 were wounded. No one had seen a single Modoc.
After the battle many of the troops had lost their enthusiasm for the fight and some said they preferred the standard punishment for desertion of twenty years at Leavenworth to another day in the Stronghold. The Oregon volunteers decided to end their period of service on the 24th and return home. They wouldn't return until the spring
Inside the lava beds, the Modocs reaped the rewards of victory and salvaged weapons left behind or from the hands of dead soldiers. Curly Headed Doctor had woven a magic rope to protect the Modocs, and it had apparently worked on January 17, 1873. Now the Modocs believed they could win.
1,000 Troops
The Army reassessed the situation. Many sources estimated the number of Modoc braves at up to 200 instead of the 60 that were there. Lt. Col. Wheaton estimated that he would need 1,000 troops to take the Stronghold from them. However, the federal government in Washington, D.C. decided to take a different tactic and negotiate a peaceful end to the hostilities.
A Peace Commission of three men was drawn together to negotiate: Meacham, Jesse Applegate, and Samuel Case (Indian agent at Alsea, Oregon). Over time, the commission changed to include Meacham, General Canby, Dyar (from the Klamath reservation), and Reverend Eleazer Thomas, a Methodist minister from Petaluma, California.
General Canby traveled down to the lava beds to arrange negotiations. He had an unplanned meeting with Captain Jack during a tour of the lava beds, but made no mention of what was said. Later he requested that Jack meet with the commission at a nearby ranch. Captain Jack agreed, but failed to show for the meeting. He eventually insisted on negotiating only with his friend Steele from Yreka. Steele traveled up, talked with the Modocs, and then returned to General Canby with news that the Modocs were going to return to the reservation. Later, everyone found out that he had misunderstood the Modocs and now the Modocs were angry at him for this new blunder.
Compression
Canby was given orders from Washington not to attack and continue with the negotiations, but Canby thought a show of force was required to get Captain Jack to meet with the commission. Canby ordered his troops closer to the Stronghold and set up patrols. This "compression" tactic made the Modocs very nervous.
Eventually the two sides agreed to meet on the lava beds at a site between the US Army camp near Hospital Rock and the Stronghold. On April 2nd they met together for the first time. After the first meeting was broken up because of a rain storm, the Army set up a tent to shield the negotiators during the meetings. At each meeting Captain Jack demanded their own reservation, and after each meeting troops would be moved closer to the Stronghold.
Finally, the Modocs had decided to act. Many of the more militant warriors, including Hooker Jim and Curley Headed Doctor, pushed for an attack on the leaders of the Army. They believed that if the leaders were killed the soldiers wouldn't want to fight and would go away. Captain Jack argued against the plan. But the majority of the warriors were convinced that the plan would work, and they ridiculed Captain Jack by putting a woman's shawl and hat on him and calling him a coward. To prove his manhood and keep control of the band, he agreed to the plan and said that he would kill General Canby himself.
On April 8th Captain Jack requested a meeting at the tent, but soldiers watching the meeting site reported seeing several armed Modocs near the tent so the meeting was refused. Toby Riddle had already warned the General about the plan to kill him, but he refused to believe the Modocs would try such a desperate act.
On April 11th, the General agreed to another request for a meeting. The stage was set and the Modocs prepared for the killings. Captain Jack pulled his pistol and killed General Canby at noon and then escaped back into the Stronghold.
Second Battle of the Stronghold
After Captain Jack killed General Canby, Colonel Gillem, who had replaced Lt. Col. Wheaton after the Battle of the Stronghold, requested more troops from around the region and planned for the next assault on the Stronghold. April 15th was marked as the day to attack.
The Army ended up using the same plan as the First Battle of the Stronghold, but this time there was no fog and they had more soldiers. Their attack was slow, but they didn't stop advancing. They eventually pushed the Modocs back and forced them to abandon their caves where they had lived over the last several months.
Men, women and children retreated down long chasms in the lava beds south between the two attacking forces. When the soldiers arrived at the caves, they found only two old women and one old man.
Colonel Gillem wasn't sure which way the Modocs had escaped, so he sent troops north and south. However, when the Modocs unsuccessfully attacked a supply wagon south of the Stronghold, their escape route was revealed.
Thomas's Patrol
After chasing them for several days, they thought they knew exactly where the Modocs were hiding. General Scholfield advised Gillem to surround the Modocs and lay siege until they surrendered. Gillem knew he would need his howitzers to do this, so he sent scouting parties to find a route to a high butte where he could place his artillery. When they returned with news of a good trail he sent a patrol led by Captain Thomas to confirm the route. It would prove to be a costly mistake.
Thomas didn't have any experience fighting Indians, but there was less concern about danger since the Modocs were on the run. Along the route the soldiers didn't use a more defensive march and instead bunched together as they climbed the trail. Unknown to them, the Modocs were watching them as they started climbing the butte.
At noon, Thomas gave the command to stop and rest. The Modocs watched and positioned themselves as the soldiers rested, ate, and some even took their boots off and relaxed. As the Captain and some officers started to climb to the top of a ridge to send a signal back to camp, the Modocs attacked. They fired into the group of soldiers from three directions.
In the end it was a massacre. Twenty enlisted men and four officers were killed or mortally wounded. Sixteen others had been wounded, and the other third of the patrol had fled the battlefield. Only one Modoc had been killed during the attack. It took over a day to bring the wounded back over the rough lava beds. A special mule-mounted ambulance was rapidly developed to aid the soldiers.
On May 2nd, Colonel Jefferson Davis arrived at Gillem's camp to take over command. His troops were demoralized from the recent defeat, and they had a new respect for the Modoc warriors. More troops were being sent to the lava beds, and Wheaton's estimation of 1,000 troops was coming close to reality. The plan was to wait for more troops and prepare for more fighting. However, the Modocs would not let them wait.
Ellen's Man George
On May 7th, the Modoc's attacked four lightly guarded military wagons, but captured empty supply wagons returning for a new load of supplies. A patrol was sent to intercept the Modocs before they could escape to the southeast and maybe reach possible allies, the Pit River Indians. On the 10th the Modocs found the patrol and attacked their camp early in the morning. But instead of chasing many of the soldiers away, the officers rallied their men and counter attacked. The Modocs fled the camp, but one Indian, Ellen's Man George was left dead. That particular death caused a bitter division in the Modoc band.
Many of the Modocs, including Hooker Jim, Bogus Charley, and Shacknasty Jim blamed Captain Jack for the death of Ellen's Man George. After a bitter argument, they decided to split the band and find their escape as two groups. Captain Jack, his family, Schonchin John, Black Jim, and other followers went with Captain Jack. The others went north, but were later captured. Captain Jack and his band first headed east and then north by Clear Lakes.
Col. Davis convinced Hooker Jim and other Modocs to help them find Captain Jack. In return, they would eventually be exempted from trial. They knew exactly where to go, to Willow Creek, one of Captain Jack's favorite camping sites. When they arrived on May 29, they approached the camp cautiously as two squadrons. They found individuals and groups of Modocs and arrested them, but Jack couldn't be found.
They convinced Scarfaced Charley to find Captain Jack and talk him into surrendering. When Charley returned he said that Jack would surrender in the morning, so the troops camped and waited. In the morning they found out that Jack and two other Modocs had escaped during the night and they gave chase.
On June 1st they caught up with him and captured the other two Modoc warriors. Realizing the end was near, Captain Jack surrendered peacefully, handed them his gun, and shook their hands.
Prisoners of War
Captain Jack and the other prisoners were eventually taken to the military camp on the Peninsula on Tule Lake. Many were transported in wagons, but they were only lightly guarded. One wagon was attacked by two unidentified white men who shot and killed four men and wounded one Modoc woman. It was suspected that Oregon volunteers were responsible, but no effort was made to find out who the killers were.
Davis decided to try and severely punish only the leaders of the Modocs. None of the widows who escaped the attack on the settlers after the Battle of Lost River could identify any of the Modocs, so nobody could be tried for those crimes. But six Modocs were singled out to face charges for the killing of General Canby and Lt. Sherwood. Even before their trial, gallows were constructed for Captain Jack, Schonchin Jack, Black Jim (captured by Oregon volunteers), Boston Charley, Barncho, and Sloluck.
Colonel Davis ordered the prisoners moved to Fort Klamath where a more secure stockade was built to hold all the indians. But one Modoc refused to live as a prisoner. Before they were moved, Curly Haired Jack managed to secure a pistol and kill himself.
Although the Governor of Oregon requested that the prisoners be given over to Oregon for trial, the US Attorney General decided the Modocs were prisoners of war and that they should be tried in front of a military commission. The commission consisted of six Army officers. The Modocs had no lawyers and had to represent themselves.
Two and One-Half Square Miles
However, the Modocs were not without their defenders. Congressman J. K. Luttrell from California called for an investigation into the treatment of the Modocs. While he agreed with the punishment for the leaders, he accused the Indian Reservations for being responsible for the whole war. Secretary of the Interior Delano received numerous pleas for mercy from organizations and individuals across the nation.
On July 9th, all six were convicted of murder and assault with intent to kill, and sentenced to hang. A few weeks later, President Grant commuted the death sentence for Barncho and Sloluck to life in prison at Alcatraz. Their jailers received orders not to tell the two until only minutes before the hanging and the six nooses were left until all six men were led out, then the two were taken away.
At 10:20am on October 3, 1873, the four men were hung in front of a large group of Klamath and Modoc Indians. Colonel Wheaton was in charge of their burial and shipping the surgically removed heads to the Army Medical Museum back east.
The other Modoc Indians were immediately sent to Yreka, California where they were moved by train back to Fort McPherson, Nebraska. From there they were sent south to the Indian Territory where they received two and one-half square miles to live on. After over three decades of living in poverty and disease, they were allowed to return to the Klamath Reservation.
The total cost for the military campaign, trial, and punishment has been estimated at over one million dollars. The price of buying the land where Captain Jack wanted a Modoc reservation would have cost only $20,000.
Below you will find a map of the area and below that are three sections of information on:
Some of the Mordocs
Some of the Soldiers
Some of the Settlers
From Klamath Falls, take Highway 39 south to Tulelake. Stop here to eat because there are no places to eat on the National Monument. Past Tulelake follow the signs to the National Monument.
During the summer months, you can take a government road north from Bartle located on Highway 89.
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The Modocs called themselves the Maklaks and were part of the Lulacas coast tribe before 1800. Their language is part of the Lutumanian linguistic group. At about 1800 they broke away from the Lulacas because of an argument about tribute to the chief. Chief Moadacus led his new tribe to the area near Lost River.
Captain Jack
Captain Jack was the leader of the Modoc Indians who fought the U.S. Army for several months in 1872. However, he didn't have complete control over the band. The Modocs stressed individual choice but worked as a group. Jack would accept the choice of the whole band even if he didn't agree with it. He argued against killing General Canby, but the majority of the warriors believed it would send the Army away, so Jack went along with the plan.
Boston Charley
The miners in Yreka called him Boston because he had a light complexion and almost appeared Caucasian. Boston Charley was one of the four Modocs hung on October 3, 1873. He shot Rev. Thomas on April 11th.
Scarfaced Charley
He got his name because of a disfiguring scar on his face reportedly caused when he fell off a wagon when he was a young man. Scarfaced Charley was one of the more militant of the Modocs and may have shot the first shot of the Modoc War at the Battle of Lost River.
John Schonchin
He was the brother of Old Schonchin, one the the Chiefs of the Modoc Tribe. He was hung with Captain Jack on October 3rd, 1873 for his part in the killing of General Canby and Rev. Thomas.
Black Jim
Black Jim was one of the four Modocs to hang on October 3rd. He shot and tried to scalp Meacham when General Canby was shot. After the Second Battle of the Stronghold, he and a few of the other Modocs left the two main bands of Modocs and tried to escape the U.S. Army. They were captured by Oregon Volunteers.
Hooker Jim
Hooker Jim was one of the most violent and independent members of the Modoc Tribe. After the Battle of Lost River he and a small group of Modocs took revenge on the settlers and killed 17. When he was captured after the Second Battle of the Stronghold, he agreed to help the Army find Captain Jack in return for escaping the hangman's noose.
Barncho and Sloluck
They were at the scene when General Canby and Rev. Thomas were killed. President Grant commuted their death sentences, but they were sent to prison on Alcatraz. Barncho died of tuberculosis in prison, but Sloluck was released and sent to his tribe in Oklahoma in February 1878.
During the Civil War (1861-1865) most of the Army was serving back east in the war, so the western forts were manned with a minimum staff. The Army had to rely on volunteers and state militias from the western states. After the Civil War, many officers and men who had served in the war were sent west to protect the settlers and control the native Indians.
General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
Canby was the Commanding General of the Columbia, commanding all U.S. Troops in Oregon and Washington from his headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Canby was a general in the Civil War and led Union troops in the last major battle of the war at Mobile, Alabama in 1865. He accepted the surrender of General Edmund Kirby of the Confederate Department of the Trans Mississippi on June 2, 1865. He was killed by Captain Jack on April 11, 1873.
Colonel Jefferson C. Davis
Davis took command of the campaign after General Canby was killed. He fought for the Union Army during the Civil War, and resented the fact that the president of the Confederacy had the same name. During the war he got into an argument with Maj. Gen. William Nelson and shot him dead. Lucky for Davis, his friend Governor Oliver Morton of Indiana was a witness to the fight and Davis was not punished.
Colonel Alvan Cullem Gillem
Gillem commanded the Army troops around the Stronghold from January 23rd until April 21st when Colonel Davis relieved him. He was a graduate of West Point and fought the Seminoles in Florida as a second lieutenant before the Civil War.
Major John Green
Green led the cavalry troop to Lost River where the first battle of the war occurred. He was also in charge of the troops on the western side for both the First and Second Battles of the Stronghold.
Lt. William L. Sherwood
Shot several times by Curley Headed Doctor, Steamboat Frank, and a third Modoc warrior. Lt. Sherwood and Lt. Boyle went outside of camp to find out what two Modocs waving a white flag wanted. When things looked suspicious they turned and started back to camp, but the Modocs fired on them and killed Sherwood.
Captain Evan Thomas
Thomas led the ill-fated patrol to Schonchin Flow. He was the son of Lorenzo Thomas, retired Adjutant General of the U.S. Army. Captain Thomas had no experience fighting Indians, but he had proven his bravery as an officer at Fredricksburg and Gettysburg during the Civil War. He and 24 other men were killed in the Modoc attack.
Lt. Col. Frank Wheaton
Wheaton was commanding officer of the District of the Lakes before and after the Modoc Wars. He was in command of the troops during the First Battle of the Stronghold, and afterwards predicted that 1,000 troops would be needed to take the Stronghold. Wheaton was replaced by Colonel Gillem on January 23rd and returned to Camp Warner. Later, he was in charge of the burial of the executed Modocs and the shipment of their severed heads to the Army Medical Museum. Wheaton retired a Major General in 1897.
The Applegates
The Applegates have a long history in Oregon and several members of the family played crucial parts in the events leading up to the Modoc War. Jesse Applegate was one of the original members of the Peace Commission until he left after some newspapers attacked his financial practices and he became upset with how the commission was working. Ivan Applegate, one of Jesse's nephews, was a translator for the Klamath Reservation and was at the Battle of Lost River. Ivan's brother Oliver commanded a small company of mostly Indian volunteers during the Modoc War.
L.S. Dyar
Dyar served as sub-agent of the Klamath Reservation beginning May 1, 1872. He worked with Meacham to try to get Captain Jack back onto the reservation before the Modoc War. He replaced Jesse Applegate on the Peace Commission and was the the meeting on April 11 when General Canby was killed, but Dyar escaped unharmed.
Alfred B. Meacham
Before he served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon, Meacham was a toll road and hotel operator in the Blue Mountain area of northeastern Oregon. He was a prominent member of the Methodist church and brought his strong morals to the office when he tried to clean up what he believed to be a corrupt agency. He was shot several times and partially scalped by Modocs when General Canby was killed. After the war he toured the country on a lecture circuit talking about the war. He also wrote books on the topic.
T.B. Odeneal
Odeneal replaced Meacham as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon in 1872. He decided to force Captain Jack to return to the Klamath Reservation and pressured Major Green into sending troops to collect the Modocs at Lost River.
Frank and Toby Riddle
The Riddles worked as translators for the Army before and during the Modoc War. They were present when General Canby was killed. After the War, they went on a lecture tour with Meacham to talk about the Modocs. In 1914, their son Jeff C. Riddle wrote a book on the Modoc War, The Indian History of the Modoc War, and the Causes That Led to It.
Elijah Steele
Elijah Steele was a native of New York. When he came out to California he practiced the law and for a time served as agent for the Indian tribes in the Yreka area. He became friends with several of the Modocs, including Captain Jack, and reportedly gave Captain Jack his name.
In one of the stranger episodes of the Modoc story, Steele penned a treaty with the Modocs completely on his own without the government even knowing about it. Steele had served as Indian agent for the Yreka region, but had been replaced by Austin Wiley. After he was removed from his appointed service, the Modocs personally asked Steele to forge a treaty with them. He decided any treaty was better than none, so he went ahead and wrote the document and signed it with the Indians. Later, when the Indians referred to the treaty during an argument with the government, they were shocked to find out it had no value. Even after that debacle, the Modocs still trusted him and even requested him to negotiate with them during the Modoc War.
Rev. Eleazer Thomas
Thomas was a 58 year-old Methodist minister from Petaluma, California. He was killed with General Canby on April 11, 1873.
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Created on : 24 Jul 00
Last update: 23 Nov 00
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