It’s a route that the boys and girls of Fort Washakie, Wyoming Indian, St. Stephen’s and Arapaho have taken for many years. They travel to Riverton, then Shoshoni, through the Wind River Canyon to the Big Horn Basin to play football, basketball, volleyball, track and wrestling.
A century-and-a-half ago, the route was taken each fall by Chief Washakie and several hundred Eastern Shoshone for an annual buffalo hunt.
The Big Horn Basin, before it became heavily cultivated with beets, corn, and barley and populated by massive herds of cattle and sheep, was a favorite wintering area for vast herds of American bison that migrated down from Canada and northern Montana with the first hint of winter storms.
The Shoshone battled the Blackfeet and Crow for these hunting grounds for centuries, but by the late 19th century, the Crow and the Shoshone were at peace and the day of the Blackfeet as the “terrors of the northern plains” had come to an end.
In 1874, James I. Patten was a teacher at the school at the Wind River Agency at Fort Brown (later renamed Fort Washakie). He wrote a narrative of a buffalo hunting trip he took with Washakie and the Shoshones that recorded the adventure and flavor of a rapidly vanishing era.
His story appeared in four consecutive issues of the Shoshoni Enterprise, beginning on October 14, 1927.
THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
The following interesting bit of history is from the pen of James I. Patten, written at the request of the State Department of History. It will interest every reader, and in it are mentioned names well known to both old and new residents of this particular part of the state. —Editor.
“It had always been the custom of the Shoshones, after settling on the Reservation, after raising and harvesting their crops, to make annually, a buffalo hunt in the Big Horn Basin, generally lasting all fall and winter, for the purpose of supplying themselves with additional rations of meat, as well as taking hides and peltry for the market. The fresh meat was cut into very thin slices, hung on poles and dried in the sun, then placed in parfleches, thus making it easy to pack on horses and keep the food free from dust and dirt.”
Patten had two positions on the reservation. He was an agency teacher and a lay reader with the Episcopal Church.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs learned of the annual hunt into the Big Horn Basin and knew that Patten would have no children to teach. The commissioner informed Patten that during this hunt, he would not be paid.
Dr. James Irwin was the Indian agent at Fort Brown. Patten appealed to Irwin to be allowed and paid on the hunting expedition.
No doubt much to the chagrin of the Shoshone youth, Patten’s request was granted. He would teach classes several hours each day while the men of the tribe went out to hunt buffalo.
A traveling school was an innovative idea and certainly unusual among reservation schools of the period.
THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
“A commodious tent, 60 feet in circumference was procured, and to avoid the use of poles, commonly used to support the tent, this tent was adjusted with a single center pole and rested on an iron tripod fitted into the ring at the top of the tent, so that by raising the center pole, and stepping the foot into the top of the tripod, the tent was raised, and by pegging down the edges all around, made a very comfortable school room to accommodate about thirty children.
When everything was in readiness, it was found that four animals would be required to carry the packs, besides two saddle horses. One assistant was also necessary, whose salary as well as supplies were furnished and paid for by myself.
The date of our departure, set by the Indians, was October 16, 1874. They, having drawn their rations on the preceding day, on this morning, the Indians and packs, ready and loaded, pulled out for the first “rendezvous” on the Big Wind River at Merritt’s Crossing, where Washakie having ordered a halt, sent out several young men with instructions to observe any traces of hostile Indians, and also to locate the buffalo herds and ascertain in what direction they were traveling.”
There were several passes into the Big Horn Basin. Each route required crossing the dry, rocky Owl Creek Mountains on the west side of the Wind River Canyon or the crags and narrow trails through the Copper Mountains on the east side of the river.
Mexican Pass, straight north of Fort Brown, was the closest pass, but also the most treacherous. It was used two decades later by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and their gang, the Wild Bunch, to escape pursuing county sheriffs and their posses.
Blondie Pass was steep on the south side, but an easy decline on the north into the basin. Birdseye Pass was perhaps the easiest route, but in October it was prone to early blizzards that made it nearly impassable.
“THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
“We remained in camp three days, at the end of this time the scouts reported game everywhere in the Basin. On the 19th camp was moved to and made on the Muddy. There were eighteen hundred Indians in camp including men, women and children, some Bannocks from the other side of the mountains and a few Mexicans, one Portuguese and one Penobscot Indian, and as always, several squaw men.
As we moved over the wild waste of sage brush, hills and dry creeks I confess to a feeling, surrounded as I was by such a motley cavalcade, like a sure enough nomad of the desert.
I forgot to mention in its proper place, that, before leaving the Agency, Basil, the nephew and Battez the son of Sacajawea, appeared before the Agent’s house with a tent and wrapped in a bundle, the aged and decrepit form of the famous Shoshone woman Sac-a-jaw-wea who acted as the pathfinder for the Lewis and Clark exploring expedition.
Bazil spoke of her as his mother and informed the Agent that she was too old to go on the hunt and wished to leave her in his care until they returned. A tent was accordingly erected close to the Agent’s house where she might receive all necessary care and attention.”
The mention of the legendary “Bird Woman,” Sacajawea, always brings a vigorous discussion. Most historians believe Sacajawea, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter and intermediary, died in 1812 at approximately 24 years of age.
The Eastern Shoshone people don’t believe that. They say she lived to be over 100 and is buried at the cemetery named in her honor at Fort Washakie. Interviews and newspaper accounts by the Rev. John Roberts verify this claim.
Wyoming Tribune, Monday, January 14, 1907 – Sacajawea, Indian Woman Guide
“Rev. John Roberts, the Episcopal minister at the Shoshone agency, on April 9, 1884, made this entry in his parish record: “Buried, Basil’s mother, Shoshone, 100 years; cause of death old age.
Mr. James I. Patten, now of Basin, Wyo., saw this woman known as Basil’s mother in 1871. He states that she was then known as Sacajawea; that he conversed with both her sons at this time, who said she was the identical woman who accompanied the “Great Washington” across the continent to the land of water; that she was known also as the “Lost Woman.”
Rev. Roberts has also talked with these sons and they have made the same statement to him. Baptiste and Bazil are both dead but their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren now live on the reservation and seem to feel that it is just cause for pride, akin to aristocracy, to be descendants of this famed woman.”
Muddy Creek is, as its name implies, a muddy, fast-moving stretch of water that used to flow into the Wind River from the plains to the west but now flows into Boysen Reservoir.
On October 20, the entire mass of about 1,800 people began moving north from their campsite on Muddy Creek.
Signs of what Patten called a “hostile tribe” caused Washakie to change his course from Mexican Pass to Blondie. It was said to be a large party of ‘hostiles,’ with tracks stretching a half mile wide across the plains.
Washakie had many women and children with him and chose this path to protect them.
They crossed the foothills of the Owl Creeks as a storm rose to the northwest. The day started warm and temperate, but by late afternoon near the summit, it changed to a driving snowstorm with strong winds.
They set up teepees at the base of the pass, rolled out their blankets and slept without supper or outside fires.
THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
“On the morning of the 21st, the fury of the storm continued unabated, and in fact had increased, so that, to make any movement whatever seemed impossible until the storm was over. The mercury dropped rapidly and there began to be hunger in the camp, the rations were getting very short, no game had yet been taken.
The snow was so deep, the air so frosty, that the few who courageously essayed to make a hunt in hope of finding game were unsuccessful.
One Indian was thrown from his horse, and had great difficulty, being severely injured, in finding camp. Another returned with badly frozen feet, and none brought in any game.
By this time nearly all the food in camp was in my own larder, and as a supply for an army had not been brought in, nothing could be done but to divide.”
Patten went out to collect wood the following morning. When he returned, he found the tent brimming with dry pine. The Shoshone had gathered the wood and placed it inside his walled tent. It was an expression that endeared him to the Eastern Shoshone for the rest of his life.
The weather finally broke on the 24th, and Patten set out to hunt with several Shoshone men. Washakie intervened and told him to stay in camp.
Patten spoke to Washakie through an interpreter named Norkok.
“On speaking to Norkok about the chief’s objection, I was informed that he was fearful that some misfortune might befall me and that I must run no risk, and said, ‘If I should go back to the Agency without Patten, what then?’”
On the morning of October 25, they began climbing up Blondie Pass. The snow was heavy, the temperature was below freezing, and the many children in the group suffered.
At the summit, women started fires, and the children huddled around them to keep warm.
Patten became a bit poetic in his description of the top of the pass.
THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
“We were now far above the clouds which reached from mountain top to mountain top, from the Owl to the main Rocky Mountain range. Upon the immense cloudy expanse, the full rays of the sun shone down making it seem like a vast ocean of milky whiteness. I had never before looked upon anything so magnificent.
Near the close of day we found ourselves well down the northern slope of the range making camp at Red Springs, and as there was no snow there, and the atmosphere many degrees warmer, all seemed happy.
This was the beginning of my experience in the Big Horn Basin.”
Patten witnessed a traditional Shoshone game. Boys and teenage warriors rushed to grab small burning logs from the campfire. They grabbed the cold ends and threw the logs at each other at full throwing speed.
Sometimes the logs hit the target, knocking the victims head over heels. It went on for about an hour. They stopped around midnight to loud shouting, whoops, and wild laughter.
When it was over, there were only a few boys with bruises and cuts.
Patten viewed the game as brutal by white standards, but for the Shoshone boys it was just another form of play as they prepared for the more violent and challenging situations they would face as men.
Washakie sent out scouts to find buffalo. They returned reporting a large herd on Gooseberry Creek, west of modern-day Worland.
The herd was located near the headwaters of Gooseberry Creek in the mountains, about 40 miles upstream from its mouth.
Washakie requested that Patten go with him.
THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
“Riding to a high point where one could see far and near over the face of the country, he took out a pair of field glasses, looked the landscape over carefully and presently handed them to me to see what I could see.
Turning the vision to various parts, I at one place discovered what seemed to be a shadow on the plain, but, on looking closer, what appeared to be a cloud was found to be a herd of buffalo, more numerous than I had ever witnessed before.
We rejoined the hunters, and as the game was approaching nearer and nearer, I observed several young men strike off in the direction of a small band of buffalo and headed them into the main herd.”
The hunters changed horses. Buffalo horses were different from saddle horses, more attuned to the energy and action of the hunt.
A wild rush ensued, with the men on the fastest horses reaching the herd first. Each hunter fired his rifle or heavy pistol until he was out of ammunition.
The Shoshone had a tradition that the man who killed a buffalo got the head and first choice on any meat he wanted to take. The rest of the animal was community property. The women soon followed the hunters on foot and began to butcher the fallen buffalo.
There were 125 buffalo on the ground.
They moved camp to the kill site and the preparation of the hides began. Women cut the meat into narrow strips, laid them across wooden frames and rocks, and let the meat dry in the sun.
After a few days, they crossed the Greybull River near the present-day town of Otto and moved to “Stinking Water,” called Tich-e-pah-gwahn-nert by the Shoshones. It is the modern Shoshone River.
They made camp at Bridger Crossing, then followed the Shoshone to where it emptied into the Big Horn River.
Patten ate too much fresh buffalo meat and was sick. After a couple of days, Comanche, a Shoshoni shaman, came to see him.
“Your medicine does not help you,” Comanche said.
“It does not seem to,” Patten replied.
“Well, come to my tent, and I will cure you,” Comanche concluded.
Comanche sang a prayer over Patten, then produced a large, yellow, dried root, shaved into thin slices.
He put the root in a cup of cold water for about 15 minutes and handed Patten the cup. He told him to drink and to chew the dried root.
Comanche then took a fine white powder and mixed it in another cup of water for Patten to drink. Comanche’s wife produced a small sack full of black, shiny seeds. He told Patten to chew them.
Comanche told Patten he was sick from eating too much fresh buffalo meat.
Patten went back to his tent and slept.
That night he had a warm sensation and woke up the next morning feeling much better.
The days passed on the upper Big Horn River and soon it was November.
Patten began to pack his gear and prepared to leave the camp and return to Fort Brown.
Before Patten departed, J.D. Woodruff and Tom Williams, scouts for the 2nd U.S. Cavalry at Fort Brown, joined the Shoshone.
They had traveled the same route looking for signs of hostile bands seeking an opportunity to attack the Shoshone. Woodruff and Williams searched north and east of the camp but found no signs of a hostile tribe in the area.
While they were searching, they hunted buffalo and elk and ran a trap line.
Patten took advantage of the two experienced scouts and joined them for the return to Fort Brown. The party included another man and eleven pack horses.
The route took them down a path familiar to anyone traveling north through the Big Horn Basin today. They passed the future sites of a string of small towns that dot the basin today.
THE SHOSHONI ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1927 – James I. Patten
Buffalo Hunting With the Shoshone Indians in Big Horn Basin, Wyoming
“Thus we left the pleasant camp on the Shoshone River, and separating from our Shoshone friends, faced southward, following up the great river of the Big Horn, passed over the sites of Greybull, Basin, Manderson, Worland and Thermopolis, these sites then virgin soil, but since on which have been located these growing towns.
Here also, I first obtained a view of the Big Horn Hot Springs, now known as Thermopolis.”
Patten wouldn’t be paid until the children returned to the agency. The two scouts could continue their work away from the agency as well. They decided to take a different route home, this time over Birdseye Pass and then into the Badwater Country.
They spent the next two weeks hunting from their camp at the mouth of Buffalo Creek.
One morning, Patten and Williams set out to hunt. Woodruff remained in camp repairing his moccasins but caught up with them just before noon.
The other man in camp was Patten’s assistant. He spotted some geese down the creek and set out to shoot a couple, but jumped some mule deer and switched his targets.
Disaster struck while the camp was empty.
Looking back from a ridge, the man saw dense smoke rising from near the camp. He rode back, but everything in camp had been destroyed.
“Clothing, tents, provisions, robes, blankets, pack saddles and ropes, all gone up in smoke and entailing a loss upon the owners of more than eleven hundred dollars,” Patten wrote. “With this disaster, ended our trip to this grand and beautiful Big Horn Basin.”
It wasn’t the ending Patten had hoped for on his memorable hunt with Washakie and the Shoshone.
Mexican, Blondie and Birdseye passes are still used on occasion, mostly by ranchers and hunters. The Big Horn Basin is much easier to access thanks to the highway carved through the Wind River Canyon in 1924, but the beauty of its mountains, streams and rivers remains. Much of the basin is now devoted to agriculture, but much of it remains as wild as it was in the fall of 1874.
“The bright sunshine and blue skies. The richness of the soil, the beautiful and extensive valleys, and an everlasting supply of water, making an empire,” he wrote. “Though then uninhabited, except by numerous bands of hostile Indians and millions of wild game animals.”