Wahweveh

Wahweveh (Black Eagle) was a Hunipui or Hooneybooey (Bear Killer) Shoshoni and was head war chief in the Sheepeater War of 1879. His full siblings were Chief Paulina, Bright Eyes, and Puna (Cactus Fruit). His half-brother was Weahwewa (Wolf Dog). In 1871, Wahweveh and his hunting party crossed trails in the Blue Mountains with Felix Brunot's whirlwind tour of the Pacific Northwest reservations as the newly appointed, first-and-only president of the newly created Board of Indian Commissioners and his heavily armed escort made their way across Eastern Oregon from Warm Springs Reservation to Fort Hall Reservation. In 1872, Wahweveh hid in the Seven Devil Mountains at the border of Idaho and Oregon, where he was joined by Pony Blanket, and Beads. Bad Face and Yellow Jacket settled in Nevada, while Has No Horse and Wahweveh's half-brother Weahwewa (Wolf Dog) (with whom he was often confused, due also to the similarity of their names) both refused to vacate the Ochoco Mountains. In June of 1876, he was involved in the diastrous Battle of the Rosebud. The Western Shoshoni Big Lodge, White Knife, Robber, and Bear Killer warrior societies, under war chiefs Chochoco (Has No Horse) of the White Knives and Kotsotiala (Buffalo Horn) of the Robbers joined forces with General Crook's 1100 strong column of against the Sioux led by Crazy Horse. Two hundred Eastern Shoshoni under Washakie also joined in the fight on Crook's side. They met up at the headwaters of the Rosebud on June 16, 1876. Washakie's party included Wahweveh, and Wahi (Fox) from the Malheur Reservation, both armed with first-hand information about Crazy Horse's plan to rid the Black Hills of white men. On June 7, 1878, during the leadup to what became known as the Bannock War, Malheur ReservationIndian agent Wiliam V. Rinehart reported to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that Wahweveh, with 55 braves, had picked up supplies and was heading east. On Saturday, June 22, 1878, he would rescue the severely injured Pony Blanket from the battlefield, saving his life, but signaling the near end of Egan's tenure as war chief. By July, news of a new Tukadika (Mountain Sheep Killer) Shoshoni outbreak in Idaho drew Wahweveh and his Bear Killer dog soldiers into that battlefront, which became known as the Sheepeater War.