The Indian History Of The Modoc War, And The Causes That Led To It

JEFF C RIDDLE

Publication: Privately printed, 1914, N P

First edition. 8vo. Signed on the front free fly leaf by Minerva Beardsley nee Minerva Riddle, daughter of Jeff Riddle. Pictorial cloth, 288 pp., many illustrations, maps. An eyewitness account of the Modoc War, told by a Modoc Indian, the son of Wi-ne-ma, the Modoc woman who saved Peace Commissioner Alfred Meacham when Captain Jack and other Modocs killed General E. R. S. Canby and others during peace negotiations. Cowan II, p.532: "Riddle's eye-witness account of this Indian war, together with the reproductions of rare old photographs which illustrate his text, makes his history one of the most important narratives of the Modoc War, especially in so far as it presents the Indian side of the conflict." Much regarding the treachery of the whites in events leading up to this difficult and protracted war. Riddle argues that the Modoc War resulted from years of government mistakes, broken promises, and growing tensions between the Modoc and white settlers. The Modoc people had lived for generations around Tule Lake and Lost River in present-day California and Oregon when the U.S. government required them to move to the Klamath Reservation, where they faced food shortages, poor treatment, and conflict with the Klamath Tribe. A group led by "Captain Jack" Kintpuash left the reservation and returned to their homeland because conditions had become so intolerable. Disputes between settlers, local officials, and the Modoc escalated, while government officials failed to resolve the underlying problems peacefully. An attempt by the U.S. Army to force Captain Jack's band back to the reservation led to fighting at Lost River in November 1872, which began the Modoc War. The Modoc defended themselves from strong positions in the Lava Beds, where a small number of warriors resisted a much larger U.S. force for months. The killing of General Edward Canby during peace negotiations ended hopes for a negotiated settlement and led to a larger military campaign. After the Modoc surrendered, Captain Jack and several followers were executed, and many surviving Modoc were forcibly removed to Indian Territory. Light wear to the spine ends, lightly soiled at bottom of front and rear cover, else an uncommonly clean, bright, very good copy.