Why this matters to Bly
The account below is rooted in the upper Klamath Basin. The trappers moved through Langell Valley and the Lost River system. Later survey notes place parts of the Gerber Block about 20 miles south of Bly, tying this story to the rangelands and valleys that sit just beyond town.
This is not a faraway tale. It is a glimpse of the early contact era in the landscape that Bly residents still travel, hunt, ranch, and work.
Winter 1843-1844 in Modoc country
In late 1843, a party of "free trappers" led by Old Bill Williams crossed into the basin and wintered among the Klamath people. According to Hamilton, they explored much of the region, including Langell Valley, and traveled toward Lost River in Modoc country. He described building rifle pits and a corral east of Langell Valley, near the timbered plateau toward Goodlow Rim.
Hamilton wrote that "On the third day we started for Lost River, which empties into Tule Lake in the Modoc country, and explored it to its source, traveling through a beautiful valley" (Hamilton 1960:104-107). He later recalled that the trappers "traveled east about six miles to a patch of timber" where they found a spring, built a corral, and "rifle pits" before nightfall (Hamilton 1960:108-109).
By dawn, he estimated that roughly 200 Modocs watched from a nearby knoll, a tense standoff that quickly turned into the confrontation described below (Hamilton 1960:108-109).
The excerpt below is a historical quotation. It describes violence and should be read as an account from its time.
The footmen began a charge, firing a few guns and sending a flight of arrows. We reserved our fire until they had come within forty yards of the rifle pits. The Modocs could not see us and, having noticed that no shots came from that side, they must have thought that we were all contending against the horsemen, for they came on a run and in close body. We emptied our rifles and completely surprised them, for they halted and looked bewildered. Then the shotguns and Colts were brought into play with terrible effect, almost every shot bringing down an Indian.
Seventeen of the Indians rushed pell-mell toward the breastworks and engaged in hand-to-hand battle. Fifteen of the attackers were killed and two retreated. The conflict continued for some time. The Americans lost three men who were buried at the site. The Modocs suffered at least fifteen casualties and many more wounded. The American "free trappers" traveled on to Clear Lake and in July, 1844, reached the Honey Lake Valley (Hamilton 1960:111-113, 116).