Fig. 69.1. Pamela Colman Smith, 10 of Swords, from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, 1st ed. (London: William Rider & Son, 1909), chromolithograph.

Fig. 69.2. Josh Baird, 10 of Swords, from the Sego & Salt Tarot, 1st ed. 

10 OF SWORDS : "1850: EXTERMINATION & EXPULSION OF THE TIMPANOGOS"

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THE TRADITIONAL TAROT

KEY IDEAS: Betrayal, Bitterness, Collapse, Crisis, Dead end, Deep wounds, Exhaustion, Failure, Loss, Painful endings, Ruin, Victimization. REVERSED: Healing, Improvement, Lessons learned, Recovery, Regeneration, Resisting an inevitable end, Survival.

ALTERNATIVE TITLE/S: The Lord of Ruin

CARD INTRODUCTION: The Ten of Swords is the end of delusions, usually illustrated in a vile and violent fashion. There's no more confusion around how things will turn out; the way they are right now is the way they're gonna be, and it tells you all you need to know. Allow for defeat. Not everything is meant to work out, and failure is just as instructive as triumph, if not moreso. This card is an opportunity to reflect on where you've reached the end of the line in your life, the point at which you simply cannot carry on in the same manner. The Ten of Swords' practical advice is to change tactics the next time around. Old patterns (particularly patterns of thought and speech) aren't likely to serve you any better in the future than they have in the past. Like all endings in the tarot, this one inevitably cycles through to a new beginning. The sun will rise again, and the conquered soul will be reborn, a little more experienced for the next journey through the lessons of the Swords, the next phase of story deconstruction and mental healing. The Ten of Swords can feel brutal, but it also offers a strange kind of mercy, because once the illusion collapses, the energy spent on hoping, justifying, or enduring the intolerable is finally freed up. Nothing more is being asked of you here except honesty. From that honesty, recovery is possible.  —Sara K. S. Hanks, Cottonwood Tarot

QUOTES:

1. "Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." —J.K. Rowling 

2. "The darkest hour has only sixty minutes." —Morris Mandel 

3. "It is only when we are lost that we begin to find ourselves." —Henry David Thoreau 

4. "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." —Leonard Cohen 

5. "The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places." —Ernest Hemingway 

6. "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." —Franklin D. Roosevelt 

7. "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." —Norman Cousins

8. “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” — Flannery O’Connor

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SEGO & SALT TAROT

GO AND KILL THEM: "Brigham Young sent Wells to lead the army with the expanded mission "not to leave the valley until every Indian was out"...."I say go [and] kill them. . . . let the women and children live if they behave themselves. . . . We have no peace until the men [are] killed off—never treat the Indian as your equal." —Brigham Young

DO THE WORK UP CLEAN: "Take no hostile Indians as prisoners" and "let none escape but do the work up clean". —General Wells

PEACE OR EXTERMINATION: "If the Indians sue for peace, grant it to them, according to your discretion and judgment in the case. If they continue hostile pursue them until you use them up – Let it be peace with them or extermination." —Brigham Young

Fig. 69.3. Samuel Hans Jepperson, Fort Utah, 1849, oil on canvas (reproduction), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_at_Fort_Utah# /media/File:Fort_Utah.png.

TIMPANOGOS NATION: For thousands of years, the Timpanogos Nation has occupied the vast territory of the Great Basin, living as a free and industrious people who once numbered approximately 70,000. As a branch of the Snake-Shoshone, their identity is deeply rooted in the Wasatch Mountains and the shores of Utah Lake, which they traditionally called Timpanogos Lake. Their way of life was defined by a profound reverence for the land and a spiritual connection to the "Creator above," greeting each new day with songs of gratitude. Historically, they were sophisticated hunter-gatherers and traders who established extensive routes reaching as far as Nahua lands. Every year, they gathered for a massive fish festival at the mouth of the Provo River—the Timpanogos River—to celebrate through dance, song, and trade.

The arrival of Mormon settlers in 1847 brought a tragic era of displacement and violence, including the devastating Black Hawk War. Despite enduring forced relocation to the Uinta Valley Reservation and facing near-annihilation through disease and state-sanctioned extermination orders, the Timpanogos people remain a resilient and sovereign nation. Today, they continue to advocate for their true historical identity as the indigenous Shoshone of Utah, separate from the Ute tribes of Colorado. Their heart remains "alive and well" within the sacred Mount Timpanogos, serving as a constant reminder that they are still here, protecting their heritage and looking toward a future of renewed strength and peace.¹⁵

Fig. 69.4. Franklin Grote, Utah Indians confined in the Guard House at Fort Utah, lithograph by Ackerman, from Howard Stansbury, Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah (1852), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Utah_Indian_Prisoners_-_ Stansbury_Expedition_Report.jpg.

GENOCIDE: According to Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the term "genocide" refers to specific acts carried out with the intent to destroy a particular national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, either entirely or in part. These prohibited acts include: "Killing members of the group"; "Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group"; "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part"; "Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group"; and "Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group." (Note: The specific phrases in quotes are retained directly from the 1948 Convention text as they are the standard legal definitions in the public domain.)¹

INVASION & A FALSE OATH TO THE SUN GOD: In March 1849, Brigham Young dispatched a group of 150 individuals, comprising 30 families, to establish a settlement in Utah Valley. Led by John S. Higbee, with counselors Isaac Higbee and translator Dimick B. Huntington, the group reached Timpanogos lands around April 1 and began building a fort two days later.

The Timpanogos people regarded this arrival as a violation of their sacred territory. An-kar-tewets led a group to physically obstruct the settlers, issuing warnings of lethal consequences for trespassing. Historian D. Robert Carter posits that this confrontation may have been an attempt to collect a tribute for passage through the land. Eventually, a Timpanogos leader (potentially Black Elk) met with Huntington. Huntington argued that the settlement would offer advantages to the Timpanogos. Agreement was reached only after Huntington made a solemn oath, "swearing by the sun god" while raising his hand, promising that the settlers would never infringe upon the rights of the Timpanogos or attempt to expel them from their ancestral lands.²

THE FORT: The Fortification Originally established on March 12, 1849, Fort Utah (alternatively called Fort Provo) served as the primary European American outpost in what is now Provo, Utah. The settlement featured several timber-built homes enclosed within a defensive wooden wall. This "14-foot (4.3 m) palisade" measured roughly "20 by 40 rods" (approximately 330 by 165 feet), with access provided through entries at the eastern and western ends. A central elevated platform was constructed to house a cannon for defense. Beyond the walls, the area was partitioned into 58 individual plots, each consisting of five acres.³

RELATIONS ARE DISSOLVED: The Dissolution of Local Relations Initially, interactions between the Mormon settlers and the Timpanogos people were characterized by a degree of social integration, including shared activities such as fishing and gambling. This level of casual "familiarity" was met with disapproval by Brigham Young. To restrict these interactions, Young ordered that Dimick B. Huntington and Alexander Williams serve as the only authorized traders with the Timpanogos. Further distancing occurred when Parley P. Pratt visited the settlement; he instituted formal regulations that prohibited gambling with the Timpanogos and banned the discharge of firearms in the vicinity of the fort.⁴

THE TIMPANOGOS BEGIN TO STARVE: Resource Depletion and Disease The location chosen for the fort sat upon the sacred grounds used for the annual Timpanogos fish festival, situated in close proximity to their primary village on the Provo River. As settlers established fenced-in grazing areas, their livestock consumed and destroyed the native seeds and berries that were vital to the Timpanogos diet. Furthermore, the settlers’ use of "gill nets to catch fish" depleted the river’s supply, leaving the Timpanogos without a primary food source and resulting in widespread starvation. This crisis was exacerbated by the introduction of measles; since the Timpanogos lacked immunity to this new disease, it led to a significant and tragic loss of life.⁵

TIMPANOGOS KILLED AT BATTLE CREEK: In February 1849, Dimick B. Huntington met with the Timpanogos leader known as Little Chief to discuss the disappearance of settler livestock. Little Chief identified the individuals responsible as Blue Shirt and Roman Nose, describing them as defiant figures who intended to survive the winter by taking cattle. Fearing his entire tribe might face retribution for these actions, Little Chief suggested that the settlers deal with the renegades directly.

In response, Captain John Scott led a militia of fifty armed men into the valley on March 3, 1849, with orders to put a "final end" to these "depredations." Upon reaching the Provo River, the size of the militia caused visible alarm among Little Chief's people. To avoid further conflict, Little Chief provided Scott with guides—his own two sons—to lead them to the camp near Battle Creek Canyon.

Scott’s militia surrounded the camp, which housed several men and their families. Although significantly outmatched, the Timpanogos group declined to negotiate and engaged the militia. During the skirmish, Scott's men utilized the high ground to drop rocks into the creek, leading to the surrender of the women and children. Local Timpanogos leaders Pareyarts and Opecarry (also known as Stick-in-the-Head) witnessed the militia "relentlessly shoot down" the remaining men. This violent encounter fundamentally damaged the relationship between the two groups, fostering a deep-seated mistrust that preceded the larger conflict at Fort Utah.⁶

Fig. 69.5. Franklin Grote, View of Fort Utah, on the Timpanogos, Valley of the Great Salt Lake, lithograph by Ackerman, from Howard Stansbury, Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah (1852), Wikipedia.

STANSBURY APPROVES EXTERMINATION: Stansbury’s Support for Military Action In 1850, Captain Howard Stansbury provided his counsel to Brigham Young regarding the escalating conflict with the Timpanogos. In a written response to the proposed military campaign (which resulted in the Battle at Fort Utah), Stansbury expressed that the plan "could not but meet my entire approval." Beyond offering moral and strategic support, Stansbury further aided the effort by providing necessary supplies and equipment from his expedition stores to assist the Mormon militia in their operations.⁷

Fig. 69.6. Daniel Hammar Wells (1814–1891). Wells served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Mayor of Salt Lake City, and Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion. 

SPECIAL ORDER #2: Daniel Hammer Wells, husband to Emmaline Blanche Wells, Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion, LDS Apostle, dedicated the St. George Temple, First president of the Manti Temple, SLC Mayor and drafted Special Order # 2 to exterminate the Timpanogus along with the Bishop of Fort Utah, the First Presidency & Quorum of the 12 Apostles.⁸

DANIEL HANMER WELLS: MILITARY & RELIGIOUS LEADER: Daniel Hanmer Wells was a prominent figure in 19th-century Utah history, holding high-ranking positions in both civic and religious spheres. He served as the Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion (the territorial militia) and was the third Mayor of Salt Lake City. Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Wells was an Apostle and a member of the First Presidency, serving as a counselor to Brigham Young. His religious contributions included presiding as the first president of the Manti Temple and dedicating the St. George Temple.

In his military capacity, Wells played a direct role in the 1850 conflict with the Timpanogos Nation. Acting under the direction of Governor Brigham Young and in consultation with church leadership and local officials like the Bishop of Fort Utah, Wells drafted and issued "Special Order #2." This order directed the militia to engage and "exterminate" hostile groups of Timpanogos who did not surrender, a directive that led to the violent encounter known as the Battle at Fort Utah.⁹

AN APOSTOLIC CAMPAIGN OF EXTERMINATION & EXPULSION: The Decision for War: Special Order No. 2 On January 31, 1850, Isaac Higbee, the presiding bishop of Fort Utah, met with Governor Brigham Young, General Daniel H. Wells, and the high leadership of the LDS Church, including the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Higbee formally petitioned for a military order, reporting that the residents of Fort Utah were unanimously in favor of war. During the council, Apostles Willard Richards and Parley P. Pratt argued that the Timpanogos must be removed, asserting that the fall of Fort Utah would sever vital communication lines to southern colonies. Young, fearing that a retreat would jeopardize his broader colonization goals and the route to California, authorized a campaign of extermination. He commanded that all Timpanogos men be killed, while suggesting that women and children be spared provided they remained submissive.

General Wells formalized these instructions into Special Order No. 2, dispatched to Captain George D. Grant. In the accompanying correspondence, Wells gave the following explicit directions to the militia: "Take no hostile Indians as prisoners" and "let none escape but do the work up clean."¹⁰

Fig. 69.7. A. Fay, "Old Elk and His Squaw – Utah Indians," from Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, by Howard Stansbury (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1852). 

MURDERS IN ROCK CANYON: The Canyons and the Fate of the Fleeing Timpanogos Brigham Young reinforced the military mission by sending General Wells to lead the militia with an expanded directive: "not to leave the valley until every Indian was out." On February 11, 1850, Wells divided his forces. One group, commanded by Captain Grant and aided by the scout Black Hawk, tracked a group of fleeing Timpanogos into Rock Canyon.

At the entrance of the canyon, the militia established a camp where they captured 23 individuals and discovered approximately twelve deceased Timpanogos, including the leader Pareyarts. As the militia pushed further into the canyon, more encampments were destroyed, resulting in additional casualties and more prisoners, some of whom were subsequently executed. Despite the pursuit, Ope-carry, Patsowet, and thirteen others—primarily women and children—escaped over the mountain range using handmade snowshoes.

Historical accounts, including those by Edward Tullidge, highlight the tragic death of Pareyarts’s wife within the canyon. One narrative suggests a Timpanogos woman chose to fall from a high precipice rather than be captured. This event is central to local lore, which attributes the naming of the nearby peak (historically known as Squaw Peak, now Kyhv Peak) to her.¹¹

BETRAYAL, TERRORISM & MURDER: The Executions and Final Casualty Toll Lieutenant John W. Gunnison, a member of the Stansbury Expedition, documented a significant breach of trust during the conflict. According to his report, the militia initially promised the Timpanogos men safety and held them overnight. However, the following morning, the men were lined up and executed in the presence of their families. While some attempted to escape across the frozen surface of the lake, they were pursued by militia members on horseback and killed. Estimates of those killed in this specific incident range from eleven to twenty individuals, with the remaining family members taken into captivity.

The violence continued through mid-February 1850. On February 14, the Nauvoo Legion killed three of five Timpanogos spotted on horseback. The following day, three more men—likely associated with Chief Peteetneet’s tribe—were killed near the Peteetneet River. A final death was recorded in Rock Canyon on February 17. By the conclusion of the hostilities, the total death toll reached one militia member and an estimated 102 members of the Timpanogos Nation.¹²

DECAPITATION & DECIMATION OF THE TIMPANOGOS: Post-Conflict Actions and Forced Servitude Following the executions, a surgeon associated with the government expedition, James Blake, oversaw the decapitation of approximately 50 Timpanogos remains. Captain Howard Stansbury sanctioned this, stating the remains were intended for "future scientific study" in Washington. Before being transported to Salt Lake City, these remains were reportedly displayed at Fort Utah as a deterrent to the surviving prisoners.

The captives, primarily women and children, were initially held in harsh conditions under the fort's artillery, suffering from extreme exposure until a settler named William Potter successfully petitioned for blankets. Subsequently, more than forty of these survivors were moved to Salt Lake City and distributed among Mormon households. The official justification for this placement was to act "as servants" for the purpose of "weaning them from their savage pursuits, and bringing them up in the habits of civilized and Christian life." This program of forced integration largely failed; many of the Timpanogos died in captivity, while most others escaped by spring to join other Ute bands. Reports of these conditions eventually reached the federal government, becoming a primary concern for Edward Cooper upon his appointment as Indian Agent for the territory.¹³

THE EXECUTION OF THE CHIEF PETEETNEET: Retaliation and the Trial of Patsowet After discovering the decapitated remains of their people, leaders including Chief Peteetneet, Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah, and Chief Grospean confronted the settlers at Fort Utah for an explanation. In response to the violence against his tribe, the warrior Patsowet returned to the Salt Lake region and began killing Mormon-owned livestock. He further threatened to destroy the animals belonging to the leader Walkara.

Patsowet was subsequently apprehended and brought to trial, accused of the murder of the single Mormon militia member killed during the Battle at Fort Utah. He was convicted of the charge and executed shortly thereafter.¹⁴

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ENDNOTES                                                                                                     

1. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, December 9, 1948, 78 U.N.T.S. 277.

2. D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah: Pioneers, Indians, and Confrontation at Provo, 1849–1850 (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 45–52.

3. Wikipedia, s.v. “Battle at Fort Utah,” last modified August 29, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_at_Fort_Utah.

4. D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah: Pioneers, Indians, and Confrontation at Provo, 1849–1850 (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 55–60.

5. D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah: Pioneers, Indians, and Confrontation at Provo, 1849–1850 (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 62–68.

6. Carter, D. Robert. Founding Fort Utah: Pioneers, Indians, and Confrontation at Provo, 1849–1850. Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003.

7. D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah: Pioneers, Indians, and Confrontation at Provo, 1849–1850 (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 32–39.

8. Howard Stansbury to Brigham Young, February 1850, quoted in Howard Stansbury, Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1852), 84–85.

9. Daniel H. Wells, Special Order No. 2 to Captain George D. Grant, January 31, 1850, Utah Territorial Militia Records, 1849–1870, Utah State Archives and Records Service, Series 2210.

10. Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, January 31, 1850, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; Daniel H. Wells, Special Order No. 2 to Captain George D. Grant, January 31, 1850, Utah Territorial Militia Records, Series 2210, Utah State Archives.

11. Edward W. Tullidge, The History of Salt Lake City and Its Founders (Salt Lake City: Edward W. Tullidge, 1886), 76–82; D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 160–165.

12. John W. Gunnison, The Mormons, or, Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1852), 146–149.

13. Howard Stansbury, Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1852), 148; D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 168–174.

14. D. Robert Carter, Founding Fort Utah: Pioneers, Indians, and Confrontation at Provo, 1849–1850 (Provo, UT: Bibliography Publishers, 2003), 178–182.

15. Mary Murdock Meyer, "History of the Timpanogos Nation," Timpanogos Nation, accessed April 5, 2026, https://www.timpanogostribe.com/history.html.

16. Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts, 2nd ed. rev. (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1902), 1:262–65; Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (New York: S. Converse, 1828), s.v. "aqua fortis."

17. "The Mormons," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 6, no. 35 (April 1853): 611.