The Battle
At dawn on May 10, a small detachment of Modoc warriors attacked the U.S. camp while the rest took up a position in the bluffs above the lake. The startled troopers quickly rolled out of their blankets and took cover behind any obstacle they could find, no matter how small, in order to fasten their gunbelts and pull on their boots. The officers restored order and the mounted Warm Springs Indian scouts were sent around the Modoc flanks while the rest of the U.S. force was ordered to charge the bluffs. The troopers paused at the bottom of the bluff, leery to charge the strong position on top of the bluff. 1st Sgt. Thomas Kelley shouted "God damn it, lets charge". For the first time in the Modoc War, U.S. troops charged and routed the warriors defending the bluff. The warriors fled so quickly that the Warm Springs had not even made it around the flanks, and one warrior, Ellen's Man George, was left dead on the field. The troopers pursued the Modocs for 4 miles but exhausted and lacking water, they stopped.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Dry Lake
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—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)