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 alone: 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 Might 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, IT. S. A.,
William S. Harney, John R. 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 archenemy 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 lookout 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
lookout 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 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.
The History of Bannock County
Idaho, By Arthur C. Saunders, Pocatello, Idaho. U. S.
A., The Tribune Company. Limited, 1915
History of
Bannock County, Idaho
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