08 Leaving Fort Hall

studio, oil, 9" x 12", 'Leaving Fort Hall' 

The trees I painted are on the right hand side of I-15 heading north towards Blackfoot, Idaho, leaving the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. I love these trees! They are a welcome sight.

Here are some interesting facts I learned about Fort Hall:

The Fort Hall Indian Reservation is the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribe indian reservation. It is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain north and west of Pocatello, and comprises 814.874 sq mi of land area. Founded in 1868, it is named for Fort Hall, a trading post established by European Americans that was an important stop along the Oregon and California Trails in the middle 19th century.

In the 1850s the Shoshone, led by Chief Pocatello, had attacked emigrant parties in part because the increasing tide of settlers was encroaching on their hunting grounds and game. The Mormons, led by Brigham Young, had subsequently pursued a policy of reconciliation with the Shoshone. In 1858, the arrival of the U.S. Army into the Utah Territory led to a full-scale conflict between the U.S. and the Shoshone. Colonel Patrick Edward Connor killed more than 400 Shoshone in present-day southeastern Idaho. The massacre was the culmination of a long struggle between the Shoshone and Bannock, and U.S settlers, which included numerous attacks by both sides. Connor led his troops from Fort Douglas in January 1863 in order to "chastise" the Shoshone.

Warned of Connor's advance, Pocatello led his people out of harm's way. Another chief and his band were attacked. Pocatello subsequently sued for peace and agreed to relocate his people to the newly established reservation along the Snake River. Four bands of Shoshone and the Bannock band of the Paiute relocated to the reservation.