Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/709

MODICA MCERIS 691 the Modenese established a provisional gov- ernment. After the defeat of the Sardinian army by Eadetzky he returned to his capital, Aug. 10, fled again March 14, 1849, returned in May, and feigned to be bent on liberal re- forms. But he soon relapsed into absolutism and reinstated the Jesuits (June, 1850). In 1859, after the battle of Magenta, he finally left Modena, though the Franco-Austrian treaty of Villafranca confirmed him in his posses- sions. His dynasty was deposed by the Mo- denese national assembly, Aug. 19; and by a decree of March 18, 1860, Modena became part of the department of Emilia, in the dominions of Victor Ernanuel. MODICA, a town of Sicily, in the province and 30 m. S. W. of the city of Syracuse, in a narrow valley surrounded by high rocks ; pop. in 1872, 33,169. It has a castle, a technical school, a gymnasium, a beautiful cathedral, and several other notable churches. The in- habitants are mostly engaged in agriculture and in the breeding of horses and mules. A brisk trade is carried on in grain, oil, wine, cheese, and other products. About 4 m. from Modica, in the midst of a stony desert, is the valley of Ipsica, famous for its dwellings excavated in the rocks, supposed to be the work of the original inhabitants of Sicily. MODLIN. See NOVOGEOKGIEVSK. BIODOCS, a tribe of American Indians, origi- nally part of the Klamath nation, but in recent times hostile to them. The name Modoc was given to them by the Shasteecas, and means enemies. Their original territory was a dis- trict about 100 by 40 m. on the S. shore of Klamath lake, California. They were dark- colored, with a heavy drowsy face and dull yellowish eye. Their houses were pits roofed with a conical structure of wooden slabs, cov- ered with earth. Both sexes were decently clothed in skins. They contended with the Shasteecas and the Klamaths, and traded in the slaves they captured in war. They recog- nized a deity called Komoose. As early as 1847 and 1849 they are charged with having cut off more than 50 whites. The Indians on Clear lake chastised by Capt. Nathaniel Lyon in 1850 were apparently of this tribe. After another massacre of whites in 1852 Ben Wright invited the Modocs to a peaceful feast in 1855, and killed 41 out of 46 who came. This act the Modocs never forgave. A campaign against them in 1856 under Gen. Crosby cut off many, but the war was kept up till 1864, when a treaty was made, by which they ceded their lands and agreed to go on a reservation. This treaty was not ratified by the President's proc- lamation till Feb. 17, 1870, or the reservation officially set apart till March 14, 1871. Mean- while the Modocs had been induced to go upon the Klamath reservation, but it was a part of the country where they could not live ; their own provisions were destroyed, they were cheated out of government allowances, and the Klamaths harassed them. Some were then moved to Yainax reservation, but Klamaths were put with them, and the trouble continued. Two Modoc bands left the reservation. The turbulent band of Captain Jack (Krentpoos), who had set himself up against Schonchin, the hereditary chief, after suffering greatly in the winter, returned in February, 1868, to their old home on Lost river, while the quiet and inoffensive band settled on Hot creek near the whites. Loud complaints were made against Captain Jack's band, and the commissioner of Indian affairs, on April 11, 1872, ordered Super- intendent Odeneal to remove them from Lost river to the reservation. On their refusal to go, troops from Fort Klamath moved on Cap- tain Jack's camp, Nov. 29, 1872, and some Ore- gon citizens on another camp on the opposite side of the river. Fighting ensued at both camps. The whites withdrew with loss, and the Modocs, retreating united, massacred some peaceful settlers on the way, and reached the Lava Beds, a volcanic region which served as a natural fortification. Maj. Gen. Wheaton en- tered this tract, Jan. 17, 1873, but could not penetrate within three miles of the Modoc stronghold, and after losing 11 killed and 21 wounded drew off. Gen. Gillem then took command, but with no greater success. Mean- while the government appointed commission- ers to inquire into the causes of discontent. A conference, April 11, 1873, was broken up by the Modocs attacking the commissioners, kill- ing Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas, and wound- ing Mr. Meacham, another of the commission- ers. Active operations were resumed, and the Modocs, after a long and stubborn resistance, finally surrendered to Gen. J. C. Davis, about June 1. Captain Jack, Schonchin, jr., and two other Modocs were tried by a military commis- sion and executed at Fort Klamath, Oct. 3. The rest of those captured were, by order of the secretary of war and the Indian commis- sioner (Nov. 4), placed on the Quapaw reser- vation, in the Indian territory. This band numbered 148; the number of those left at the Klamath agency who took no part in the war was about 100. MflERIS, a lake of Egypt, near the ancient Crocodilopolis, now Medinet-el-Fayoom. He- rodotus says : " Wonderful as is the labyrinth, the work called the lake of Moeris, which is close by the labyrinth, is yet more astonishing. The measure of its circumference is 3,600 fur- longs, which is equal to the entire length of Egypt along the seacoast. The lake stretches in its longest direction from north to south, and in its deepest parts is of the depth of 50 fathoms. It is manifestly an artificial excava- tion, for nearly in the centre stand two pyra- mids, rising to the height of 300 ft. above the surface of the water, and extending as far be- neath, each crowned with a colossal statue sit- ting upon a throne. The water of the lake does not come out of the ground, which is here ex- cessively dry, but is introduced by a canal from the Nile. The current sets for six months into