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Books 2
Fairytales
Background
 Lost River Murderers
Narrative
1851-1861
[work in progress]
Dictionary
A-C
D-I
J-R
S-Z
Sources
section 1
Petitions
Otis Conference
Origins
Settlers Complaints
section 2
Lost River Fight
Lost River Murders
Hot Creeks Incident
First Correspondent
1st Stronghold Battle
section 3
Peace Commission
Grover Objects
Modoc Press 1
Modoc Press 2
Steele Conference
Boston Embassy 1
section 4
Juniper Conference
Antepenultimatum
Night Council
Assassinations
section 5
2nd Stronghold Battle
Thomas Patrol
Sorass Lake
Surrender
POWs Murdered
section 6
Trial 1
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| Bibliography |
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BooksModoc War: Its Military History and Topographyby Erwin N. ThompsonFar and away the best book on the purely military aspects of the Modoc War, the book is invaluable for its maps (showing all major battles and most engagements) alone. Thompson is thoroughly familiar with the ground the war was fought over, and his archival research is adequate to the task. On the downside the book is not easy to read, and Thompson makes no attempt to cover the non-military aspects of the war. There are the usual quota of errors -- for example, Thompson attributes the idea of the peace commission to the wrong man, he places the first meeting between Captain Jack and General Canby on the wrong day, and he attributes a comment to Boyle (a partipant) that should have been attributed to Boyle's editor (a much later historian). A-
The Modocs and Their Warby Keith A. Murray Though written in 1959, this is probably still the best general history of the war. Murray's research is extensive, and he doesn't let it get in the way of narrative flow. While not suffering from the racist excesses of some earlier literature in the genre, the book is far from being politically correct by today's standards, and Murray has adopted uncritically some views from such books. His grip on the Peace Conference period is weak, and he makes numerous minor errors of identification (for example he confuses One-Eyed Dixie with Artina Choakus and Lindsay Applegate with his son Elisha), but on the whole his research is solid and his conclusions well-based. B+
Burnt-Out Fires: California's Modoc Indian Warby Richard DillonThis 1973 presentation of the Modoc War is disappointing, to say the least. In theory, having the advantage of both Murray's and Thompson's research, as well as Knight's pioneering work on the newspaper correspondents and his own extensive research in the Bancroft library and elsewhere, Dillon should have written the definitive book on the subject. In practice his book did not advance research any, and in some places was actually regressive. For instance, Dillon ignored Murray's skeptical approach to alleged early Modoc atrocities, and instead fell back on the most unreliable of sources, "Colonel" William Thompson. When he did show skepticism, it was ill-timed--he rejected George Fiock's account of a run-in with a Modoc scouting party in December 1872, most of which can be confirmed from other accounts. His account of the origin of the peace commission is hopelessly confused; on one page (186) he attributes the idea to Alfred Meacham and Lindsay Applegate, while a few pages later (190) he gives it to Jesse Applegate. (It was of course Lindsay's son Elisha Applegate who proposed the peace commission, against the wishes of his family.) He confused Donald McKay (the scout) with Alexander McKay (the surveyor turned reporter); Frank Riddle with his son Jeff; Matilda Whittle with One-Eyed Dixie--and these are only a few examples. C+
Massacres of the Mountainsby J. P. Dunn, Jr.This 1886 "History of the Indian Wars of the Far West" is remarkably even-handed in its treatment of the Modoc War, considering the date it was written and the author's prejudices. It is all the more remarkable when you compare it to his hypocritical and one-sided treatment of the Sand Creek massacre in which Colonel Chivington and Governor Evans can do no wrong and the Cheyennes are fiends incarnate. His account of "The Tragedy of the Lava Beds" is largely accurate, though brief. Many key events -- the Ben Wright affair, the Steele treaty, the early peace negotiations -- are entirely omitted. C
Pacific Northwest Indian Warsby Ray Hoard GlassleyGlassley devotes nine chapters of his 1953 book to the Modoc War, and about the kindest thing that can be said of it is that it could have been worse. Much worse. C-
Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeby Dee BrownThe chapter "The Ordeal of Captain Jack" is a well written, gripping, and poignant account of the Modoc struggle. No doubt it would be asking too much for it to be historically accurate as well. D
Reminiscences of a Pioneerby Colonel William ThompsonThis book is well worth reading, if only as a reminder of just how bad unaided memory can be. "Colonel" William Thompson was a participant in the war, and about one third of his book is taken up with it. As the title suggests, Thompson trusted his memory to guide him through his account. His memory abused that trust shamefully. His account is a mass of mistakes, confusions, and what appear to be malicious misrepresentations from one end to the other. He narrates events that never happened and leaves out events that did. He routinely confuses one person with another, attributing words and actions to people who didn't say or do what he said they did. It is fascinating as a guide to the mind of the "Colonel", but worthless as a source of information on the war. F |
NewspapersThe Associated PressNot a newspaper, nor the later press association, but a loose alliance of newspapers receiving items over the Western Union telegraph lines. Wire dispatches from Yreka (California), Jacksonville (Oregon), and Ashland (Oregon), are an important source of information about the Modoc War. (Dispatches from other cities in the west are also useful for keeping track of the movements of troops, civilians, and the like as well.) The wire dispatches exist in three different versions, which I am calling the NW version (found in Oregon papers), the Sacramento version (found in the Sacramento Union and the Yreka papers), and the SF version (found in the San Francisco papers and most of the rest of the country).
The Jacksonville Democratic TimesDemocratic. Editor: Charles Nickell. This poisonous little rag is nonetheless useful in reconstructing events of the war, assuming that one can stand to wade through its pages of vitriolic anti-Indian, anti-Chinese, and anti-Black racist garbage. Reports from Sam Culver and Stephen Booth (on the attempt to get the Hot Creeks onto the reservation; these two are on opposite sides), and from E. D. Foudray (on the situation at the front in early January), are among the more interesting items. The paper's strongly racist stands probably reflect the views of a large segment of the local populace. Unfortunately there is a gap in the extant files between 22 February and 26 July 1873; for some (but not all) of this time the paper was not issued due to a fire.
The Jacksonville Oregon SentinelRepublican. Editor: Harrison Kelly. A valuable source of information about local issues and politics, as well as containing some first-hand accounts of the war. The editor, Harrison Kelly, was a leader of the Oregon Volunteers, and some of his letters home were reprinted in the paper. Some other noteworthy items are Arthur Langell's account of bringing new of the war to the surrounding settlers, Sarah Brotherton's information about the Lost River murders, and Joseph Hyzer's defense of the Oregon Volunteers against the charge of murdering Modoc POWs.
The New York HeraldIn 1873 this was probably America's leading newspaper, and it shows. While much of its coverage of the Modoc War is of relatively little interest, being rehashes of the various wire stories relayed by a San Francisco stringer, or else reprints from the San Francisco Chronicle, the work of its reporter Edward Fox, at the front from February to May 1873, is outstanding. His replacement, H. Wallace Atwell, was also quite competent, but is best examined in his own paper, the Sacramento Record.
The New York TimesThis paper's coverage of the war begins inauspiciously with a brief notice that the Modocs had broken out from their reservation and started murdering Oregon settlers, and doesn't improve much for most of the war. The Times did reprint a couple of Bogart articles, but otherwise had not much to brag about--at least till somebody had the bright idea of getting Samuel A. Clarke, Oregon editor and occasional contributor, to cover the war for them. Unfortunately by the time Clarke got there the war was virtually over, but he did an outstanding job while he was on the scene in May and June.
The Portland BulletinRepublican; Associated Press. Editor: Harvey Scott. This short-lived rival to the Oregonian should not be overlooked. Not only is it an important witness to the Associated Press wire dispatches (NW version), but it also contains significant reports from Elisha Applegate (on the origin of the peace commission), J.N. Sutton (on Jacksonville attitudes), Ivan Applegate (on how the Modocs were treated on Klamath Reservation), and others. Its editorial bias is very much anti-Modoc, anti-Meacham, and pro-Odeneal (Odeneal became its editor after the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for Oregon was abolished). It was very selective about what it reprinted, sometimes leaving out material that conflicted with its position; a reader of the Bulletin, for example, would never guess that a Modoc village had been attacked by settlers led by Oliver Applegate in November 1872; the only time that the paper mentions the event it denies it.
The Portland HeraldDemocratic; Associated Press. Unfortunately, the extant files of this paper are incomplete; I have only been able to look at two papers for the time-period of the Modoc War. The paper did have a correspondent at the scene, probably one of the Oregon Volunteers, in December 1872 and January 1873, and it published an important letter from Louisa Boddy on the Lost River Murders; these, fortunately, were reprinted by other papers. Who knows what wasn't?
The Portland OregonianRepublican; Associated Press. Although an important witness to the NW text of the Associated Press dispatches, the Oregonian contains little else of value. Some opinion pieces (letters to the editor, editorials) provide insights into the attitudes of the time, and there is a fascinating (and totally bogus) account of the Ben Wright affair.
The Red Bluff Sentinel
The Sacramento Record
The Sacramento UnionAssociated Press. Important as the sole witness to the Sacramento version of the Associated Press wire dispatches.
The Salem MercuryDemocratic. Editor: "Colonel" William Thompson. This was more or less Governor Grover's organ, and reflected his views. The Republican-appointed Peace Commission was one of its favorite targets, with Elijah Steele a pet hate.
The Salem Oregon StatesmanRepublican.
The San Diego Daily UnionThis was a four-page daily, and not the weekly one might expect. It paid relatively little attention to the Modoc War, mainly reprinting brief summaries of the Associated Press dispatches, probably from the SF text. Three items are of some interest: a letter from Lindsay Applegate giving an Applegate version of Modoc history; a news item contributed by him; and the paper's widely-reprinted denial of the Ben Wright Affair.
The San Francisco Alta California
The San Francisco ChronicleOne of the most important newspapers covering the Modoc War. The Chronicle was the first paper to have a reporter (Robert Bogart) on the scene, and it kept somebody there longer than any other paper. (Other reporters covering the war for the Chronicle were H. W. Atwell of the Sacramento Record and its own H. S. Shaw.) The paper's editorial stance, which is more sympathetic to the Modocs than most Western papers, is a refreshing reminder that not all nineteenth century Americans thought alike. The paper was not a member of the Associated Press, but belonged to a short-lived rival press association.
The San Francisco Evening BulletinAssociated Press.
The San Francisco Morning CallAssociated Press.
The Yreka Journal
The Yreka Union |
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