HUNTING INDIANS IN A FOG. 



LIEUT. C. B. HARDIN, U. S. A. 



During the Modoc war, in 1873, I was 

 a member of Troop G, 1st Cavalry. With 

 Troops B, F, and H, of the same regiment, 

 5 companies of infantry, and a few Kla- 

 math Indians, we were encamped at Land's 

 ranche, 8 or 10 miles East of Captain Jack's 

 stronghold. Gen. Wheaton, with more 

 troops, was 4 miles West of the Modocs. 

 At midnight of January 16th our little com- 

 mand moved out on foot, and in single 

 rile, over a rough trail. Until daylight we 

 moved slowly on account of darkness, and 

 then still more slowly because of a dense 



ceased firing. The fog made good shooting 

 impossible, and we had but 3 men wounded. 

 The Modocs suffered but slight loss. 



We picked up our wounded, and went 

 into camp for the night. We were not a 

 jolly party. The old hands knew that our 

 work was yet before us, and the youngsters 

 were nervous, having found that Indian 

 fighting was by no means a lark. I thought 

 myself fortunate in being assigned to picket 

 duty with Private Lavelle — the jolliest fel- 

 low in the troop. But Lavelle had made 

 up his mind he was to die, on the mor- 



THE FIGHT WITH THE MODOCS IN THE 



LAVA BEDS. 

 Headquarters on Tule Lake, from bluff north of camp. 



fog. We could not see 50 yards, and were 

 in doubt as to our exact position. The 

 greater part of the forenoon was spent in 

 halts. It was a bad day to hunt Indians, 

 but we had Gen. Wheaton's orders to move 

 forward, and there was nothing else to be 

 done. About noon we found a herd of 

 Indian ponies and promptly gathered them 

 in. The noise we made in so doing in- 

 formed the Indians of our presence, and we 

 fell back to avoid a premature engagement, 

 followed by a few random shots from the 

 redskins. We had retreated perhaps a mile, 

 when a volley, accompanied with the usual 

 yells, told that our retreat was cut off, and 

 we must either fight or crawl. 



Troop B was ordered to charge and did 

 so in gallant style; meeting with such a 

 warm reception, however, that Troop G 

 was sent to their assistance. The Indians 

 were chased from point to point until they 



THE FIGHT WITH THE MODOCS IN THE 



LAVA BEDS. 



Headquarters and bluff ; from beyond picket line, looking 

 N. W. 



row, and talked of nothing else; so I had 

 a bad night of it. 



At daybreak we moved out to the attack, 

 leaving a few men to care for the camp. 

 One of these men, hearing of Lavelle's 

 presentiment, begged to exchange posi- 

 tions with him; but like the good soldier 

 he was, Lavelle refused to shirk his duty. 



We started out as skirmishers, and kept 

 that formation all day. The fog was, if 

 possible, more dense than before, and the 

 silence, unbroken save by the caution of 

 our officers — " Steady, men, keep your in- 

 tervals!" was positively awful. When we 

 had advanced about half a mile, we found 

 some ponies hobbled in front of a natural 

 wall of rock. This wall was shaped like 

 a horse-shoe, with the opening toward us. 



The ponies were a bait for a beautifully 

 planned ambuscade, and the Indians were 

 massed behind the wall, ready to gobble 



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