Madoc

“ As the poem, in which this reference occurs, opens with an appeal to Owain, and laments the death of several of his children, it is only fair to conclude that here is the Madoc who was supposed to have sailed to America. Another poem, by its reference to "an assassin slaying Madoc," [8] strengthens this belief. It is not till the middle or close of the fifteenth century that there is any trace of the tradition as we now have it, when Meredydd ap Rhys sings, "Madoc, true whelp of Owain Gwynedd, would not have land or great wealth, but the broad sea," and alludes to his passion for the sea. ”

“ Among them we have Matec Zungam and Mat Ingam; and why this should not be Madoc the Cambrian, whom the monuments in the country prove to have been in those parts, no reason can be given. As to antiquity, five centuries are sufficient, beyond which American traditions do not ascend."
In another part he says, "For when it is demonstrated that Madoc, a prince of Cambria, with some of his nation, discovered and inhabited some lands in [Pg 44] the West, and that his name and memory are still retained among them, scarcely any doubt remains." ”

“ He believed that the ten ships of Madoc, or at least a part of them, either entered the Balize at the mouth of the Mississippi, or the colonists landed on the Florida coast and made their way inward. They began agriculture, but were attacked and driven to erect those immense earthen fortifications, and subsequently were driven still farther and farther inward. Mandans was a corruption of Madawgwys, a name applied by Cambrians to the followers of Madoc. ”

“ This strife mortified Madoc. In order to separate himself from his quarrelling brothers he fitted out a number of ships and sailed west, “leaving the coast of Ireland so far north, that he came to an unknown land, where he saw many strange things.” He then returned home and gave an account of the attractive and fertile countries “he had seen without inhabitants.” He induced a number of men and women, who desired to live peaceably, to emigrate to the western land. The second voyage was safely made to the colony in the “fair and large country.” ”

“ Huge icicles depended from the wyverns and dragons, through whose stony mouths the rain of fully five centuries had been disgorged by the gutters of the old church, and being coated with snow, the obelisks and other mementos of the dead had a weird and ghostlike effect in the frosty moonlight.
In the cosy porch of the church were Sir Madoc Lloyd and his hunting bachelor friend, Sir Watkins Vaughan, each solacing himself with a cigar while waiting for the ladies, to escort whom home they had driven over from the Court after dinner in Sir Watkins' bang-up dog-cart. ”

“ We come now to the Mandans, a tribe, a few years since, numbering about two thousand, but who are said to be now extinct. They appear to have been a remarkable and peculiar people, differing greatly from most other Indians. The impression has prevailed among many individuals who became acquainted with them, that they were the descendants of Madoc, the Welsh chief, who is supposed to have landed [280]
[281] on the coast with a colony. This opinion is sustained by Mr. Catlin, who has given a full and interesting account of the peculiarities of the nation. ”

“ Asmode'us is one of his lieutenants. Shakespeare twice refers to him, in 1 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4, and in The Merry Wives of Windsor, act ii. sc. 2.
Amal'ahta, son of Erill'yab the deposed queen of the Hoamen (2 syl.) , an Indian tribe settled on the south of the Missouri. He is described as a brutal savage, wily, deceitful, and cruel. Amalahta wished to marry the princess Goer'vyl, Madoc's sister, and even seized her by force, but was killed in his flight.—Southey, Madoc, ii. 16 (1805) .
Amalthae'a, the sibyl who offered to sell to Tarquin nine books of prophetic oracles. ”

“ The idea that Lady Estelle's heart should fail her in attempting to return by the cliff never occurred to any save Winifred, who knew more of her friend's temperament than the rest, and for a time, with others, the ardent and courageous girl searched the shore, and several boats were put forth into the mist; but in vain, and ere long the strength and violence of the wind drove even Sir Madoc and all his startled guests to the shelter of the house. ”

“ Catlin of a very interesting tribe, the Mandans, whom, from the evidence of language already noticed and other considerations, he has conjectured to be descendants of Madoc's Colony, and whose personal character and appearance he thus describes:
“The Mandans are certainly a very interesting and pleasing people in their personal appearance and manners; differing in many respects, both in looks and customs, from all other tribes which I have ever seen. They are not a warlike [pg xlviii] people, for they seldom, if ever, carry war into their enemies' country ”

“ A CHART SHEWING THE MOVES OF THE MANDANS & THE PLACE OF THEIR EXTINCTION. THE WELSH COLONY. Which I barely spoke of in page 206, of Vol. I. which sailed under the direction of Prince Madoc, or Madawc, from North Wales, in the early part of the fourteenth century in ten ships, according to numerous and accredited authors, and never returned to their own country, have been supposed to have landed somewhere on the coast of North or South America ”

“ MADOCKS, WILLIAM ALEXANDER (1774–1828) , philanthropist, born in 1774, was the third son of John Madocks of St. Andrew's, Holborn, and of Fron Yw in Denbighshire, an eminent chancery barrister, who was M.P. for the borough of Westbury in Wiltshire (1786–90) . ”

“ When the Modoc has led his last warrior to battle up yonder in his rocky fortress, fired his last shot, and the grass is growing in the last war-path of those people, then, and not till then, I may go up where the solemn trees with their dead limbs stand around, making faces at something in the centre, pitch a tent there, and go down in the canon with men, and picks and shovels, and bars of steel and iron. ”

“ Now you see these fellows walking all through the grounds at Fort Klamath, Oregon, free men. They were the first men that gave up their arms on Fairchild's Ranch, California, and were employed as government scouts at $100 per month. There is, kind reader, human devils in all nations. These men done more to close up the Modoc War than the army of a thousand men. They are now real live heroes, and they feel it, too. If anything is yet wanting to make this scene complete, it is fully made up by the soldiers who enjoy a safe look into the eyes of the Modoc chief, Capt. Jack. ”

“ The Modoc people believe that Kumush created the world—the world in Modoc myth means the country inhabited by the Modocs and the tribes they come in contact with.—He made the mountains, lakes and rivers and gave them names. We are not told about the creation of the “first people,” those wonderful beings who inhabited the world before man was created and were “so numerous that if a count could be made of all the stars in the sky, all the feathers on birds, all the hairs and fur on animals, and all the hairs on our heads, they would not be as numerous.” ”

“ For the Modocs the valley of Lost River and the lands around Klamath and Tula Lake are sacred. We, who endeavor to trace our origin back to a monkey or, still farther, to a bit of protoplasm, or who believe in and search far and wide for the Garden of Eden, cannot revere a country which is ours simply by chance of birth as the Indian reveres the country where his tribe originated. ”

“ The captain called a halt about one mile from the village, told the boys it was too dark to good shooting yet. "We will go on when it gets lighter," he says. If one could have penetrated the darkness, he could have seen fifteen or twenty men, less than a mile from Curley Headed Doctor's lodge, and four or five other lodges on the north bank of Lost River, straight across from Jack's lodge. This body of men are the settlers. These men were very anxious to secure a few Modoc scalps at the risk of their own lives. ”

“ Jack's sister, Bogus Charley and two other Modoc women came to the Vanbrimer ranch, and asked for their ponies. Canby told them to go home. "When peace is made you shall get your horses," he said. Princess Mary begged the general to let her take at least her brother's horse. General Canby told her his word was law. Bogus Charley and women went back to the stronghold without the stolen ponies. The chief told them it was all right. Maybe we will get them back some time.
On the 21st the soldiers were well settled at the foot of the hill, one mile and a half from the Modoc stronghold. ”

“ The Indians kept up a heavy fire on RECONNAISSANCE of the LAVA BEDS sketch showing JACK'S CAVE. the charging forces. Men were falling all the time, while they charged. They were exposed all this time to the deadly fire of the Modocs. The fog now banked over the opposing parties more dense than ever. No man's eye could penetrate more than twenty yards. The Modoc chief with Ellen's man, a Modoc brave, decided to get the warriors together and charge the enemy, which they did with good results, as the enemy retreated with bad order, leaving their dead and wounded behind. ”

“ He is a little boy, but as soon as he is outside he increases in size. He enters a ravine, and when he comes out at the opposite end he is a full-grown man. Later every one sees him; his body is bright and beautiful. When pursued by his sister, he crosses a valley at a step, springs from one mountain to another, and early in the morning reaches the first house, the home of two women, who have the power of making themselves young.
The Modocs have lost the name of Gáukos’ elder sister, and they do not know the meaning of the name of the younger sister, Lĭsgaga. ”

“ Jack was ready with all his people for the journey. It took eight big government wagons with mule teams to haul the Modoc women and their clothing, etc., up on the reservation. The point is known as Modoc Point today, named on account of the Modocs being settled there in November, 1869.
Jack in a few days had all his people well settled. About the month of December he called on the Indian agent, Knapp, at the agency. He told the agent that he wanted chopping axes, cross-cut saws, wedges and maul rings. He said he wanted to put his men to work making rails, etc. ”

“ That they were different from other Indians was declared by the Modoc War. Of the several characters developed by that war, none stands out with more claim to an honorable place in history than Wi-ne-ma (the woman-chief) , who is the subject of this sketch. She was born on Link River, and very near the sacred lands of the La-la-cas (the tribe from whence sprang the Modocs) . Her father was a brother of the hero, martyr-chief, Captain Jack. Her mother is said to have belonged to a family of Indians remarkable for one peculiarity, that of having very
fine brown or red hair. ”

“ On the 28th day of February, Judge Steele, Judge Roseborough and John Fairchild, accompanied by Riddle and Winema, the interpreters, visited the Modocs in the Lava Beds. The above-mentioned parties did not fear the Modocs, as they all were the best friends the Modocs had. When the party of peace-makers dismounted at Capt. Jack's stronghold, the Indians greeted them sullenly. Jack demanded the nature of their visit. Winema replied first by saying: "Our object is to have a good talk with you people, which will be explained to you tonight. We intend to stay all night with you people." ”

“ The Modocs soon broke and retreated in the direction of the Lava Beds. They contested the ground with the troops hotly for some three miles. The object of this hasty movement of the troops was to overhaul the Modocs, if out of the Lava Beds as reported, and prevent them from murdering the settlers in their probable retreat to another locality. This object was obtained and more. The troops have had, all things considered, a very square fight and whipped the Modocs for the first time, but the whole band was again in the rocky stronghold.JEFF C. DAVIS,
Colonel 23rd Infantry, Commanding Dep't. ”

“ Many of the Modocs firmly believe that their tribe originated as described in this myth. They call Kumush father, and live by the rules he laid down for them. They believe that he gave the race all gifts that support existence, that it is through him that the Indians live and prosper. He has many of the attributes of Zeus.
This myth and many of the myths in this volume are as sacred for Indians as Bible stories are for Christians. When old men are asked what their ideas are regarding life hereafter they tell of Kumush’s visit to the great house in [383] the underground world ”

“ In some few tribes, more especially 333 in the vicinity of the lakes, the men paint themselves in various colors and grotesque patterns. Among the Modocs the women also paint. Miller says that when a Modoc warrior paints his face black before going into battle it means victory or death, and he will not survive a defeat. [444] Both men and women pierce the dividing cartilage of the nose, and wear various kinds of ornaments in the aperture. Sometimes it is a goose-quill, three or four inches long, at others, a string of beads or shells. ”

“ It seems probable that in Swein Asleifson’s narrative the word may have been originally Atjoklsbakki—the coast on the side of the Breidafiord (Moray Firth) next to Atjöklar (Athole) . The word bakki is sometimes used for a “coast.” The Saga writer may have been misled by the similarity of sound to substitute Ekkialsbakki for Atjoklsbakki. (See p. 115.)
346. The name of Maddad, Earl of Athole, appears in contemporary documents as Maddoc, Madach, and Madeth. In the foundation-charter of Scone by King Alexander I. and his queen Sibilla, “Madach Comes” is a witness. ”