Page:The Indian History of the Modoc War.djvu/105



CHAPTER X.

Troops advance on the Modocs April 14th. Hard battle for three days. Indians show good marksmanship first three days of fight- ing. Indians vacate their caves the night of April 18th, 1873. April 2Cth, Wright and his company move on the Indians. Troops routed.

The troops did not advance on the Modocs till the third day after the massacre. When the soldiers were within half a mile of the stronghold, their advance was checked or stopped by a heavy rifle volley. The Modocs had been lying in wait for the soldiers, so the consequences were the Modocs fired the first volley. Seven or eight soldiers was killed. Every man was hit either in the head or neck during the first three days of fighting after the killing of the Peace Commissioners. No Indian was killed or wounded in action during the three days' fighting. The troops withdrew out of danger. The Modocs still held their ground and breastworks. No firing on either side, but all the while when there was no firing be- tween the foes the soldiers was building breastworks or forts under cover of darkness and after the breastworks was com- pleted the boys in blue occupied them.

One morning, just as the sun was peeping over the moun- tains, April 1 6, 1873, after a long night of desultory firing on both sides, some of the soldier boys saw an old squaw half \valking and crawling towards the lake. The soldiers fired several shots at her, but the deadly bullets all went wild. How- ever, the shots did not change her mind. She was determined to get to the lake; water was what she wanted. She was choking for it. When she was just within a few more steps of the precious beverage, a heavy hand fell on her shoulder. She stopped and turned. She saw standing by her side a soldier with his gun pointing at her head. She was captured and taken a prisoner. He was an Irishman. Pat made her go inside of his breastworks, where his companions were try- ing to get a shot at some Indian they may happen to see. He made the old squaw sit down. He gave her water