Ladd stars along with Audrey Dalton, Charles Bronson as Captain Jack, and Hayden Rorke as President Ulysses S.

He tells government officials in Washington about hostilities between settlers, soldiers and Modoc renegades near the California and Oregon border.

The grown children of an old Modoc chief, Toby (Marisa Pavan) and Manok (Anthony Caruso), meet Johnny at Fort Klamath.

They tell Johnny it is a chief who calls himself Captain Jack (Charles Bronson) and a band of renegades who are responsible for the brutality while most of the other Modoc wish to live in peace.

The Army responds but is unable to dislodge the renegade Modoc from their mountain stronghold and are forced to retreat with several casualties.

After hearing of the massacre and the Army defeat President Grant orders General Canby's to act as a defensive force only.

President Grant is forced to act because of the public outcry and orders Johnny to do whatever is necessary to bring Captain Jack to justice.

[5] It was the first production from Ladd's own company, Jaguar, which released through Warner Bros.[6] He made it after a spell of almost two years making films outside the USA.

Delmer Daves wrote the script based on his family's first hand knowledge of the Modoc Indians on the California-Oregon border in the 1870s.

Toby (Winema) Riddle was one of the few Native American women to be honored by the US Congress authorizing a military pension for her because of her heroism and service.