Kintpuash, son of a Modoc chief, was commonly known as "Captain Jack" because of his penchant for wearing a blue military jacket with brass buttons. Captain Jack (ca 1837-1873) was a major figure in the Modoc War of 1872-1873. Protesting unsuitable conditions on the Klamath Reservation, he led a band of about 50 warriors, resisting forced removal by U.S. troops from their former ancestral lands.

The protestors secluded themselves in the Lava Beds and held off the army for nearly a year. Captain Jack was captured in June 1873 and charged with the murder of General Edward Canby during negotiations. He was executed by hanging on October 3, 1873. His death marked the end of a story of discrimination and conflict between Indians and whites, the Modocs and other northern California tribes, and different factions within the Modoc tribe.

Little is known about Captain Jack's life prior to the age of...