Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society Part 5

EASTERN SHOSHONE TERRITORY

Thus far, we have presented the pertinent historical data on Shoshone ecology in Wyoming and adjacent parts of northern Utah and we have described the annual cycle of economic activities during the early reservation period. The following summary of information on Eastern Shoshone territory will consider both kinds of data but will not attempt to delineate the social and political affiliations of the peoples using the lands. This subject, as the previously cited statement by Shimkin suggests (p. 300), is extremely complex and will be reserved for further discussion.

The most perplexing problem presented by the Eastern Shoshone is the extent of their penetration into the Missouri River waters. Although the Shoshone evidently undertook forays at least as far east as Fort Laramie, contemporary informants and historical sources agree that their main hunting grounds extended no farther east than the Sweet.w.a.ter and other headwaters of the North Platte River. We have no certain information of Shoshone use of lands east of the upper Sweet.w.a.ter River, and informants gave no data on this sector.

Wind River Shoshone informants relate the itineraries of buffalo-hunting parties northward into the Big Horn Basin. The fall and spring buffalo hunts were said to have taken place in the region of Thermopolis, Wyoming, and as far north as Cody and Greybull, Wyoming. The region east of the Big Horn Mountains was thought by informants to have been occasionally visited, but was acknowledged as the hunting grounds of hostile tribes. The presence of a "mixed party of Shoshone and Flatheads" in the Big Horn Mountains was noted by the westward-bound Astoria party in 1811 (Irving, 1890, p. 196) and indicates some early penetration of the area, although the presence of Flathead Indians suggests that the party had entered the area via Idaho and Montana and not from Green River. However, pre-reservation historical data show that before the 1840's the Eastern Shoshone largely restricted their buffalo hunting to the region west of the Continental Divide and sporadically penetrated the Wind River and Big Horn basins only after the buffalo disappeared from the country beyond the Rockies. Their entry into the eastern buffalo range became more frequent in the 1850's, but it by no means const.i.tuted an exclusive monopoly on lands there. They depended upon their numbers for protection and were forced to compete with other tribes for the right to hunt on the land. Their hunting excursions were in the nature of forays and were unsuccessful in some years. They enjoyed security and some a.s.surance of success in the hunt only after they had been placed under the protection of Federal troops and the Crow had been placed on reservations. That the center of Shoshone occupancy lay west of the Continental Divide was affirmed by Chief Washakie. Agent Head wrote in 1867 (1868, p. 186):

Washakee said that the country east from the Wind river mountains, to the settled portions of eastern Nebraska and Kansas, had always been claimed by four princ.i.p.al Indian tribes--the Sioux, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and Crows.

Further evidence that the valleys of the Big Horn and Wind rivers were used only for buffalo hunting and not stably occupied in the pre-reservation period is indicated by the Shoshones' ignorance of the hunting grounds in the surrounding mountains. Captain Jones used Shoshone guides from Camp Brown on the new Wind River Reservation when he undertook his exploration of Yellowstone Park in 1873. The captain and his party penetrated the Owl Creek Range, north of the reservation and found at the head of Owl Creek a lovely park (Jones, 1875, p.

54):

This park bears many evidences of having been used as a hiding place. Our Indians knew nothing of it, and yet there are all through it numerous trails, old lodge poles, bleached bones of game, and old camps of Cheyennes and Arapahoes.

Shimkin (1947_a_, p. 248) notes that this park was one of the "foci"

of Shoshone nomadic activity, a place to which Wind River people repaired for summer hunting. Although this is true for later times, it certainly was not so in the pre-reservation period when hunts on the Missouri waters were conducted only for limited periods and in the plains and valleys where buffalo were to be found.

Until the late 1860's the Wind River Valley and the Big Horn Basin and Mountains were zones of penetration rather than occupation of the Eastern Shoshone. Another such zone is in the Tetons and Yellowstone.

This is confirmed by the journal of Captain Jones, who commented upon the unfamiliarity of his Shoshone guides with the country around Yellowstone Lake (Jones, 1875, p. 23). He wrote (p. 34):

... the Indians have failed to find the trail back to Yellowstone Lake.... The explanation of this is that they are "Plains Indians," and are wholly unaccustomed to travel among forests like these.

Later, the exploring party reached the upper Yellowstone River, above the lake, where Jones commented (p. 39):

We have now reached a country from which one of our Indians says he knows the way back to Camp Brown by the head of Wind River. He belongs to a band of Shoshones called "Sheepeaters,"

who have been forced to live for a number of years in the mountains away from the tribe.

The Yellowstone area was frequently entered by the Crow and was evidently not a Shoshone hunting territory, except for the Sheepeaters. Jackson Hole is more commonly mentioned by informants as a place of summer hunting activity, but the above information from Jones would suggest that parties entered it from the Green River country rather than from Wind River. The Eastern Shoshone apparently did not move west of the Tetons except when visiting the Shoshone and Bannock of Idaho. It should be mentioned at this point that the Shoshone and Bannock also hunted in the Jackson Hole and Yellowstone country, probably to a greater extent than did the Eastern Shoshone, and the frequent mention of parties of Blackfoot and other hostiles in the country both east and west of the Teton Range indicates that the weaker Shoshone experienced no little danger there.

The valley of the Salt River in western Wyoming was used by both Idaho and Wyoming Shoshone. Idaho Shoshone and Bannock frequently entered the valleys of the Green River and its tributaries to hunt antelope in the fall. These people apparently mixed so frequently with the Eastern Shoshone in this area that it is most expedient to differentiate the respective populations according to where they wintered. On the west, Wind River Shoshone informants now make little mention of any use of the Bear River and Bear Lake country, despite the apparent interchangeability of population in the pre-reservation period; again, it must be a.s.sumed that informant data does not much antedate the move to Wind River.

The southern and southeastern limits of the Shoshone range in Wyoming are most vague. They probably extended as far south as the Yampa River in Colorado and the Uinta Range in Utah; Lander places their southern limits at Brown's Hole, in northwestern Colorado on the Green River (Lander, 1860, p. 121).

It is doubtful whether the country as far east as the North Platte and south to the Yampa was intensively exploited. Informants knew of no significant activities which went on in those areas, although they thought that antelope were occasionally hunted there. Most agreed that the Sweet.w.a.ter River and Rawlins, Wyoming, were in Shoshone country, but Casper, Wyoming, and the Medicine Bow Mountains were excluded.

Shimkin's map shows no regular utilization of the southeastern corner of Shoshone country (Shimkin, 1947_a_, map 1, p. 249), although my informants spoke of antelope hunts on the south side of South Pa.s.s. We can conclude that this whole area was, like many other sections, an area of occasional penetration. It is doubtful whether the poorly watered country between the Green and North Platte rivers was intensively used by any Indian group.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

A good deal of Eastern Shoshone social organization has already been described in the section on the subsistence cycle and in the context of historical data. Although the summer was spent in scattered groups, the collective buffalo hunt and the large winter camp made these Shoshone among the best organized of all the Shoshone population.

Horses, a richer game supply, and the constant need for protection caused the Eastern Shoshone to travel in much larger groups than those of Nevada and perhaps also of Idaho, and leadership was, correspondingly, more highly developed. We hear early of the "'Horn Chief,' a distinguished chief and warrier of the Shoshonee tribe," who was frequently encountered in the Bear River region (Ferris, 1940, pp.

71-73). Ferris also tells of two other Shoshone chiefs, but does not localize them or their following (p. 309):

The princ.i.p.al chief of the Snakes is called the "_Iron Wristband_," a deceitful fellow, who pretends to be a great friend of the whites, and promises to punish his followers for killing them or stealing their horses. The "_Little Chief_" a brave young warrior, is the most n.o.ble and honorable character among them.

Ferris also mentions a Shoshone leader named "Cut Nose," who, he said, a.s.sumed white dress and left the tribe (p. 310).

During the 1840's the name of Washakie is mentioned with increasing frequency in historical sources and thereafter this chief overshadows all other leaders. We first hear of him from the trapper Russell who recorded a conversation at Weber River, Utah, in which the Shoshone leaders were discussed (Russell, 1921, pp. 114-116).

One remarked that the Snake chief, Pah-da-hewak um da was becoming very unpopular and it was the opinion of the Snakes in general that Moh-woom-hah, his brother, would be at the head of affairs before twelve months, as his village already amounted to more than three hundred lodges, and, moreover, he was supported by the bravest men in the nation, among whom were Ink-a-tosh-a-pop, Fibe-bo-un-to-wat-see and Who-sha-kik, who were the pillars of the nation and at whose names the Blackfeet quaked with fear.

The death of the first two brothers in 1842 and 1843 resulted in considerable disorganization, according to Russell, and "the tribe scattered in smaller villages over the country in consequence of having no chief who could control and keep them together" (pp.

145-146).

Washakie is next mentioned in Hamilton's journal as a Shoshone chief encountered on Wind River (Hamilton, 1905, p. 63). In 1849, Agent Wilson listed him among the chiefs of the mounted Shoshone (J. Wilson, 1849, p. 1002).

The princ.i.p.al chiefs of the Sho-sho-nies are Mono, about forty-five years old, so called from a wound in the face or cheek, from a ball that disfigures him; Wiskin, Cut-hair; Washikick, Gourd-rattle, (with whom I have had an interview;) and Oapichi, Big Man. Of the Sho-sho-nees Augatsira is the most noted.

Washakie maintained good relations with the whites and in 1852 appeared in Salt Lake City to arrange peaceful trade with the Mormons.

Also in 1852, Brigham Young's peace conference between the Ute and Shoshone included "Anker-howhitch (Arrow-pine being sick) and thirty-four lodges; on the part of the Shoshones, Wah-sho-kig, To-ter-mitch, Watchenamp, Ter-ret-e-ma, Pershe-go, and twenty-six lodges...." (Young, 1852, p. 437). Of these five Shoshone chiefs, only Washakie is subsequently mentioned in the literature. Brigham Young apparently recognized Washakie as the leader of the Eastern Shoshone, for in or about 1854 he sent a Mormon, Bill Hickman, to establish contact with Washakie in the Green River country (Hickman, 1872, p.

105). Superintendent Forney reported of the Shoshone in 1859 (1860_a_, p. 731):

One of these [the fourteen bands listed by Forney], by common consent, is denominated a tribe, and is under the complete control of Chief Was-a-kee, a.s.sisted by four to six sub-chiefs.

These number, at least, twelve hundred.

If this census is accurate, this number must have included most of the Eastern Shoshone population.

Washakie gained fame as the friend of the white man. This reputation was well deserved, for the wagon route through southwestern Wyoming was made quite safe for the emigrants through his efforts.

Furthermore, hostile, predatory bands never developed among the Eastern Shoshone as they did among the Shoshone and Paiute to the west. In a report dated February, 1860, Lander observed (1860, p.

121): "No instance is on record of the Eastern Snakes having committed outrages upon the whites." We obtain a fuller description of Washakie in the same report (p. 122).

Wash-ikeek, the princ.i.p.al Chief of the tribe, is half Flathead.

He obtained his popularity in the nation by various feats as a warrior and, it is urged by some of the mountaineers, by his extreme severity. This has, in one or two instances, extended so far as taking life. The word Washikee or Washikiek signifies "Gambler's Gourd." He was originally called "Pina-qua-na" or "Smell of Sugar." "Push-i-can" or "Pur-chi-can," another war chief of the Snakes, bears upon his forehead the scar of a blow of the tomahawk given by Washikee in one of these altercations.

Washikee, who is also known by the term of "the white man's friend," was many years ago in the employment of the American and Hudson's Bay Fur Companies. He was the constant companion of the white trappers, and his superior knowledge and accomplishments may be attributed to this fact.

Other names than that of Washakie are noted among the lists of chiefs in Wyoming and Utah during the early 1860's. Among the Indians reported killed at Bear River in 1863 were Bear Hunter, Sagwich, and Leight (War of the Rebellion, 1902, p. 187). In the same source, the chiefs Pocatello and San Pitch were said to be still at large. These chiefs were usually in Utah and were independent of Washakie's band, although the relations between Wyoming and Bear River would suggest considerable interchange, even inseparability, of population. The virtual impossibility of dividing bands and populations during this period is indicated by Doty's list of the partic.i.p.ants in the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1863. Doty claimed that between three and four thousand Indians were represented by the signatories and over one thousand people were present at the treaty (1865, p. 319):

They are known as Waushakee's band (who is the princ.i.p.al chief of the nation), Wonapitz's band, Shauwuno's band, Tibagan's band, Peoastogah's band, Totimee's band, AshinG.o.dimah's band (he was killed at the battle on Bear River) Sagowitz's band (wounded at the same battle) Oretzimawik's band, Bazil's band, Sanpitz's band. The bands of this chief and of Sagowitz were nearly exterminated in the same battle.

In a later compendium of chiefs Powell and Ingalls listed Sanpits as a Cache Valley chief over a group of 124, Sai-guits as the leader of 158 Shoshone also in Cache Valley, Tav-i-wun-shean as headman at Bear Lake with 17 people, and Po-ka-tel-lo as chief over 101 Indians at Goose Creek (Powell and Ingalls, 1874, p. 419).

Washakie evidently owed his position to a combination of his status as a war-leader, as a recognized intermediary with the whites, and as an unusually strong personality. However, as we shall see later, there were other chiefs among the Wyoming Shoshone, and Washakie's position, although always strong, was never completely unchallenged. Much of his strength derived from recognition by the whites, and the government officials made every effort to bolster Washakie's prestige actively.

Lander, for example, urged: "Any steps which could be taken to augment the power of Washakee, who is perfectly safe in his attachment to the Americans and northern mountaineers, would also prove beneficial"

(Lander, 1860, p. 123). Also, Agent Mann reported in 1868 the deviation of many Shoshone from Washakie's leadership in the following terms (1869, p. 618):

This diminution of his strength is not satisfactory to Washakie; hence I have instructed all who have the means and are not too aged belonging to these bands to follow Washakie, impressing them with the fact that he alone is recognized as their head, and a.s.suring them that if they expect to share the reward they must partic.i.p.ate in all dangers incident to the tribe. [Mann refers to residence on the often attacked Wind River Reservation.]

This situation grew worse shortly after the treaty. Mann reported in 1869 (1870, p. 716): "A strong party is now separated from Washakie, and under the leadership of a half-breed, who has always sustained a good character, but who is, nevertheless, crafty and somewhat ambitious." Mann's successor. Captain J. H. Patterson, said in the same year. (Patterson, 1870, p. 717):

Washakie, the head chief, is rapidly losing his influence in the tribe, though he has yet the larger band under his immediate command; all or nearly all of the young men are with the other chiefs. This division looks badly.

He goes on to identify some of these chiefs (ibid.):

Shortly after my arrival [June 24, 1869] Nar-kok's band of Shoshones came in to receive their goods. Washakie's, Tab-on-she-ya's, and Bazil's bands were near at hand.

The size of these bands is indicated in the following year, when Agent Fleming commented that Washakie's people "were joined by Tab-en-shen and Bazil, with about 64 lodges" (G. W. Fleming, 1871, p. 644).

However, Washakie maintained his position of spokesman for the Eastern Shoshone. Governor J. A. Campbell claimed in 1870 (1871, p. 639):