Page:The Indian History of the Modoc War.djvu/154



the soldiers had to give up the chase. Ben Lawver and his father and the man that had the seven mile fight with the soldiers all met after dark in a little valley about nine miles north of Steele's Swamp which is now known as AVillow Valley. They all stayed over night right where they found one another.

Capt. Jack, Jerry Hubbard and others escaped under cover of darkness. They aimed to get back to their camp on the east side of Bryant Mountain, west side of Langall's Valley, Oregon. Next morning the troops took the Willow thicket by charging but was disappointed to find that Jack and the others had taken their departure. General Wheaton ordered the troops to break camp. He detailed five men to go with Scarf ace Charley and five men to go with Hooker Jim and Shaknasty Jim. He told Bogus Charley to accompany him and the rest of the troops to take the prisoners to Col. Ma- son's camp on the peninsular on Tule Lake. Gen. Wheaton arrived at Mason's camp in the afternoon of the same day he left Capt. Jack's last stand near Steele's Swamp, California, a distance of about t\venty-one miles.

Scar face Charley took the trail of Ben Lawver, the five soldiers with him. They found where the Indians had camped in Willow Valley about ten o'clock. Scarface and the soldiers followed the trail o-f the Indians on a gallop, although the country the Indians traveled through was very rocky.

I want to say here that Scarface Charley was among the best trailers Capt. Jack had.

When Scarface got near the head of LangelFs Valley, Oregon, he stopped his horse and pointed off down the slope saying, "Yonder they are. They are coming back this way.- get off, boys. We will wait for them here, and when they get about in the center of that flat we will charge them."

About that time they heard some shots south of them, not far off. The Indians that Scarface was lying in wait for gained the open flat about the time they heard the shots. Scarface said to the soldiers : "Now get ready. Keep behind me. Do not shoot till they show fight. I think we can take them without firing a shot."