{"id":2885,"date":"2018-11-29T01:01:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T09:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/?p=2885"},"modified":"2018-10-30T22:14:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T05:14:02","slug":"ghosts-haunt-lava-beds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/featured\/ghosts-haunt-lava-beds\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghosts Haunt the Lava Beds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The history of the\u00a0Lava Beds National Monument\u00a0<\/a>is rough, with a bloody history of the Modoc Indian War. \u00a0Many people died there during the war under horrible circumstances. \u00a0Do their spirits live on?<\/p>\n

Frank Bagges was quite certain they do. \u00a0He related his first person report\u00a0to the The Morning Call<\/em>, a San Francisco newspaper. \u00a0The story\u00a0was published on\u00a0August 23, 1894. \u00a0Here is what he had to say:<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

“Just before we entered the beds an old settler near Goose Lake told us of a legend that is current \u00a0in the vicinity to the effect that certain sections of the bleak lava beds are haunted by the spirits of the Indians who once roamed through them, and considered them a home and refuge safe from the encroachments of the white man. \u00a0Men who spent nights in the beds told of having heard unearthly sounds, such as shrieks and warwhoops. \u00a0All the noises made by the Indianss in their festival dances or their war fandango’s were heard, and some even went so far as to say they had seen ghostlike phantoms flitting about them in the gloom of the night and could feel the rush of cold wind caused by the passage of their form.<\/p>\n

“We were not deterred by these weird talks and pushed on with our outfit. \u00a0I wanted to get to the scene of the Canby Massacre. \u00a0I was with the soldiers that were stationed at the time only a short distance from the fatal spot where General Canby and Dr. Thomas were so cruelly butchered by Captain Jack and his band of cut-throats. \u00a0I can never forget the wild rush the soldiers made when they learned of the treachery of the Indians, and the frantic zeal born of horror and indignation with which we chased after the human butchers, who had scattered and dodged around in the mystic mazes of the subterranean passages like squirrels in their burrows.”<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

\"Canbv<\/a>

A version of the scene described here, from Harpers Weekly, 1873.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

“The spot is a wild one now as then. It is in a sort of basin-like depression and can be overlooked by anyone standing on the surrounding higher ground. \u00a0It was here that the soldiers had their signal men stationed while the fatal conference was in progress.<\/p>\n

“We reached the place rather late in the afternoon and decided to camp there for the night. I described to my friends the scene of the bloody massacre as it had been told to me by Riddell, the interpreter, and his Indian wife, ‘Toby,’ who were in it, but escaped, and guided the soldiers to the spot. \u00a0I showed them where General Canby stood when he refused Captan Jack’s request that the soldiers be withdrawn from the beds, and how Jack gave the signal, ‘Kaw-tux’ (all ready) and then shot the noble general in the face. \u00a0I pointed out where Canby fell, about fifty yards away after another shot had struck him. \u00a0Then there was the spot where Dr. Thomas had been kneeling, pleading with the Indians in the name of God to come to peaceable terms, when the cowardly Boston Charley opened fire upon him. \u00a0In another spot was where United States Commissioner Meecham was shot by Shacknasty Jim, and afterward partially scalped by Boston Charley. \u00a0He survived the wounds, though. \u00a0Dr. Dyer, Riddell and Cinema, or ‘Toby’, his wife, escaped \u2013 the first two on their horses, and the last because she was a Modoc. \u00a0I described, too, how the troops came up, and the horror that thrilled us when we saw the stripped and mutilated bodies of Canby, Thomas and Meecham.<\/p>\n

“Well, I got considerably worked up by the recital of the events which came back to my memory with startling vividness, and I could see that my friends were also affected by the horrible details, and one of them even said: ‘I wish, \u00a0Frank, you had waited until morning before telling us all that.’<\/p>\n

“However, after supper these feelings passed away somewhat, and after chatting awhile around our fire we lay dow on out blankets to sleep. \u00a0I lay quite a while gazing at the glittering starts of the night, and in spite \u00a0of myself a queer feeling of nervousness came over me, and and the events that I had been describing to my friends came back to me with a vividness that was startling. I though of the queer noises of the night that others had heard, and wondered if there was any truth in their tales.”<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

\"Canby<\/a>

Another depiction of the events. Harper’s Weekly, May 3, 1973<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

“Now comes the experience. \u00a0I was not asleep. \u00a0I remember seeing the stars glimmering above me when on a sudden a weird sound like the wailing of a mourner struck in my ears. \u00a0It swelled into a sort of dirge-like shout, and I remembered it distinctly as an Indian death dirge, for I had heard many of them in the early days. \u00a0Fear came over me and I tried to cry out to my friends, and to reach out to awaken them, but I as powerless to do either. \u00a0Wild and weird was the chant, now grating harshly on the ear in guttural sobbing, and then changing into almost an ear-splitting shrillness. \u00a0Mind you, through it all I could see the stars \u00a0shining above me and seemed awake, though powerless. \u00a0Finally the chant died away, and after a moment of silence a loud and piercing yell rang out. \u00a0It was followed by others of more or less intensity. \u00a0My fear became a sickening horror and then the stars faded from my sight, a dun, yellowish light spread itself over the spot, and I saw every feature of the place where we were encamped distinctly in this hazy glare. \u00a0He yelling became inaudible.<\/p>\n

“In another moment, though, I saw strange shadows begin to flit through the haze, and they resolved themselves into forms that I soon recognized \u00a0There were eight or ten of them, and my blood seemed to cease running in my veins, which had been palpitating with fear as I recognized the group. \u00a0There was General Canby and Dr. Thomas, both of whom I had known so well, stating in the midst of a group of Indians in whom I recognized Captain Jack, Sconchin, Boston Charley, Steamboat Frank, and Shacknasty Jim. \u00a0The general stood calm and dignified, as was his usually mien, while the genial face of Dr. Thomas had a pleading, reproachful look upon it. \u00a0he Indians were facing and glaring at them with sardonic scowls of hate in their countenances. \u00a0Suddenly they yelled and leaped forward. \u00a0I saw the gleam of their weapons and heard a succession of reports. \u00a0General Canby and Dr. Thomas sank to the ground covered in blood, and then \u2013\u2013<\/p>\n

“I felt a cold hand upon my face, the noises died away and the yellow haze faded. \u00a0I saw the stars gleaming at me and realized that my limbs were shaking as with an ague. \u00a0But the cold hand was on my face, and with a nightly effort I sat up. \u00a0As I did so, \u00a0I came face to face with one of my companions, who was leaning over me with a countenance on which by the dim light of our fire, I could see fear and terror\u00a0stamped.<\/p>\n

“‘Frank,’ he chattered, while he shook like myself, ‘let us leave here. I-I’ve seem ’em.’<\/p>\n

“We compared notes, and he had had the same experience as myself, fro the chant to the killing. \u00a0Our other friend was apparently sound asleep, but we woke him up and asked him if he had seen, heard or dreamed anything. \u00a0He had not, so we told him our joint experience. \u00a0He saw by our agitation that we had passed through something unusual, and, impressed by the gloom of our surroundings as well, he did not pooh-pooh it. \u00a0We built up our fire a bit first, and drew close to the cheerful blaze. \u00a0Sleep for the time being was out of the question. \u00a0We talked in low tones, and all felt kind of creepy, as the saying is.<\/p>\n

“It was about an hour the we sat thus, and then we all had an experience. \u00a0The night air was the least bit chilly and there was some wind stirring. \u00a0From the western side of the spot came a series of weird sounds like drawn-out moans. \u00a0Sometimes they were quite loud and at others low and almost indistinct. \u00a0We felt decidedly creepy and , to cut matters short, we sat through that night hearing these sounds at intervals. \u00a0At daylight you can’t we lost no time in wending our way out of the lava beds. \u00a0And while I have no desire to go there again I know my friends could not be hired to spend a night there for untold wealth.<\/p>\n

“Since then I have thought the matter out, and have satisfied my self that the noises were nothing more nor less than the rushing of air through the crevices and subterranean passages of the beds. \u00a0But that vision which I and my friend saw bothers me yet. \u00a0He says he was not asleep and I could almost swear I was not. \u00a0Again a queer feature of it that struck me is that the only participants that either of us saw were General Canby and r. Thomas, who were killed, and the five Indians who were executed by the Government for their murder. \u00a0Neither Colonel Meecham, Riddell and Dr. Dyar, or Scar-faced Charley and the other Indians who survived took part in what we saw.<\/p>\n

“Again, if it was a dream or nightmare how was it that scenes which we both saw tally exactly in details and all particulars. \u00a0I am not a superstitious man, \u00a0but I think our experience is something that is inexplicable.”<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

\"Canby<\/a>

Canby’s Cross now stands at the location of the General’s death. \u00a92010 Global Creations LLC, All Rights Reserved<\/p><\/div>\n

Today<\/h1>\n

If you choose to wander around the Lava Beds at night now, \u00a0you may encounter the same mystifying occurrences. \u00a0The location of this story is easy to find as it is marked with Canby’s Cross on a short road off of the main road on the north side of Lava Beds National Monument. \u00a0This may not be the only place in the lava beds where the sprits still lurk. \u00a0There was an even greater massacre of U.S. soldiers at Thomas-Wright Battlefield<\/a>, perhaps you’d like to check it out.<\/p>\n

This Story\u00a0and Many More<\/h1>\n

The Library of Congress<\/a> has collected full editions of many newspapers across the country. \u00a0This is an outstanding resource for those of you that enjoy historical explorations. \u00a0You can see the\u00a0actual edition of the newspaper that included this story at:\u00a0chroniclingamerica.loc.gov\/lccn\/sn94052989\/1894-08-23\/ed-1\/seq-9\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Please Share<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of the\u00a0Lava Beds National Monument\u00a0is rough, with a bloody history of the Modoc Indian War. \u00a0Many people died there during the war under horrible circumstances. \u00a0Do their spirits live on? Frank Bagges was quite certain they do. \u00a0He related his first person report\u00a0to the The Morning Call, a San Francisco newspaper. \u00a0The story\u00a0was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-places-and-events","category-situations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3140,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions\/3140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}