Big Times

One of the more enduring questions about the Battle of Infernal Caverns is how so many previously hostile tribes - Pit River, Paiute, Modoc - were apparently camped together as the attack began. Hammawi accounts indicate General Crook attacked a "Big Time" when neighboring groups not normally allowed within Pit River territory were invited for games, feasting, trade, and possible marriage exchanges. These yearly gatherings, even among traditional enemies, were common in California prior to the arrival of Euro-americans, and continue in some form to this day. In Native people's eyes, had they been at Infernal Caverns to fight, they would not have brought their women and children. Yet their presence, and that of their tribal neighbors, played a role in the decision to make a stand. The local warriors held off the U.S. Army and escaped.