Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/577

Rh treaty. Jack hesitated and prevaricated, and during the night fled with a part of his followers to the lava-beds south of Tule Lake, leaving the camp in charge of two subchiefs, George and Riddle. But Meacham remained upon the ground, and after two or three days correspondence with Jack by means of messengers, obtained his consent to come upon the reservation with his people, Jack at the same time confiding his resolve to George not to remain longer than he found it agreeable. Meacham established Jack comfortably at Modoc Point, on Klamath Lake, by his own desire, where also Sconchin was temporarily located while improvements were being made upon the lands intended for cultivation.

As I have intimated, the military department threw doubts upon the manner in which the Indian department provided for the wants of the Indians; and to prevent any occasion being given to Jack to violate treaty obligations, Captain O. C. Knapp was commissioned agent, who was profuse in his allowances to the Modocs in order to cultivate their regard. But all in vain. Early in the spring Jack, pretending to be starved, but in reality longing for the dissipations of Yreka, and designing, by drawing away as many as possible of Sconchin's men, to become a full chief, left the reservation with his band, and returned to Lost River Valley, which was now being settled up by white cattle-raisers. This movement of Jack's caused Meacham to accuse Knapp of permitting the Klamaths to annoy and insult the Modocs, thus provoking them to flight. Meacham was a man with a hobby. He believed that he knew all about the savage race, and how to control it. Like Steele, when he accepted the chieftainship of Jack's band in 1864, he was flat-