 The prisoners were placed temporarily on an island in the Platte River, a few miles from the fort, where they hunted and fished for food.With the detour to Nebraska, the Modoc were forced to travel 2,000-miles during the cold of late fall, not reaching Baxter Springs, Kansas until November 16, 1873.The 153 Modoc men, women, and children arrived cold and hungry in this part of Indian Territory.