Chief Pocatello’s Strategic Surrender After Bear River Massacre
Chief Pocatello faced a harsh choice in the 1850s: watch his people starve or fight back.
As Mormon settlers and gold seekers cut through Shoshone lands in Utah and Idaho, game vanished and hunger spread.
Pocatello first asked travelers for food. When they said no, he struck wagon trains along the Oregon Trail.
After the 1863 Bear River Massacre killed 400 Shoshone, Pocatello saw the writing on the wall. He signed treaties that promised supplies but brought little help.
By 1868, he had no choice but to move his band to the Fort Hall Reservation. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum now tells this story of survival.
Buffalo Robe Becomes a Leader
Born around 1815 in Grouse Creek Valley in northwest Utah, Pocatello got his Shoshone name Tonaioza, meaning “buffalo robe.”
By 1857, he led about 400 Hukandeka Shoshone, with his group growing to around 1,000 people later. Unlike kings in Europe, Shoshone picked leaders based on respect, not family ties.
Pocatello grew up during the fur trapping boom of the 1820s-1830s when his people traded with white mountain men who passed through.
Settlers and Gold Seekers Destroy Traditional Hunting Grounds
Mormon settlers moved into Utah in 1847, followed by gold seekers heading to California after 1848.
Their animals quickly ate up the native plants the Shoshone needed to live. Animals the tribe hunted became hard to find as grazing lands disappeared.
Pocatello’s people faced hunger as their way of life, which followed seasonal food sources, clashed with newcomers’ ideas about owning land.
With food getting scarce, his band faced starvation.
Pay Up or Face the Consequences
Pocatello started asking travelers on the Oregon and California Trails to pay for safe passage through Shoshone lands.
He wanted food and supplies to feed his hungry people.
When settlers said no, his warriors attacked, mostly because settlers were taking their food sources and land.
Mormon leaders and government agents soon saw Pocatello as the head of a “hostile” band, though he just tried to keep his people from starving.
Blood Spills at Snake River
Pocatello led attacks on wagon trains near Snake River in southern Idaho on August 9-10, 1862, killing ten white men.
His warriors first charged a wagon train at City of Rocks, then hit two more near Snake River. These attacks were part of a bigger Shoshone effort to block trails.
People later called the area Massacre Rocks, though the fighting happened east of those rock formations.
Smart Move Saves His Band
Pocatello got a warning in January 1863 that Colonel Patrick Connor was coming with California Volunteers.
He moved his people away from Bear River camp the day before Connor attacked on January 29. Connor’s troops killed between 250 and 400 Shoshone men, women, and children in one of the worst massacres of the Indian Wars.
The military lost 22 men but killed over 350 Shoshone who hadn’t left.
The Hunt for Pocatello Intensifies
Colonel Connor spent spring 1863 looking for Pocatello throughout Bear River country.
His troops searched the area hoping to kill or catch the remaining Shoshone, with Pocatello as their main target.
As military pressure grew, other Shoshone survivors gave up and signed peace deals. Pocatello saw that fighting more would mean his people would be wiped out.
He started thinking about his few options for survival.
A Treaty Signed in Desperation
Pocatello and eight other chiefs signed the Treaty of Box Elder in Brigham City on July 30, 1863. The government promised $5,000 yearly in food and supplies plus $2,000 right away for bands facing starvation.
The treaty forced Pocatello to give up two-thirds of his hunting grounds, keeping only the land between Raft River and Portneuf Mountains.
He agreed to stop attacks on white travelers for this small payment.
Empty Promises Lead to More Raids
The government broke its treaty promises, with supplies rarely showing up.
When food did come, it wasn’t enough to feed all the hungry Shoshone. Facing starvation again, Pocatello led raids on stagecoach stations to get food for his people.
Colonel Connor briefly jailed Pocatello for these raids but soon let him go, fearing a bigger war might start if he kept the chief locked up.
Reservation Life Begins at Fort Hall
Pocatello signed the Fort Bridger Treaty on July 3, 1868, agreeing to move his people to the Fort Hall Reservation.
Once again, the government promised more food but didn’t deliver. Many Shoshone and Bannock tribes moved to Fort Hall but supplies stayed low.
Pocatello’s band joined other groups at the reservation along Snake River in southeast Idaho, trying to adjust to a completely new way of life.
Mormons Offer Temporary Relief
Facing starvation in 1875, Pocatello led his people off the reservation to a Mormon missionary farm in Utah.
The whole group joined the Mormon church in a mass baptism, hoping to get food the government hadn’t provided.
Their stay was short when local white residents complained about having Native people nearby and wanted them gone.
U.S. troops soon came and forced Pocatello’s band back to Fort Hall Reservation.
The Chief’s Final Journey
Pocatello died in October 1884 after stepping back from tribal leadership in his final years.
Following his wishes, his people buried him in a deep spring, dressed in his full war outfit with all his guns, knives, and personal belongings.
Eighteen horses were killed and placed in the spring above his body as part of traditional burial practices.
Five years after his death, the city of Pocatello, Idaho was founded and named after the chief who had fought so hard to protect his people’s way of life.
Visiting Fort Hall, Idaho
The Shoshone Cultural Center at 30 East Ross Fork Road Building 2 tells Chief Pocatello’s story through exhibits about his resistance and eventual surrender.
You’ll pay a small admission fee to visit Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. The museum store sells Native American books, music, and tribal artwork.
During summer months, you can see live buffalo from the tribal herd next to the museum. Call 208-237-9791 for current information since they’re closed weekends.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
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