Captain Jack (1837-1873) was a leader of the Native American Modoc people. He led his tribe against the United States Army during the Modoc War (1872-1873).
The tribe lived mainly in the Lost River Valley and around Tule Lake, on the California-Oregon border. In 1864, the government moved the Modoc to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon, but they could not support themselves there. Captain Jack led part of his tribe back to the Lost River Valley in 1872.
Fighting broke out when the Army tried to force the Modoc to return to the reservation. The Indians fled to an area near Tule Lake in California. At a peace council, Captain Jack killed General E. R. S. Canby when the general said he could not withdraw his troops from the area. Captain Jack fled, but the Army captured and hanged him on Oct. 3, 1873.
Captain Jack was born near what is now Tulelake, California. His Native American name was Kintpuash.
