Utter-Van Ornum Massacre, Idaho
The year 1860 witnessed a tragedy of immense proportions along the arduous path of the Oregon Trail. In the vast landscapes of Idaho, a wagon train comprised of families seeking new lives in the West met with a brutal and devastating fate, forever etching the Utter-Van Ornum Massacre into the annals of frontier history.
The story begins in the verdant farmlands of Southern Wisconsin, where the Van Ornum party meticulously assembled their belongings and dreams in May 1860. Their destination was the fertile Willamette Valley of Oregon, a promised land of opportunity and prosperity. As they journeyed westward, they were joined by the Utter party in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 5th, bolstering their numbers and strengthening their resolve.
The combined wagon train was a microcosm of pioneer life, a testament to the courage and determination of those who dared to venture into the unknown. It consisted of 18 men, five women, and 21 children, a vibrant tapestry of ages and aspirations. Twelve sturdy wagons carried their worldly possessions, and a hundred head of livestock provided sustenance and a means of transport across the vast plains.
For weeks, the Utter-Van Ornum party traversed the iconic Oregon Trail, following its well-worn ruts and enduring the challenges of the terrain. They faced the relentless sun, the ever-present dust, and the constant threat of hardship, but their spirits remained high, fueled by the promise of a better future. On August 21, 1860, they reached Fort Hall, Idaho, a mostly abandoned outpost that served as a temporary haven for weary travelers. Here, they encountered five discharged soldiers and one Army deserter, men seeking their own destinies in the West, who joined the wagon train, which departed on August 23.
For a brief period, the Utter-Van Ornum party enjoyed the security of a military escort. A company of 22 Army dragoons accompanied the wagon train for six days, providing protection and a sense of reassurance. However, this respite was short-lived. On August 29th, near Twin Falls, Idaho, the escort abruptly turned back, allegedly due to a disagreement between the commanding officer and members of the train. The pioneers were once again on their own, vulnerable to the perils of the frontier.
As the caravan continued its westward trek, it arrived at Castle Creek, Idaho, near the Oregon border, on September 8th. By this time, the train had consolidated to eight wagons and carried 44 souls, each with their own hopes and fears. That night, a chilling reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows occurred when some of their cattle were stolen by Native Americans.
The following day, as the Utter-Van Ornum party ventured northwest, they were confronted by a group of Native Americans near Castle Butte. The Native Americans attempted to stampede the remaining livestock, but the pioneers quickly formed a defensive circle with their wagons, protecting their animals and offering food and other items in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. Fortunately, the strategy worked, and the Native Americans eventually departed without causing any significant damage. The pioneers breathed a collective sigh of relief, believing that the worst was behind them. However, they were tragically mistaken.
Just a mile down the trail, disaster struck. The Utter-Van Ornum party was ambushed by approximately 100 Native Americans, believed to be a mixed group of Shoshone and Bannock warriors. The attack was swift and brutal. Lewis Lawson, who was traveling with the Van Ornums, witnessed the carnage firsthand. Two of the discharged soldiers, Privates William Utley and Charles Kisnell, were killed in the initial assault, their dreams of a new life extinguished in an instant. The Utter-Van Ornum Massacre had begun.
Despite the devastating attack, the wagon train pressed onward the next day, September 10th, driven by a desperate hope of reaching safety. But their pursuers were relentless. In the late afternoon, the Native Americans struck again, this time claiming the life of Judson Kressey, a member of the Van Ornum party. As darkness approached, the pioneers made a difficult decision: to abandon half of their eight wagons and all of their remaining livestock, hoping to create a diversion that would allow them to escape.
With the mounted ex-soldiers leading the way, the wagons charged through the Native American lines. In the chaos that ensued, a man named John Myers was killed. The attack continued unabated, forcing the survivors to abandon their wagons altogether and flee on foot. Elijah Utter, wounded and unable to continue, was shot down. His wife, Abagel, and four of his children refused to abandon him, choosing to share his fate. All of them perished, their lives cut short in the unforgiving wilderness.
Amidst the chaos and terror, two of the pioneers, the Reith brothers, managed to escape down the trail after the soldiers, who had abandoned the train. The soldiers, Sergeant Charles Shamberg, Privates Theodore Murdock and Henry Snyder, and Army deserter Charles Chafee, who were well-armed and well-mounted, had been tasked with leading the pioneers to safety, but they disappeared, leaving the rest of the wagon train to fend for themselves. According to Snyder’s later account, Schamberg and Murdock were killed by Native Americans. Snyder eventually reached civilization, reporting that he was the only survivor.
The remaining 27 survivors, their hearts pounding with fear and despair, fled towards the Snake River, seeking refuge in the dense brush along its banks. They carried only the clothes on their backs, a few firearms, and a handful of essential supplies. Under the cover of darkness, they continued their desperate journey down the Snake River, their wagons burning in the distance. For over a week, they hid during the day and walked at night, their bodies aching with exhaustion, until they finally lost their pursuers.
On September 17th, the survivors stumbled upon a starving cow, a remnant of their lost livestock. They killed the animal, providing a desperately needed source of sustenance. Two members of the train, Goodsel Munson and Christopher Trimble, volunteered to venture ahead, seeking help from any settlement they might find.
The next day, after traveling over 75 miles on foot, the remaining members of the caravan reached the Owyhee River crossing. Though physically weakened and emotionally shattered, they constructed a makeshift shelter, a two-dugout camp, where they waited for rescue, their hopes dwindling with each passing day.
On September 22nd, Munson and Trimble encountered the Reith brothers, Jacob and Joseph, along with the Army deserter, Charles Chaffee, at the Malheur River trail crossing. They killed a horse and sent Christopher Trimble back to the Owyhee River camp with meat for the starving pioneers. Christopher walked 19 miles to the pioneer camp but had to drop some of the horsemeat along the way because it was too heavy.
In the meantime, the Reith brothers, along with Goodsel Munson and Charles Chafee, continued down the trail, seeking help.
Sometime later, a small group of Shoshone Native Americans discovered the Owyhee camp. They traded some salmon with the survivors for a few of their meager possessions, but then forcefully seized their guns. When the Native Americans left, Christopher Trimble went with them, becoming a willing hostage in the hopes of securing more food for the pioneers. A few days later, one of the pioneers, Daniel Chase, died after gorging himself on the Native Americans’ salmon.
On October 2nd, the Reith brothers reached the Umatilla Agency, a government outpost that offered a glimmer of hope. Munson and Chafee, who had originally accompanied them, had collapsed from exhaustion and starvation before reaching the agency. They were later found by a rescue party, barely alive.
On October 4th, the Van Ornum group, comprised of parents Alexis and Abigail Van Ornum, their five children, a young man named Samuel Gleason, and the two surviving Utter boys, left the Owyhee River camp in a desperate attempt to find a relief party. A short distance northwest of Farewell Bend, they were ambushed by Native Americans. The three Van Ornum girls and their little brother Reuben were taken captive. The others were killed. Soldiers later found their remains in an old crater near the site. The soldiers, led by Lieutenant Marcus Reno, reported that Mrs. Van Ornum had been whipped and scalped, Charles and Henry Otter had been killed by arrows, and Mr. Van Ornum, Marcus Van Ornum, and Samuel Gleason had their throats cut and were pierced by numerous arrows. The bodies were buried where they were found. The tragic fate of the Van Ornum family further underscored the brutality of the Utter-Van Ornum Massacre.
Back at the Owyhee River camp, the remaining refugees struggled to survive, their bodies ravaged by starvation and their spirits broken by despair. Elizabeth Trimble died on October 13th, followed by Susan Trimble on the 18th, Danny Chase on the 19th, and Albert Chase on the 21st, all succumbing to starvation. In a desperate act of survival, the remaining members of the train made the agonizing decision to consume the bodies of the deceased children.
Finally, on October 24th, 45 days after the initial attack, a relief expedition from Fort Walla Walla, led by Captain Frederick T. Dent, reached the "Starvation Camp." The soldiers rescued ten survivors, including the Joseph Meyers family of seven, Elizabeth Chase and her daughter Mary, and Emeline Trimble. They soon also found the remains of Christopher Trimble, who had left the Owyhee camp with the Native Americans. He was believed to have been killed about two weeks prior.
Reuben Van Ornum, who had been kidnapped, was rescued by California Army Volunteers in November 1862 in the Cache Valley of Utah. The Shoshone claimed the boy was not Reuben but the son of Chief Washakie’s sister and a French fur trapper, but he was given to Reuben’s uncle Zachias anyway and brought to Oregon. Unfortunately, the boy could not adapt to civilized life and returned to live with the Shoshone in early 1870. The three Van Ornum girls had died of starvation while captives in 1861.
The Utter-Van Ornum Massacre stands as a stark reminder of the dangers and hardships faced by those who dared to venture into the American West. No other Oregon Trail wagon train suffered greater losses than the Utter-Van Ornum wagon train of 1860. The tragedy serves as a poignant testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the devastating consequences of conflict and misunderstanding between cultures. The Utter-Van Ornum Massacre remains a significant event in the history of the Oregon Trail and the American West.