A success!

One of the more difficult aspects about the Bear River Project is the limited amount of in-depth historical research that has been done in Southeastern Idaho. This is not to say that the history isn't there because it is, but it is hidden from view. Pioneers and settlers in Idaho and Utah are well known for keeping journals and family histories (a common practice in the 1800's, but especially encouraged by the LDS church). Many of these diaries and resulting family stories and histories are just now beginning to see broader publication as families post them on the Internet.

It was one of these histories that I stumbled on not long ago and was startled to find a note saying there was an included document with transcribed oral history from a significant figure in the Bear River Massacre. A few emails later and the kind gentleman who posted the original story was eventually able to retrieve the second document, scan it, and send it to me. Sure enough, it was unpublished material that cast a great deal of light on the mid-to-late 19th century in Southeastern Idaho!

There have been other similar successes that are resulting in a much clearer picture of what life was like during that time, the people who were involved, and the events of the massacre. Each scrap of information adds to the overall panorama. We are discovering information found in California, Massachusetts, and other far flung regions, but the most exciting tend to be from our region of the state. As families moved north into the Pocatello region and spread even farther northward to Idaho Falls (then Eagle Rock) and west to American Falls they brought with them their diaries and other records. Some traveled back and forth to visit friends and others came to know those who had been involved with the massacre.

This is an exciting time to be alive for a historian. Research of this depth used to take decades and now we can do much the same work in just a year or two. Please keep looking in your old family records and photo albums. You never know, maybe your family is hiding the next great historical find for Idaho!

Idaho Winters

As winter finally sets-in around Idaho I had the opportunity to drive through the region of the massacre site again. As I drove through the Bear River bottoms steam rose from nearby hot springs, snow lay lightly on the ground, and the sky turned to soft purples, pinks, and blues.

There's no doubt that winter in Southeast Idaho can be a harsh experience. Subzero temperatures, strong winds, and heavy snows make for a dangerous environment. However, geothermal springs in places like Bear River and wintering grounds for deer and elk nearby made the Shoshone camp a snug place to spend the winter. The warm springs could sooth the aches and pains of the elders while hunting in the mountains to the north (in picture above) was relatively easy for the younger men.

The continued encroachment of the settlers and freight wagons though threatened not only the natives' way of life, but their lives. By 1863 wintering grounds for the Shoshone and Bannock were reduced to small parcels. Previously the Shoshone had used large portions of Cache Valley, but no more. As they were pushed farther and farther North their chance of survival dropped more and more.