The First Encounter

As stories are handed down from one generation to the next, the Western Shoshone learned about their culture and past history. Here is a personal account of one family's first encounter with Europeans. This story has been handed down through five generations of their family. This story takes place near Battle Mountain, Nevada. At one time, the mountains were entirely covered with pinion-pine trees but a huge fire had wiped out the area and the trees never grew back.

At dusk, the family continued their harvesting of pine nuts, in the mountains west of the Battle Mountain area. The father was distracted as he worked, because earlier that morning, he saw a large cloud of dust down on the flats along the Humboldt. He watched it come closer and closer. Fearing that it may be a large war party, he was concerned for the safety of his family.

Finally, he told his family that it was getting too dangerous to stay and work any longer. He needed to go see who was coming and if it was one of their enemies, then they needed to leave the area and head south, towards their main camp.

He took them and hid them in a small cave in the mountains and told them to stay there all day. If he didnŐt come back by nightfall, they were to leave the area and find their people in the south. He covered-up the opening with rocks, leaving a small breathing hole. He camouflaged the rocks by putting large bushes in front of them and erased any remaining traces. They listened as he ran down the mountainside.

The family waited all day, making no sounds. They could not hear
or see