Eventually, in the hope of decreasing the despair and hunger among his band, Pocatello consented to relocate to the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho where the government promised relief. The $5,000 in annual supplies agreed upon rarely arrived, and the Indians continued to suffer.

In 1875, when news of George Hill's Mormon missionary farm near Corinne, Utah, reached Pocatello, the chief saw an easy solution to his people's hunger. Hill, with the help of Indian converts, had planted wheat, corn, potatoes, and garden vegetables. All that was required to receive assistance was baptism into the Mormon faith. In May 1875 Pocatello and his band, traveled to Utah and requested baptism; the missionaries joyfully obliged. The influx of Indians did not sit well with Corinne residents, however, and townsfolk soon agitated for their removal. Federal troops responded and forced the return of the converts to Fort Hall.