Klamath
Falls Herald and News
A document signed by Modoc Indian War leader Captain Jack the night before he
was executed in 1873 will be placed on temporary exhibit next week at the
Klamath County Museum.
The
document, held by a private collector in Ohio for the past 35 years, was
obtained by the museum last week for $4,500 in an online eBay bid.
Museum manager Todd Kepple said the acquisition represents a milestone in the
museum's effort to preserve local history.
The
artifact will be in the museum's lobby Tuesday and through January. Visitors
will not have to pay an admission fee to see the document.
An “X” made by Captain Jack stands for the hanged man's name, and is
believed to be the only document in existence with his signature.
Captain Jack led a band of Modoc Indian warriors in a resistance against
hundreds of U.S. Cavalry troops during the winter of 1872-73. He was captured
and sentenced to die for his participation in the murder of an Army general
during a peace conference in what is now known as the Lava Beds National
Monument in Northern California.
Captain Jack, whose Mo-doc name was Keintpoos or Kintpuash, was hanged on Oct.
3, 1873, at Fort Klamath.
A chair in which Captain Jack sat before his execution was in the museum
collection until it was destroyed by a fire at the Fort Klamath Museum in
2001.
Most of the county's cost for the document was paid with funds remaining from
an insurance payment for the fire.
The museum received the document on Dec. 15 and since then it has been reviewed by museum officials and representatives of the Klamath Tribes and the National Park Service.
With the
Captain Jack document came an 1873 San Francisco newspaper article that
provides details of the hanging and the events leading up to it. The article
will be on display, too.
The Klamath County Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday. The museum will be closed Saturday, Dec. 31.
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Source: http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/12/24/news/top_stories/top4.txt