Captain Jack. “I know that the white man has many voices: they tell one side, they do not tell the other.”
Meacham. “Tell the other yourself. You can talk: Now speak for your race. Tell the other side. The world will read it.”
Fixing his eye on Meacham very intently Captain Jack says, “Meacham, you talk for me.”
Meacham. “No, Captain Jack, I cannot talk for you. I saw you kill Gen. Canby. I cannot talk for you. If you had shot me as Schonchin did, I would talk for you. As it is, I cannot. I will not talk for Schonchin; he was all the time in favor of blood.”
Schonchin breaks in, saying, “I did not kill you; you did not die. I am an old man. I was excited; I did not shoot good. The others all laughed at me; I quit. You shoot me. You don’t want me to die. You did not die.”
Captain Jack. “I cannot talk with the chains on my legs. My heart is not strong, when the chain is on my leg. You can talk strong. You talk for me.”
An hour later, Meacham is in consultation with his friends, including the army surgeon. There is but one opinion in regard to Meacham offering himself as counsel for the Modocs, aside from the newspaper comments,—that it will cost him his life. He is not sufficiently recovered from the shots of the Lava Bed tragedy of April 11th.
JULY EIGHTH. FOURTH DAY.
Military commission assembled. Meacham has decided that he cannot appear as counsel for the prisoners.
They are brought into court; proceedings of previous meeting read and approved; H. R. Anderson, lieutenant of Fourth Artillery, duly sworn. His evidence was chiefly in regard to Gen. Canby’s relation to the Government, the Army, and the Peace Commission.