Kintpuash
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Kintpuash "Captain Jack" | |
---|---|
Chief, Modoc people | |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1837 Execution by hanging |
Military service | |
Battles/wars | Modoc War |
Kintpuash, also known as Kientpaush,
He led a band from the
Life
Kintpuash was born about 1837 into a Modoc family in their ancestral territory near Tule Lake. The Modoc occupied about 5,000 acres here, along what became the California-Oregon border after European colonization.
In 1864, the Modoc still lived in their ancestral home near Tule Lake. Due to the pressure of white colonizers who wanted to steal and farm the fertile land in this territory, Kintpuash and his family were among the Modoc forcefully
In 1865, Kintpuash, by then informally called Captain Jack by American colonizers, led a band of Modoc from the reservation back to their home in California. In 1869, the band were rounded up by the United States Army and returned to the Klamath Reservation. Finding conditions had not improved, in April 1870, Captain Jack led a band of about 180 Modoc back to the Tule Lake area.
Modoc War, 1872–73
In 1872, US Army forces were sent to capture Kintpuash's band and force them back to the reservation. On November 29, while their surrender was being negotiated at the Lost River in Oregon, fighting broke out between a soldier and one of the Modoc warriors. The brief Battle of Lost River ensued.
Kintpuash fled with his band into the area now protected as the
Kintpuash's advisers, not understanding differences between Modoc and Euro-American culture, suggested that the Army would leave if their warriors killed its leader
He entered into negotiations with a
Canby was the only general killed during the
Surrender and execution
Over the next several months, various groups of Modoc continued to fight the army, while some began to surrender. Kintpuash successfully evaded the Army until some Modoc agreed to capture him and turn him in; these men included Hooker Jim, Bogus Charley, Shacknasty Jim, and Steamboat Frank. On June 1, Kintpuash surrendered,[4] ceremonially laying down his rifle. He was taken to Fort Klamath. After being tried by a military court and found guilty, Kintpuash was hanged on October 3, 1873, for the murders of General Canby and Reverend Thomas. Black Jim, John Schonchin, and Boston Charley had also been convicted and were hanged with him. Some other warriors were sent to prison.
Fate of remains
After the execution, Kintpuash's body was transported by freight train to
In 1898, the Army transferred the skulls to the Smithsonian Institution. In the 1970s, descendants of Kintpuash learned that his skull was at the Smithsonian and appealed for its return. In 1984 the Smithsonian returned Kintpuash's skull to his relatives, who acted as tribal representatives to receive also the skulls of Boston Charley, Black Jim, and John Schonchin, and of an unknown Modoc woman whose remains had been recovered from the Lava Beds.[8][9]
Legacy
- The area where the Modoc established their defense is now known as Captain Jack's Stronghold. It is part of the protected area of the Lava Beds National Monument.
- Captain Jack Substation, a Bonneville Power Administration electrical substation, was named in honor of Kintpuash. It is located near what is now called Captain Jack's Stronghold. It forms the northern end of Path 66, a high-power electric transmission line.
See also
References
- ^ Ball, Natalie (20 Oct 2009). "Re-Imaging a Native American History of (Un)-Belonging". The Other Journal. 16. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1888). . .
- Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. Holt, Rinehart & Winston Inc, 1970. p. 231.
- ^ Indian Country Today June 1, 2016
- ^ Brown (1970), Bury My Heart, p. 233.
- ^ Army and Navy Journal, October 25, 1873, p. 16
- ^ "Lava Beds CA: Modoc War (Chapter 11)". NPS.gov. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ^ "Repatriation of Modoc Remains". Repatriation Office. Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2008-11-23.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Montgomery, Robert Lynn. "Register to the Papers of John Lawrence Angel" (PDF). National Anthropolical Archives. Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
Further reading
- Arthur Quinn, Hell with the Fire Out: A History of the Modoc War (1997), includes coverage of Kintpuash.
External links
- "Oregon Experience: The Modoc War", Oregon Public Broadcasting, July 2012. – Video (57:14)
- Indian Country Today June 15, 2016