time, was described in the media and literature of Eastern US as the "Great American Desert", an arid unproductive region, unsuitable for habitation. Thus the region of Boise itself was of no interest to settlers. Oregon Country, on the other side of the Rockies, was however a desirable destination for settlers. Nevertheless, the British had an official policy of discouraging American settlers. Thus, settler incursions into Boise Valley along the Oregon Trail remained low, until early 1840s. The HBC established a fort in the region, the Old Fort Boise, west, near Parma, down the Boise River near its confluence with the Snake River at the Oregon border. They were present in the fort until 1844, handing the fort over to the United States Army afterwards. Increasing settler incursions Starting from early 1840s, developments further West, in modern Oregon, meant significant changes to the region of Boise. At this time, HBC and the British started moving their operations further North into British Columbia, while there was a slow and steady rise in number of settlers in Oregon Country, who demanded annexation. These developments eventually cumulated in Oregon Treaty, in which the British gave the region up to the US, thus ending the era of "Joint occupation". This meant that Boise valley and much of Snake Country was claimed as Oregon Territory. With the discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the passage of Donation Land Claim Act, the settler incursions increased exponentially. The increased settler incursions through Shoshone and Bannock territories, and their increased exploitation of the valley's game and resources on their trip, resulted in an increasing sense of frustration among the Indigenous bands along the entire Oregon Trail. Thus, starting from early 1850s, to deter settler caravans from using the route and trespassing on their lands, Native peoples along the entire length of the trail, from modern Eastern Idaho to modern Central Oregon started staging low intensity attacks against passing caravans. One such attack, referred to as "Ward Massacre", was in Boise Valley, about 20 Miles to the West of modern Boise. On August 20, 1854, Alexander Ward's five-wagon caravan of 20 emigrants was passing through, when a group of Shoshone and Bannock warriors ambushed the caravan. The goal of the ambush was initially to take away the horses of the caravan. However, shooting of one of the Shoshone warriors with a revolver, resulted in the killing of