The New York Herald Newspaper, April 19, 1873, Page 3

NEW YO RK HERALD, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1873—TRIPLE SHEET. RETRIBUTION A Three Days’ Battle in the Lava Beds. FEELING THE ENEMY. Gallant Attack on the Modoc Stronghold on Tuesday. GENERAL GILLEM’S OFFICIAL DESPATCH, The Indians Driven In and Com- pletely Surrounded. A Fierce Struggle on V/ednesday. AGraphle Description of the Fighting from th> Herald Correspondent. ‘Desperate Contest for the Water Line. The Warm Spring Indians Scalping the Modoes. SHELLING THE SAVAGES. Cavalry, Artillery and Infantry Hotly Engaged. NIGHT IN THE LAVA BEDS. Capture of Captain Jack’s Fortress. —— THE MODOCS ESCAPE. Cavalry Pursuing the Savages on the Emigrant Road. DEATH OF SCAR-FACED CHARLEY. Jack’s Medicine in the Flag Taken Fight. THE CASUALTIES. Our Loss Five Killed and Ten Wounded. ‘The Modocs in Full Flight for a Base of Operations. New SPLENDID CONDUCT OF THE TROOPS THE BATTLE OF TUESDAY. GENERAL GILLEM’S OFFICIAL REPORT. ‘The following official despatch has been Received :— Heapgvarrers Mopoc Exreprrion, Lava Beps, April 15, 1873. Major General Scuortetp, San Francisco$— Have fought the Indians all day and driven them to the immediate vicinity of their strongholds. Our losses are one officer, Lieutenant Egan, wounded, not seriously ; three enlisted men killed and nine wounded. ‘We hope to surround them to-morrow. A. C. GILLEM, Colonel Commanding. DETALED REPORT OF THE BATTLE. Camp on Lava Bzps, April 15—10 P. M. The work of retribution has commenced, and the troops are now encircled around Captain Jack’s stronghold, within two hun- dred and fifty yards of his cave, awaiting day- break to resume the attack. ‘THE POSITION GAINED AND THE 1086 OF LIFE. ‘The position they attained to-day was the @esult of much hard fighting, and will prob- ably cost the United States the lives of four or ve soldiers and the maiming of seven or ht others, Yesterday evening General Gillem decided t any further delay in the punishment of e Modocs was unnecessary, a8 THE STORES ARRIVED from Van Bremer’s and the command were pupplied with boots, People may think it odd that shoe leather should form an impor- flant item in the necessaries required for an Attack on Captain Jack and his treacherous band of assassins ; but I take the liberty to Qssure them from personal experience that a pair of shoes will not last more than one day's tramping in the lava beds, . ‘THE ORDER OF ATTACK. Last night the orders were issued that the Infantry and artillery would move from this camp at daybreak and the cavalry at three o'clock, The latter were instructed to ad- vance until they reached the Modoc pickets ond then take the strongest position they could get and hold it until the remainder of the command arrived. Colonel Mason’s com- mand, consisting of Companies B, © and M ‘THE BATTLE GROUND. Scene of the Engagements and the Country Surrounding the Lava Beds alm, ci m Oia SCALE OF 12 MILES TO1 INCH 1—Colonel Gillem’s Headquarters. @—Colonel Green’s Camp. 8—Major Bernard’s Camp. 4—Colonel Mason’s Camp, Twelfth infantry, formed the centre. Tho cavalry were on the extreme left, While marching along the lake shore, just at the head of Long Cave, about a mile and a half from Jack’s camp, the troops encountered ‘THE FIRST OPPOSITION. Straggling shots were fired from the bluff at long range. The men were deployed in open skirmish order, and advanced slowly under such cover as the rocks afforded. Our right opened a gorge in the bluff, from the right bank of which came straggling shots, while a few fell around us from the left bank. Our skirmishers crept up, supported by the re- serves, until we arrived at short range, when A SEVERE VOLLEY was fired from the bluff, there evidently being twenty-five or thirty Indians posted there. The fire was heavy. After standing about fifteen minutes the order to charge was given,, and the men sprang forward amid most DEAFENING YELLS FROM THE MODOCS. Such was the rapidity of the onslaught and 80 unexpected that the troops were on them before they knew it, and in a few minutes were masters of the situation, and our brave boyd were behind the rocks resting at their leisure. General Gillem had sent an order to Colonel Mason to stir the Indians up on his side, and he let into them with a vengeance, distracting, their attention and materially assisting our troops. THE CHARGE was a gallant one. Meanwhile we extricated our wounded, four in number. None were killed. Captain Egan and his men fought gallantly. So did all engaged. COaptainEgan was wounded in the arm, but would not leave the field. E. O'Connor, private of Battery M, Fourth artillery, was shot in the leg, a flesh wound. K, Fourth artillery, was shot in the forearm.. Corporal E. Kellisk, Battery K, Fourth artil- lery, received a scalp wound. Private Mc- REF ER ENCES. 5—Ground oceupied by Indians from Warm Springs Reservation. + § 2. J—Indicate positions of cannon and howitzers. AA—Indicate tents occupied by United States troops. The figures in Tule Lake indicate armed boats. of the Twenty-first infantry; Troops B and G of the First cavalry, and seventy-two Warm Spring Indians, moved into position last night on the east side of the lake. LONG JIM TO THE FRONT. During the afternoon a cavalry detachment, arrived from Van Bremer’s, bringing with them Long Jim, a squaw and two pappooses. Long Jim is a Modoc Indian that was wounded in the last fight, and who since came in and surrendered, 43 2-t} wands rendered him useless in a fighting capacity. After the murder of General Canby and Dr. Thomas Long Jim was put under arrest, and on being searched was found to carry four pounds of powder and some lead in his clothes. As the guard were withdrawn from Van Bremer’s in order to bring every available man to the field they brought Jim along with him, and he was thence carried to the camp guard house. About twelve o'clock last night the camp was alarmed by several shots, which proved to be A PARTING SALUTE IN HONOR OF LONG JIM, who quietly shook the dust off his feet and returned to Captain Jack. He jumped sud- denly out of the guard house, dashing be- tween the officer of the guard and sentry, and got clean away, escaping abouta dozen shots that were fired after his retreating figure. : THE CAVALRY ON THE MOVE. At three o’clock this morning Colonel Perry started with the cavalry battalion, consisting of his own troop, F, and troop K, under Lieutenant Charles ©. Cresson. I tried then to snatch an hour’s sleep, but at daylight the sounds of musketry soon roused me out of bed, and upon the signal station I found that Colonel Mason’s command were already at work ; and looking through the glass saw ‘THE HOWITZERS BROUGHT INTO POSITION and presently a shell burst over Captain Jack's cave, eliciting, as I have since been told, a howl of disapprobation from his band of murderers. Our camp soon began to present a lively appearance and shortly after seven o'clock batteries A, E, K and’ M, of the Fourth artillery, and companies E and G, of the Twelfth infantry, were paraded before Colonel John Green, who commanded the western division. The men carried their overcoats, one blanket, canteen, haversack, with three days’ cooked rations and one hundred rounds of ammuni- tion. Colonel Green soon gave THE ORDER TO MARCH, and Colonel Marcus P. Miller led the advance, with K battery in skirmishing order. The re- mainder of the troops followed in double file. The march out was undisturbed, until shortly after the command had been deployed in skir- mishing order, Lientenant Egan, of the Twelfth infantry, with his company, had the extreme left, with Colonel Wright, of the same regiment, next, and then Major Throckmor- ton, Lieutenant Harris and Colonel Miller, with their respective batteries, in the order named, IN ACTION WITH THE TROOPS, I was toting a Springfield and doing duty for the time being with Colonel Miller's battery, then on the extreme right, and about nine A. M. we charged up a rise, but had no sooner reached the crest than—‘tip,” “tip,’” “tip” — bullets cut the sage brush all around us, We eee immediately fell back under cover, and a few minutes afterwards charged and took the next bluff, some 150 yards ahead. The whole line ‘was now under fire, and THE TROOPS BEHAVED SPLENDIDLY, advancing steadily in good order. We soon passed the position held by the cavalry, who were halted and given a rest. After crossing several ridges we came to a flat about three or four hundred yards in width and broken bya couple of small ridges. Colonel Green, who was up with the troops, ordered his bugler to sound the advance. The line then moved forward and became EXPOSED TO A HARRASSING FIRE from a fortified position held by the Modocs in a ridge on the other side of the flat. They soon found the fire very hot and were halted, every man seeking cover under the sage brush. Presently Colonel Green ordered the charge, and the troops rising, TOOK THE POSITION ON THE RUN. It was one of the most dashing charges of the day. ‘The officers led their men and cheered them on under a galling fire. In this charge Lieutenant Egan received a flesh wound in the thigh, after making a brilliant rush with his company. A corporal of his company was killed in the same charge, It would be hardly fair, however, to single out any company for special praise, as both in- fantry and artillery did splendidly. UNPROFITABLE AMUSEMENT. Up to this time I had been keeping with the front, skirmishing, im the hopes of getting a shot at an Indian, but as the only intimation I received of their presence came from oral testimony of sundry bullets, I concluded the amusement was one sided and returned to General Gillem’s headquarters. The General and Staff occupied a bluff some three hundred yards in the rear, which they had selected as it afforded a good view of the point of attack, and also served asa signal station. THE SIGNAL CORPS, under Lieutenants Adams and Moore, proved of invaluable service to General Gillem, as through their aid communication was kept up all day with Colonel Mason’s camp. After taking the bluff on the other side of the flat, the troops were given a rest of about a couple of hours, during which time, how- ever, the infantry and artillery succeeded in improving their position. ARRIVAL OF THE MORTARS. Shortly after three P. M. the mortars ar- rived from camp under the command of Ma- jor Thomas and Lieutenants Cranston and Howe. Colonel Green then ordered Troops F and K of the First cavalry to advance on the left, with the lake as their guiding line. The two troops formed in skirmishing order and made A DASHING CHANGE, capturing the opposite bluffs, but not without the loss of two killed and one wounded. I should say one killed, one mortally wounded and one severely wounded. One man, John- son, of K troop, was shot through the eye and died instantaneously. Starles, the bugler of F Troop, was shot in the head alongside of Colonel Perry, but he survived his injuries several hours, After the bluffs on the left had been captured the mortore ware moved for- ward and a battery opened on the other side of the flat. SHELLS THROWN AMONG THE ENEMY. After a few trial shots they obtained the range, and soon began to burst their shells in the vicinity of Captain Jack's stronghold. While the cavalry were taking those bluffs the infantry and artillery had not been idle, and Colonel Miller, pushing forward on the ex- treme right, captured a very strong point and dislodged he 2 Aocs, ‘WHEN NIGHT SET IN the troops had extended their line to a point about three hundred yards from the strong- hold, and I anticipate pretty severe fighting to-morrow. Assistant Surgeon Henry McElderry and Act- ing Assistant Surgeon Calimiss were both in- defatigable in their attentions to the wounded, and did not hesitate to expose themselves to fire when their presence was required, CARE OF THE WOUNDED. The wounded were carried in hand litters to a temporary hospital in the field, under the charge of Assistant Surgeon McElderry, and they were all conveyed the same evening to the hospital in the camp, where Assistant Sur- geon Semig was officiating. COLONEL MASON’S OPERATIONS. The troops on the eastern division, under Colonel Mason, acting in conjunction with the Warm Spring Indians, took and held a strong position, and have reported no casualties. Assistant Surgeon Calvin De Witt and Acting Assistant Surgeon Jenner were on duty with Colonel Mason, THE POSITION AT NIGHT, The troops all remain to-night in the posi- tions occupied by them at sundown, and as I write the occasional boom of the mortars and cracks from the rifles serve as a reminder that all are not asleep on the lava bed. THE MODOC LOsS. It is impossible to arrive at a correct esti- mate of killed and wounded among the Mo- does, but, as far as I can judge, they have lost two or three during the fight. The follow- ing is A LIST OF CASUALTIES on our side during the day's fight: — Lieutenant Egan, G company, Twelfth in- fantry, gunshot flesh wound in left thigh. Sergeant H. Gude, G company, Twelfth in- fantry, gunshot fracture of right tibia; se- verely wounded. Corporal Drew, G company, Twelfth in- fantry, gunshot wound through head; dead. Corporal E. Killebeck, Battery ——, Fourth artillery, scalp wound; slight, Corporal Dennis Delany, K battery, Fourth artillery, gunshot wound through right eye; dead. : Bugler W. F. Searles, F troop, First cav- alry, gunshot wound through head; mortally wounded; may survive a few hours, Private E. O'Connor, E battery, Fourth ar- tillery, gunshot flesh wound, left leg. Private Owen Dooly, K battery, Fourth ar- tillery, gunshot flesh wound, right forearm. Private T. McManus, E battery, Fourth ar- tillery, gunshot fracture of left thigh; dan- gerous. Private Martin Conner, G company, Twelfth infantry, ganshot flesh wound, right leg. Private Thomas Bernard, K woop, First cavalry, gunshot, apex of left shoulder, frac- turing clavicle. I return to the line at daylight. Lively Shelling During the Night. Arrm 16—4 A. M. The shelling has continued all night, at intervals of ten minutes. The general attack will be renewed at seven o’ clock this morning, ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. Heapquarters Mopoc Expepriion, Camp Sourn Ture Laxe, April 15, 1873. The day opened warm and still, but was ushered in by the roar of musketry and occa- sional booming of howitzers from Colonel Mason’s camp at Hospital Rock, on the north side of Captain Jack’s position and directly under that famous stronghold. General Gil- lem, who has been waiting for the arrival of his stores and THE WARM SPRING INDIANS, issued orders yesterday for tents to be struck and drawn in a compact form to a place near Hospital Rock; for the troops to be supplied with three days’ rations and one hundred rounds of ammunition; for the cavalry to be teady to move at two A. M. to-day, and for Colonel Mason, on the opposite side of the lava beds, to move at the same hour on the enemy. | Colonel Perry and Lieutenant Cressan, with the cavalry were to move a point beyond the main cave and conceal themselves until joined in the morning by infantry and artillery. It was hoped that when the latter companies left camp the Modocs would observe them and in an attempt to cut them off fall into the hands of the cavalry. These movements were faith- fully executed, probably hurried a little on our side by THE ESCAPE OF LONG JIM, & Modoc who was under guard as a prisoner of war. At midnight he leaped past the guard and escaped, though many shots were fired at him. At daylight we heard an irregu- lar fusillade on the opposite side of the lava beds, and knew that Colonel Mason’s force or his skirmishers were engaged. At six o'clock we heard the boom of the howitzers and saw shells bursting over Captain Jack’s camp. At this time the rocks were swarming with In- dians and the firing was rapid, THE PLAN OF BATTLE was:—From the north side Colonel Mason was to advance his command on the right, the Warm Spring Indians on his left, circling up along the ledge to unite with the right of the troops from this side, leaving only the lake for the Modocs to escape by. Lieutenant Greery was in camp in charge of the arms and ammunition. Captain Trimble, of the First artillery, with twenty men, are left in charge of the camp on this side, Colonel Green at seven o'clock A. M. united with Colonel Perry's command, in about an hour and a half after leaving camp, and soon THE BALL OPENED. Captain Miller, Company E, of the Twelfth infantry, commanding a battalion, his com- pany being commanded by Lieutenant Leary, had the extreme right, Next to him were Captain Throckmorton’s Battery M, Fourth artillery, and Lieutenant Harris’ Battery K, Fourth artillery ; Captain Egan’s Company G and Captain. Wright's Company B, both of the Neen err —it*s Manus, Company E, Twelfth infantry, had his thigh crushed. A MERCHANT SHOT. P. McManus, of the firm of McConnell & McManus, merchants at Yreka, ventured be- tween the advance line held by Captain Mil« ler’s men, who carried the bluff under orderg in such a gallant style, and the reserve line, and was shot from the high bluff and left on the ground. The lines were 500 yards apart, and the ground between them uncovered. When the mortars arrive the bluff will be shelled and recovered. It is supposed that McManus was shot through the heel by the way his mule was found to be wounded. 5 THE MORTAR DETACHMENT. Attwo P, M. the order was given to ad- vance the mortars, Major Thomas in com- mand. Lieutenant Cranston Howe, of the Fourth artillery, and Sergeant Ramer, with nineteen men, compose the party, and are as gallant a set as ever han- died guns, At half-past four the line was deployed down the lake, opposite Jack's camp, and crossed the intervening open space at double quick without receiving ashot. They are now in readiness to charge on the bluffs when the mortars have done their work. The mortars have arrived on the ground and taken position. All was quiet until half- past five, when A SUDDEN AND HEAVY VOLLEY rattled along Colonel Mason’s line and cone tinued several minutes. Just previous to this it was signalled that no one had been killed or wounded, The pack train of the Warm Spring Indians: has just arrived, composed of seventeen mules and 150 horses. At ten minutes past five P M the first shot was fired from the mortars, planting a shell fairly in the bluffs. A few shells were thrown, going well into part of the lava beds, apparently doing good work. Our line now extends from under the bluffs where Jack’s cave is up the ledge to the south for nearly a mile. THE BLUFFS CARRIED by Captain Miller are now held. Two ledges intervene between the men and the main plateau. Now, at six P. M., the mortars are being moved forward, as our men are ready to scale the heights. Colonel Mason’s line hag not been broken, By to-morrow we shall be with the Warm Spring Indians, and have the red fiends encircled, with but the lake left them to escape by. THE WAY CLEARED FOR THE MORROW. From appearances it would seem that the lower lake shore and the bluffs have been cleared of the Indians by Colonel Mason, ag our men are steadily advancing without re- ceiving any shots. The troops will probably hold the low rocks for cover until morning. WEDNESDAY’S OPERATIONS. Camp on Lava Bens, April 16, 1873. The whang of the mortar and the crack of the muskets are still the only music enjoyed by the Modocs, and General Gillem may be congratulated on the success he has thus far achieved, although the Indians are not yet conquered. Tho eral has suceeeded to-day in connecting his line on the left and thus securing the water front, which naturally deprives the Modocs of @ necessity of life. They have also, I am satis- fled, been forced to leave the stronghold and take up a position further south in order to CONTINUED ON SEVENTH PAGE Private J. Danley, of Battery