Book Review: Sagwitch: Shoshone Chieftain, Mormon Elder 1822-1887

Sagwitch: Shoshone Chieftan, Mormon Elder, Scott R. Christensen, Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 1999.
I found the story of Sagwitch to be fascinating.  This book gave a better idea of the traditional migration of the Shoshone, from West in the autumn chasing the pine nut, and then wintering generally in Bear River Valley for Sagwitch's group, North for salmon and other game in the Spring, and then East to join Washakie in the buffalo hunt in the summer.  Sagwitch was never a violent man, but somehow, his people crossed the ire of the military stationed in Salt Lake City.  This had to do not only with conflict in Cache Valley, but was also retribution for events perpetrated by Chief Pocatello and his men on the Oregon Trail.  However there had been some incidents in  Cache Valley, with stealing of cattle, a shot out up near Providence Canyon with Bear Hunter and his men, and other incidents.  Colonel Patrick Connor lead the American forces at the Bear River Massacre.  He was not interested in negotiation, but went strait to carrying out his mission of death and punishment.  He caught the Shoshone poorly prepared, although they had made some breastworks.  Chief Sanpitch, Sagwitch and Bear Hunter were wintering just north of Preston, close to the Bear River.  Sagwitch and Sanpitch would both survive, Bear Hunter would not.  Connor had orders to arrest these three men.  However he reported they had all been killed.  However Sangwitch and Sanpitch had been wounded, but escaped.  Sanpitch came upon the ruins after the attack.  One of his wives had been killed.  Two of his sons were wounded.  He left an infant son on the field, with the hope he would be taken in by a White family.  Another son he gave to the Warner family, and he was raised by them.  It was a difficult season, as their food stuffs had been destroyed, as well as their shelter.  Sagwitch had been shot twice in the hand.
He slowly recovered.  However he was taken prisoner a couple years later, and while under army protection he was shot by a citizen.  He again recovered.  At this time he became friendly with the Mormons.  He embraced the Mormon  faith, to the point he became an Elder and visited the Endowment House in Salt Lake.  He  did considerable work for his ancestors.  George Washington Hill was called as a missionary to the Indians.  He helped them establish a city.  They first tried a place without good water, then a place close to Corinne, Utah.  The residents of Corinne took a negative stance, and spread rumors that the Mormons were colluding with the Indians to kill them all.  They were forced to move, and they started again along the Malad River, farther north.  Rumors continued to flow out of Corinne, but people could see they were  unfounded.  They established a community, Washakie in the same Bear River Valley area.
Many Mormon missionaries were called to help the native Americans.  Some performed their job well, and others not so well.  They worked with the Native Americans at making houses and improving the land to fulfill their Homesteading contract.  They also dug a canal to bring water.  The community prospered slowly, but was hampered by fire, grasshoppers and soil conditions.  Sagwitch actually took a homestead in a new community called Washakie, near the original homestead site.  He also had a residence at Fort Hall.  there was a period of many converts among the native Americans, which riled the BIA agents and the residents of Corinne.  The Mormons had to walk a tight rope in their dealings with the Indians.
The Shoshone were great supporters of the Mormon Temple in Logan.  They spent many hours in working on the stucco of the building's interior.  Sagwitch was one of those who worked.  He also worked in the temple performing vicarious work for his ancestors.
Sagwitch, in a way, succumbed in the end to persecution.  Isaac Zundel, their bishop and missionary at the time, was pursued because of his practice of polygamy.  Sagwitch accompanied him into the mountains and they planned to live in tents to avoid the federal marshals.  He contracted pneumonia and died trying to get to medical help at Washakie.
From Sagwitch's posterity come many people firm in the faith.  The  first Native American bishop was his grandson.  He also had a descendant who served a mission to Bulgaria.

Native American Biography: Shoshone and the Bear River Massacre: Bear Hunter, Pocatello, Sagwitch

The three were above were all chiefs of the Northern Shoshone.  Two were directly involved in the conflict that took place just north of current day Preston, Idaho close to the Bear River.  This conflict became known as the Bear River Battle or Bear River massacre.  The Northern Shoshone claimed Cache Valley as their hunting grounds, and lived in southern Idaho.  As the Mormons entered the valley, it put a greater and greater strain on the resources available to the Indians.  There were several altercations.  In Cache Valley an Indian boy was hung having been accused of stealing a horse.

Chief Pocatello

When a group of Oregon Trail immigrants were attacked, and several killed and some boys kidnapped, their uncle tracked them to Utah.  He called out the military, who found a group of Shoshone in Cache Valley.  They were forced up Providence Canyon, were they took a defensible position, and a gun battle ensued for a couple hours.  Finally the Shoshone relented, and they were questioned about the boy.  The boy had been sent on, and Bear Hunter and four others were kept hostage until the boy was returned.  The Shoshone claimed this was not the same boy, but the uncle claimed the boy and that  was that.  In 1862 Colonol Patrick Connors sent McGarry to Cache Valley to intervene in the theft of some livestock.  He captured four Shoshone, who did not appear to be related to the theft.  He held them hostage and threatened execution if the livestock was not return.  When the livestock wasn't returned, he had them shot.
After this attacks by the Shoshone became common place.  There were several other attacks against miners and others on the Montana and Oregon Trails.  Finally Connors from Fort Douglas in Salt Lake decided to intervene.  He traveled with his forces from Salt Lake.  The Shoshone had some prewarning.  As a result, Pocatello and his men took to the North.  Bear Hunter had a camp just above the Bear River, which seemed a defensible place.  They also made some breastworks and rifle pits.  Sagwitch was also there.  Sagwitch generally tried a peaceful approach.  However the Bluecoats were not in the mood to offer of peace.  San Pitch had been in the Salt Lake area and it was he that reported to the group of Indians living just north of the Bear River that the military was coming.
Connor had orders to arrest or kill Chief Black Bear, Sagwitch, San Pitch and Pocatello.
Connor and his men had two cannon, but they were left behind in a snow bank.  When Connor was able to get his men deployed he started with a frontal assault, which was not successful, and several of his men dyed in the attempt.  He then tried flanking moves, which eventually overwhelmed the defenders.  The defenders also ran out of ammunition.  At that point the attack became a slaughter.  Connor's troops were known to have taken children by the feet and smashed their heads against rocks, women were raped, and killed if they resisted.  Bear Hunter was killed.  Sagwitch was shot through the hand twice.  His horse was shot from under him.  However he was able to escape in the river, and avoided freezing thankfully to a warm spring.  He was able to come back and help the wounded and make some sense of the destruction.  As noted Pocatello was not there.  San Pitch was there, but he too escaped.  They took advantage of hot springs in the Bear RIver to be able to hide in the river.  Connor reported that he and his men had killed all four chiefs.
Connor estimated of the native American dead at about 224 of 300 warriors.  He also said he captured about 160 women and children.  Some of those in the Indian camp were able to get away.  A Danish immigrant who came the next day estimated the total number of corpses as 493 which many fewer women and children having escaped.  Sagwitch's son estimated the deaths at less than 200 with about half of the Shoshone getting away.  There were 14 federal deaths, and 49 wounded, seven fatally.
Most of those who escaped moved to the Fort Hall reservation.   Pocatello also moved there.  Sagwitch and several with him, eventually converted to Mormonism, and created a town called Washakie, named after the Western Shoshone chief.  Conditions were such that Pocatello left the reservation with a group of people, hoping to get better treatment from the Mormons.  Many were baptized, but the Mormons were not in a position to help them.  They were returned to the reservation.  When the railroad traveled north, they negotiated with Pocatello for passage across the reservation.  This resulted in the naming of Pocatello, a new railroad town.