Cattle Raiding
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The majority of violent acts during the Black Hawk War were a result of raiding. Stealing stock, especially cattle and horses, was a major part of skirmishes. Most of the violence that occurred between individuals was the result of a raid gone wrong. This was fairly well-known throughout the West, even before the Black Hawk War, with a Californian newspaper printing, “the Utahs [Utes] are very expert horse-thieves.” In the Utah territory, cattle raiding played a big role in Indian and settler skirmishes. Driving cattle through Cache Valley and then it getting stolen, for example, caused issues between Shoshones and settlers which played a part in the Bear River Massacre. Mormons discovered soon after arriving in Utah territory that it was great land for raising stock. Furthermore, the territory was in close proximity to overland trails and therefore other markets for beef. Central and southern Utah in particular were called “cow counties” and the area was “perfectly alive” with cattle.
There were so many cattle in some regions that there were too many to responsibly care for, with Brigham Young noting that “the way stock dies through neglect is a sin that will lay at the door of this people.” This made no sense to Native Americans, particularly when they were told by settlers that they had no supplies to give them. In many Native American cultures land, cattle and other natural resources were communally owned. If there were extra cattle, they would be distributed among people who needed them. Taking extra cattle that would have died anyway, to eat and use was not really considered theft by different tribes then. In 1865, hungry Native Americans had butchered about 15 heads of cattle that were owned by Mormons. These cattle were also taken as gifts that were always promised by Mormons to their Native American neighbors. Cattle raiding in this manner had developed across the Plains and Great Basin region. Black Hawk used existing trails to trade cattle to other regions. Mormon settlers would use these trails after the war to expand into new areas.
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The Black Hawk War violence was mostly confined to settlements in central Utah. When cattle were stolen Mormon settlers tried to retrieve their cattle by force, leading to deaths on both sides. Brigham Young tried to remind settlers of his policy that it was cheaper to feed the Native Americans than fight them. Young sent a letter to the Saints in central Utah which stated, “We have learned the brethren of Sanpete and up the Sevier are much exasperated against the Indians… and feel like slaughtering them indiscriminately… Such a course would be most injudicious and cruel, and will never do.” Young also included a call for peace to Ute leaders, which was rejected. Shortly after Young’s proposal was rejected, at least seven Mormons from Ephraim were killed and around a hundred cattle were stolen.
The attack at Ephraim, and the practical experience Mormons had gained in other skirmishes, reiterated the importance of building forts in larger settlements for those in small, isolated communities. For years Church leaders had also counseled members to arm themselves in case of such an attack. Church members in central and southern Utah were again instructed to build forts and move to larger settlements as protection “against hostile Utes.” Violence and raiding continued throughout 1866 and 1867.
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1. Los Angeles Star, 25 December 1852 as quoted in Sonne, World of Wakara, 150.
2. Gibbs, Lights and Shadows, 13; DN, 18 September 1867; and George A. Smith to John L. Smith, 22 May 1863, Historian’s Office Letter Book, Church History Department , 2:231.
3. Miscellaneous Minutes, 23 August 1863, Edyth Romney Typescripts.
4. Warren S. Snow to Brigham Young, 22 April 1865, Brigham Young Collection, Church History Department; Kearnes, "Statement as to Indian Difficulties."
5. Brigham Young to "President Orson Hyde and the Bishops and Presidents, Elders and brethren in San Pete Co. and up the Sevier River and all others whom it may concern," 1 October 1865, Brigham Young Collection, Church History Department; and JH, 6 November 1865, 2.
6. M.D. Hambleton to Brigham Young, 22 October 1865, Brigham Young Collection, Church History Department; Weibye, "Journal," 2226 October 1865; and JH, 6 November 1865, 1.
7. Canute Peterson, Bishop of Ephraim, to George A. Smith, 11 September 1867, GA.
8. George A. Smith to Orson Hyde, 22 October 1865, Historian’s Office Letter Book, Church Historical Department, 2:5069.
9. Erastus Snow "to the Saints in Long Valley, . . . Kanab, . . . and all others in that region of the country," 12 November 1865, in Bleak, "Southern Mission," 1:207
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Figure 1. Mormon Settlements in Central Utah in 1866, found in Peterson, Utah’s Black Hawk War, xvi.