Utter Party Massacre

The Utter Party Massacre was an attack by Native Americans on September 9 or 13,[1] 1860, that killed or captured 29 of a group of 44 emigrants on a fork of the Oregon Trail in Washington Territory (modern day Idaho), United States. 10 survivors were found on October 24, 1860, emaciated and eating the disinterred remains of a party member.[2] Historian Charles Henry Carey described the attack as "more atrocious than any that had preceded it".[1] It was noted as a "rare [occasion] when Indians not only attempted but sustained a prolonged assault on encircled emigrant wagons".[3]

The boy (front, center) was said to be Reuben Van Ornum after being rescued from captivity

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.[4]

It has also been referred to by its location, including Salmon Falls Massacre (referring to Salmon Falls on the Snake River)[5] and the Sinker Creek Tragedy.[4]

The Interstate 84 road sign lists it as the Van Ornum Battle site.

Citations
  1. Carey, p. 661
  2. Schlicke, p. 5
  3. Site of Utter Party Massacre, p. 1
  4. McArthur, p. 97.
  5. Site of Utter Party Massacre, p. 3

Bibliography
  • Carey, Charles Henry (1922). History of Oregon. Vol. 1. Pioneer Historical Publishing Company.
  • McArthur, Scott (2012). The Enemy Never Came: The Civil War in the Pacific Northwest. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780870045707.
  • Schlicke, Carl P. (Spring 1987). "Massacre on the Oregon Trail: A Tale of Horror, Cannibalism & Three Remarkable Children" (PDF). Columbia Magazine. 1 (1): 33–43.
  • "Site of Utter Party Massacre" (PDF), Reference Series: Number 233, Idaho State Historical Society, History.Idaho.gov, June 1993

Further reading
  • Osborne, Kelsie Ramey (Winter 1952). "Tragedy on Sinker Creek, 1860". Prairie Schooner. University of Nebraska Press. 26 (4): 400–408. JSTOR 40624468.
  • Shannon, Donald H. (1993). The Utter Disaster on the Oregon Trail: The Utter and Van Ornum Massacres of 1860. Snake Country. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Snake Country Publishers. ISBN 9780963582829.
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