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Hooker Jim

Hooker Jim (1851-1879) was a Modoc leader during the Modoc War of 1872-73.

Biography[]

Hooker Jim was born in 1851, the son-in-law of Curly-Headed Doctor and a member of the Modoc tribe of northern California. When white settlers massacred Modoc women and children at the time of the Battle of Lost River on 29 November 1872, Hooker Jim led the Modoc in massacring white settlers in revenge, and he coerced Modoc chief Captain Jack into murdering Major-General Edmund Canby in 1873 after Captain Jack refused to hand Hooker Jim over to the US Army. However, he abandoned Captain Jack when the army entered the Lava Beds, leading the "bloodhounds" in tracking down Captain Jack and testifying against his former ally. Hooker Jim went into exile in Oklahoma with the tribe, dying there in 1879 at the age of 28.

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