Spirit in the Rock: The Fierce Battle for Modoc Homelands

by Jim Compton, Jim Compton

The Modoc fought the U.S. Army in what would be the most expensive Indian conflict in American history. The hostilities were fierce, bloody, and unjust. In this riveting narrative, Modoc warriors, army foot soldiers, and cavalry officers share their stories. Spirit in the Rock captures the war's dramatic battles, betrayals, and devastating end, but also delves into its underlying causes and the secret schemes by the Applegate family and others to seize Modoc ancestral territory. In addition, the account illuminates ways Native American traditions and spirituality influenced events. For generations, the Modoc homelands, along what is now the California-Oregon border, provided abundant water and food sources. Indigenous families migrated seasonally throughout the region until large numbers of immigrants began to arrive. As the population of settlers increased, disputes over native lands intensified. By April 1870, the Modoc were forced to live on a crowded, distant reservation with their rivals, the Klamath. Led by a charismatic young chief called Captain Jack, they fled to their original Lost River village and refused to return. Despite ongoing peace negotiations, the cavalry launched a surprise attack just before dawn on November 29, 1872. The stunned band awoke to chaos. Survivors escaped to a natural stone citadel--nearby lava beds--and that stark landscape became the setting for the 1873 Modoc War.

340 pages, Paperback

Published August 16, 2017

Reviews

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Modocs - who had freely roamed their own lands for millennia - did not care about the artificial border between California and Oregon. But the split between the Californians and Oregonians bedeviled the peace talks from the beginning. The Californians bore no animus toward the Modocs, who stayed peaceably in the rancheros outside of Yreka and worked as laborers and mineworkers and did business in Yreka. But the Oregonians were settlers and ranchers, greedy for land. The Californians did not begrudge the Modocs a piece of their traditional territory, but the Oregonians wanted the Indians moved completely away. Portland papers mercilessly lashed out against Judge Elijah Steele and the Californians, and the Californian press railed against the Oregonians and blamed them for causing a way." p 140 Peace talks began in mid-February 1873.

"It is folly and madness to demand rigid accountability for their misconduct, and then to neglect to punish our own citizens for the same crimes." Philadelphia newspaper
"We may as well honestly admit it, that our whole conduct toward the Indians has been most infamous, and if they occasionally retaliate, is it to be wondered at?" New York Times
p 168

[Thomas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much to digest - we have an ugly racist history. It's got so I can't stand to hear the Star Spangle Banner - the hypocrisy is too galling. Have to hit the mute button when the Atlanta Assholes start their tomahawk chop, or whatever they call it. In fact I just leave the games in Atlanta muted.

Maybe I will write some more - though I will just say - read the book.

[Brahms Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book already knowing the basic history that it discusses, and yet I still found myself hoping that it wouldn't end the way it does. Incredibly informative and engaging.

Also, the US government sucks.

[Sue Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A former news man obtained newspapers from the time which add information to the already-known facts about this tragic war.

[Tom Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

boy but Goodreads is screwed up anyway I've entered this already but now I'll have to enter it again just no energy write now

[Lloyd Fassett]

12/23/17 found it in the WSJ Sat Review. I live near the location where it took place.