them with families, and that the Indians were burning signal fires on the mountains, which boded no good to travelers.
On this report, Charles McDermit of Yreka raised a company of between thirty and forty volunteers, to meet and escort immigrant parties over the most dangerous portion of the road through the Modoc country. At Tule lake the volunteers met another company of male immigrants, going to Yreka and with them sent back two men, named Smith and Toland, to act as guides and guards. This party was attacked, and Smith and Toland wounded, but the discharge of a rifle happening to take off the top of an Indian s head, so excited the savages for a few moments that the white men made their escape.
The next party to reach the Tule lake portion of the road was led by J. C. Tolman, who has since been a candidate for governor of Oregon. It consisted of about twenty poorly armed men, five of them with families, and ten wagons. They found McDermit's company on the west shore of Goose lake, and were warned of the danger ahead, two of the volunteers accompanying them as guides. On coming to the high hill one mile east of the south end of Tule lake on the nineteenth of August, no Indians being in sight, the guides, having in mind James Bridger s caution, "When there are no Indians in sight, then look out," decided to avoid a probable ambush by taking a northerly course across a sagebrush flat. The women and children were placed in the wagons, and the covers fastened down to hide them from view, while the few firearms were made ready for use.
In this manner the company had nearly reached the open valley when the yells of Indians in pursuit discovered to them that spies had betrayed them to those in concealment. By making all the speed possible, open ground was reached just as a shower of arrows whizzed through the air; but on seeing several rifles leveled upon them, the Modocs were intimidated and withdrew to the
