- Infernal Caverns
Infernal Caverns is the site of an 1867 battle between U.S. armed forces and Shoshone, Paiute, and Pit Indians. Infernal Caverns Battleground is
California Historical Landmark No. 16.Infernal Caverns, also known as Hell Caves, is located 6.5 miles west of Likely, California, and 1 mile south of the Ferry Ranch in
Modoc County , California. The Infernal Caverns Battleground was the site of one of the last Indian battles fought in California, on September 26-27, 1867.United States Army General George Crook was sent west to quell Indian uprisings that had begun in 1848 when the NorthernPaiutes , a branch of theShoshone tribe, bitterly attacked and killed whites. The last incident that had brought U.S. Army action was when marauding Indians killed 78 miners that were en route toColorado .With the 39th Mounted Infantry, General Crook tracked the Indians south from Goose Lake (which lies on what is now the California-Oregon border), engaging them in a desolate spot named Infernal Caverns. The two-day battle began high in a
canyon covered with giant boulders, rocky caverns, and hollowfumarole s caused bylava flows. Eight soldiers were killed in action. Six were buried at the site, and a seventh, Sgt. David Rustler, was transported by double muletravois toCamp Warner at Goose Lake, where he died a few days later. Lt. John Madigan, the only officer killed in the fight, was buried just outside of the town ofAlturas, California . Six white marble tombstones were erected by the U.S. government to mark the burial location for the soldiers. One additional tombstone was added in 1995 for Private Willoughby Sawyer, who also died in this battle and whose marker was missing. This historical omission was discovered by California historian Chris J. Wright.Fact|date=March 2008References
* "Alta California Newspaper", September 28, 1868 (morning edition).
* Bourke, John G. "Crook in Indian Country, 1867-68".
* Bourke John G. (1968). "With General Crook in the Indian Wars".
* Brown, William S. (1951) "California Northeast: The Bloody Ground".
* Schmitt, Martin F. (Ed.) (1960). "General George Crook: His Autobiography". Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
* "Modoc Record", September 23, 1995
* "New York Times", July 28, 1867.
* Parnell, William R. "Operations Against Hostile Indians with General George Crook."
* Riddle, Francis A. (1960). "Honey Lake Paiute Ethnology".
* Underhill, Ruth (1941). "The Northern Paiute Indians of California and Nevada". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior.
* "Valley Times" Newspaper; Vol. 111 No. 268, September 25, 1995.
* Wassons, Joe. News story on the Battle of Infernal Caverns.
* Wright, Chris. J., ""Battle of Infernal Caverns". "True West Magazine" August 1995, Fields of FireFurther reading
* Utley, Robert M. "Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian 1866-1891".
* Goldsborough, Bruff J. "Gold Rush: The Journals, Drawings and other papers of J. Goldsborough Bruff". Edited by G. Read and R. Gains.
* Register of Enlistments, United States Army 1860.External links
* [http://ohp.parks.ca.gov California Office of Historic Preservation]
* [http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crook.htm PBS George Crook, 1828–1890]
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