Bear Hunter (war chief)
Bear Hunter was a prominent war chief of the Shoshone people, known for his leadership during a period of significant conflict between Native Americans and European settlers in the mid-19th century. His village was located near the Bear River in southeastern Idaho, close to the Great Salt Lake, which served as a key point for Mormon migration. Bear Hunter's stance was one of resistance against the encroachment of settlers into the Great Basin, diverging from other Shoshone leaders who sought peace with whites. During the Civil War era, his people engaged in armed resistance, attacking mail carriers and emigrants, which prompted military responses from federal troops.
In January 1863, military leader Patrick E. Connor led a significant force against Bear Hunter's fortified village. Despite the Shoshone's efforts to defend themselves, they were overwhelmed by the superior numbers and firepower of the federal troops. The assault resulted in a tragic loss of life, with Bear Hunter among the 224 American Indians killed, and many women and children taken captive. The consequences of the Bear River Campaign were profound, forcing the Shoshone to cede large portions of their ancestral lands, marking a critical chapter in the history of Native American resistance and the impact of westward expansion in the United States.
Bear Hunter (war chief)
Category: War chief
Tribal affiliation: Shoshone
Significance: War chief Bear Hunter was killed during the Bear River Campaign, which secured the Great Basin for white expansion
Located along the Bear River in southeastern Idaho, Bear Hunter’s village was near the Great Salt Lake, which had become the focal point for Mormon migration to Utah. The village was crossed by the Central Overland Mail Route and the Pony Express, each bearing stagecoaches carrying mail to California. Although some Shoshone leaders, including Washakie of the Wind River Shoshone and Tendoy of the Lemhi Shoshone, were friendly toward whites, Bear Hunter led his people in active resistance to white encroachment into the Great Basin.
Largely unimpeded by sparsely stationed federal troops during the early years of the Civil War, on several occasions Shoshone war parties attacked mail carriers and emigrants. In order to protect the telegraph lines and mail coaches, their only communication with the east, the Third California Infantry under Patrick E. Connor and a portion of the Second California Cavalry, a volunteer force of more than one hundred troops, traveled to Utah to reinforce federal troops at several forts.
In January, 1863, Connor led more than three hundred men 140 miles through deep snow from Fort Douglas north to Bear Hunter’s village. Although Bear Hunter’s people had fortified their village with barricades of rock, they were unable to defend themselves against Connor’s superior manpower and arms. After four hours of relentless shelling, 224 American Indians including Bear Hunter were killed and more than 150 women and children were taken captive. Following the Bear River Campaign, Indians were forced to cede most of their lands in the Great Basin region.