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The Utter Party Massacre was an attack by Native Americans on September 9 or 13, 1860, that killed or captured 29 of a group of 44 emigrants on a fork of the
The Utter Party Massacre was an attack by Native Americans on September 9 or 13, 1860, that killed or captured 29 of a group of 44 emigrants on a fork of the Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
in Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
(modern day Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
), United States. 10 survivors were found on October 24, 1860, emaciated and eating the disinterred remains of a party member. Historian Charles Henry Carey described the attack as "more atrocious than any that had preceded it".Carey, p. 661 It was noted as a "rare ccasionwhen Indians not only attempted but sustained a prolonged assault on encircled emigrant wagons".
Name
The incident has been referred to by many names. Some have referred to it by family names of party members, including the Van Ornum party massacre, the Myers massacre, the Utter train massacre, and other variations.McArthur, p. 97. It has also been referred to by its location, including Salmon Falls Massacre (referring to Salmon Falls on theSnake River
The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
)Site of Utter Party Massacre, p. 3 and the Sinker Creek Tragedy.
The Interstate 84 road sign lists it as the Van Ornum Battle site.
Citations
Bibliography
* * * *Further reading
* * {{cite book , title=The Utter Disaster on the Oregon Trail: The Utter and Van Ornum Massacres of 1860 , series=Snake Country , volume=2 , first=Donald H. , last=Shannon , edition=2nd , publisher=Snake Country Publishers , date=1993 , isbn=9780963582829 1860 in Washington Territory Incidents of cannibalism Massacres by Native Americans Oregon Trail September 1860 events