the time to subdue the Indians. Then the Indians assumed hostilities, and commenced killing the people. By the time the Department commander at Portland had heard of it, the Indians had gathered together and got into an unassailable position, and the first force that was sent there was beaten back, and so it grew from a little thing into a big thing before it was laid hold of by the Department commander. The CHAIRMAN. State in what way this case of Canby's differed from the case of an ordinary military officer in charge of a post against the Indians. General SHERMAN. General Canby was one of those singularly cautious, conscientious men, who are not so common now as they used to be. He looked upon it as his duty to fulfill the orders, and the spirit of the orders, coming to him from the highest, or from any superior, authority. General Schofield was in supreme command of the Pacific division, embracing California and Oregon, but he had gone, for the benefit of his health, to the Sandwich Islands, leaving General Canby in Oregon, temporarily in command of the whole division of the Pacific. He made himself familiar, as rapidly as he could, with the interests of all parts. About this time this Modoc matter, on the borders of Oregon and California, had begun to grow into a serious matter; telegrams came to Washington, and, instead of attacking these Indians in position, orders went out, "Do not attack; wait a while, and give the peace commissioners a chance to confer with the Indians, and to reason with them, and to remonstrate with them." And commissioners were sent all the way from Washington out there. General Canby was simply kept advised not to attempt anything, but to keep the statu quo until these gentlemen could have time to arrange matters. But little personal difficulties grew up among these commissioners; one wanted one thing, and another wanted another thing, and they couldn't exactly agree. Mr. Delano, I think, made a personal request that General Canby should go down there from Portland in person, resting more in the faith of his character than in his office. He was very well known here in Washington. He went down there, and, as he understood, not so much as the commander of the troops, or of the military division of the Pacific, but as General Cauby, to assist in untying this ugly knot. I have no doubt at all that, when General Canby consented to go into Captain Jack's camp that fatal day, he knew that he was doing an imprudent military thing-not his duty as an officer, but out of regard for the peace commissioners; feeling that, possibly, Captain Jack did mean to act in good faith, and by a little persuasion would yield to their representations, and would go back, as required, to his place on the Klamath reservation. In other words, he surrendered his character as a military commander, and put himself in the power of Captain Jack and his little knot of Modocs as a peace commissioner. (General Sherman here submitted copies of some of the telegrams passing between the War Department and the Interior Department upon the subject of the Modoc difficulties. They are as follows:) HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, I am instructed by the Secretary of War to telegraph you that it is the desire of the President that you use the troops to protect the inhabitants as against the Modoc Indians, but, if possible, to avoid war. W. T. SHERMAN, General. [Telegram by the Western Union Telegraph Company, dated Portland, Oreg., January 30, 1873.] To Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Commanding the Army, Washington, D. C.: I am satisfied that hostilities with the Modocs would have resulted under any circumstances, from the enforcement of the Commissioner's order to place them on the reservation. New facts show very clearly that they were determined to resist, and had made preparations to do so. If the arrangements for their removal had been properly carried out, the lives of the settlers who were murdered by them might have been saved, but hostilities would still have resulted and their blows would have fallen elsewhere and later; on the approach of a force too large to resist, they would have betaken themselves to the mountains or to their caves and kept up the war from those points. Since the commencement, they have twice attacked trains, evidently for the purpose of securing ammunition for carrying on the war. I have been very solicitous that these Indians should be fairly treated, and have repeatedly used military force, lest they might be wronged, until their claims or pretensions were decided by proper authority. That having been done, I think they should now be treated as any other criminals, and that there will be no peace in that part of the frontier until they are subdued and punished. Colonel Gillem acknowledges receipt of instructions of this morning, and asks if Captain Jack shall be notified that he will not be molested if he remains quiet. If not inconsistent with the President's desire, I propose to instruct him to hold communication with Captain Jack, to prevent his getting supplies of any kind, and to treat as enemies any of his party that may be found in the settlements without proper authority, but to make no aggressive movement until further orders. E. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier-General, Commanding. [Telegram by Western Union Telegraph Company, dated Portland, Oreg., January 30, 1873.] To Gen. W. T. SHERMAN : Telegram of this date just received; instructions in conformity thereto will be sent at once by telegraph and courier. Gen. E. R. S. CANBY, E. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier-General, Commanding. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Washington, D. C., January 31, 1873. Commanding Department of the Columbia, Portland, Oregon : Your two dispatches of yesterday are received, and will be laid before the President to-day, and as positive an answer will be sent as the case admits of. Let all defensive measures proceed, but order no attack on the Indians till the former orders are modified or changed by the President, who seems disposed to allow the peace men to try their hands on Captain Jack. W. T. SHERMAN, General. [Submitted to Secretary of War, January 31, 1873.] GENERAL SHERMAN: The President approves your telegram to General Canby of January 31. He desires General Canby to be informed by telegraph that commissioners have been appointed, with whom he is desired to confer. The commissioners have been directed to notify General Canby, from San Francisco, of the time and place where they can meet him. FEBRUARY 1, 1873. WM. W. BELKNAP, [Telegram.] Gen. E. R. S. CANBY, HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, Commanding, Fairchild's Ranch, Cal., Modoc Country: All parties here have absolute faith in you, but mistrust the commissioners. If that Modoc affair can be terminated peacefully by you, it will be accepted by the Secretary of the Interior as well as the President. Answer me immediately and advise the names of one or two good men with whom you can act, and they will receive the necessary authority; or if you can effect the surrender to you of the hostile Modocs, do it, and remove them under guard to some safe place, assured that the Government will deal by them liberally and fairly. W. T. SHERMAN, General. [Telegram.] Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Washington, D. C.: VAN BREMER'S RANCH, March 14, 1873. Your telegram of the 13th has just been received. The utmost patience and forbearance has been exercised toward the Modocs, and still will be. But there is danger that they may escape from the lava-beds and renew their hostilities against the settlers. To prevent this, the troops will be so posted as to watch the places of egress and keep them more closely under observation than they have been pending the negotiations of the commission. Apprehending that their last action was only a trick to gain time to make their escape, I directed a reconnaissance to be made around the lava-bed, which was completed last night. The Modocs are still at or near their old camp; the party found and brought in thirty-three horses and mules, which is all, or nearly all, that was left of the Modoc's band (of stock.) The Indians guarding it were not molested and ran off into the lava-beds. While no active operations against them will be undertaken until all other efforts have failed, I wish them to see that we are fully prepared for anything they may attempt; and this may incline them to keep their promises in future. Another danger to be apprehended is, that this forbearance shown to the Modocs may be regarded a weakness by the Pahutahs and Snakes, and induce some hostile action by them. To guard against this, I have ordered Sanford's troops from Fort Lapwai to Camp Harney, about which post a large number of the Pahutahs are now gathering. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Washington, D. C. : E. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier-General, Commanding. VAN BREMER'S, CAL., March 17, 1873. Telegram of the 14th just received. There is nothing new in the situation of the Modocs. Troops are being moved into positions that will make it difficult for them to secure egress for raiding purposes; and in making these movements, the commanders are instructed not to come in contact with the Indians. I hope by this not only to secure the settlers, but to impress the Indians with the folly of resistance, and, by abstaining from firing upon or capturing any of their people, to inspire a greater degree of confidence in us than they now have. I propose to open communication with them again in the course of two or three days, and have come to this place in order to prevent interference with them by persons interested in misleading them and keeping up their fears and distrust. I have no doubt they would consent at once to go to Yainox, but that would not insure us a permanent peace, and it would have a bad effect on neighboring tribes, and with a little patience I believe that a better arrangement can be effected. E. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier-General, Commanding. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, D. C., March 22, 1873. SIR: Your communication of this date, inclosing a telegram from General Canby, dated the 16th instant, is received. I have so much confidence in the wisdom, discretion, and correct purposes of General Canby, in regard to the execution, as far as possible, of the President's policy and the Department's wish to preserve peace and prevent further bloodshed with the Modocs, that I deem it my duty to authorize General Canby to remove from the present commission appointed by this Department any member whom he thinks unfit or improper, and appoint in his place such person as in his judgment should be appointed; always expecting him to inform this Department, through the War Department or otherwise, immediately on his action. You will please inform General Canby of the substance of this letter, provided you are willing to allow him to use the discretion and exercise the powers which are hereby conferred upon him, with your approbation. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. DELANO, Secretary. General SHERMAN: Please inform General Canby of the contents of this letter, returning the same to me. MARCH 24, 1873. WM. W. BELKNAP, [Telegram.] HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Secretary Delano is in possession of all your dispatches up to March 16, and he advises the Secretary of War that he is so impressed with your wisdom and desire to fulfill the peaceful policy of the Government that he authorizes you to remove from the present commission any members you think unfit, to appoint others to their places, and to report, through us to him, such changes. This actually devolves on you the entire management of the Modoc question, and the Secretary of War instructs me to convey this message to you with his sanction and approval. Gen. E. R. S. CANBY, W. T. SHERMAN, General. Commanding Van Bremer's Ranche, Modoc Country, via Yreka, Cal. [Telegram received at Headquarters Army of the United States, Washington, D. C., March 29, 1873, dated San Francisco, March 28, 1873.] To Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Washington, D. C.: Your telegram of the 24th has been received. The commission as at present organized will, I think, work well. Yesterday the Modocs again invited conference, and Colonel Gillem who, with the party examining the lava-bed, had a short interview with two of the most intelligent, both, however, of the peace party, is of the opinion that they are more subdued in tone and more amenable to reasoning than at the last previous interview. I think that when the avenues of escape are closed, and their supplies cut off or abridged, they will come in. By courier to Yreka, Cal. Official copies. ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier-General Commanding. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S GFFICE, Adjutant-General. At the next interview, viz, April 11, 1873, General Canby was murdered by the Modocs in council. Mr. MCDOUGALL. You think that all this delay in getting up concert of action between the Interior Department and the War Department, on the Indian question, could be obviated if the War Department had charge of the Indians? General SHERMAN. Yes; you gentlemen have all been in the Army, and know perfectly well that no man of soldierly instincts would consent to make his officers subject to the military orders of an Indian agent, who knows nothing at all about military affairs. Therefore, we insist that when an Indian agent calls for troops he must surrender the management of the question at issue to the military commander actually present. Mr. YOUNG. Do you not think that the force on the frontier is entirely insufficient to protect it effectually? General SHERMAN. I do not believe that we can give you in Texas better security than you have had hitherto, and which you know is im perfect. The troops have done all that can reasonably be expected, and yet Texas has not been perfectly safe from Indian raids. Mr. YOUNG. Is that because you have not sufficient troops there! General SHERMAN. It is; but I don't know whether Texas is worth more. You must take that into consideration. That western frontier of Texas is a pretty mean country. The Llano Estacado is a blank just like the Atlantic Ocean, and never can be settled. The CHAIRMAN. What is the use of mail routes from Fort Concho, west, towards El Paso? General SHERMAN. I know of none whatever. El Paso is reached now by way of the north, and by the valley of the Rio Grande. These military posts along that route, west of Concho, are very expensive posts, and posts that are hard to maintain. The CHAIRMAN. Could the mails be carried to military posts by cavalry? General SHERMAN. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Do you think that that expense could be dispensed with on the part of the Post-Office Department? General SHERMAN. Entirely. The mails could be carried by cavalry to Fort Concho, Fort McKavett, Fort Griffin, and Fort Richardson. The CHAIRMAN. Would that answer all the purposes there? General SHERMAN. Yes, I think there is no mail carried there except to the officers and men. The CHAIRMAN. Could the cavalry at any of the posts, except in the northwest, do any of that kind of service. General SHERMAN. No, we would use up too many of our horses. The CHAIRMAN. Would the Indians come in from Mexico if it were not for those frontier posts of Quitman, Davis, and Stockton ? General SHERMAN. No, I think not. tected by the interior line of posts. Mr. YOUNG. Would you advise the ments on the frontier? General SHERMAN. No, sir. The settlements would be pro mounting of any infantry regi Mr. YOUNG. Would you advise the increase of the cavalry on the frontier? General SHERMAN. No, except by adding private soldiers to the companies. If you increase each company to one hundred men, that will make twelve thousand cavalry for the whole army, and that will be plenty. Mr. YOUNG. Would you advise the increase of the cavalry that much? General SHERMAN. I would like it very much indeed, but at the same time it cannot be done without increasing the cost of the army. The cavalry is the most efficient arm of the service for the present existing condition of things in the Indian country, and every private soldier that you add to the companies increases its efficiency. If you want to increase any part of the Army that is the cheapest and best way to do it; namely, by adding private soldiers to the companies. But I think that with ten regiments of cavalry we can keep a pretty good state of affairs on the frontier for the next three years. Mr. MCDOUGALL. What, in your judgment, is the use of chaplains in the Army? General SHERMAN. We need praying for just as Congress needs praying for the same reason exactly. It is a concession to the religious sentiment of the country. There is no doubt about that. There is no use in concealing it. The system is not effectual, and would not be effectual unless you had a chaplain at each post, whereas the number of chaplains is entirely independent of the number of posts, and, in fact, those remote posts that need chaplains most do not get any. Mr. MCDOUGALL. You think on the whole that chaplains are useful officers? General SHERMAN. I would not like to say anything against them, because the poor old gentlemen might be turned out, and you would have to support them in some other way. |