"The struggle between the Modoc Indians and the onward sweep of civilization -- incredibly costly in lives and greenbacks -- was one of the last and most stubborn of all."--Preface.

Along the shores of Tule Lake in northern California, three small bands of Modoc Indians joined forces in the fall and winter of 1872-73 to hold off more than one thousand U.S. soldiers and settlers trying to dislodge them from their ancient refuge in the lava beds.

Devil's Backbone Terry C. Johnston The Modoc Indians and American officials had been flirting with war in the Oregon Territory for some time. When Modoc chief Keintpoos murdered a Civil War hero during negotiations, the U.S. Army launched a deadly offensive against the rebel tribe. Besieged in the natural stronghold of the Lava Beds near Tule Lake, the Modocs waged bloody war for seven long months. Sergeant Seamus Donegan, on the trail of his uncle, Ian O'Rourke, arrived at Tule Lake just as the conflict erupted. Soon Donegan and the brooding O'Rourke found themselves embroiled in what would be the costliest war in frontier history...

Authoritative guide to everything in print about lawmen and the lawless—from Billy the Kid to the painted ladies of frontier cow towns. Nearly 2,500 entries, taken from newspapers, court records, and more.

"A major contribution to California historiography...will allow other scholars to analyze more fully the origins of racism and the range of ethnic experiences in California."--"Pacific Historical Review" "A rare and realistic examination of American racism at work. It should be placed in the hands of every American who questions the reality of American racism."--"Race and Schools"

Shaman's Dream: the Modoc War is a literary non-fiction account of the 1873 standoff between besieged Modoc Indians and the United States Army on the California/Oregon border. The book - a kaleidoscope of a vested interests' - draws together eye-witness accounts by settlers, military and governmental records, reports, diaries, letters, press releases, telegrams - in a narrative that is a multi-cultural evocation of one of the last of the a Indian Wars.' A new, over-zealous Superintendent of Indians for Oregon precipitated the a war' in an ill-advised attempt to corral a group of Modocs and return them to the Klamath reservation. Loss of life and the burning of the camp at Lost River was repaid by Modocs escaping to a stronghold in the lava beds, where they were besieged for months, and where they were persuaded the a Ghost Dance' would save them. The standoff between the native Americans and the United States army eventually ended, but not until peace commissioners were wounded and murdered. The Army trial of the accused ended with hangings and the exile of the tribe, subsequently to Oklahoma. President U. S. Grant's a Peace Policy' whereby Christian ministers were employed to oversee the reservations died in the aftermath of these events. But most deeply wounded of all - and more lastingly in this, some would say, inadvertently religious war - were the shamans.

Recreate and analyze some of the wildest murder trials on the American frontier.