Product Code Database
The Bannock War of 1878 was an armed conflict between the U.S. military and Bannock people and Paiute warriors in Idaho and northeastern Oregon from June to August 1878. The Bannock totaled about 600 to 800 in 1870 because of other Shoshone peoples being included with Bannock numbers.Ruby, Robert H., and John Arthur Brown (1992). "Bannock." In A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 7-9. They were led by Chief Buffalo Horn, who was killed in action on June 8, 1878.Ruby, Robert H., and John Arthur Brown (1992). “Bannock.” 8. After his death, Chief Egan led the Bannocks. He and some of his warriors were killed in July by a Umatilla people party that entered his camp in deception.
The U.S. military, consisting of the 21st Infantry Regiment and volunteers, was led by Brigadier General Oliver O. Howard. Nearby states also sent militias to the region. The conflict ended in August and September 1878, when the remaining scattered Bannock-Paiute forces surrendered; many returned to Fort Hall Reservation. The U.S. Army forced some 543 Paiute from Nevada and Oregon and Bannock prisoners to be interned at Yakama Indian Reservation in southeastern Washington Territory.
The Shoshone-Bannock were dramatically influenced by arrival of Euro-Americans and the rapid expansion of the trade-based economy. On a cultural level, the Euro-Americans' way of life challenged the values and seasonal traditions of the Shoshone-Bannock. New practices of agriculture, managing livestock, and production replaced the traditional resources on which the Shoshone-Bannocks had relied. They became more dependent on Euro-American methods and products.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, pp. 30–31
American leaders were eager to acquire lands from the Shoshone-Bannock and in the 1860s, began to work to trade goods for titles to the Snake River Plains. The land trade attracted new waves of migrants to the Idaho Territory, especially in the Boise region of the Snake Valley. In 1866, in order to protect the Shoshone-Bannock groups in the Boise Snake Valley from fearful and aggressive settlers, Governor Lyon created a refugee camp for a few hundred of the Bannock near Boise City. The camp's lack of sufficient resources forced the Shoshone-Bannock to depend on the local settlers for work and food. Many Shoshone-Bannock asked to be given the security of their own reservation land.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, p. 41
The proposed relocation to eastern Idaho challenged the Shoshone-Bannock cosmology and their religious connection to the land, as their cultural practices were based in local seasonal changes in the Snake Valley. They believed their ancestors' spirits still resided in the land.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, p. 43 Leadership among the Shoshone-Bannock was believed to be directly connected to the land which these ancestors inhabited, granting the chief his position. After complex and controversial deliberation, the Shoshone-Bannock leaders and American government officials formally agreed to relocate the Boise refugees to the Fort Hall Reservation. They completed relocation in 1869.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, p. 45
While the government made sizable appropriations to purchase the supplies necessary to feed the community, food crises arose during the winters of 1874–1875 and 1876–1877, resulting from diminished game for hunters and a lack of adequate food supplies by the government. Many Shoshone-Bannock left Fort Hall to attempt survival on their own.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, pp. 48–49 Simultaneously, the 1877 Nez Perce War drove officials to crack down on the nation and require them to stay within the reservation boundaries.
The Bannock War of 1878 resulted from numerous factors.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, p. 50 The terrible conditions caused divisions within the Shoshone-Bannock communities. The Bannock began to view the Shoshone as intruders and committed theft and other crimes against the group. Friction between the Native Americans and the Euroamericans increased as well, resulting in violence when Pe-tope, a Fort Hill Native American, shot and wounded two teamsters in August 1877. Agent William Danilson, the government-appointed agent of the Fort Hall reservation at the time, pressed the tribal leaders to charge Pe-tope for the crime. In response to the crackdown, a friend of Pe-tope, Nampe-yo-go, killed Alexander Rhodan, a beef contractor for the reservation.Heaton (2005), The Shoshone-Bannocks, pp. 50–51
Agent Danilson asked the nation to capture the killer and turn him over to the US officials, but he was resisted by the Shoshone-Bannock. According to their tradition of reconciliation, they said it was the duty of the family of Nampe-yo-go to resolve his crime, not the nation. That summer, a large number of the Shoshone-Bannock left the reservation, because of the lack of supplies, violence between the Native Americans and the Euroamericans, conflicts between the nations, and Danilson's actions. This sparked the Bannock War of 1878, as the US government ordered the Army to return the people to the reservation to control them.
The news of the increased violence spread to Idaho's territorial capital at Boise City. Governor Brayman notified Brigadier General O. O. Howard, commander of the Military Department of the Columbia. Brayman wrote in a May 30 letter that he had dispatched Col. Reuben F. Bernard's cavalry from Boise to the plains that evening as a show of force; he did not want to provoke further conflict.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 80 Bernard's cavalry reached the Bannock camp on June 2 and drove them to retreat to the Lava Beds. The military noted this was better for defense.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 81 The Bannock group moved west and raided Glenn's Ferry and King Hill station, both on the Snake River. Next, they moved along the river, killing several settlers along the way. Bernard's cavalry traveled by road to Rattlesnake station, where they joined with more military cavalry, as well as local militia volunteers from Alturas.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 82 At this time, Bernard claimed there were 300 Bannock warriors in the Lava Beds, plus 200 who had raided Glenn's Ferry and King Hill Station. The Bannock were rushing westward to meet with their Northern Paiute allies, who were traveling down the Owyhee River to the Juniper Mountains and Lava Canyon.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 88
As the Bannock traveled westward, they continued to raid camps, resulting in some settler deaths. People in Idaho and neighboring states feared that the violence would soon spread their way.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 94 Bernard arrived in Silver City on June 9 and quickly headed out to the Jordan Valley. The troops moved to meet the Bannock at Steens Mountain. Bernard's cavalry followed Chief Egan's Bannock west into Oregon, eventually meeting them in battle on June 23 by Silver Creek.Madsden (1948), Bannock Indians in Northwest History, p. 190 The fight resulted in the deaths of three U.S. soldiers, the wounding of three others, and an unknown number of Bannock casualties. Col. Bernard moved to nearby Camp Curry to meet with General Howard on June 25.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 125
On June 29, there was a skirmish between the Bannock warriors and Crescent City volunteer militia. Bernard and his cavalry of 350 arrived shortly after and secured the city. The Bannock were traveling toward Fox Valley, estimated to number between 350 and 400. US forces thought they intended to travel further north to join the Cayuse people and other Native American groups in that region who shared their discontent.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 129
On July 6, a volunteer group by Sheriff Sperry encountered hostiles near Willows Springs at the head of a small canyon, North of what is now known as Battle Mountain State Park in Oregon.compiled by The Pioneers Ladies Club (1937), Reminiscences of Oregon Pioneers, p. 127
Gen. Howard encountered the Bannock at the junction of Butter Creek and the Columbia River on July 7, resulting in conflict. Five U.S. soldiers were injured, and one died from his wounds. The fight resulted in an unknown number of casualties on the Bannock side, and they left going to the southeast.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 143 The next fight occurred on July 12, when Captain Miles of the Umatilla Agency, a reservation near the Umatilla River whose people were potential allies of the Bannock band, accidentally encountered a large band of Umatilla warriors.Madsden (1948), Bannock Indians in Northwest History, p. 191 Feeling threatened by the increased movements of state militias around their territories, the Umatilla had ridden out in defense.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 149 The Umatilla quickly surrendered and offered to fight with Miles against the Bannock. Historian Brigham D. Madsden suggested they were attracted to the high bounty that had been placed on Chief Egan's head.Madsden (1948), Bannock Indians in Northwest History, p. 192 The conflict resulted in the deaths of five Bannock warriors and their eventual flight.
That night, Umatilla leaders pursued the Bannock. They entered the camp posing to conduct negotiations, and killed Chief Egan and several other warriors. "Native American History: The Bannock War" .Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 151 On July 20, one of Bernard's battalions, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Forsyth, met the Bannock forces in the canyon of the North Fork of the John Day River. The conflict did not result in many casualties, but interrupted the Bannock, forcing their retreat.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 152
By July 27, Gen. Howard's strategy changed from one against a united enemy to pursuing the fractured Bannock groups. He had numerous Army units operating in Idaho.Madsden (1948), Bannock Indians in Northwest History, p. 193 Most of the concluding conflicts between the remaining bands and the military were led by Miles in August and September. The rest of the Bannock returned to the Fort Hall Reservation or pursued peaceful hunting on their own in groups.Madsden (1948), Bannock Indians in Northwest History, p. 197 A few more skirmishes between the scattered Bannock and military forces occurred, such as on August 9 in Bennett's Creek by the Snake River, but no casualties were recorded.Brimlow (1938), Bannock Indian War of 1878, p. 159
Other Bannock and Paiute prisoners were interned at the Malheur Reservation in Oregon. While the Paiutes had been more peripherally involved, in November 1878, General Howard moved about 543 Bannock and Paiute prisoners from the Malheur Reservation to internment at Yakama Indian Reservation in southeastern Washington Territory.Brimlow, George Francis. Harney County and Its Range Land, Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1951, pp. 81–130 They suffered privation for years. In 1879 the Malheur Reservation was closed, "discontinued" through pressure from settlers. "Settling Up the Country: Social Costs of the Cattlemen's Era", The Oregon History Project
Northern Paiutes from Idaho and Nevada were eventually released and relocated from Yakama to an expanded Duck Valley Indian Reservation with their Western Shoshone brethren in 1886.
Further reading
Categories: Wars Between The United States And Native Americans, Conflicts In 1878, Bannock Tribe, Shoshone, Idaho Territory, Wyoming Territory, Indian Wars Of The American Old West, 1870s In Idaho Territory, 1870s In Nevada, 1870s In Oregon, 1870s In Wyoming Territory, 1878 In The United States, Native American History Of Idaho, Native American History Of Nevada, Native American History Of Wyoming, Wars Involving The Indigenous Peoples Of North America In Oregon
|
|
