Young chief of the Modoc tribe who cooperated with the U.S. government until some of his men became involved in a violent conflict with U.S. soldiers in the early 1870s. Forced to choose between surrendering his own men and protecting them (thereby risking war with the U.S.), Kintpuash chose to fight against the U.S.—partly out of loyalty and partly because he feared that his own followers would rebel. He killed Colonel Edward R. S. Canby, and was afterwards executed himself. He was rumored to have said, “You white people conquered me not; my own men did.”
Kintpuash Quotes in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee quotes below are all either spoken by Kintpuash or refer to Kintpuash. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 10
Quotes
No lawyer represented the Modocs, and although they were given the right to cross-examine witnesses, most of them understood very little English, and all spoke it poorly. While the trial was in progress soldiers were constructing a gallows outside the prisoners' stockade, so there was no doubt as to what the verdict would be.
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Kintpuash Character Timeline in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The timeline below shows where the character Kintpuash appears in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10: The Ordeal of Captain Jack
...ambushed settlers. In the 1850s, however, the Modocs were led by a young chief named Kintpuash. Kintpuash began to push for peace between his tribe and white settlers in California. He...
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By the 1870s, the Modocs were starving. Kintpuash led his people south in search of land, but troops ordered him to return. When...
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Kintpuash led his remaining warriors away from the army in search of the California Lava Beds,...
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...peace. But over the next few days, the representatives withdrew their offer and demanded that Kintpuash give up his men so that they could be transferred to a reservation.
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By the middle of March, Kintpuash and his followers sighted Colonel Canby approaching the Lava Beds. Kintpuash’s warriors, who’d been responsible...
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The government now offered Kintpuash a new deal: he could surrender to the American government, with a guarantee of protection....
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A few days later, Kintpuash sent the military a message. He said he wanted to be able to move his...
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Among his own people, Kintpuash was suspected of being in league with the U.S. military. Some of the Modocs wanted...
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On Good Friday, 1873, Kintpuash went out to speak with the peace commissioners. Canby made a long speech to Kintpuash...
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...military had arrested most of the fleeing Modocs. Some of the same Modocs who’d pressured Kintpuash to kill Canby now turned on their chief and promised to track him down in...
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Kintpuash was convicted of murder. No defender was assigned to him, and no witnesses for the...
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