The treaty was made July 3, 1868, ratified by the United States senate, February 16, 1869, and proclaimed by President Andrew Johnson, February 24, 1869.
The governor of Idaho was instructed by the authorities at Washington to have the proposed reservation surveyed, probably in accordance with the clause which provided “reasonable portions of the Portneuf and Kansas prairies.” The governor is said to have visited the Portneuf valley, and with a wave of the hand to have instructed the surveyor to “survey out a good-sized reservation around here for these Indians.” He then returned to Boise. As the surveyor was paid by the mile for his work, he ran the survey out to as many miles as possible. Consequently the reservation included twice as much land as was needed, but its limits were later curtailed. No notice was taken of the provision for a portion of the “Kansas” prairie, but the Indian agent allowed his charges to fish, hunt and dig camas on the Camas prairie whenever they wished.
The country now included in the Fort Hall reservation was at one time the scene of many Indian battles. A hundred years ago, when buffalo still roamed these parts, the Blackfoot Indians ranged along the river that now bears their name. This tribe was the arch-enemy of the Bannocks and Shoshones, who used to make raids into the enemy’s territory for the purpose of stealing their horses and cattle, and in turn to patrol their own demesnes when the enemy invaded them. An old squaw, said to have been more than a hundred years old, died on the reservation last year, who used to tell of a battle fought in her childhood between the Bannocks and Blackfeet that lasted four days.
On some of the higher buttes toward the north of the reservation there still stand stone pillars, built by the Indians. These were look-out posts, and most of them stand where a view of the country may be had for miles around. Here the spies watched the movements of their enemies and made signals to their friends. Usually the look-out lay behind the pillar and peered around its base, but sometimes he stood flat against its front. As the enemy gradually circled in one direction or another, the spy moved slowly around the pillar, always keeping his face toward those he was watching lest in the distance they should detect his form standing out from the pillar and take alarm.
The following statistics were very kindly furnished by Mr. Cato Sells, U. S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs:
The Fort Hall Indian reservation contains 454,239 acres, of which 38,000 acres were irrigated by 140.37 miles of ditch in June, 1913.
The value of the property and funds on the reservation of the Indians is $4,551,711, or $1,103.97 per capita.
The crop raised by the Indians in 1913 were valued at $73,591, and during the same year they sold $51,520 worth of stock. These items, added to the receipts from other industries, made their total income for the year amount to $169,262.42.
The Indian population of the reservation, June 30, 1913, was 1,819. Of these, 273 were operating farms for themselves, 222 children were enrolled at the reservation school, and thirty were enrolled at the Episcopal Mission School of the Good Shepherd.
The largest ranch operated by an Indian contains 160 acres.