Modoc Wars Timeline

Klamath Indians – Around Upper Klamath Lake the Klamath Indians, É-ukshikni máklaks, “people of the lake,” were divided into five groups. The Gu’mbotkni had winter settlements on Pelican bay and the marsh north of it. Closely related to the Gu’mbotkni were the Dukwakmi with settlements on the Williamson River delta. The Aukch(k?)ni lived in a territory including Klamath Marsh and the middle Williamson River. They had many settlements and were considered the most powerful group. The Sprague River people may have been included with the Aukch(k?)ni who were also closely related to the Kow’cdikni living in a village on Agency Lake. The Iu’lalonki group lived near Klamath Falls and the eastern shore of Upper Klamath Lake. In the summer these camps were dispersed over a wider area following and gathering food sources. (Leslie Spier, Klamath Ethnography, 1930)

Modoc Indians – The Klamath Indians usually outnumbered the Modoc Indians two to one. The Modocs called themselves Móntokni máklaks “living at Moatak” – this being the name of Modoc or Tule lake: “in the extreme south.” The Modoc population was somewhere between 400 and 800. The Modoc’s settlements included camps included the Lower Lost River, Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake, Clear Lake, and the territory that extended south as far as the mountains beyond Goose Lake.

Yahooskin Indians – The Yahooskin, 145 individuals in 1888, were a body of the Snake Indians. They hunted and gathered on Goose Lake, Silver Lake, Warner Lake, Lake Harney and temporarily stayed in Surprise Valley, on Chewaukan and Saíkan marshes and gathered wókash on Klamath Marsh.

1540 – A Klamath wocus grinder is made and eventually found in Pecos, New Mexico, illustrating the expanses of prehistoric Indian trade routes.
1826 – January 5, Peter Skeene Ogden, working for the Hudson Bay Company, with a party of 35 trappers and more than I00 horses, reaches the headwaters of Klamath drainage.
♦ October 5, Ogden reaches Chiloquin area. Another diary entry notes that they trapped 735 beaver and mammal skins in three weeks near the Klamath River.

1827 – January 13, Peter Skene Ogden writes in his diary that they traded for 10 dogs that day with the Modocs. He considered the Modocs to be a large well-inclined tribe. The Modocs, realizing that the whites needed dogs for food, began to barter for more goods in trade. Ogden names Upper Klamath Lake “Dog Lake.”
1843 – Klamath Indians are observed hunting elk along the western side of Upper Klamath Lake.
1833 – Ewing Young traps on the west side of Upper Klamath Lake.
1835 – A group of French-Canadians visit the Klamath tribal area and give the Indians trade goods.

1843 – The “Great Migration” to Oregon for homesteaders begins. A wagon train with 875 settlers including the Applegate Brothers and Peter Burnett, who would become the first Oregon Governor, leaves Independence, Missour for Oregon. The Applegates both lose a son in rafting accidents on Columbia River rapids.
♦ Forty-two free agent mountain men, led by Old Bill Williams, spend the winter trapping around Upper Klamath Lake. They has contact but no problems with the Klamath Indians camped ten miles to the north.

1844 – Spring, Old Bill William’s trapping party breaks winter camp and heads south to the Lost River. Modoc Indians attack but suffer heavy causalities. The trappers lose three men. “… here as the greatest contrast between two tribes ( Klamath and Modoc), living in close proximity to each other.”
1846 – May 6 or 9, Three of Frémont’s men are killed by Indians at Denny Creek.
♦ Frémont retaliates by attacking a Klamath Tribe fishing village named Dokdokwas, that most likely had nothing to do with the attack, at the junction of the Williamson River and Klamath Lake, killing 14 Indians including warriors, women and children.
♦ Free Emigrant road or South Emigrant Road, Applegate Trail, opens.

1848 – Pierson Redding discovers gold in the present day Trinity County area near Douglas City.
1849 -1850: Gold discovered in the Lower Klamath Basin. Farms and ranches established in the Scott and Shasta valleys.
1850 – Congress creates the post of Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
1851-56: Southern Oregon Indians begin fighting with white settlers coming for gold.This starts the Rogue River Indian wars.

1852 – September, a wagon train of some 65 men, women, and children on their way to new homes in California are attached. Fifty-five whites die at the hands of Modoc Indians at Tule Lake at location that becomes known as “Bloody point”.. More bodies go uncounted and some survivors may have been kidnapped and sold as slaves.
♦ Ben Wright leads a volunteer company in reprisal for the wagon train ambush. He entices a party of Modocs into council under a flag of truce. 41 Indians are murder by poisoned food.

1864 – October 14, U.S. Government signs great Treaty of Council Grove with Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians. Indians cede 22 million acres of land for non-Indian settlement. Indians keep 2.7 million acres which becomes the Klamath Indian Reservation. Both Old Schonchin and Captain Jack are signatories.
♦ Elisha Steele, acting Superintendent of indian Affairs, chooses Captain Jack over John Schonchin as Chief of the Modocs. Other notes indicate Captain Jack was elected.
♦ While the old Modoc chief, Schochin, remained in the reservation, Kintupash, Captain Jack, returned to Lost River and led an abusive harassment against the white settlers who had occupied the area. The small Modoc group of about 43 Indians demanded rent for the occupation of “their land”, which most settlers paid.
♦ 1864-66 :  Agent Lindsay Applegate tries, and fails, to negotiate with Captain Jack on behalf of the settlers.

1865 – August 25, Modocs complain through Elijah Steele and A. M. Rosborough about the Huntington treaty, stating their wish to remain in their own country.
♦  November, Modocs disputes continue among the Modocs over the treaty. The Army offers to send troops to support Old Schonchin, who favors the treaty. Captain Jack’s attitude at this time is unknown.

1866 – First Grain and vegetables are grown at Kowasta, a temporary Indian agency at the head of navigation on Upper Klamath Lake.
♦ Samuel D. Whitmore is in charge of the Klamath Agency when L. Applegate returns to his home in Ashland.
♦ Major Rinehart, in command at Fort Klamath, sent 80 men under the command of Captain Kelly, with one piece of artillery, across the south end of oregon to Pueblo Valley in Nevada, near present day Denio, for protection of settlers and the mail route from present day Susanville, California to Silver City, Idaho.
♦ May 12, Klamath Agency begins operations on the shores of Upper Klamath Lake.
♦ Belgian Wendolyn Nus brings a herd of cattle to present day Klamath County and becomes first settler. He is killed at the beginning of the Modoc Wars.

1867 – Regular army troops from Fort Bidwell relieve the volunteers at Fort Klamath.
The Growler , a newspaper, starts at Fort Klamath.
♦ October, Superintendent Huntington leaves The Dalles with $35,000 worth of provisions promised the Indians in 1864.
♦ November 16, Klamath sub-Chief Blow requests that a witness be present at the distribution of goods to report on their quality to Washington DC. The request is not honored, and shows “a predisposition to be dissatisfied” according to the authorities.
♦ Superintendent Huntington tries, and fails, to negotiate with Captain Jack.
♦ November, Annuity goods are distributed. A small number of Modocs under Old Sconchin come for shares and settle on the reservation. The large number, under Captain Jack, refuse both to take goods or settle on the reservation, they remain in their old country.

1868 – Spring, temporary cabins are built at the site that would become the permanent Indian Agency in Chiloquin. A dam with a 1500 foot mill race is built nearby.
♦ Chief La-Lakes is placed in charge of the Williamson River Ferry in recognition for his past services.
♦ The Klamath Tribes hold their first election to replace Chief La-Lakes. Allen david wins as 500-600 Indians vote on the banks of the Williamson River near the present day Indian Church.

1869 – Indian school for Modoc children opens at the Klamath Indian Reservation. Ivan. D. Applegate trains four Indian boys at Yainax subagency. Other notes mention Snake Indians.
♦ May 1, Alfred B. Meacham replaces Huntington as Oregon’s Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
♦ Forty-five Privates come from Crescent City to join the army at Fort Klamath.
♦ Captain O.C. Knapp replaces Lindsay Applegate as Indian agent for the Klamath reservation.
♦ October, local settlers apparently petition General Crook to roundup up the Modoc Indians and moved them to the Klamath Reservation. Soon after Meachem and Knapp confer on how to make this happen.
♦ December 13, Meachem, Knapp, Ivan Applegate and others set off to persuade Captain Jack’s Modocs to come onto the Klamath reservation. A party of soldiers goes with them as far as link River.
♦ December 18, The Lost River Council: Meachem and others talk with Modocs about going on the reservation. Captain Jack seems willing to consider the idea. Shaman, Curley Headed Doctor, is opposed and after the Council he proposes to kill the party. Negotiations continue for several days.
♦ December 23, soldiers arrive in the early morning hours, and a number of Modoc warriors flee. Meacham placed the remaining women and children in wagons and started for the reservation. He allowed “Queen Mary”, Captain Jack’s sister, to go meet with Captain Jack to persuade him to move to the reservation. She succeeded.
♦ December 24, several days are spent sending messages to the leaders: they finally return, and the entire group is escorted to the reservation.
♦ December 30, Modoc Indians arrive at Modoc Point, on the Klamath Reservation, to stay with Captain Jack.
♦ December 31, a ceremony of reconciliation between the Klamath and Modoc is staged and the annuity goods are distributed to all.

1870 – January 1, Second Great Council at the tribal reservation closes.
♦ February, the Great Treaty of 1864 is proclaimed active.
♦ February 14 – Modocs return to their old country on Lost River on a thirty day fishing pass. They meet Henry Miller and other new Tule Lake Basin settlers.
♦ Shortly after the Modoc started building their homes, however, the Klamath, longtime rivals, began to steal the Modoc lumber. The Modoc complained, but the US Indian agent could not protect them against the Klamath.
♦ Mid-March, Modocs return to the reservation and their difficulties with the Klamath heighten.
♦ Several attempts were made by Captain Jack’s Modocs to find a suitable location, but the Klamath continued to harass the band.
♦ Captain Jack and his band of nearly 200 left the reservation and returned to Lost River. During the months that his band had been on the reservation, a number of settlers had taken up former Modoc land in the Lost River region.
♦ A flume is built, delivering water to the Klamath Agency from “the bubbling springs of the little people.”

1871 – June, Captain Jack shoots and kills a Modoc doctor whom he blames for his niece’s death. Ivan Applegate attempts to have Captain Jack arrested.
♦ Late July, G.S. Miller, a settler, gets into an argument with Modocs over hunting ducks on his lands.
♦ November 29, Captain Jack explains to Ivan Applegate and others that the Modocs do not want to live with the Klamaths or on any reservation.

1872 – April 1, T.B. Odeneal replaces Alfred Meachem as Superintendent of indian Affairs for Oregon.
♦ April 3, Major Elmer Otis held a council with Captain Jack at Lost River Gap, near what is now Olene, Oregon. At the council, Major Otis presented Captain Jack with some settlers who complained about the behavior of Jack’s men. Captain Jack countered that the Modoc were abused and unjustly accused of crimes which other Indians had committed.
♦ May 4, The Oregon Sentinel reports that the reported Indian troubles along the Lost River are unfounded. “The Indians are friendly and peaceful; and there has not been, nor is there now, any cause of alarm.”
♦ May 22, Canby orders patrols to stop in Modoc country.
♦ Sam Colver takes an active part in trying to help the Modocs maintain peace. He has almost succeeded when a lynching party of whites set out to kill a band of Modoc coming to the reservation.
♦ First gristmill is in place at Klamath Agency.
♦ June 17, Odeneal recommends arresting Modoc chiefs.
♦ – July, false rumors in Lost River country say the Modocs are killing cattle in preparation for war. Many new settlers flee for “safety.”
♦ July 6, Odeneal’s recommendations are approved to remove the Modoc from the Tule Lake Basin and returned to the Klamath reservation.
♦ July 17, John Green assumes command at Fort Klamath.
♦ July 28, Frost destroys Yainax crops on Klamath Reservation. Old Schonchin’s people depend on government handouts for subsistence.
♦ September, John Green and his troops on patrol pass near the Modocs, but no conference takes place.
♦ October 5, Green reports that settlers insist the Modocs were constantly making trouble but could not name specifics.
♦ October 20, Canby instructs Wheaton to give Odeneal aide, if necessary, to move Modocs. He instructs a large force should be used to end any battle quickly.
♦ November 11, The Lost River Battle marks the first hostilities of the Modoc War (1872 -73).
♦ November 20, Odeneal leaves Salem for Modoc country to set events in motion.
♦ November 28, Captain James Jackson, commanding 40 troops, left Fort Klamath for Captain Jack’s camp on Lost River. The troops, reinforced by citizens from Linkville (now Klamath Falls, Oregon) and by a band of militiamen under Jump Off Joe, arrived in Jack’s camp on Lost River about a mile above Emigrant Crossing (now Merril, Oregon) on November 29.
♦ November 29, Wishing to avoid conflict, Captain Jack agreed to go to the reservation, but the situation became tense when Jackson demanded that the Modoc chief surrender his weapons. Although Captain Jack had never fought the Army, he was alarmed at this command, but he finally agreed to put down his weapons. The rest of the Modoc warriors began to follow his lead.
Suddenly an argument erupted between Modoc warrior Scarfaced Charley and Lieutenant Frazier A. Boutelle, of company B, 1st Cavalry. They drew their revolvers and shot at each other, both missing. The rest of the Modocs scrambled for their weapons, and briefly fought before fleeing toward California. After driving the remaining Modoc from the camp, Captain Jackson ordered a retreat to await reinforcements. One soldier had been killed and seven wounded in the encounter; the Modoc lost two killed and three wounded.
♦ November 29-30, A small band of Modoc under Hooker Jim retreated from the battlefield to the Lava Beds south of Tule Lake. In attacks on November 29 and November 30, they killed a total of 18 settlers. Militiamen led by “Jump Off Joe” McAlester decided to pursue the Modoc toward the Lava Beds.
Accounts vary regarding the first clash. One version: that the soldiers and militia had gotten drunk in Klamath Falls and arrived at the Lost River camp disorganized and were outfought; that, furthermore, the militia arrived last and retreated first, with one casualty; and that the Army did not drive the Modoc away. This version claimed that some warriors held their ground while the women and children loaded their boats and paddled south; that Scarfaced Charley, who spoke good English, was foul-tempered from lack of sleep, because he’d been gambling all night and was possibly drunk—but, since there was a warrant out for his arrest on a false murder charge, he wasn’t going to go quietly. The official report, however, concealed that the operation had been badly managed, as Captain Jackson later admitted.
♦ Late November,The Modoc were composed of three groups that were some what loosely following the leadership of Captain Jack. One group, under the leadership of Hooker Jim, proceeded east around Tule Lake, killing 14 male settlers in retaliation for the attack by the troops. Captain Jack and the rest of the Modoc from the Lost River headed across Tule Lake by boat and entered the Lava Beds.
♦ Late November, They were later joined by Hooker Jim’s band. Jack
reluctantly accepted them, though he feared that he
placed the other Modoc’s lives in danger by allowing
those who had murdered the settlers to stay.
♦ December 3, Jump Off Joe and his militia reached the outskirts of the Stronghold. While reconnoitering the area around a dry creek bed, they were attacked. They attempted to take shelter in the creek bed, but were quickly overcome; and the Modoc killed all 23 men.
♦ – December, another band of Modoc, the Hot Creeks, eventually joined Captain Jack after they had been tricked by settlers into thinking that they were all going to be hanged for being Modoc.
♦ December 21, a Modoc party scouting from the Stronghold attacked an ammunition wagon at Land’s Ranch. By January 15, 1873, the U. S. Army had 400 troops in the field near the Lava Beds. The greatest concentration of troops was at Van Bromer’s ranch, 12 miles west of the Stronghold. Troops were also stationed at Land’s ranch, 10 miles east of the Stronghold. Col. Frank Wheaton was in command of all troops, including regular army as well as volunteer companies from California and Oregon.

1873 – January 16, troops from Land’s ranch, commanded by Col. R. F. Bernard, skirmished with the Modoc near Hospital Rock.
♦ January 17, Army’s disastrous attack on Captain Jack’s Stronghold. In the attack, the U.S. Army lost 35 men killed, and 5 officers and 20 enlisted men wounded. Captain Jack’s band included approximately 150 Modoc, including women and children. Of that number, there were only 52 warriors. The Modoc suffered no casualties in the fighting, as they had the advantage of terrain and local knowledge over the militia.
♦ January 25, Columbus Delano, Secretary of the Interior, appointed a Peace Commission to negotiate with Captain Jack. The Commission consisted of Alfred B. Meacham, the former superintendent for Oregon as chairman; Jesse Applegate, and Samuel Case. General Edward Canby, commander in the Pacific Northwest, was appointed to serve the Commission as counselor. Frank and Toby Riddle were appointed as interpreters.
♦ February 19, the Peace Commission held its first meeting at Fairchild’s ranch, west of the lava beds. A messenger was sent to arrange a meeting with Captain Jack. He agreed that if the commission would send John Fairchild and Bob Whittle, two settlers, to the edge of the lava beds he would talk to them. When Fairchild and Whittle went to the lava beds, Captain Jack told them he would talk with the commission if they would return with Judge Elijah Steele of Yreka as the judge had been friendly to Captain Jack. Steele went to the Stronghold. After a night in the Stronghold, Steele returned to Fairchild’s ranch and informed the Peace Commission that the Modoc were planning treachery, and that all efforts of the Commission would be useless. Meacham wired the Secretary of the Interior, informing him of Steele’s opinion. The Secretary instructed Meacham to continue negotiations for peace. Judge A. M. Roseborough was added to the commission. Jesse Applegate and Samuel Case resigned and were replaced by Rev. Eleazer Thomas and L. S. Dyar.
♦ April, Gillem’s Camp was established at the edge of the lava beds, two and one-half miles west of the Stronghold. Col. Alvan C. Gillem was placed in command of all troops, including those at Hospital Rock commanded by Col. E. C. Mason.
♦ April 2, the commission and Captain Jack met in the lava beds midway between the Stronghold and Gillem’s Camp. At this meeting Captain Jack demanded: (1) Complete pardon of all Modoc; (2) Withdrawal of all troops; and (3) The right to select their own reservation. The Peace Commission proposed: (1) That Captain Jack and his band go to a reservation selected by the government; (2) That the Modoc guilty of killing the settlers be surrendered and tried for murder. After much discussion, the meeting broke up with no resolution.
♦ April 5, Captain Jack requested a meeting with Meacham. Accompanied by John Fairchild and Judge Roseborough, with Frank and Toby Riddle serving as interpreters, Meacham met Captain Jack at the peace tent; it was erected about one mile east of Gillem’s Camp. The meeting lasted several hours. Captain Jack asked for the lava beds to be given to them as a reservation. The meeting ended with no agreement. After Meacham returned to camp, he sent a message to Captain Jack, asking that he meet the commission at the peace tent on April 8. While delivering this message, the Modoc interpreter Tobey Riddle learned of the Modoc plan to kill the peace commissioners. On her return, she warned the commissioners.
♦ April 8, just as the commissioners were starting for the peace tent, the signal tower on the bluff above Gillem’s Camp received a message; it said that the lookout had seen five Modoc warriors at the peace tent and about 20 armed Modoc hiding among the rocks nearby. The commissioners realized that the Modoc were planning an attack and decided to stay at Gillem’s. Rev. Thomas insisted on arranging a date for another meeting with Captain Jack.
♦ April 10, the commission sent a message asking Captain Jack to meet with them at the peace tent on the following morning.
♦ April 11, General Canby, Alfred B. Meacham, Rev. E. Thomas, and L. S. Dyar, with Frank and Toby Riddle as interpreters, met with Captain Jack, Boston Charley, Bogus Charley, Schonchin John, Black Jim, and Hooker Jim. After some talk, during which it became evident that the Modoc were armed, General Canby informed Captain Jack that the commission could not meet his terms until orders came from Washington.
Angrily, Schonchin John demanded Hot Creek for a reservation. Captain Jack got up and walked away a few steps. The two Modoc Brancho (Barncho) and Slolux, armed with rifles, ran forward from hiding. Captain Jack turned, giving the signal to fire. His first shot killed General Canby. Reverend Thomas fell mortally wounded. Dyer and Frank Riddle escaped by running. Meacham fell seriously wounded, but Toby Riddle saved his life and interrupted warriors intending to scalp him by yelling, “The soldiers are coming!” The Modoc warriors broke off and left. US efforts for peace ended when the Modoc killed the commissioners.
♦ April 15, The U.S. Army prepared to attack the Stronghold, a general attack began, troops advancing from Gillem’s camp on the west and Mason’s camp at Hospital Rock, northeast of the Stronghold. Fighting continued throughout the day, the troops remaining in position during the night. Second Stonghold battle
♦ April 16, each advance of troops was under heavy fire from the Modoc positions. That night the troops succeeded in cutting the Modoc off from their water supply at the shore of Tule Lake. After the fighting along the shoreline of Tule Lake on the afternoon and night of April 16, the Modoc defending the Stronghold realized that their water supply had been cut off by the troops commanding the shoreline.
♦ April 17, everything was in readiness for the final attack on the Stronghold. When the order was given to advance, the troops charged into the Stronghold. before the troops had begun to charge the Stronghold, the Modoc escaped through an unguarded crevice after heavy bombardment from US Army snubnosed Coehorn mortars.. During the fighting at the Stronghold, April 15–17, US casualties included one officer and six enlisted men killed, and thirteen enlisted men wounded. Modoc casualties were two boys, reported to have been killed when they tried to open a cannonball and it exploded. Several Modoc women were reported to have died from sickness.
♦ April 26, Captain Evan Thomas commanding five officers, sixty-six troops and fourteen Warm Spring Scouts left Gillem’s camp on a reconnaissance of the lava beds to locate the Modoc. While they were eating lunch at the base of Sand Butte (now Hardin Butte), in a flat area surrounded by ridges, Captain Thomas and his party were attacked by 22 Modoc led by Scarfaced Charley. Some of the troops fled in disorder. Those who remained to fight were either killed or wounded. US casualties included four officers killed and two wounded, one dying within a few days, and 13 enlisted men killed and 16 wounded. Following the successful Modoc attack, many soldiers called for Col. Gillem to be removed.
♦ May 2, Bvt. Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, reported to relieve Gillem of command, and assume control of the army in the field.
♦ May 10, at first light, the Modoc attacked an Army encampment at Dry Lake. Battle of Dry Lake The troops charged, routing the Modoc. Casualties among the Army included five men killed, two of whom were Warm Spring Scouts, and twelve men wounded. The Modoc reported five warriors killed. Among the five was Ellen’s Man, a prominent man in the band. This was the first defeat of the Modoc in battle.
With the death of Ellen’s Man, dissent arose among the Modoc, who began to split apart. A group led by Hooker Jim surrendered to the Army and agreed to help them capture Captain Jack. In return, they received amnesty for the murders of settlers at Tule Lake, Canby and Thomas.
♦ June 1, As troops headed west expecting to locate Captain Jack, they found Hooker Jim and his followers, who surrendered. Hooker Jim and three other Modoc offered to track down Captain Jack and betray him to the Army. Captain Jack finally surrendered at Willow Creek on June 1, 1873, and the Modoc War ended.
♦ July 4, General Davis prepared to execute Captain Jack and his leaders, but the War Department ordered the Modoc to be held for trial. The Army took Captain Jack and his band as prisoners of war to Fort Klamath, where they arrived.
♦ July 8. Captain Jack, Schonchin John, Black Jim, Boston Charley, Brancho (Barncho) and Slolux were tried by a military court for the murders of Canby and Thomas, and attacks on Meacham and others. The six Modoc were convicted, and sentenced to death.
♦ September 10, President Ulysses S. Grant approved the death sentence for Captain Jack, Schonchin John, Black Jim and Boston Charley; Brancho and Slolux were committed to life imprisonment on Alcatraz. Grant ordered that the remainder of Captain Jack’s band be held as prisoners of war.
♦ November 3, Captain Jack, along with three others, are hung and buried in Fort Klamath for the murder of General Canby.
♦ November 16, 153 Modoc men, women and children arrived in Baxter Springs, Kansas ubder federal custody.
♦ November 30, The Modocs arrived by wagon at the Quapaw Agency at Seneca Springs, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Five Modoc children attended school on their alloted 1600 acres. Modocs will not be allowed to return until after the turn of the century.
♦ According to an official report the Modocs had made more progress with less land than any of the other Indians under jurisdiction of the Quapaw.

1875 – Scarfaced Charlie was deposed as Chief of the Oklamoma band of Modocs and Bogus Charley, 25, was appointed Chief.
1881 – Bogus Charley and Snacknasty Jim died in Oklahoma.
1885 – Steamboat Frank, a minister of Society of Friends Church in Oklahoma, died.
1890 – Fort Klamath is abandoned by military. John Loosely is appointed caretaker.
1909 – after Oklahoma had become a state, members of the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma were offered the chance to return to the Klamath Reservation. Twenty-nine people returned to Oregon; the Modoc of Oregon and their descendants became part of the Klamath Tribes Confederation.

klamath project timeline icona

Pre-1859… Fire and Ice, Humans and Water

1860 – 1899… Roads, Linkville, Modoc Indian War, Klamath Falls

1900 – 1949… Automobiles, Reclamations, Trains, Farming

1950 – 1999… Timber, Ranches, Boomers

2000 – Present… Legislation, Court decisions, Science Studies

Modoc Indian War… Indians, Settlers, U.S. Army

Acknowledgements
Bill and LoEtta Cadman, Ina and Roy Reed, Pat McMillian, William Brady, Andrew Ortis, John Pratt, Art Eggleston, Rob Crawford – Crawford Farms, Bev Wampler, Richard Kopczak and Cindy Wright are some of the many folks that allowed access to their libraries and, or, shared information to help Anders compile the above timelines.

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1850 – 1889 … A growing need for irrigation and power

1900 – 1949 … Reclamation & Realization

1950 – 1999 … Big projects & legislation

2000 – present … Times they are a changing

Acknowledgements
These Califoria Water timelines above are complied from Imperial Valley, San Diego, Metropolitan Water District – serving all of Southern California, Monterey, Santa Clara Valley, San Francisco and Hetch Hetchy, Central Valley, Klamath River, Upper Klamath Basin and Colorado River timelines.

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Álamos, Sonora, Mexico Timelines … Álamos is at the southeast corner of the Great Basin & Range, Klamath County is at the northwest corner of the Great Basin & Range. Both Álamos and the Upper Klamath Basin are rich in history, wildlife and natural ecosystems.

©2014 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.