Page:The Indian History of the Modoc War.djvu/30



council of war. They decided to send two runners, one south, and the other north for help. Sometime in the afternoon the runners got back to their comrades with many more blood- thirsty savages.

Men and women were all astir at the emigrant camp, caring for the wounded, digging trenches, etc. The Indians renewed their attack about midnight, but were put to rout by the whites. Their aim was deadly. Soon as darkness was at hand the Indians commenced on the heart-stricken emigrants again. The white man's guns did not do any damage. All their shooting was guess-work. A few of the emigrants made their escape on horse-back in the forepart of the night. After midnight the rest of them made their escape. The first ones made their way towards Yreka, California; the others went towards Ashland, Oregon.

The Indians charged the emigrant camp next morning at the break of day, but were surprised to find that their intended victims had got away. Some of them said that none had escaped ; that they were all there dead. When it got good and light some of them found the tracks of their fleeing victims. None of them took up the trail ; they were too eager to loot. One Indian found a little girl ten or twelve years of age. He took her and said, "I will take this girl and care for her ; some day she can get among her kind of people; I will give her a chance. Now I ask a favor of all you men: Do not kill her." They all promised him that the girl would not be harmed. They divided everything among themselves ; they set fire to the wagons and burnt them. They left the dead white people lay where they had fallen. They all took to the mountains: some going north, some south, and others east.

The party that went north took the white girl along. After the party had gone about three miles the Indians got into a fight among themselves. During the mix-up the white girl was killed accidentally. She was left under a big juniper tree. Two days after the massacre there was a few Indians on the big mountain that stands north of the outlet of Lost River, watching a heavy dust that was raising up like a mighty cloud. The dust settled and it began to raise heavier than