On August 20, 1854, an Indian attack on Alexander Ward's 20-member party bound for Oregon left only 2 young boys alive. Military retaliation for the slaughter so enraged the Indians that Hudson's Bay Co. posts Fort Boise and Fort Hall had to be abandoned, and the Oregon Trail became unsafe without army escort. Eight years of Indian terror followed. Finally the 1862 gold rush brought powerful civilian and military forces that gradually subdued the tribes.