Page:The Indian History of the Modoc War.djvu/244

This page needs to be proofread.

s bed

and he promptly booted him out of the house. Imagine his surprise on finding this was the young chief, afterwards known as Captain Jack, a name given him by the late Judge Steele, from his resemblance to a miner at Hawkinsville, California. It took considerable apologizing to avert an Indian uprising, and when Jack found it was a mistake, it inspired a respect which ever after made him and Fairchild close friends. A treaty was formed which, with the payment of a few head of cattle, horses and provisions, Fairchild and Doten were granted leave to run their stock unmolested on all the country south and west of the mountains bordering on Klamath Lake. The firm prospered until they got into litigation among them- selves, which practically broke them all. On the dissolution of the partnership, the Dotens took the 6 Camp and the present Meiss ranch and Fairchild settled on Cottonwood Creek, south- west of Klamath Lake, now known as the Fairchild ranch.

Mr. Fairchild was always a strong Democrat and a sympa- thizer of the South, during the Rebellion. His outspoken re- marks during those troublesome times caused a warrant to be issued for his arrest, which was withheld by a cousin who was commander of the military forces at San Francisco, who noti- fied Mr. Fairchild to be more circumspect. On February ist, 1866, he was married to Mary W. DeWitt, the fruits of the union being ten children, eight boys and two girls, seven of whom, with his widow, survive him.

In 1867 Mr. Fairchild was elected to the Legislature. When the Modoc War broke out he assisted in forming a company of California volunteers and was elected captain. He and his company were in all the engagements and did much towards bringing the war to a close. In fact, \vhen Captain Jack finally w r as surrounded he would not give up his gun to anyone but Captain Fairchild. The first and about the only words Jack uttered were, "When are they going to kill me?"

Mr. Fairchild made and lost several fortunes, and was well- known and liked all over Northern California.

For the past few years Mr. Fairchild has had stomach trou- ble, and when his daughter, Julia C. Ouinne, died in April, he remarked he would soon follow. He was taken to his bed