Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1873.djvu/11

Rh conflicts between our savage wards and our white citizens. The statement here made, if properly considered, will suggest to the reflecting mind how greatly increased are the difficulties of preserving peace, and securing everywhere the lives and property of our progressive and enterprising western settlers We must look for and prepare to prevent, as far as possible, a clashing of interests where habits are so diverse.

Our civilization is ever aggressive, while the savage nature is tenacious of traditional customs and rights. The natural distrust of the Indians, embittered by generations of real or fancied imposition and wrong, coupled with the greatly increased facilities and temptations for hostile raids and petty outrages is probably more than Indian nature can withstand, and it will be difficult to avoid for a time an increase of such occurrences. This condition of things calls loudly for more efficient efforts to separate the Indians from the whites by placing them on suitable reservations as fast as circumstances will permit to avoid such collisions in the future,

THE MODOC WAR.

The most serious diffiiculty which the Indian Office and the Department have encountered during the year with any Indian tribe is that known as the Modoc war. As soon as I had reason to anticipate serious hostilities from the Modocs every possible effort was made by the Department and the Indian Bureau, co-operating with the War Department, to adjust the difficulty without bloodshed. So desirable was it to accomplish this end that it was deemed advisable to exhaust all possible measures calculated to secure peace. Unfortunately, however, so much excitement and so strong a desire for revenge were found to exist as to prevent the accomplishment of this object. It would be useless to attempt to trace here the causes which defeated these efforts and ended in the sad catastrophe with which the country is familiar. The final treachery of the Modoc chiefs, which culminated in the assassination of Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby, of the Army, and Rev. Edward Thomas, D. D., of California, one of the commissioners treating with him for a peaceful adjustment of the difficulties, and in the serious and dangerous wounding of A. B. Meacham, of Oregon, another member of the commission, rendered it necessary to inflict upon this tribe not only severe but exemplary punishment. This was accomplished, first, by the Army in totally subduing the Modocs and capturing most of the tribe, in the trial and conviction by court-martial, and finally in the execution of the most notorious and wicked leaders of the tribe. This being accomplished you deemed it advisable, if possible, to make this the occasion of furnishing to other Indian tribes an example calculated to deter them in future from the commencement of hostilities. To do this most effectually it was deemed best to remove the entire remnant of the tribe to this side of the Rocky Mountains, to break up its tribal relations and divide the members thereof among certain friendly Indians in the Southern superintendency. This work is now in process of accomplishment,