Page:The Indian History of the Modoc War.djvu/28

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a halt on the east shore of Tule Lake. After they had been there a few minutes they pushed on, as the grass was not plentiful where they stopped. The train moved on until to- wards evening, and found a nice camp ground. This place is two miles south of the California and Oregon boundary line. The emigrants turned their horses and cattle loose to graze. They gathered dry sage-brush and built their campfire to prepare their evening meal, not knowing that the most of them never would prepare another meal. Poor, innocent travel- ers; they were all happy,for they knew that they would soon reach civilization again, for after they consulted their maps they knew they \vere on the shores of Wrett Lake, California. About one mile northeast of the emigrant camp was a small hill covered with black sage-brush and juniper trees. On that hill Legugyakes and his men were laughing and talking; joyful, for the prospects before them w r as an easy victory.

One runner had been sent to notify Capt. Jack's father that "many white people had stopped at Wa-ga-kan-na, this being the name of the place that the emigrants had camped at. (Wa-ga-kan-na means, at the little canyon, in the Modoc language). Jack's father called his men together and told them that many white people \vere camped at Wa-ga-kan-na, that Legugyakes and his men were going to attack them. He was going to help kill the white people that killed his people. Capt. Jack and some other boys were out from the camp playing. He saw the people astir in camp, so he ran to his father's lodge and asked his father what was the matter. His father told him. The boy caught his father and told him not to go. He cried and begged for him not to join Legug- yakes. "Let him do the dark deed, father," he says, "it's a coward's work to sneak up to any one and take his life."

"Father," he pleads, "it is bad enough to kill in battle. Do not lead your men to kill or help kill them poor people. They do not expect trouble. If you do help kill them white people, do you know, father, that you \vill be guilty of killing your own wife and your son and many of your own people. The white men will come here with more people than you have got, and kill us all."