Egan (Paiute)
Encyclopedia
Egan is the American name given to Pony Blanket. Pony Blanket was a Paiute
leader in the Oregon Country
in the 19th century.
In 1868, his lodge was at Fort Harney
. In 1869 he collaborated with Chochoco(Has No Horse) to set the Snake people of Weahwewa (Wolf Dog)'s band free from the Klamath Reservation, where they were starving under the mismanagement of Indian Agent
William V. Rinehart. Following the Snake War
many of the Paiute had moved onto the Malheur Reservation
in 1872, but white settlers began to take back land when they found gold
and good grazing land there. Egan led his tribe and some Bannock
people in fighting the white settlers for two years.
was declared, in response to the Great Shoshoni Uprising. On June 22, 1878, the first major U.S. military strike of the war began about two miles east of the present Crook County
line. Major James Herron, on orders from General M. V. Brown, led fifty Oregon Volunteers into the Ochoco
, where they joined with Colonel Orlando Robbins and his Idaho Militia troops, and with Civil War
veteran Captain Reuben Frank Bernard and his 250 U.S. cavalrymen. They planned to wait for Howard
's infantry to join them from a day's march to the south.
Colonel Robbins scouted ahead to assess the strength of assembled Shoshoni war parties in the Ochoco, which he estimated to be around two thousand strong with more than ten thousand horses. Captain Bernard broke camp at 2:00am, deciding not to wait for Howard's troops to arrive, and advanced on the Shoshoni encampment. Banattee medicine chief Honalelo (Bearskin), known to soldiers as 'Little Bearskin Dick,' rode out to meet the advance under a white flag of truce and was shot dead. The American contingent surged forward into the camp firing rifles and revolvers. During the battle, war chief Pony Blanket was severely wounded. He and Robbins met head to head and charged each other, weapons firing. The colonel was not injured but he hit Pony Blanket in the wrist and caused him to fall from his horse. Robbins then shot him with a .45 calibre in the chest and again in the right groin and captured Pony Blanket's buckskin war horse. The battle continued at higher intensity following the fall of the war chief, forcing Captain Bernard to retreat, where he was joined by reinforcements, Pete French and 65 ranchers and cowboys.
Wahweveh (Black Eagle)
, the brother of both Chief Paulina
and Weahwewa (Wolf Dog), dragged Pony Blanket's severely injured body to safety as the battle continued even more intensely. Both of Pony Blanket's sons and his wife Evening Star were shot multiple times as they tried to reach him to give aid and all three died there on the banks of Silver Creek
. His daughter survived and did reach him. Genega Taniwah (Dancer) and others tended his wounds and splinted his broken bones, and he did live, but would no longer lead from that day. Left Hand was promoted to war chief in his place, with political support from his son in law Wahi (Fox) the Lohim Shoshoni head chief, Potoptuah (Yellow Jacket), and Black Eagle.
Left Hand rallied his warriors, estimated at a thousand strong, left a mighty fire burning and led the entire band to escape from the Ochocos in the night, fooling the army troops into thinking they were standing their ground. The following morning, army scouts found ten bodies, including women and children. Later Colonel Thompson would claim that his soldiers had pulled forty two bodies from a rimrock crevice, among them war chief Buffalo Horn. On June 24, U.S. soldiers captured several women at Sage Hen Springs. They revealed Pony Blanket's survival and escape, the change in leadership, and Left Hand's flight leading them all toward the Umatilla Reservation to recruit more men, to Sarah Winnemucca
, who at the time was serving as translator for General Howard (which she did). Howard continued his pursuit of Pony Blanket and Left Hand's retreat as they hurried slowly toward the Columbia River and an actual planned escape to Canada. Has No Horse and 150 of his warriors ran interference for them, creating havoc and destroying property on Howard's path. Howard's troops continued over Big Summit Prairie, where Left Hand faltered when his scouts reported 1000 cavalrymen advancing on their position. Pony Blanket was recovered enough to assume control again, and led a 30-mile wide path of destruction deeper into the Blue Mountains
. He led a 90-mile forced march to Camas Creek (Oregon), off the North Fork of the John Day River
, without a single battle. On July 4, on the Camas Prairie
near Ukiah
, Pony Blanket led a lethal attack against Captain Frank Vincent commanding the Pendleton volunteers and Captain Joe Wilson commanding the Prineville volunteers. Wilson and thirteen volunteers deserted back to Pendleton at the first volley, leaving Jacob Stroud to lead the Prineville volunteers. A teacher, William Lamar, was killed, and eight volunteers were seriously wounded. General Howard heard of the defeat on Camas Prairie by July 5, drew more rations and began to advance on Pony Blanket's contingent. He ordered Colonel Miles and his 500 troopers to the Umatilla Reservation to try to intercept Has No Horse's warriors, arriving July 9 to find the Umatilla Agency burned and Has No Horse's 1000 strong war party waiting to attack them. Umatilla allies of the Snakes watched from a hill overlooking the fight and when the Snakes abandoned the field against Miles' superior weaponry, these men negotiated with Miles and his officers to kill or capture Pony Blanket.
In September 1878, Joe and Dick Blackwell of Long Creek found Egan's elderly mother in law, with several other Shoshoni women who had been left for dead in Flower Gulch. She had been scalped and shot through the loins and was struggling for her life. She was nursed in the Blackwell home in Long Creek, then transferred to the Malheur Rreservation.
Egan was beheaded by an Umatilla
scout working for the U.S. Cavalry, which ended the Bannock War
.
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
leader in the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
in the 19th century.
Early life
Pony Blanket, known to American settlers as Egan, was born to a Cayuse family and did not know his birth mother. He married Evening Star, the sister of Chochoco (Has No Horse)'s first wife Dawn Mist, and was thus the brother-in-law of Has No Horse. With Evening Star he had at least two sons and a daughter.In 1868, his lodge was at Fort Harney
Fort Harney
Fort Harney was a United States Army outpost in eastern Oregon, United States. It was name in honor of Brigadier General William S. Harney. Fort Harney was used as a supply depot and administrative headquarters from 1867 to 1880 during the Army's campaign against Northern Paiute bands in Eastern...
. In 1869 he collaborated with Chochoco(Has No Horse) to set the Snake people of Weahwewa (Wolf Dog)'s band free from the Klamath Reservation, where they were starving under the mismanagement of Indian Agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
William V. Rinehart. Following the Snake War
Snake War
The Snake War was a war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians", the settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and western Shoshone bands who lived along the Snake River. Fighting took place in the states of Oregon, Nevada, and California, and in Idaho Territory...
many of the Paiute had moved onto the Malheur Reservation
Malheur Reservation
The Malheur Reservation was an Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon from 1872 to 1879.-Establishment:On September 12, 1872, a presidential order set aside the Malheur Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon for the Northern Paiute...
in 1872, but white settlers began to take back land when they found gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and good grazing land there. Egan led his tribe and some Bannock
Bannock
Bannock has more than one meaning:* Bannock , a kind of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying* Bannock , a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon and western Idaho* Bannock County, Idaho* Bannock, Ohio...
people in fighting the white settlers for two years.
The Great Shoshoni Uprising
On June 10, 1878, what became known as the Bannock WarBannock War
The Bannock War was a series of conflicts in 1878 between various Bannock, Northern Shoshone and Paiute tribes against the United States.- Background :...
was declared, in response to the Great Shoshoni Uprising. On June 22, 1878, the first major U.S. military strike of the war began about two miles east of the present Crook County
Crook County, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,182 people, 7,354 households, and 5,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile . There were 8,264 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
line. Major James Herron, on orders from General M. V. Brown, led fifty Oregon Volunteers into the Ochoco
Ochoco Mountains
The Ochoco Mountains are a mountain range in central Oregon. The Ochoco Mountains form the western end of the Blue Mountains province. The mountains were formed when Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic rocks were slowly uplifted by volcanic eruptions to form the Clarno Formation. Today, the highest...
, where they joined with Colonel Orlando Robbins and his Idaho Militia troops, and with Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veteran Captain Reuben Frank Bernard and his 250 U.S. cavalrymen. They planned to wait for Howard
Howard
Howard is a popular English language occupational given name of Old English origin, meaning "noble watchman". A diminutive is "Howie" and its shortened form is "Ward" . Between 1900-1960, Howard ranked in the U.S. Top 200; between 1960–1990, it ranked in the U.S. Top 400; between 1990–2004, it...
's infantry to join them from a day's march to the south.
Colonel Robbins scouted ahead to assess the strength of assembled Shoshoni war parties in the Ochoco, which he estimated to be around two thousand strong with more than ten thousand horses. Captain Bernard broke camp at 2:00am, deciding not to wait for Howard's troops to arrive, and advanced on the Shoshoni encampment. Banattee medicine chief Honalelo (Bearskin), known to soldiers as 'Little Bearskin Dick,' rode out to meet the advance under a white flag of truce and was shot dead. The American contingent surged forward into the camp firing rifles and revolvers. During the battle, war chief Pony Blanket was severely wounded. He and Robbins met head to head and charged each other, weapons firing. The colonel was not injured but he hit Pony Blanket in the wrist and caused him to fall from his horse. Robbins then shot him with a .45 calibre in the chest and again in the right groin and captured Pony Blanket's buckskin war horse. The battle continued at higher intensity following the fall of the war chief, forcing Captain Bernard to retreat, where he was joined by reinforcements, Pete French and 65 ranchers and cowboys.
Wahweveh (Black Eagle)
Wahweveh (Black Eagle)
Wahweveh was a leader of the Oregon Walpapi Paiute . He was head war chief in the final phase of the Shoshoni Rebellion, known to Americans as the Sheepeater War of 1879. Little is known of Wahweveh's early life. His full siblings were Chief Paulina, Bright Eyes, and Puna...
, the brother of both Chief Paulina
Chief Paulina
Chief Paulina was a Northern Paiute war leader.During the late 1850s and 1860s, Northern Paiute bands attacked both settler communities and Native American reservations in central and eastern Oregon, as well as the Klamath Basin. Chief Paulina became the most notorious war leader in those raids...
and Weahwewa (Wolf Dog), dragged Pony Blanket's severely injured body to safety as the battle continued even more intensely. Both of Pony Blanket's sons and his wife Evening Star were shot multiple times as they tried to reach him to give aid and all three died there on the banks of Silver Creek
Silver Creek (Oregon)
Silver Creek is the name of several different streams in the U.S. state of Oregon, including:...
. His daughter survived and did reach him. Genega Taniwah (Dancer) and others tended his wounds and splinted his broken bones, and he did live, but would no longer lead from that day. Left Hand was promoted to war chief in his place, with political support from his son in law Wahi (Fox) the Lohim Shoshoni head chief, Potoptuah (Yellow Jacket), and Black Eagle.
Left Hand rallied his warriors, estimated at a thousand strong, left a mighty fire burning and led the entire band to escape from the Ochocos in the night, fooling the army troops into thinking they were standing their ground. The following morning, army scouts found ten bodies, including women and children. Later Colonel Thompson would claim that his soldiers had pulled forty two bodies from a rimrock crevice, among them war chief Buffalo Horn. On June 24, U.S. soldiers captured several women at Sage Hen Springs. They revealed Pony Blanket's survival and escape, the change in leadership, and Left Hand's flight leading them all toward the Umatilla Reservation to recruit more men, to Sarah Winnemucca
Sarah Winnemucca
Sarah Winnemucca was a prominent female Native American activist and educator, and an influential figure in the United States' nineteenth-century Indian policies...
, who at the time was serving as translator for General Howard (which she did). Howard continued his pursuit of Pony Blanket and Left Hand's retreat as they hurried slowly toward the Columbia River and an actual planned escape to Canada. Has No Horse and 150 of his warriors ran interference for them, creating havoc and destroying property on Howard's path. Howard's troops continued over Big Summit Prairie, where Left Hand faltered when his scouts reported 1000 cavalrymen advancing on their position. Pony Blanket was recovered enough to assume control again, and led a 30-mile wide path of destruction deeper into the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
. He led a 90-mile forced march to Camas Creek (Oregon), off the North Fork of the John Day River
John Day River
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the third longest free-flowing river in the conterminous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for irrigation. Its...
, without a single battle. On July 4, on the Camas Prairie
Camas prairie
The name camas prairie refers to several distinct geographical areas in the western United States which were named for the native perennial camassia or camas, including regions in the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington...
near Ukiah
Ukiah, Oregon
Ukiah is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 255 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Pony Blanket led a lethal attack against Captain Frank Vincent commanding the Pendleton volunteers and Captain Joe Wilson commanding the Prineville volunteers. Wilson and thirteen volunteers deserted back to Pendleton at the first volley, leaving Jacob Stroud to lead the Prineville volunteers. A teacher, William Lamar, was killed, and eight volunteers were seriously wounded. General Howard heard of the defeat on Camas Prairie by July 5, drew more rations and began to advance on Pony Blanket's contingent. He ordered Colonel Miles and his 500 troopers to the Umatilla Reservation to try to intercept Has No Horse's warriors, arriving July 9 to find the Umatilla Agency burned and Has No Horse's 1000 strong war party waiting to attack them. Umatilla allies of the Snakes watched from a hill overlooking the fight and when the Snakes abandoned the field against Miles' superior weaponry, these men negotiated with Miles and his officers to kill or capture Pony Blanket.
In September 1878, Joe and Dick Blackwell of Long Creek found Egan's elderly mother in law, with several other Shoshoni women who had been left for dead in Flower Gulch. She had been scalped and shot through the loins and was struggling for her life. She was nursed in the Blackwell home in Long Creek, then transferred to the Malheur Rreservation.
Egan was beheaded by an Umatilla
Umatilla (tribe)
The Umatilla are a Sahaptin-speaking Native American group living on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States....
scout working for the U.S. Cavalry, which ended the Bannock War
Bannock War
The Bannock War was a series of conflicts in 1878 between various Bannock, Northern Shoshone and Paiute tribes against the United States.- Background :...
.