Page:The Indian History of the Modoc War.djvu/10



Mr. Riddle, the author of the following history of the Modoc War, has included in his text all that need be said by way of foreword and introduction. He is himself a Modoc Indian, the son of the chief figure in that struggle, and he was an eye witness of most of the events that he describes. There have been other histories of the Modoc War and of some of these the author gives his opinion an unflattering one. Most of them were written from hearsay and naturally from the point of view of the white man. Here we have the point of view of the Indian, but it is a point of view that is consonant with accuracy and with impartiality. Mr. Riddle's story can speak for itself.

It may be said in conclusion, that it has been thought advisable to have the story practically as it came from the author's pen. Here and there a word has been changed where the meaning has seemed obscure, and an occasional date has been rectified, but with these exceptions, there has been no attempt either to correct the form or to embellish the language.

The present publication of Mr. Riddle's story may derive a certain opportuneness from the fact of its appearance on the forty-first anniversary of a racial struggle written in red upon the face of California history, and upon that of Oregon as well.