Kintpuash
Kintpuash, also known as Kientpoos, Keintpoos, or by his English name Captain Jack, was a prominent Modoc leader from present-day northern California and southern Oregon. His name in the Modoc language translates to "strikes the water brashly." Kintpuash is best known for leading his people in resisting forced relocation during the Modoc War of 1872–1873. Using the rugged terrain of the Lava Beds in California, his small band of warriors held off vastly superior US Army forces for several months. He remains the only Native American leader to be charged with war crimes. Kintpuash was executed by hanging, along with three others, for their role in the deaths of General Edward Canby and Reverend Eleazar Thomas during peace negotiations.
Life
Modoc Tribe
Kintpuash was born around 1837 in Wa’Chamshwash near Tule Lake, in present-day California. The Modocs considered Tule Lake sacred, marking it as the location where the deity Kumookumts began creating the world. In a process likened to basket weaving, Kumookumts started the creation with a hill near the lake, expanding outward to form the land. Modoc territory straddled what is now the California-Oregon border. Known for their craftsmanship, the Modocs wove baskets from tule reeds, reflecting their reliance on the resources of the land. They lived in semi-nomadic bands, migrating seasonally between Mount Shasta and the areas northward beyond the Lost River, sustaining themselves through hunting and gathering. Modoc men hunted deer, antelope, rabbits, and ducks, while women gathered plants such as waterlily seeds and epos root, a dietary staple.Contact with fur traders began in 1824, about thirteen years before Kintpuash's birth. This interaction brought diseases that significantly reduced the Modoc population, from approximately 1,000 to just 300 by 1860. The discovery of gold in 1851 exacerbated the Modocs' challenges, as settlers disrupted traditional food supplies and claimed fertile lands. In response, the Modocs took defensive actions, including attacking settlers and killing unattended livestock to protect their resources. Kintpuash's early life and the history of the Modoc people reflect the devastating effects of settler encroachment and disease, which significantly reduced their population and disrupted their traditional way of life.
Rise to leadership
Kintpuash demonstrated diplomacy and pragmatism from an early age. He objected to his chief's calls for armed resistance against settlers and the U.S. government, believing that peaceful relations were essential for the tribe's survival. According to historian Gary Okihiro, citing Alfred B. Meacham's writings, in 1852, when Kintpuash was about fourteen, the bodies of eighteen white settlers were discovered in Modoc territory. California militia leader Ben Wright proposed a meeting with Modoc leaders under the pretense of peace talks. However, the meeting was a ruse, and Wright and his men massacred over forty Modocs, including their chief. Wright continued to other Modoc villages, destroying homes and displacing families. In the aftermath, Kintpuash rose to leadership, becoming the new chief of his people.As chief, Kintpuash established friendships and trade relationships with settlers. The settlers in Yreka mockingly gave him the nickname Captain Jack. He embraced this name, along with settlers' clothing, structures, and wagons. By the time of the U.S. Civil War, tensions between the Modocs and settlers worsened. The Modocs occasionally killed settlers' livestock for food or used their horses without permission. While some settlers saw these actions as compensation for occupying Modoc land, others advocated for Modoc removal. Kintpuash attempted to balance diplomacy and resistance, building relationships with settlers while navigating escalating tensions.
Modoc removal
Council Grove Treaty
In 1864, Indian Affairs officials in Oregon signed the Council Grove Treaty with the Klamath and an Oregon Modoc band, requiring relocation to the Klamath Indian Reservation. Under pressure, Kintpuash later signed the treaty to protect his California band. The treaty forfeited the Modocs' rights to their ancestral lands near Tule Lake and Lost River in California, granting them land at Klamath instead. However, the Modocs argued that Kintpuash had already signed an agreement with California Indian agents permitting them to remain in their homeland. Facing violence from settlers and government pressure, Kintpuash led his followers to the Klamath Reservation the following year.Life at Klamath proved difficult. The allocated lands were insufficient for survival, and government efforts to assimilate the tribe through Christianity and capitalism caused further resentment. Rival Klamath tribesmen vandalized and stole from Modoc lands, and supplies promised in the treaty, including horses, wagons, and food, failed to reach the Modocs. Meanwhile, the larger Klamath tribe received federal provisions, further exacerbating tensions.
Return to Lost River
In 1865, Kintpuash led his band back to their ancestral home in California. Following the 1869 ratification of the Council Grove Treaty, the Modocs were promised new lands on the Klamath Reservation, and the U.S. government offered food and blankets as incentives for their return. While some Modocs voluntarily returned, forty-five were forcibly relocated. Conditions on the Klamath Reservation continued to be marked by harassment and assimilation efforts, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.During this period, the Ghost Dance movement, a spiritual and cultural revival led by Paiute prophet Wovoka, spread among tribes in California, Nevada, and Oregon. The movement called for dancing, prayer, and fasting to bring about Native resurgence and the settlers' expulsion. While primarily a spiritual movement, it was also linked to armed resistance and efforts to restore Native sovereignty. This alignment of spiritual and political resistance echoed the broader struggles of the Modocs, who struggled to keep their homeland and autonomy.
In April 1870, conditions at Klamath prompted Kintpuash and approximately 370 Modocs to return to the Lost River Valley. Since newcomers overtook all fertile lands, the Modocs supplemented hunting and gathering by working for settlers. Viewing the departure as defiance, Federal Indian Commissioner Francis A. Walker ordered agents to return the Modocs to Klamath, authorizing the use of force if necessary. This directive set the stage for increased tensions and eventual war between the Modocs and the U.S.
Modoc War, 1872–73
Battle of Lost River
In the summer of 1872, after two years of the Modocs evading US military forces, the U.S. Indian Bureau once again demanded that the Modocs return to Klamath. Kintpuash refused and instead proposed the establishment of a reservation near Lost River. Although the Indian Bureau expressed openness to the idea, strong opposition from settlers effectively blocked any progress.On November 29, 1872, an Army unit led by Major James Jackson surrounded Kintpuash's camp to enforce relocation. With no viable alternative, Kintpuash reluctantly agreed to return to Klamath but criticized Jackson's methods, stating that the soldiers’ early morning approach had frightened his people.
Image:Modoc women.jpg|thumb|right|L to R, standing: US Indian agent, Winema and her husband Frank Riddle; other Modoc women in front
During the disarmament process, Jackson instructed Kintpuash to set down his rifle ceremonially, so other warriors would follow suit. Most of his men also surrendered their weapons, but Scarfaced Charley, a Modoc leader, retained his pistol. When soldiers attempted to disarm him, Scarfaced Charley fired, sparking an exchange of gunfire. One soldier was killed, and others were wounded. Amid the chaos, Kintpuash and his people fled the camp and sought refuge in the nearby Lava Beds, a natural stronghold near Tule Lake.
The following morning, Jackson's forces pursued another Modoc Band led by Hooker Jim. At Hooker Jim's camp, soldiers killed an elderly woman and a baby. Enraged, Hooker Jim and his band retaliated, killing twelve settlers before fleeing to join Kintpuash in the Lava Beds. Kintpuash, distressed by these killings, feared he would be held accountable. The Battle of Lost River marked the beginning of the Modoc War, a conflict that highlighted the Modocs' struggle to retain their homeland and resist U.S. government policies.
Battle of the Stronghold
The Lava Beds National Monument in northern California served as a natural fortress for Kintpuash and his band during the Modoc War. The rugged volcanic terrain, later named Captain Jack's Stronghold provided significant defensive advantages. Women and children found shelter in the caves, while Modoc warriors used the terrain to resist Army attacks.By January 16, over 300 U.S. soldiers arrived to confront the Modocs. Kintpuash advocated for surrender to protect his people, expressing willingness to face consequences alongside those responsible for the settlers' deaths. However, other influential Modoc leaders, including Hooker Jim and Curly Headed Doctor, opposed surrender. In a vote, only fourteen of the fifty-one Modoc warriors supported Kintpuash.
The Army launched an assault on the Modocs the following day. Using the terrain and camouflage, the Modocs repelled the attack, killing thirty-five U.S. soldiers and wounding many more without sustaining casualties. This unexpected defeat prompted the Army to request reinforcements. The battle demonstrated the Modocs' strategic use of their stronghold and their ability to resist overwhelming military pressure.
Peace commission
On February 28, 1873, Winema, a Modoc relative married to settler Frank Riddle, visited Kintpuash with a message from President Ulysses S. Grant announcing a peace commission to negotiate under a truce. The commission, aimed at peacefully returning the Modocs to Klamath, included General Edward Canby, clergyman Eleazar Thomas, Klamath Reservation subagent L.S. Dyar, and Kintpuash's friend Alfred B. Meacham, a former Indian Affairs agent for the Modocs. The Modocs sought clarity about the fate of Hooker Jim and his band, who had killed twelve settlers. The commissioners assured the Modocs that Hooker Jim's group would be relocated to a reservation in either Arizona or Indian Territory.Encouraged, Hooker Jim's group left the Lava Beds and surrendered. Canby, eager for a resolution, sent word to General William Tecumseh Sherman for further instructions. However, Hooker Jim's group encountered an Oregonian who warned them that Oregon authorities intended to hang the Modocs. Terrified, Hooker Jim and his followers fled back to the Lava Beds as Canby left them unattended. Their fears were justified when pressure from Oregon officials led Canby to rescind amnesty. The incident deepened mistrust between the Modocs and U.S. authorities, complicating the peace process and intensifying the conflict.
On March 6, 1873, with the help of his sister Mary, Kintpuash wrote to the peace commissioners, explaining his refusal to surrender his men and questioning why settlers who had killed Modocs were not held accountable. Despite the ongoing truce, Canby positioned reinforcements near the Lava Beds and seized Modoc horses, further straining relations. On April 2, Kintpuash met the commissioners to request the Army's withdrawal and clarify the fate of the wanted Modocs, but Canby rejected both appeals.
Kintpuash later held a private meeting with his friends Meacham and John Fairchild, excluding Canby and Thomas due to mistrust of the military and clergy. He explained his decision to flee during the events at Lost River and renewed his plea for local land or permission to remain in the Lava Beds. Meacham dismissed these requests and insisted the Modocs surrender Hooker Jim and other wanted men. When Kintpuash asked whether soldiers responsible for killing Modoc women and children would be held accountable, Meacham deflected. Frustrated, Kintpuash ended the discussion, saying further tribal deliberation was needed.
After Meacham informed Canby that the Modocs would not surrender Hooker Jim, Canby sent Winema to the Lava Beds with a message offering safety for any Modoc who surrenders. In the ensuing tribal meeting, only eleven members supported surrender. Hooker Jim, Schonchin John, and Curly Headed Doctor opposed, accusing Canby of deceit and threatening to kill anyone who attempted to leave. As Winema departed, a Modoc warned her that Hooker Jim was plotting to assassinate the American negotiators, but Canby dismissed the warning, underestimating the Modocs' desperation. This period marked a breakdown in negotiations and deepened the divide between the Modocs and U.S. authorities, setting the stage for further tragedy.