Track #9: Captain Jack and the Modoc War

California, 1873: the Modocs fought to be free
On the land their grandparents had lived and died
They took some U.S. soldiers for a ride

Captain Jack was the man who led
He’d be free or he’d end up dead
So he told his wife it was time to reclaim their home
It’s a way of life and a place to call their own

Chorus
Hey Captain Jack
You led the Modoc attack
Something made you crack to try to get your homeland back
Your people looked around at the land they lost and found
It’s a place to which they’ll always be bound
The Earth, the sky, and the lava caves underground

The army took a hit when they charged that Modoc spit
So the President ordered his General to negotiate
It looked like Jack’s men had won their fate
But weeks of talks passed
Exhausted the Modocs couldn’t last
So Jack’s men told him it was time to show
“If you shoot that man those people all will go”

Chorus
Hey Captain Jack
You led the Modoc attack
Something made you crack
To hear the voices behind your back
Your people looked around
Exhausted on the ground
But it’s a place to which they’ll always be bound
The Earth, the sky, and the lava caves underground

So soon the day did come
It was a general and a gun
And Jack drew out and he shot him to the ground
You could feel the dream die with the sound
The Army moved right in
The Modocs fled again
And the soldiers picked them up one by one
And that is how this Modoc War was done

Chorus
Hey Captain Jack
You led the Modoc attack
Something made you crack
You shot a general in the back
Your people looked around
But it was you they lost and found
Soldiers cut your hair and had your arms bound
They hanged you and they buried you in that ground

Some days on Tule Lake
When the Earth begins to bake
And the sun beats down upon that volcanic land
You can still see where the Modocs make their stand