Civilization: American Indian Civilization Shoshone

Before we talk about the Shoshone, let’s first take a look at the distribution of Indian tribes in the United States, because there were many tribes in the entire continent of the United States at that time, and the Shoshone, including the Iroquois that we will talk about in the future, are among them. It's just a relatively large tribal alliance. Note that it is an alliance, not an empire or a city-state.

First of all, the small characters in this picture are basically negligible small tribes, and then on the Great Lakes side, there is an alliance of 50 small tribes (the leader is Iroquois), and then now The Apache tribe in Texas was the largest tribe. They fought against the white man for centuries and were the last tribe to surrender.

Then our protagonist, the ShoShone, is in the middle of the Great Basin in the United States.

Let’s first talk about the Great Basin, which is a plateau inland basin in the Cordillera Mountains of the western United States. It is bounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west, the Wasatch Mountains to the east, the Columbia Plateau to the north, and the Colorado Plateau to the south. It consists of a series of north-south blocky mountains (1800-3300 meters above sea level) and many basins in between. Then the climate is dry, with annual precipitation of 100-350 mm, and few plants. It may be similar to our Qinghai Province, where we can only make a living by grazing. So compared to the forests on the east and west coasts (it was a large forest at that time, Americans must have developed so quickly because they chopped wood to get hammers LOL).

Although most of this area belongs to the desert ecosystem, Xiao Xiao The Nepali people's activity range is mainly located in lush forest mountains and valleys. The tribe's territory also includes many lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake and Lake Tahoe (the continent's largest alpine lake). The deserts within the Shoshone's range include the Black Rock, Great Salt Lake, Sevier Desert, Smoky Creek Desert, Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert and the Great Salt Flats in Nevada. The climate within this region varies widely, from dry desert climates to humid alpine climates, and from 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the south to 0 degrees Fahrenheit in the north. The abundance of plants and animals also provided the Shoshone with an abundant food source, especially pronghorn, mule deer, and plains bison. Since the Shoshone held the only route across the Great Basin, conflict with the whites was inevitable.

Of course, the scenery is also beautiful. Rivers in the Wind

The Shoshone is the collective name for several indigenous tribes that have inhabited the lands of western North America for thousands of years.

There is a Shoshone proverb: Sutummu tukummuinna. There is no exact translation: "I don't understand your language and you don't understand mine, but we understand each other. If I see I don't need to walk in your footsteps to move forward." Unfortunately, these old Shoshone proverbs lost their accuracy after the white people came to America.

Shoshone is a Numic language of the Utah-Aztec language family, and it is also the main feature that distinguishes the Shoshone tribe from other Indian tribes. There are many dialects under the Shoshone language, but it does not affect the communication between tribes with different dialects. During the Shoshone's heyday, their lands stretched from northern Idaho to the north, northern Arizona to the south, eastern California to the west, and western Montana to the east.

Initial contact between the Shoshone and white people involved the Lewis and Clark Expedition heading west in 1805, and the arrival of fur trappers and traders in the Rocky Mountains in 1820. Then came white immigrants, especially the Mormons who settled in Salt Lake City, the heart of Shoshone. For three generations, Shoshone chiefs fought against U.S. troops to regain their lost hunting grounds. Although their struggle was brave, it ended in failure: in 1890, the last Shoshone tribe was forcibly relocated to the reservation by the U.S. Department of Indian Affairs.

As time went by, the Shoshone people gradually divided into three sub-groups:

The Western Shoshone people have always lived together with Spanish colonists and Mexican immigrants***. By 1800 there were several generations.

The first clearly documented contact occurred in 1805, when the Lewis and Clark Expedition, named by President Jefferson, set out to explore the terrain to the west and north of the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. Thanks to the presence of Sacagawea, the Shoshone chief of Lemhay, the expedition got along very well with the northern Shoshone people. At the same time, famous explorers such as James "Jim" Bridger had arrived in the Rocky Mountains around 1820 and established an annual furpack along the Wind, Green, and Snake rivers. Trading market, this market opened from 1825 to 1840. During this time, the Shoshone people from Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Judea not only acquired goods and weapons, but also became familiar with the white man's way of life.

Along with the arrival of the fur fairs came various pioneers. However, the relationship between these miners, farmers, businessmen, etc. and the Shoshone tribes was not like that between the explorers and the Shoshone tribes. The relationship between Nepal and Nepal is so friendly. The U.S. government "purchased" the western and northern areas where the Shoshone people lived through the Louisiana Transaction; in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed after the Mexican-American War transferred all remaining land where the Shoshone people lived. ceded to the United States. The California Trail and the Oregon Trail, two major routes from the western United States to the Pacific, pass directly through the hinterland of Shoshone. Later, the newly discovered gold mines in California (1848) and Montana (1864), as well as the silver mines in Comstock, Nevada, brought countless pioneers and gold prospectors into the area.

The greatest white invasion of Shoshone lands occurred during the Birmingham Young period. In order to escape religious persecution in Missouri and Illinois and establish a faith-based republic, Birmingham Young led his Mormons to the Great Salt Lake area in 1846 (in previous centuries, although Utahns and Northern Shoshones hunted here but never established permanent settlements).

By December 1847, 2,000 Mormons had settled, and within the next 10 years, about 70,000 more people would arrive in caravans. Young decided to build the Cathedral of the Saints (the Mormon Temple) here, and Salt Lake City was built around it. Since then, Mormon missionaries have started preaching around this basin.

Responses to U.S. expansion varied widely among the Shoshone tribes.

Pocatello was born near Grouse Creek (today's northwest Utah). His early life conditions and experiences are now difficult to find. Pocatello came of age probably between the 1820s and 1830s, probably when the Mormons led by Birmingham Young arrived in Utah in 1847 and became a tribal chief. Pocatello soon grew to become a famous warrior and wise man.

However, when he became the leader, he had to face the rapid growth of the number of white people, the opening up of grasslands for farms, and the continuous army of gold diggers.

Although Chief Pocatello led his people out of the valley after hearing scouts reporting the enemy's approach, Hunting Bear and several other chiefs believed the matter could be resolved peacefully through negotiation - at best. The Shoshone people are just making some compensation. However, Connor did not initiate a negotiation, and according to eyewitness reports, the U.S. officers lost control of their troops after the Shoshone attempted to fight back, and things turned into a massacre. By the time the massacre ended, approximately 500 Aboriginal people had been killed, most of them non-combatants, and the incident became known as the Bear River Massacre. Chief Bear Hunter died in this battle, and the remaining nine chiefs surrendered under the leadership of Chief Sagovich. According to the Treaty of Box Elder signed in July 1863, all their tribes were forcibly moved into reservations. After hiding for five years, the Pocatello tribe, which suffered severe famine and attrition, was forced to surrender to the U.S. military and was restricted to the Fort Hall reservation.

Beginning in the 1850s, robberies of caravans and isolated farms, as well as theft of cattle and horses, began to increase. Regardless of whether these deeds were carried out by native tramps, white fugitives, or restless Shoshone people, Pocatello was always blamed as the instigator. Over the next few years, there were several armed conflicts and murders between white settlers and Aboriginal people. The rebellion reached its climax in 1862, when Pocatello personally led a raid on a large wagon train passing through Rock City in south-central Idaho. A few days later, the Shoshone attacked another group near the Snake River. Two carriages.

During the Civil War, the Lincoln administration was worried that communications to the West Coast would be cut off and was unsure of the loyalty of the Mormons, so it ordered the U.S. military to move into the area to quell the rebellion. The 3rd U.S. California Infantry Regiment led by Connor was ordered to move into the area to quell the rebellion and build a military base in Salt Lake City.

In October 1862, Connor led a force from California and built a military base three miles east of Salt Lake City.

At the same time, several Shoshone tribes came to the Cache Valley for their annual winter encampment. Enraged by another raid by the Confederate Chief Bear Hunter, Connor and his 2nd Volunteer Cavalry headed for the Cache Valley, where several Shoshone tribes, including the Pocatello Tribe, were gathering.

Although Chief Pocatello led his people out of the valley after hearing scouts reporting the enemy's approach, Hunting Bear and several other chiefs believed the matter could be resolved peacefully through negotiation - at best. The Shoshone people are just making some compensation. However, Connor did not initiate a negotiation, and according to eyewitness reports, the U.S. officers lost control of their troops after the Shoshone attempted to fight back, and things turned into a massacre. By the time the massacre ended, approximately 500 Aboriginal people had been killed, most of them non-combatants, and the incident became known as the Bear River Massacre (Bear River Massacre).

The U.S. military then continued their counterinsurgency operations. They repeatedly swept through the Great Basin area, trying to capture the fleeing Shoshone chiefs, especially Pocatello. After five years in hiding, Pocatello was forced to surrender to the U.S. Army because his tribe could no longer hold out amid disease and famine. Under the 1868 Treaty of Berridge, Pocatello agreed to surrender two-thirds of the tribe's hunting lands, allow white-built roads to pass through tribal territory, and move its tribe to the Fort Hall reservation. As compensation, the U.S. government promised to give him $5,000 worth of food and supplies every year.

The American Indian Administration almost never kept its promises. Most of the food supplies sent were spoiled, the annual cash payments were rarely cashed, and the land in the reservation was not suitable for farming. As a result, disease and famine decimated Native populations during the years they were confined to reservations. 1875 was a very serious famine year. Pocatello had to lead his people to a Mormon missionary farm near Olin County, Utah, where they helped sow wheat, corn, potatoes and vegetables. . He hoped to convert the entire tribe to Mormonism in exchange for a share of the food they helped sow during harvest time. However, the white settlers did not appreciate it. They demanded that Pocatello return to the reservation, and even resorted to force if necessary.

Pocatello once again felt deceived, and he and his people rejected Christianity. Pocatello was in his 60s at this time, and increasingly dissatisfied, he gradually faded away from reservation affairs. His health continued to decline, and he eventually died in 1884. According to his last will and testament, his body was dressed in full combat gear and buried in the deepest part of the Snake River together with his beloved clothes, sword, musket and 18 horses.

Ability: 1. Aboriginal language (can choose the ruins result) 2. Not affected by terrain

Some of the Native Americans living in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the United States are very good at Pathfinding and reconnaissance, they are generally the main force in the investigation of their nomadic tribes. These pathfinders usually have different titles, and their main tasks include searching for game and enemies, exploring immigration routes, spying on local intelligence, and protecting winter hunting grounds. Pathfinders were so skilled that many powerful forces also recruited them as guides and scouts. For example, during the Pictish War (1637-1638), the British colonists in Massachusetts received help from the Narragans and Mohican tribes. . However, with the disappearance of the fighting on the front lines and the restrictions on Native Americans, the Pathfinders gradually disappeared.

The Comanches, who existed as a nomadic people, gradually developed a mounted warfare culture during their long-term struggles with other Indians, Mexican and American pioneers. Comanche boys were trained at an early age to ride hardy plains ponies. The main weapon used by the Comanche cavalry is the obsidian-tipped spear, which can cause great damage to enemy infantry units. In addition, they are also equipped with bows and arrows or later rifles. Their main tactic was guerrilla warfare: from attacks on Spanish outposts in New Mexico in the early 18th century until the last Comanches were defeated by American troops in 1875.

As for how strong they are, you can watch this video, although it is a bit fake.

Who is the deadly warrior: Comanche Indian Fighters VS Mongolian Cavalry

Next, there will be an introduction to each civilization, so stay tuned: