FORT HALL.
There are many historical spots in the United States unmarked by a
monument, but there are probably few cases on record of a monument
searching for a vanished site. Such is the case of the stone pillar
purchased by subscription to mark the original site of Fort Hall.
In 1906 Ezra Meeker traveled along the old Oregon trail and raised
money with which to mark the historical points along the route. One
monument stands in the High School grounds at Pocatello. Another was
purchased for erection on the Fort Hall site. A teamster was directed
to carry it to its destination on the banks of the Snake river, twelve
miles to the west of Pocatello, and this man deposited the monument at
the dobies, that were once a stage station. Those in charge of placing
the monument, being unable to certainly determine the original site of
the fort decided to leave the pillar where it lay, until the old fort
had been indisputably located. And there it still rests, and probably
will remain for some time to come.
It is unfortunate that the most historical point in Bannock county and
one of the most historical in the state of Idaho, should have been lost
sight of.
No effort will be made in this chapter to decide the question, because
such an attempt would be little more than a guess. It seems not
unlikely, indeed, that the original site has completely vanished.
Fort Hall was established in 1834 as a fur trading station by
Captain Nathaniel Wyeth. The captain found himself unable to compete
successfully with the Hudson Bay company, which at that time operated
in these parts, and in 1835 sold his interests to his rivals and
returned to the east.
Here comes the first problem in locating the original site. The Hudson
Bay company is thought to have moved the fort. Who can tell whether
the sites now pointed out were those of the first or second post? Some
pioneers maintain that Fort Hall was moved three times before the
sixties, while others maintain that some old ruins on the bank of the
Snake, about one and a half miles above the Tilden bridge, are the
first site. This spot is now overgrown with grass, but it is possible
to detect the outlines of an old foundation, something over two hundred
feet in length, and what appears to have been at one time rifle pits.
Evidently it was the location of a large building, but whether or not
of the first fort, who can tell? Joe Rainey, native interpreter at the
present Fort Hall Indian reservation, maintains that this was the first
site.
Other old-timers say that some dobies near the Snake river were a fort
site, but Mr. J. N. Ireland of Pocatello, says that he built these
himself and that they were a station on the old Overland stage road.
The old Oregon trail, which extended for over two thousand miles,
from St. Louis, Mo., to Portland, Oregon, divided at Soda Springs,
in Bannock county, into two almost parallel courses, which met again
at old Fort Boise. One of these followed the Portneuf river through
the present sites of McCammon and Pocatello. The other followed a
northwesterly direction from Soda Springs to old Fort Hall.
Many pioneers, in their description of the fort as they first knew it,
speak of a river that can be no longer found. Either its course has
changed since the early days, or its name changed; perhaps both, which
last condition would make it very difficult to identify the present
stream with that of seventy-five years ago.
During pioneer days, Fort Hall was one of the most important posts
along the Oregon trail. It was the first point west of Fort Laramie,
where travelers could rest securely under the protection of the flag,
and where there was a garrison of soldiers to relieve them of all fear
of sudden attack from the Indians. Here the weary and travel-stained
pioneers, pushing on for the far-famed Oregon territory, found respite
from their toils and dangers, and enjoyed once more the companionship
of their own kind. Here, too, preparatory for the last, long march
of their transcontinental journey, they repaired their wagons, and
discarded such baggage as it had seemed wise to bring when starting,
but which later experience proved to be only an encumbrance. An area of
several acres around Fort Hall is said to have been covered with this
debris, which was ransacked by the Indians and shorn of such parts as
the red men wanted. Prof. W. R. Siders, superintendent of the Pocatello
public schools, who has been interested for several years in the effort
to locate the site of the original fort, and to whom the writer is
indebted for very generous and valuable information, maintains that
it ought to be possible to identify the Hudson Bay company’s fort by
the rummage in its vicinity. He has examined the banks of the Snake
river for several miles and been unable to unearth any such remains.
This failure adds probability to the statement of old “Doc” Yandell,
a trapper in early days, who still resides in these parts. Mr. Yandell
says that some years ago he and Pete Weaver lived on the site of old
Fort Hall, which was then on the banks of the Snake river, and three
quarters of a mile distant from a spring. In later years Mr. Yandell
maintained that he could walk directly to the site of his former camp,
but when he attempted to do so, he found that the Snake was flowing
within three hundred yards of the spring that used to be three-quarters
of a mile from its bank. It is probable that since his departure some
spring flood had washed out a new channel for the river, thereby
changing its course, and placing the old fort site under water. This
might account for Prof. Siders’ failure to find the debris of which he
was in search.
The name “Fort Hall” has experienced numerous vicissitudes, since it
was first coined eighty years ago. The Hudson Bay company received
it from Captain Wyeth. When the Hudson Bay company sold its American
rights to the United States government in 1863, the latter used the
name to designate the military post which stood about sixteen miles
northeast of the present agency. Here the government maintained a
garrison of three companies of soldiers until about 1884, when the
troops were withdrawn and the fort buildings used for Indian school
purposes. When the school was moved to its present quarters, which were
first occupied in 1904, the name went with it. Some of the old fort
buildings were moved to the new site, and the remainder given to the
Indians. Traces of the fort may still be seen.
The Oregon Short Line station at the reservation, originally called
Ross Fork, has recently been changed to Fort Hall and the name is also
used to designate the whole reservation.
The name Ross Fork, according to Interpreter Joe Rainey, was derived
from an old man named Ross, who operated a ferry across the Snake river
forty years ago. One or two old posts still mark the ferry site.
The Fort Hall Indian reservation for the Bannock Indians was
established in July, 1868. In July of the previous year the government
appointed a commission consisting of N. G. Taylor, Lieutenant General
Sherman, U. S. A., William S. Harney, John B. Sanborn, S. F. Tappen, A.
H. Terry, and Brevet Major General C. C. Augur, U. S. A., to negotiate
treaties with all hostile and non-treaty Indians, and if possible to
settle them on reservations. The treaty made with the Bannock Indians
states that they were to have “reasonable portions of the Portneuf and
Kansas prairies.” There is no doubt that not “Kansas” but “Camas” was
meant, the latter being a favorite resort of the Indians, where they
gathered the tuberous Camas root, which they prized highly as a food.
The mistake in the name must have been made by an interpreter, clerk
or typesetter, and Mr. John Hailey says that the government officials
understood the mistake, but threw open the Camas prairie for settlement
by the whites. The Indians who signed this treaty on behalf of the
Bannocks were Taggee, Tay-Toba, We-Rat-Ze-Won-A-Gen, Coo-Sha-Gan,
Pan-Sook-A-Motse, and A-Mite-Etse. To them, no doubt, “Kansas” and
“Camas” meant the same, but the mistake caused much trouble in later
years.
The treaty was made July 3, 1868, ratified by the United States senate,
February 16, 1869, and proclaimed by President Andrew Johnson, February
24, 1869.
The governor of Idaho was instructed by the authorities at Washington
to have the proposed reservation surveyed, probably in accordance with
the clause which provided “reasonable portions of the Portneuf and
Kansas prairies.” The governor is said to have visited the Portneuf
valley, and with a wave of the hand to have instructed the surveyor to
“survey out a good-sized reservation around here for these Indians.”
He then returned to Boise. As the surveyor was paid by the mile for his
work, he ran the survey out to as many miles as possible. Consequently
the reservation included twice as much land as was needed, but its
limits were later curtailed. No notice was taken of the provision for
a portion of the “Kansas” prairie, but the Indian agent allowed his
charges to fish, hunt and dig camas on the Camas prairie whenever they
wished.
The country now included in the Fort Hall reservation was at one time
the scene of many Indian battles. A hundred years ago, when buffalo
still roamed these parts, the Blackfoot Indians ranged along the
river that now bears their name. This tribe was the arch-enemy of
the Bannocks and Shoshones, who used to make raids into the enemy’s
territory for the purpose of stealing their horses and cattle, and
in turn to patrol their own demesnes when the enemy invaded them. An
old squaw, said to have been more than a hundred years old, died on
the reservation last year, who used to tell of a battle fought in her
childhood between the Bannocks and Blackfeet that lasted four days.
On some of the higher buttes toward the north of the reservation there
still stand stone pillars, built by the Indians. These were look-out
posts, and most of them stand where a view of the country may be had
for miles around. Here the spies watched the movements of their enemies
and made signals to their friends. Usually the look-out lay behind the
pillar and peered around its base, but sometimes he stood flat against
its front. As the enemy gradually circled in one direction or another,
the spy moved slowly around the pillar, always keeping his face toward
those he was watching lest in the distance they should detect his form
standing out from the pillar and take alarm.
The following statistics were very kindly furnished by Mr. Cato Sells,
U. S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs:
The Fort Hall Indian reservation contains 454,239 acres, of which
38,000 acres were irrigated by 140.37 miles of ditch in June, 1913.
The value of the property and funds on the reservation of the Indians
is $4,551,711, or $1,103.97 per capita.
The crop raised by the Indians in 1913 were valued at $73,591, and
during the same year they sold $51,520 worth of stock. These items,
added to the receipts from other industries, made their total income
for the year amount to $169,262.42.
The Indian population of the reservation, June 30, 1913, was 1,819.
Of these, 273 were operating farms for themselves, 222 children were
enrolled at the reservation school, and thirty were enrolled at the
Episcopal Mission School of the Good Shepherd.
The largest ranch operated by an Indian contains 160 acres.
Only three crimes were committed by Indians during the year. Two
arrests were made for drunkenness.
The most prevalent diseases among the Bannock Indians are tuberculosis
and trachoma.
There are no longer any soldiers on the reservation, but a patrol of
Indian police guards the public safety. These men are splendid types of
their race. The delight of their lives is to arrest a white man.
There is an atmosphere of contentment on the reservation and a goodwill
between the Indians and government agents employed there that is a
credit alike to red men and white. While most of the full-blooded bucks
on the reservation wear thick braids of hair, most of them appear to be
clean shaven. Yet they seldom, if ever, use a razor. When their beards
begin to come in, they pluck out the hairs, thereby solving the barber
problem for all time.
In the government school, too, the air is one of wholesome contentment.
No more cheering sight could be wished for than that of the Indian
boys and girls chatting cheerily as they eat their bountiful dinner in
the large, well-lighted, dining room of the government school. It is
a pleasure to acknowledge here the unfailing and uniform courtesy the
writer has always experienced on his visits to Fort Hall.