Sarah Winnemucca - Bannock War

Bannock War

After four years, Parrish was replaced by agent William Rinehart. He failed to pay Paiute workers for agricultural labor in commonly held fields, and alienated many tribal leaders. Conditions at the Malheur Reservation quickly became intolerable. Sarah's book tells how the Indian Agent sold many of the supplies intended for the people to local whites. Much of the good land on the reservation was also illegally expropriated by white settlers. In 1878 virtually all of the people on the reservation left it. The Bannock who left began raiding isolated white settlements in southern Oregon and Northern Nevada, triggering the Bannock War. The degree to which Northern Paiute people participated with the Bannock is unclear. Sarah claims in her book that her family and several other Paiute families were held hostage by the Bannock during the war.

During the Bannock War, Sarah worked as a translator for the U.S. Army. She also describes scouting and message-carrying duties that she performed on behalf of the Army. Her description of engagements is frequently comical—according to her account both the Bannock and the Army soldiers liked each other so much that they rarely shot to kill. Sarah was highly regarded by the officers she worked for, and her book includes letters of recommendation from several of them. Sarah also thought highly of those officers, and advocated military administration of the reservations.