Following the horrific Modoc War of 1872-73, Schonchin John, left, Captain Jack and two other Modoc Indian fighters were sentenced to hang. They languished in chains in a Fort Klamath cell for months before their sentence was carried out in a well-attended public spectacle.
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When the U.S. military tried to force Modoc Indians onto a reservation, they took refuge in an ancient lava flow, where they fought off hundreds of Army soldiers for nearly seven months before their world changed forever.
In the aftermath, many Modoc fighters were captured and punished; families were dispersed to sometimes distant reservations. One of the costliest and most dramatic American Indian wars in our nation's history, the Modoc War of 1872-73 is largely forgotten.
Watch the Oregon Experience documentary "The Modoc War" to learn how one of the last Wild-West battles unfolded on the American frontier.
This series is in partnership with The Oregon Historical Society