Wigwam and War-Path: The Modoc Indian War 1872-3, by an Active Eyewitness - Paperbackby A. B. Meacham (Author) Brutal conflict in the lava beds Students of the history of the American West and the wars of the United States government against the indigenous American Indian tribes in particular will be familiar with the early 1870s action against the Modoc Indians. This was the last of the conflicts with native American tribes in California and Oregon and came about when the Indian leader, 'Captain Jack, ' led a party of 150 Modocs,