1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



14» 



erumeut to a dtfiued reservation, and 

 treaties were made with them, which 

 were repealedly hrokeri. The tribe wai^ 

 the prey cf post traders, contractors and 

 of almost every white man who came 

 in contact with it. The only one of the 

 hated whites in whom the Indians had 

 confidence was the late Judge Elijah 

 Steele. To th ^s man they went for coun- 

 sel and advice, but in the lapse of time 

 they even ccutemplated taking his life, 

 as in the Indian mode of reasoning the 

 death of a single white man erases the 

 wrongs perpetrated by many. 



Sullen at first under their injuries, the 

 Modocs were awakened to fury and de- 

 clared vengeance on their oppressors. 

 The memory of any detail of the Wright 

 affair was never allowed to fade. At 

 every council Captain Jack or Scaic 

 Faced Charley called upon the vengeful 

 Modocs to remember the August day 

 when the palefaces had killed their fa- 

 thers and brothers. At last, in Janiiary, 

 1^73, the whites in northern California 

 knew that another Indian war was at 

 hand. 



Shortly after hostilities began the 

 government appointed a peace commis- 

 sioner to confer with the rebellious red- 

 skins and endeavor to make peace. In 

 the meantime Riddle and other squaw 

 men on the reservation used their influ- 

 ence toward a settlement of the dilfi- 

 culty, but to no effect. The turbulent 

 warriors led by Captain Jack were bent 

 on a slaughter. When the peace com- 

 missioner arrived on the ground, the 

 Indians refused to treat with him. Thoy 

 did, however, finally agree to surrender 

 to Judge Steele and two other men of 

 that region and arranged to give up 

 ttieir arms tne toilowing day." Wlicu 

 Steele and his companions went to the 

 agreed place of the surrender, not an 

 Indian was'in sight, and they returned 

 to the military camp. Steele then agreed 

 to go alone and interview the war chief. 

 That night Steele went through an ex- 

 perience few men have endured. While 

 • talking to him in pacific terms in the 

 Chinook jargon they were discussing in 

 their own tongue the advisability of 

 murdering their visitor. Steele under- 

 stood sufiicieutly their language to com- 

 prehend his danger, but did not betray 

 his knowledge. The chiefs finally decid- 

 fd to spare his life on condition of his 

 bringing the commissioners and com- 



manding ofliceri; oi tlie troops to confer 

 with them. 



But for the efforts of the brave squaw, 

 Wi-ne-ma, war would have broken out 

 long before. Many times she took the 

 weapons frrm the hands of warriors 

 bent on the destruction of settlers in the 

 region, and it was she who warned the 

 officers of the army of the trouble brew- 

 ing. Her influence with her people be- 

 gan to wane as their rage against the 

 whites increased. Then, too, the w^ar- 

 riors began to mistrust her husband. 

 Her food was poisoned by Modocs, and 

 she was compelled to sleep in secret 

 places for fear of death from her own 

 brothers and relatives for her suspected 

 undue liking for white people. 



Colonel A. B. Meacham, who was in 

 command of the military post, was a 

 humane man and did all in his power 

 to right the wrongs of his dusky wards. 

 This man Wi-ne-ma revered, and when 

 the second peace commissioner was ap- 

 pointed she did all in her power to pre- 

 vent him from attending the council 

 with the chiefs. She grasped his horse 

 by the bridle, begging Meacham and 

 Canby not to meet Jack and his band. 

 When she found entreaty was in vain, 

 the devoted woman mounted her pony 

 and rode with the ill fated party to the 

 place of meeting. 



The story of that meeting has been 

 told many times. When Meacham was 

 attacked by the bloodthirsty Sconchin, 

 Wi-ne-ma threw herself on the savage 

 and begged him to spare the life of hei 

 white friend. Others coming up, W^i-ne- 

 ma ran frcm warrior to warrioi', turn- 

 ing aside their weapons. At last one ol 

 many bullets struck Meacham senseless, 

 and the quick witted squaw ttirued 

 . aside the weapon aimed to finish his 

 life, with the words, "Him dead; uc 

 use shoot." Sconchin tried to scalp 

 Meacham, when Wi-ne-ma grasped the 

 knife. The enraged buck struck her a 

 terrible blow, almost knocking hei 

 senseless. Again the wit of the woman 

 came into play. "The soldiers are com- 

 ing up!" she cried, and the next mo- 

 ment a detachment of troops did appear. 

 Amid curses from the enraged troopers, 

 a dozen weai^ons were leveled at the 

 breast of the brave squaw. Looking the 

 mounted men straight in the face, she 

 cried: "Ko shcotme! I tried to save 

 them!" Then c;-me from the ranks the 



