THE SOUTHERN UTES

Tribal code

Ask Donna

What actually matters in this document.

Text

THE SOUTHERN UTES

A TRIBAL HISTORY

THE

SOUTHERN

UTES

HISTORY

A TRIBAL

Authors

JAMES JEFFERSON

ROBERT W. DELANEY

GREGORY C. THOMPSON

Edited by

FLOYD

A. O’'NEIL

TRIBE

SOUTHERN

UTE

IGNACIO,

COLORADO

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Southern Ute Tribe

Ignacio, Colorado

Printed by the

University of Utah Printing Service

Salt Lake City, Utah 84112

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Editor’s Note

In 1967, the University of Utah began working with the Southern Ute Tribe in the documentation of some of the memories of the

oldest residents of the tribe. This pleasant relationship has blossomed

into a full-blown effort to document the history of the Utes from their

own point of view, using not only their own testimony but also gathering together a massive collection of documents relating to their history.

In 1971, the Southern Ute Tribal Council applied to the Boettcher

Foundation of Denver, Colorado, the Donner Foundation of New York

City, and to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Research and Cultural

Studies Development Section, for money to create a tribal history that

would be of general interest, as well as a useable textbook for the

schools serving the children of the Southern Utes.

To write the history, the Southern Ute Tribal Council chose James

Jefferson, a member of the tribe and their public relations director;

Dr. Robert Delaney, of Fort Lewis College, a long time friend of the

tribe and a scholar who has researched their history deeply; and

Gregory C. Thompson, originally of Durango, Colorado, a Research

Associate in American Indian History for the Center for the Studies

of the American West at the University of Utah. I was chosen to coordinate the efforts of the group, to be responsible to report to the tribe,

to assist in documentation, and to serve in an editorial capacity.

I am grateful for the assignment given to me by Mr. Burch and

the Tribal Council. Because Dr. Delaney and Mr. Thompson are not

Indian, and are trained in the traditional disciplines of history, their

writings are clearly separated from those of Mr. Jefferson who represents a more traditional tribal point of view. The first forty-five pages

are the work of Delaney and Thompson. The following forty pages are

the work of Mr. Jefferson.

Within the section which begins with story telling on page 77, a

group of sample stories illustrating the Ute Indian view of life is included. This collection of stories and legends is by no means to be considered complete or definitive, but is included as a sampling to show

the spirit and type of material which forms the traditional body of Ute

oral tradition. A series of maps are included to illustrate clearly and

succinctly what has happened to the Southern Ute lands. The photoiii

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

graphs are from a wide variety of sources, and credit lines for photos

indicate the wide research done in collecting the material for this

volume.

Proper thanks is extended to the members of the Southern Ute

Tribe who willingly gave of their time and knowledge to create this

book; to Dr. C. Gregory Crampton of the Duke Oral Indian History

Project of the University of Utah for his assistance in collection; to the

Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College, and to Fort Lewis

College generally for their aid and willing cooperation; to the National

Archives, Social and Economic Branch and Mr. Robert M. Kvasnicka,

Assistant Director; to the Federal Records Center at Denver, Colorado,

Delbert Bishop, Director and Robert Svenningsen, Archivist; to the

Museum of the American Indian, New York; to the Smithsonian Insti-

tution, National Anthropological Library; to the Indian Rights Association of Philadelphia, Pa., and to the Pennsylvania Historical Society

where the archives are housed; to Dr. Myra Ellen Jenkins of the New

Mexico Records Center; to Dr. Ward Alan Minge; to Mr. Robert

Morgan who drew the maps; to Mr. Russell Box, who designed the

cover, and to the many others who contributed, our thanks is gratefully

extended.

The errors are those of the authors and the editor, and responsi-

bility is taken by them.

Froyp A. O’NEeIL

Assistant Director,

Center for the Study of the

American West

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Maps

and Illustrations

Page

Maps

Changes in Ute Lands

The Ute Domain ...

Spanish Expeditions to Ute Country

Spanish-Mexican Land Grants ..

Rivers and Agencies in Southern Ute Land ...

Photographs

Rainbow ...

Yamapi

Capote Braves

Group Photograph about 1874

Uncompahgre Chiefs .......

Guero.....

Map

Proposed Ute Reservations 1879, 1889

Photographs

Group Photographs at Washington Negotiations, 1880 ............

Shavano, 1880

Tapuche

Severo ..

Ignacio

Buckskin Charlie ...

Utes at Denver Exposition of 1882-83

Early Roads and Railroads, c. 1895

4“4

Map

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Page

Photographs

Ute Women ...

Buckskin Charlie with Members of his Band .

Map

Neighboring Tribes .....

Photographs

Severo and his Family .__....

Cultural Adaptation among the Tribes

Ignacio ...

Consolidated Ute Headquarters

Ignacio Indian Boarding School

Maps

Western Southern Ute Reservation

Eastern Southern Ute Reservation

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Introduction

Utes

The oldest continuous residents of Colorado are the Ute Indians.

It is not known exactly when the Utes came from the north and west

and inhabited the mountainous areas of the present-day states of Colorado, Utah (which name comes from the Ute people), and New

Mexico. We do know that the earliest Utes came into the present day

United States along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Probably they found other groups of Indians inhabiting the Great Plains,

and, therefore, had to live in the mountains where it was more difficult

to hunt animals and gather food. It is possible that the coming of the

Utes was the reason for the Anasazis to move into sandstone caves of

the area. Possibly, too, the Utes displaced or replaced those carlier

peoples who had developed in the region from the early Basketmaker

stage through the Developmental Pueblo stage and into the classic

Mesa Verde period. Ruins of the ancient culture of the Anasazi are

to be found throughout the present reservation of the Southern Utes.

If the Utes tried to leave their mountainous area and go other places

to get food, they found other Indian groups already there who would

fight them to drive them out. To the cast and northeast of the Utes

were

the Arapaho,

Cheyennes,

Kiowa,

Apaches,

Comanches,

Sioux,

and Pawnees. To the south were the Navajos and Apaches and only

the Jicarilla band of Apaches were generally friendly to the Utes. To

the west and northwest were the Shoshones, Snakes, Bannocks, Paiutes,

and Goshutes.

The language of the Utes is Shoshonean which is a branch or a

dialect of the Uto-Aztecan language. It is believed that the people who

speak Shoshonean separated from other Uto-Aztecan speaking groups

about the time of the birth of Christ. Other Indian groups of the

U.S. who speak Shoshonean are the Paiutes, Goshutes, Shoshones,

Bannocks, and some tribes in California.

Eventually, the Utes became concentrated into a loose confederation of seven bands. The names of the seven bands and the areas they

lived in before the coming of the Europeans are as follows:

1. The Mouache band lived in southern Colorado and in New

Mexico almost down to Santa Fe.

vii

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

2. The Capote band inhabited the San Luis Valley in Colorado

near the headwaters of the Rio Grande and in New Mexico

especially around the region where the towns of Chama and

Tierra Amarilla are now located.

3. The Weeminuche occupied the valley of the San Juan River

and its northern tributaries in Colorado and northwestern New

Mexico.

4. The Tabeguache (also called Uncompahgre) lived in the valleys of the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Rivers in Colorado.

5. The Grand River Utes (also called Parianuc) lived along that

river in Colorado and Utah.

6. The Yampa band

adjacent land.

inhabited

the Yampa

River Valley and

7. The Uintah Utes inhabited the Uintah Basin, especially the

western portion.

Of the bands mentioned above, the first two (Motuache and Capote) make up the present day Southern Utes with headquarters at

Ignacio, Colorado. The Weeminuches are now called the Ute Mountain Utes with headquarters at Towaoc, Colorado. The last four mentioned (Tabeguache, Grand, Yampa, and Uintah) now comprise the

Northern Utes on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation with headquarters at

the town of Fort Duchesne, Utah.

A long time ago, these seven groups of Utes were broken up into

small family units for a large portion of each year. It was necessary

to do this because food was scarce and it took a large area in the mountains to support a small number of people. Fach family unit had to

have a great deal of room since food-gathering couldn’t be done so well

in large groups. From carly spring until late in the fall, these family

units of Utes would hunt for deer, clk, antelope, and other animals;

they would gather seeds of grasses, wild berries and fruits; occasionally

they would plant corn, beans, and squash in mountain meadows and

harvest them in the autumn. At that time, they did not have horses

which would have made the hunting easier, nor did they have any

tools except those made of stone. Each family unit used to follow a

regular circuit during most of the year, going to places where they

knew they could gather food for the winter.

viii

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Late in the fall, the family units would begin to move out of the

mountains into sheltered areas for the winter months. Generally, the

family units of a particular band of Utes would live close together during the winter. The Capotes, Mouache, and Weeminuche would each

live through the winter some place in northwestern New Mexico or

northeastern Arizona. The Tabeguache or Uncompahgre would

select some place between Montrose and Grand Junction. The Northern Utes would live at some place along the White, the Green, or the

Colorado rivers. The winters were great social occasions for the different bands. There would be much visiting and many festivities. This

was also the time when marriages would be contracted. For four days

in early spring, the band would hold the Bear Dance, the most ancient

and typical of all the Ute dances. Then each family unit would prepare to go its separate way until the next winter time. They would

follow the migrating deer, antelope, and elk for food until seeds and

berries began to ripen in the mountains.

This way of life was to change for the Utes when the Spaniards

colonized and occupied New Mexico at the end of the sixteenth century. The reason for this change is that although the Europeans didn’t

have many of the plants of the Americas, they had livestock and it is

livestock, especially the horse, which changed the life style. The

Southern Utes made contact with the Spanish in New Mexico in the

1630’s and 40’s. At first there were peaceful relations between the two

peoples and some trade was carried on. The Utes had dried meat and

hides which they traded for knives and other metal utensils and agricultural products raised by the Pueblo Indians and the Spanish. Much

of this trading was done at the annual fairs held at Pecos and Taos.

The

Utes,

however,

became

much

interested

in trading

for

horses. Horses were very expensive in those days and the Utes would

trade even children to the Spanish for horses. (The Spanish generally

trained those children to be excellent herders.) Possession of horses

allowed the Utes to begin buffalo hunting on the eastern slope of the

Rocky Mountains and the buffalo soon became one of their main resources, because it would provide them with many useful products:

e.g., meat for food (one wouldn’t have to work so hard gathering

food); hides for tepee covers, blankets, clothing, moccasins, and bags

of all kinds; sinew thread for sewing and for bowstrings; horn and

hoof glue for many purposes. And with the horse, the Utes could more

easily evade their enemies, transport their goods to a central camp

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

where the women and children were protected, and range farther to

hunt for food.

So the Utes no longer needed to spread out thinly in family units.

They could live in larger numbers under a more powerful leader. The

family unit continued to be the basic unit of society but the leader

directed camp movements, hunts, raids, and war parties. In hunting

the buffalo the Utes came into frequent contact with the Arapahos,

Kiowas, Cheyennes, Sioux, and Comanche who had many more horses

than the Utes. The Utes needed more horses. So they became aggressive and warlike. Also, it was much easier to raid for livestock (sheep,

goats, cattle) in New Mexico than to hunt deer and other animals, or

to buy livestock. So the Utes became raiders, moving out of their

mountain fortresses to raid other Indian groups or towns and villages to

the south.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

2,6l

31N

310

OLLVANIS 38

59815 Avin

Q3HSI8YLS3

NVIONI

SNOLWAY3S3Y

AMOLIY3L

R4S

€/81

)WA, v

AYOLIMY3L

NVIONI

saNnows

ONLINAH

31N

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

310 NY3HLNOS

898l

@98l

Q3HsEYLS3

NOILVAYZS 3.

ST, NG3HIN0S

IYOHVIWOONN

The Spanish Period

The first European people to invade the Ute lands were the

Spanish. With the arrival of the Spanish came the horse and a

change of life style for the Ute people. Prior to the arrival of the

Spanish and the horse, the cultural level of the Utes was considered

low by the Plains Indians and those people located to the south of the

Ute domain. The Spanish helped to change the view of the Utes that

other Indian tribes held.

In a short time after Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean Isles in 1492, the Spanish explored that region, sailed along the

eastern shores of the North and South Americas, discovered the Pacific,

navigated the Gulf of Mexico, located the mouth of the Mississippi

River, landed in Florida and conquered Mexico. All of this had been

accomplished by 1530, only forty years after Europe had discovered

the American continent. Ten years later Francisco Vasquez de Coronado extended the invasion of the Spanish into northern New Spain,

now northern Mexico and southwestern United States.

The desire for wealth had brought the Spanish to the American

continent and Coronado to the Southwest. The Indians had told the

Spanish stories of the rich cities of Cibola lying to the north. Coronado and his men were looking for these seven cities of Cibola when

they came upon the Zuni pueblo and later discovered the Grand Canyon. Coronado’s expedition failed to find the great wealth told of in

the stories, but they did explore a large portion of the Southwest and

Plains regions of the United States.

While crossing the plains of northeastern New Mexico, Coronado

may have encountered a group of Utes. By the time of Coronado the

Utes were trading with the Plains Indians for products that could then

be taken to the trading centers of Taos and Pecos in New Mexico.

Buffalo hides and meat were important parts of these trading relations; consequently, the Utes were called “buffalo eaters” or Querechos

by the Spanish.

The stories of riches to the north continued to bring more Spanish

explorers or conquistadores into New Mexico. One of these stories

talked of the rich lands of Copala, an area far to the north of Mexico.

15, Lyman Tyler, “The Yuta Indians Before 1680,” Western Humanities Review, V

(Spring, 1951), 157-58.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

The Indians of Mexico and Central America believed that their ancestors had come from seven caves near the Lake of Copala. Other names

for the lake included Lake Timpanogos and Utah Lake.* The land

of Copala, or as it was sometimes called Teguayo, must have included

the lands of the Ute Indians.

Of the numerous explorers sent from Mexico to find the land and

wealth of Copala, Juan de Ofiate was the most important. He left

Mexico in February, 1598, and five months later settled at San Juan

de los Caballeros, near the present site of the San Juan pueblo. By

1604 Ofiate had organized an expedition to search for the Lake of

Copala. He failed to reach the area, but his efforts to settle New

Mexico and to send expeditions to the northern areas helped others

who came later to identify the land of Copala as the Ute land in

Colorado and Utah.

The description for going to the Lake of Copala was given by a

group of Jémez Indians. They stated:

To go straight to the Lake of Copala a guide was not necessary. One

must follow the river Chama, and past the tribe of the Navajo Apaches

there is a great river which flows to the lake, and with good grass and

fields and that in the arca between the north and northwest the land was

fertile, good and level, and that there are many nations, the province of

Quazula, the Qusutas, and further inland another nation settled.?

With these efforts to locate Copala and the trips onto the plains

area, better descriptions and more knowledge of the Utes were gained.

Vicente de Zaldivar described sceing a group of Ute tents:

They were ... very bright red and white in color and bell shaped, with

flags and openings, and built as skillfully as those of Italy and so large

that in the most ordinary ones four different mattresses and beds were

casily accommodated. The tanning is so fine that although it should

rain bucketfulls it will not pass through nor stiffen the hide, but rather

upon drying it remains as soft and pliable as before.*

Zaldivar’s description of the men and the women of the Utes indicated

that:

Most of the men were said to go naked, probably with breechcloths, but

the women wore sort of trousers of buckskin and ‘shoes and leggins, after

#S. Lyman Tyler, “Before Escalante: An Early History of the Yuta Indians and Area

North of New Mexico..." (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of History, University of Utah, 1951), pp. 58-9.

5 Ibid., p. 73.

+Ibid., p. 66.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Spanish Period

their own fashion.” They would hold a piece of meat, almost raw, in one

hand, and a picce of suet in the other. The suet was used as bread. They

would take a bite of the meat and then one of the bread. On this diet

they were said to grow very strong and courageous. As weapons they

had a spear with a long thick point, and arrows tipped with flint which

were ‘better than spears to kill cattle. They were said to be very skillful

with the bow and arrow and were able to kill a buffalo with the first

shot. These Indians would hide themselves in blinds of brush near watering places and ambush the buffalo as they came to drink.*

After the attempts of Ofiate to find the land of Copala the Spanish had contact with the Utes only occasionally for the next few years.

During this period, the first known Spanish conflict with the Utes in or

near southern Colorado developed. It was caused by an unjust war

waged against them by the governor of New Mexico, Luis de Rosas.

The first of these encounters recorded was in 1637. About 80 “Utacas”

(probably Mouache of the Upper Rio Grande) were captured and

forced to labor in work shops established in Santa Fe:* The war on the

Utes ended in 1641 with the naming of a new governor of New Mexico.

During the next forty years, Spanish contact with the Utes was altered.

Trade had existed between the Spanish and the Utes. After the Ute

war this trade increased. Early reports indicate the trade was centered

at Taos where the Utes were able to trade with both Spanish and

Indians of the northern Pueblos.

The items of trade for the Utes were those products derived from

the buffalo hunts on the plains. Meat, hides, tallow, suet, and salt were

all brought to the Taos pueblo for trading purposes. In the earlier

stages of the trade with the Spanish the Utes used dogs as animals of

burden to transport the goods to the trading locations. An account of

this was recorded by Zaldivar. He wrote:

It is a sight worth seeing and very laughable to see them travelling, the

ends of the poles draging on the ground, nearly all of them snarling in

their encounters, to load them the Indian women seize their heads between their knees and thus load them or adjust the load, which is seldom

required, because they travel along at a steady gait as if they had been

trained by means of a rein.’

In return for their goods the Utes received cotton blankets, pottery, corn and small green stones. Later, after the Utes had learned to

5 Ibid., pp. 66-67.

¢ Albert H. Schroeder, “A Brief History of the Southern Utes,” Southwestern Lore,

XXX, No. 4 (1965), 53-78.

7 Tyler, “Before Escalante,” p. 66.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern

use horses, they were also traded.

Utes

Captives taken in raids on other

tribes were exchanged by the Utes for the horses.

In the early 1700’s, the village of Espafiola (La Cafiada) became

the main center for trading Spanish products with the Utes. Of

course, they were regular participants at the yearly Taos fair where

many different Indian groups met to exchange necessary products. To

deny an Indian tribe the right to engage in trading activities at the

yearly fair usually meant war. That trading at Pecos, Taos, Picuris,

and other places had been carried on long before the arrival of the

Spanish and was tremendously important to most Indian groups.

Indians who

lived close to the Pucblo

Indians of New

Mexico,

including the Utes, constantly disrupted Spanish control of and

arrangements with thosc Pucblos. Spanish officials always had to

guard against any possible alliance between the Pueblos and the Utes

or other frontier Indians for the safety of the Spanish population of

New Mexico. The Spanish were generally successful, because the Utes

and other tribes raided the Pueblos. Thus the Pucblos and the frontier

tribes were not friendly, and the Spanish only occasionally fought with

the frontier tribes.

The period from 1640 until the Pucblo Revolt of 1680 was one

marked by general peace between the Utes and the Spanish. This

peace and the ability of Utes to move over larger areas of land due

to their increased

use of the horse,

which

made

the Utes a much

stronger group to reckon with, encouraged the Spanish to present a

peace treaty to the Utes by the 1670’s. It was the first treaty made

with the Utes by a European people.

The peace treaty was apparently still in existence when the Pueblo

Revolt broke out, for the Southern Ute bands did not join the northern

Pucblo Indians in driving the Spanish out of New Mexico." During the

twelve years the Spanish were gone from the northern pueblos, the

Utes raided the puebios and other Indians located in the area. By the

time of the return of the Spanish to Taos in 1692 the Utes had gained

great respect among the tribes and pueblos of northern New Mexico.

The great respect of these Indians was also held by the Spaniard

who led the reconquest of New Mexico, Don Diego de Vargas. With

the securing of northern New Mexico under Spanish rule, Vargas

immediately renewed the contact with the Utes. They were invited to

* Schroeder, “Brief History” pp. 54-56.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Spanish Period

Santa Fe to trade as they had before the revolt.

Despite the Pueblo

Revolt and the absence of the Spanish for twelve years, the peace

treaty of 1670 with the Utes remained intact well into the 1700’s.

Around 1700, the Utes and their kinsmen, the Comanches, began

to raid the Pueblos for horses, agricultural products, and captives to be

held for ransom. The full force of Ute and Comanche attacks were

felt from 1696 to 1727 especially in the north central and northeastern

portions of New Mexico.

Spanish was broken.

In 1719, the peace between the Utes and the

Governor Valverde of New

Mexico carried on

an extensive campaign against them after a Council of War and opinions gathered from Spanish leaders in Santa Fe. That punitive expedition against the Utes and Comanches was largely unsuccessful and

the Spanish turned to developing peace with the Jicarilla Apaches who

would act as a buffer state.

From about 1650 the Apaches had been encroaching on Ute lands

and, by the time of the return of the Spanish, had settled in the Sierra

Blancas north of Taos and in northeast New Mexico.” Because the

Spanish offered some protection, the Utes were willing to form an

alliance with them. But when this alliance broke down, the Utes and

the Comanches began raiding the Jicarillas, burning rancherias and

capturing women and children to sell for ransom.

The Utes also formed an alliance with the Comanches, which

lasted intermittently from 1700 to 1746, to help apply pressure against

the encroaching Apache. So from about 1700 to 1750, relations among

the Utes, Comanches, Apaches and Spanish were confused, shifting

from warfare to alliance and back again. By the end of the UteComanche alliance, and one of the reasons for its ending, the Apaches

had been driven out of northeastern New Mexico and into an area

south and west of the Ute lands.

By 1748 the Comanches had become strong enough to turn on

their Ute allies and cause problems for the Spanish as well. To end

this problem the governor of New Mexico, Joachin de Coadallos y

Rabal, marched on both the Utes and Comanches and defeated them

in a battle above Abiquiu, New Mexico. After this a series of battles

between the Utes and the Spanish lasted for two years before the Utes

came to Taos to sue for peace with the Spanish. The Utes were finding

it too difficult to fight both the Spanish and the Comanches. They

9, Lyman Tyler, “The Spaniard and the Ute” Utah Historical Quarterly, XXII,

No. 4 (1954), 346.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

., SONNCYO

ONI

NIVWOd

SNNOMO

3HL

oniinnH

3Ln

(S3HOVNO3EVL)

FYOHVIWOONN

SYINY

ALHM

SANNOYO

ONILNNH

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

The Spanish Period

also needed the trade in horses that the Spanish could provide. In

1750 peace between the Utes and the Spanish was obtained."

Trading, trapping and exploration brought renewed interest in the

land north of Taos. With the peace of 1750 the Spanish were able to

re-establish Abiquiu as a point of departure to the north. From Abiquiu the Spanish were then able to send trading parties into the Ute

country to trade for the soft deerskins that the Utes were able to provide.

The Spanish also became interested in trapping the numerous

rivers of the Ute nation for fur bearing animals, a product that was in

great demand in Europe.

Finally, the Spanish were still interested in

the land of Copala and its potential wealth and locating an overland

route through that area to the West Coast.™

Almost immediately after Abiquiu had been re-established, trading parties were sent to trade with the Utes. In 1765 Juan Maria de

Rivera was sent across the San Juan River, below the southern end of

the La Plata Mountains, up the Dolores River and along the Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison River to trade and trap for furs.

During the next ten years Rivera led three other expeditions into the

Ute lands.

Others who explored the region to the north of New Mexico were

Nicolas de La Fora in 1766-67, Pedro Mora with Gregorio Sandoval

and Andrés Muifiiz in 1775, and Fray Francisco Garcés in 1775-76.

Garcés, first assigned as resident minister at San Xavier del Bac

in 1768, traveled extensively for the next thirteen years in Sonora,

Arizona, and California as a missionary to the Indians. During this

time Garcés undertook five expeditions to the Indians, two to the Gila

River and one to the Colorado River, another to California and the

fifth, in 1775-76, from the junction of the Gila and Colorado rivers

to the mouth of the Colorado River and west to the San Gabriel mission in California through the land of the Mohaves and Chemehuevis.

He then returned to San Xavier del Bac through the Tulare Valley

back into the Mohave country to the Gila River.*

The Indians Garcés encountered on this fifth expedition were

mostly of the Yuman stock but these people had much to say about the

tribes surrounding them, among whom were the Utes. Garcés brought

10 Schroeder, “Brief History,” p. 59.

11 Tyler, “Spaniard and the Ute,” p. 347.

12 Tyler, “Before Escalante,” pp. 187-193.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

back to Santa Fe this information as well as the comment that more

and more of the Utes were willing to trade with the Spanish.

In addition to their interest in the Utes, the Spanish fathers were

looking for a land route to the Pacific Ocean where the new capital

of California had just been established at Monterey. A plan for locating the route was first conceived by Fray Silvestre Vélez de Escalante

when he was visiting the Hopis in 1775, and Escalante was greatly

encouraged to hear from Garcés that:

It is possible to proceed through the Yutas [Utes] and seek the Rio de

San Felipe, and down

the banks of this will be found my road [to Cali-

fornia]. I doubt not that there may open another, better, and shorter

than that which I traced.™

Escalante and Fray Atanasio Dominguez, the expedition leader,

chose the route through the Ute lands rather than risk encounters with

the unfriendly Navajos. The route was well known to the Spanish,

and guides were available who knew the Utes and their language and

had seen parts of their country.

Escalante’s trip into the interior of the Ute domain was the first

one that extended into the mythical land of Copala. He found the area

thought to be Copala poor and unproductive for the desires of the

Spanish. Neither gold nor silver were located, and they did not find

the route to Monterey. They did, however, explore much of the Ute

domain.

The route the expedition took led them up the valley of the Chama

River past Abiquiu to the site of Tierra Amarilla, thence to the place

where Pagosa Springs now stands. (Pagosa in Ute means hot water.)

After crossing the Dolores River below the San Juan Mountains the

party traveled to the Uncompahgre Platcau and down the Uncompahgre River to its confluence with the Gunnison. From this point

their route took the expedition along the western slope of the Rockies

to the White River in northern Colorado. At that point the group

turned west across Utah just south of the Uinta mountains to Utah

Lake. From there the group turned south through the southern

Paiute lands, to Zuni and then on to Santa Fe. Escalante was convinced this route offered a shorter, better method for reaching Monterey."

1% bid., p. 190.

* Ibid., pp. 198-200.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Spanish Period

Although Escalante failed to find the riches of the land of Copala,

his expedition was important for the exploration of country unknown

to the Spanish and for the locating of the Indian groups that lived in

the present day states of Colorado and Utah. This penetration into

Ute land marked the beginning of a new ecra for the Utes. No longer

was their land considered an unknown area. Now people would journey from Sante Fe far into the interior of the Ute domain to trade.

The Spanish felt a stronger tie to the Utes after Escalante’s expedition and continued to cultivate their friendship and alliance. In

1779, 200 Mouache Utes and Jicarilla Apaches joined Governor Juan

Bautista de Anza in a campaign against the Comanche who had been

raiding the settlements of New Mexico. A peace between the groups

was not established until 1786 when the Utes, the Comanches and the

Spanish met at Pecos. This alliance and past experiences caused the

Spanish to look to the Utes for assistance when either the Comanches

or the Navajos raided the Spanish settlements. In support of these

alliances a second peace treaty between the Utes and the Spanish was

signed in 1789.

The Navajos had caused trouble for both the Spanish and the

Utes for many years. Ute-Navajo relations varied according to the

need of both groups for protection from outside raiding groups. If

cither tribe was threatened by a group of Plains Indians an alliance was

struck. When this outside threat was not great, the two groups would

raid one another and compete for the land that was common to both

tribes. During these periods the Navajos often formed an alliance with

the Apaches or with a Pueblo tribe to raid the Utes, and the Utes

banded together with Plains groups such as the Comanche. At other

times the Spanish would form an alliance with the tes against the

Navajo to defend the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. The treaty of

1789 was made by the Spanish with the Utes to insure this alliance

against the Navajos. At the same time, the Navajos and the Utes were

oying a period of good relations. It wasn’t until 1804 that history

records a campaign of an alliance of Mouache Utes, Jicarilla Apaches

and Spanish against the Navajos. As in the past the Utes remained

friendly to the Spaniards and acted as a check against raids by the

Navajo, Comanches, and Apaches.”

13 Schroeder, “Brief History,” pp. 61-63.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

Two years after the 1804 alliance, the first known citizen of the

newly created country of the United States of America arrived in San

Luis Valley, in the heart of Ute country. Zebulon Montgomery Pike’s

appearance marked the beginning of a new era for the Ute Indians.

Soon the Spanish with their trading expeditions sent into the Ute

domain would be replaced, first by Mexican traders and then by

American traders and trappers and later American settlers coming to

occupy the land.

The transition from Spanish to Mexican control of the Ute lands

went almost unnoticed by the Ute Indians. The pattern of trading

established by the Spanish and the amount of contact between the two

groups continued as before. The Spanish had been very careful to

create peaceful relations with the powerful Ute nation and the Mexicans continued the practice.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Mexican Period:

1821-1848

The Mexican government was anxious to continue and even increase the trading with the Ute Indians. To encourage peace, the

Mexicans gave the Utes gifts throughout the 1820’s. This policy paid

off with the opening of the “Old Spanish Trail” which went through

much of the Ute domain. Mule trains were able to depart from Abiquiu, move up the Chama River to the San Juan River in Capote land,

and down the San Juan to Utah and on to Los Angeles without being

disturbed by the Utes.

The peacefulness of the 1820’s fell apart during the 1830’s, however, as the Southern Utes began to feel the pressure of the Mexicans.

Trading expeditions into the area had attracted people to the region,

and the Tierra Amarilla land grant was allotted in July, 1832. It

covered the region from the Rio Nutrias, an eastern tributary of the

Chama River, north to the Navajo River on the upper San Juan.

Later attempts were made to settle in the Conejos Valley, but a war

with the Navajos forced the settlers to withdraw. Again, in 1842 or

1843, another settlement attempt was made in the same valley but the

Mouache band drove the Mexicans off.

As the Mexicans encroached on Ute land, the Utes strengthened

their alliance with the Navajos against the Mexicans and other Indian

tribes who were being pushed off the plains into the Ute hunting

grounds. Both Utes and Navajos were raiding Mexican settlements

in northern New Mexico during the 1830’s and the 1840’s. As the rule

of the Mexican government came to an end in New Mexico, the

northern regions of that area experienced raids from all directions.

To the north the Mouache band was attacking on the east side of the

Sangre de Cristo mountains and the Capote band with the aid of the

Navajos was raiding in the Rio Arriba area.'

These raids worried the American officers who were occupying

New Mexico during the Mexican War. To end this worry a treaty was

signed between a band of Mouache Utes and the Americans. Signed

in 1846 the treaty offered protection for that area which lay east and

north of Taos, the area where these Utes lived. The treaty however

did little to stop the Ute raiding on other New Mexico settlements.

1 Albert H. Schroeder, “A Brief History of the Southern Utes,” Southwestern Lore,

XXX, No. 4 (1965), 63.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

For several years after the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) which

gave New Mexico and part of Colorado to the United States, the raids

continued, much to the distress of the Americans.

During the Mexican period the Utes experienced little change

from the way the Spanish had treated them. Of the major events,

the opening of the Old Spanish Trail as a regular trading route was

foremost. For the most part the Southern Ute bands were able to

resist the efforts of the Mexicans to settle their region.

This was not to be the experience with the new invaders. The

Americans, already having explored the region while fur trapping,

were soon to come in increasing numbers and not leave as had both

the Spanish and the Mexicans.

CoLoRAO

NEW MEXCO

—_—

[——

anza

4 ESCALANTE -0OMINGUEZ

—

ARZE-GARCA

SOME

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS

TO UTE COUNTRY

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Mountain Men and Fur Trappers

The Utes learned of the inhabitants of the United States in the

first half of the 19th century largely through the activities of the socalled mountain men or fur trappers. During that period, furs were

extremely valuable for making the felt hat which was fashionable for

gentlemen in the United States and Europe. The area occupied by

the Utes was very rich in beaver and those mountain men began to trap

every place where beaver “sign” occurred. Often called the “pathfinders” of the West, the mountain men were actually following game

trails and trails which had been known to the Utes for generations.

The first entrance of Anglo-Americans into Ute territory occurred

in 1806 when Lt. Zebulon Pike entered the San Luis Valley and built

a stockade on the Conejos River before being arrested by Spanish

authorities." In 1811, Ezekiel Williams was trapping for beaver pelts

in southwestern Colorado and the following year Robert McKnight

was in the same region. In 1816 and 1817, Auguste Pierre Chouteau

and Julius DeMunn moved into southwestern Colorado for the same

purpose.

In 1821, control of the southwestern portion of present day United

States passed from Spanish hands into the hands of authorities of

Mexico. Anglo-Americans found it much easier to deal with Mexican

authorities than with Spanish officials, because of the inflexibility of

Spanish law in an area so far removed from the seat of authority. So

in 1821 also, there began the famous Santa Fe trade between Independence, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and increased activity

in trapping throughout Ute territory. In the same year, Col. Hugh

Glenn and Jacob Fowler led a trapping expedition into the San Luis

Valley and possibly even into present Archuleta and Mineral counties.*

In 1824, William Becknell, “The Father of the Santa Fe Trade,” led

a party of trappers to the Green River and William Huddart headed

an expedition of fourteen men from Taos to the same area. Probably

* For a_ thorough explanation of this expedition led by Pike, with letters and related

documents, see Donald Jackson, ed., The Journals of Zebulon Pike, 2 vols., (Norman: Univ.

of Oklahoma Press, 1966) ; also, Elliott Coves, ed., The Expeditions of Zebulon Pike, 3 vols.,

(New York: Francis P. Harper, 1895). A more readable and recent account is W. Eugene

Hollon, The Lost Pathfinder: Zebulon Montgomery Pike, (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma,

Press, 1949).

2D, H. Cummins, “Social and Economic History of Southwestern Colorado,” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation in History, University of Texas, 1951), p. 188

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

both expeditions traveled along the western slope of the Rockies

through Ute country. At about the same time, Kit Carson and Jason

Lee left New Mexico and went to the Uinta River in Utah, where

In 1826, James Ohio Pattie passed

they met Antoine Robidoux.

through the present site of Grand Junction in Mesa County after

departing from Santa Fe, going south to the Gila River and following

that river to the Colorado River and then ascending that river into

Ute territory.”

In the 1830’s, beaver pelts became even more valuable and many

more fur trappers and traders entered Colorado and Utah. In 1830,

the “Old Spanish Trail” was established between Santa Fe and San

Gabriel, California. Mexicans from Santa Fe used this trail for several years and came into contact with most of the bands of the Utes,

whom they traded with for slaves and many articles which the Utes

possessed.

In 1832, Antoine Robidoux, a fur trader from St. Louis, Missouri, established Fort Uncompahgre, a fort and fur trading post just

below the junction of the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Rivers near the

present site of Delta, Colorado; and he later established a similar out-

fitting and trading post on the Uinta River in Utah." Philip Thompson and William Craig founded Fort Davy Crockett on the Green

River in 1837. None of these trading posts in Ute country prospered.

The Utes burned Fort Uncompahgre and about 1840 Fort Davy

Crockett was abandoned right after Kit Carson and James Baker had

headquartered there through the fall and winter of 1839-40. In 1842

Rufus Sage left Taos, passed through southwestern Colorado to the

post on the Uinta, probably passing along the old Ute trail through

Archuleta and LaPlata counties.

Thus the whole country of the Utes became known to AngloAmericans and the Utes became acquainted with their products. The

fur trappers and traders from the United States were generally on very

friendly terms with the Ute people. The Indians were willing to trade

buffalo robes and beaver pelts for flour, cloth, tobacco, trinkets, and

pp. 188-90,

4Floyd A. O'Neil and John D. Sylvester, eds., Ute People, An Historical Study

(Salt Lake City: Univ. of Utah Press, 1970), p. 7; John B. Lloyd, ““The Uncompahgre Utes,”

(unpublished Master’s thesis, Western State College of Colorado, 1932), pp. 2-3.

©LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, eds., Rufus Sage: His Letters and Papers,

1836-1847, Vols. V and VI of the Far West and the Rockies Historical Series, (15 vols.

Clendale Arthur H. Clarke Co., 1995-61), V. 89-90; Cummins, “Social and Economic

istory,” p. 191

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Mountain Men and Fur Trappers

even illegal whiskey. Buffalo robes and beaver pelts were readily sold

in the eastern part of the United States and in Europe. Most of the

trappers and traders had lived for long periods of time with Indian

groups and they were diplomats who could barter successfully, and

generally fairly, with the Utes. The Utes welcomed them into their

territory because they knew that they were not permanent settlers. The

take-over by the United States of all Ute lands occurred at the same

time as a drastic reduction in the value of furs because the French silk

hat replaced the felt hat formerly worn by gentlemen, and ladies began

to prefer sealskin coats to fur coats that the Rocky Mountains could

supply. Many of the trappers and traders, therefore, soon took employment as scouts for the United States Army and they were to prove

invaluable in dealing with the Indians of the West.

This is true partly because not the least of the contributions of the

Utes was the sharing of their knowledge regarding the topography of

the mountainous region they inhabited. After years as a food-gathering people, the Utes had thoroughly learned the paths of least resistance to travel — the lowest passes in the many chains of mountains

and the ridges which were easiest to cross. The friction of their feet

over centuries had cut deep trails along the most important routes of

travel. Where trails intersected or became difficult to follow in the

rocky terrain, the Utes were accustomed to build stone monuments in

prominent places eight to ten feet high with a stone on top pointing

out the right direction. Pioneers, road builders, and railroad builders

used these to a great advantage. A look at any map showing the transportation routes in Ute country will indicate to the casual observer the

trails formerly used extensively by the Utes in their travels.

In the late Mexican period, relations between the settlers in

New Mexico and the Utes were often unsettled and unfriendly. The

Utes, seeing their land holdings diminishing because of increased

ranching and farming periodically raided the scttlements for livestock

and other articles. A rising level of anger impelled the Utes to more

and more depredations. In 1846, the United States entered into a war

against Mexico, the result of which was going to be the incorporation

of all Ute territory into the United States. Thus the United States had

to begin dealing with the Utes as the Spanish and Mexican governments had to do before. Only two years before, Utes had created a

sensation in Santa Fe by threatening the governor of New Mexico in

the Palace of the Governors, an event well known to the Anglo AmeriFrom the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

cans. From then until the American take-over in 1846, the Mexican

government at Santa Fe generally was at war with the Utes, who,

mounted on good horses and with fircarms, raided the Taos Valley

and the frontier around Abiquiu.” The military leaders of the United

States, realizing that the Utes might possibly present a threat to their

lines of supply and communication, sent William Gilpin to confer with

the Utes in August, 1846, within a month after the conquest of New

Mexico. Gilpin encouraged sixty. Ute leaders to accompany him to

Santa Fe to confer with the military authorities there. These Ute

leaders were mainly from northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, especially from the San Luis Valley, and after a conference with

Col. Alexander W. Doniphan, they agreed to remain peaceful.”

On December 30, 1849, the first treaty between the Utes and the

United States was signed at Abiquiu, the frontier town on the Chama

River north of the town of Espanola. This treaty was arranged largely

by the great Indian agent, James S. Calhoun.* The Utes recognized

the sovereignty of the United States and agreed not to depart from

their accustomed territory without permission. The Utes also agreed

to perpetual peace and friendship with the United States, to abide by

United States law, and to permit citizens of the United States government to establish military posts and agencies in their country. Quiziachigiate signed as principal chief and twenty-seven other Utes signed

as subordinate chiefs.

After the twenty-cight Ute leaders expressed an “utter aversion

to labor,” Agent Calhoun promised that the United States would help

take care of the Utes to the amount of $5,000 per year.

No boundaries

of the Ute territory were defined in this treaty.”

The following year (1850) the United States government opened

an agency for the Utes at Taos, New Mexico. John Greiner was the

first agent (1851-53), but the United States failed to provide the necessary money and the agency had to close. It was reopened in December,

7 Wilson Rockwell, The Utes: A Forgotten People, (Denver: Sage Books, 1956), p. 64.

Government, 1848-1900" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation in History, University

of Oklahoma, 1949), pp. 25-6 passim.

9 For a complete treatment of Agent Calhoun, sec Annie Heloise Abel,

The

Official Correspondence of James S. Calhoun, while Indian Agent at Santa Fe anded.,Superintendent of Indians Affaiis in New Mexico (Washington: Government Printing Office,

1915). For the texts of treaties with In

Kappler, ed., Indian Affairs;

Laws and Treaties, (2 vols.; Washington: G

Office, 1903738) ; the Treaty

of 1849 with

the Utes is in I1, 585-86.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Mountain Men and Fur Trappers

1853, largely to serve the Capote band of Utes, and Kit Carson, the

famous trapper, mountain man and trader, who was a friend to the

Utes, was named agent."” He served in that capacity until 1859. The

Mouache band of Utes was also served at the Taos agency during the

time, but members of the Weeminuche band came there infrequently.

The Tabeguache band of Utes heard of rations being allotted to their

relatives and went to Taos in 1856. Kit Carson recommended that an

agency for the Tabeguache be set up closer to their country but his

request was not acted on by the United States for several years. Kit

Carson (1809-1868) was the best known of the fur trappers and

traders who had entered Ute territory. While a young man, he had

trapped for cight years in South Park and had become familiar with

practically every Ute trail and every pass in the mountains. He was

modest and amiable and the Indians generally considered him a worthwhile friend, especially since he had married Singing Grass, an

Arapaho, while very young, and at Taos, in 1843, had married Josefa

Jaramillo.

During the time that southern Colorado was claimed by Spain

(1598-1821) and by Mexico (1821-48), several land grants had been

awarded to Spanish or Mexican citizens in northern New Mexico and

southern Colorado in the traditional lands of the Utes. The United

States agreed to respect these land grants by terms of the Treaty of

Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) which ended the war with Mexico. They

had been granted by the Spanish and Mexican governments to petitioners who agreed to develop the land and to protect the frontier.

Many of the land grants adversely affected different bands of Utes.

For example, the very large and famous Maxwell Land Grant of over

one and one-half million acres in the northeastern portion of New

Mexico and southeastern Colorado included some former Ute holdings; the San Joaquin del Cafion del Rio de Chama Grant had given

land to settlers near Abiquiu, as did the Cafion de San Miguel (Pedernales) Grant; in the arca of present day Colorado, the Las Animas

Grant embraced the land south of the Arkansas River to the Sangre

de Cristos between the Huerfano and Purgatory Rivers (Ceran St.

Vrain and Cornelio Vigil) ; the Sangre de Cristo Grant covered a large

area in the lower San Luis Valley; the Conejos Grant took away from

the Utes the western portion of the San Luis Valley; and the Tierra

10 Covington, “The Ute Indians and the United States,” pp. 29-33.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

Luis Maria Baca

Vigil & St. Vrain

Sangre de

NEW MEXICO

Tierra

Amarilla

F Fe

oSanta

Las Vegas

SPANISH-MEXICAN

LAND

GRANTS

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Mountain Men and Fur Trappers

Amarilla Grant extended from that town into southern Colorado. Although never heavily populated by Europeans, these grants by the

Spanish and Mexican governments began the crosion of the land base

of the Utes and led to continuous friction.”

Between 1851 and 1853, towns were founded in the San Luis Val-

ley (San Luis, San Pedro, and San Acacia) by former Mexican citizens.”® As usual with the influx of settlers, livestock was introduced and

the supply of game animals began to diminish or to move to more

inaccessible places in the mountains. Also it was much easier for the

Utes to raid for livestock than to hunt game in those higher altitudes.

Bad blood increased between the Utes and the settlers and the usual

pattern of raid followed by punitive expedition was established in

southern Colorado.

To safeguard the settlers and to keep the Utes from raiding, the

United States government established Fort Massachusetts on Ute

Creek near the base of Mt. Blanca. (Six years later that military post

was moved six miles south and renamed Fort Garland.)*

The Utes did not like either the military post in the midst of their

territory or the presence of the settlers, whose farming and ranching

began to drive out the game upon which the Utes depended for part of

their food supply. Their resentment flared in the Ute War of 1854-55.

On Christmas day of 1854, the Utes attacked Fort Pueblo on the

Arkansas River and killed all of the inhabitants." Then they began

attacking the settlements in the San Luis Valley. Several settlers were

killed and their livestock driven away. Fort Massachusetts was severely

threatened. General Garland at Santa Fe was notified and he quickly

organized six companies of mounted volunteers from New Mexico plus

some units of regular troops and sent them to Fort Massachusetts

to put down the Ute revolt. Col. Thomas T. Fauntleroy was placed in

command and Kit Carson accompanied the expedition as head scout.

The leader of the Utes was Chief Tierra Blanca who was easily

recognized because of the red shirt which he wore. The United States

troops made their first contact with the Utes near the present town of

Salida, in the Saguache Valley, in the middle of March, 1855. The

Utes, recognizing the superior fire power of the United States troops,

11 Cummins, “Social and Economic History,” pp. 186-87; LeRoy R. Hafen, “Mexican Land Grants in Colorado,” Colorado Magazine, 1V, No. 3 (1927), 81-93,

12 Cummins, “Social and Economic History,” p. 187; Rockwell, The Utes, p. 65.

1 Cummins, “Social and Economic History,” p. 187

14 Lloyd, “The Uncompaghre Utes,” p. 7.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

retreated in a running fight toward Cochetopa Pass and most of that

band escaped.

However,

another band of Utes was surprised near

Salida. About forty of them were killed and some livestock recovered

on April 19, 1855. Throughout the remainder of April and for the

next two months, running battles and skirmishes occurred, but the Utes

recognized that they could not continue to fight the forces of the United

States and asked for peace. A meeting was held at Abiquiu, mainly

with the Capote Utes, and a treaty of pcace was arranged in the fall

of 1855.°

Also in 1855, a treaty was negotiated with the Mouaches at

Abiquiu. Had that treaty been ratified by the United States Senate,

the Mouaches would have been placed on a reservation of 1000 square

miles in the extreme northern part of the Territory of New Mexico

with the Rio Grande as the castern boundary and the mountains between the drainages of the Rio Grande and the San Juan River as

the western boundary.™

Even before the Ute War, some Anglo-Americans were active in

the lands of the Utes. In 1848, John C. Fremont attempted to cross

the San Juan Mountains to find a suitable route for a transcontinental

railroad. Many of his party met disaster near La Garita before being

rescued by former mountain men from Taos. In 1853, Captain John

W. Gunnison was ordered by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis to survey the most practicable route for a transcontinental railroad. The

huge party which accompanied Captain Gunnison explored and

mapped Ute territory to a greater extent than ever before. Captain

Gunnison was killed by the Utes in western Utah, but Lt. E. G. Beckwith continued in command and wrote an account of the expedition.

Both Captain Gunnison and Lt. Beckwith were of the opinion that

the Ute lands west of San Luis Valley were of no value for settlement

of Anglo-Americans.”’ However, less than five years later, gold was

discovered near the present location of Denver and the “Rush to the

Rockies” was on. Thousands of Anglo-Americans from the Missouri

and the Mississippi Valleys with “Pike’s Peak or Bust” painted on the

canvas of their wagons poured into the area of Colorado. Many re-

67-8; Covington,

15 Rockwell, The Utes, pp. 65-6; Schroeder, “Brief History,” pp. “The

Fort Pueblo

“The Ute Indians and the United States,” pp. 35-42; LeRoy R. Hafen,

Massacre and the Punitive Expedition Against the Utes,” Colorado Magazine, IV, (March

1927), 49-58.

36 Cummins, “Social and Economic History,” pp. 311-12.

17 Rockwell, The Utes, pp. 66-68.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Mountain Men and Fur Trappers

turned with “Busted by God” on their wagons, but enough remained to

organize the Territory of Colorado in 1861. The governor of the territory, William Gilpin, appointed by the president, was named to be

Superintendent of Indian Affairs within the territory. Thus, by 1861,

the Utes came under the control of the governors of the territories of

Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.

In 1861, an agency was opened at Conejos, Colorado, under Agent

Lafayette Head for the Tabeguache Utes, but he was hampered by lack

of funds.” The agency at Taos continued to operate for the Capotes,

Mouaches, and Weeminuches, and by 1863, the Hot Sulphur Springs

agency was opened to serve the Northern Utes. As throughout the history of the United States, the migration of miners and settlers into a

new region caused trouble between them and the Indians accustomed

to hunt and gather food. The white scttlers could not understand why

the Indians should need so much land, and the Indians regarded the

newcomers as interlopers and trespassers. Because of the friction which

was developing in Colorado, a conference was held at the agency in

Conejos on October 1, 1863. The representatives of all the Ute bands

were to have been at the conference. However, the Northern Utes

sent insufficient representation.

The United States was represented at the conference by Simeon

Whiteley, agent for the Northern Utes from Hot Sulphur Springs;

Lafayette Head, agent for the Tabeguaches at Conejos; Michael Steck,

superintendent of the Southern Ute agency at Taos; John Evans, governor of the Territory of Colorado; and John Nicolay, secretary to

President Abraham Lincoln, from Washington, D.C. Mr. Nicolay

served as secretary of this commission, whose aim was to move the Utes

out of the path of the miners and settlers. Since the Northern Utes

were not well represented, the commission dealt only with the Tabeguache Utes and the Mouache band of Southern Utes. The Tabeguache refused to be moved to a new location but did agree to a treaty

which defined the boundaries of a reservation for them and the

Mouaches. Ten Tabeguache leaders, including Ouray, signed this

treaty by which they gave up claim to much land already occupied by

white settlers in return for promises of livestock and goods for the next

ten years."”

18 Ibid., pp. 68-9.

19 Ibid.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

The United States government failed to provide the Tabeguache

with any of the goods promised in the treaty and the Tabeguache continued to live in their accustomed places. In 1864, heavy snows prevented them from hunting buffalo in the plains and foothills for their

winter supply of meat, and the Tabeguaches were reduced to begging

around Colorado City. This caused friction with the white people, and

more developed in the San Luis Valley between the Utes and the

settlers there. The United States government determined to settle the

Ute question and remove them, esepecially from the San Luis Valley.

To accomplish this, a treaty was negotiated on March 2, 1868, at

Washington, D.C. The United States was represented by Governor

A. C. Hunt for the Territory of Colorado, N. G. Taylor, and Kit Carson. The seven bands of Utes who sent representatives were the

Tabeguache, Mouache, Capote, Weeminuche, Yampa, Grand River

and Uintah.*

By this treaty, a single reservation was provided for all the Ute

bands and the area comprised roughly the western one-third of

Colorado. An agency for the three bands of Northern Utes was to be

established on the White River near the present town of Meeker,

Colorado. Another agency was to be established on the Los Pinos River

for the Tabeguaches, Mouaches, Capotes, and Weeminuches. Education, clothing, and rations were to be provided by the United States

until the Utes should be capable of supporting themselves. The Utes

were assured that this reservation would forever be theirs and they

would be protected from white trespassers. This treaty was signed by

the ten Ute leaders and it was at this time that Ouray was selected

by the United States to be spokesman for the Utes instead of Colorow

or another headsman whom the Northern Utes preferred.

It appeared that the Treaty of 1868 would settle the “Ute problem,” but such was not the case. The Tabeguache band started to go

to the Los Pinos River, but they refused to go further when they arrived

at a branch of Cochetopa Creck about sixty miles to the north and

about fifty-five miles west of Saguache, Colorado.”” This spot was not

even on the specified reservation but the United States set up the Los

Pinos agency there, naming the tributary of Cochetopa Creek “Los

Pinos” to comply with the letter of the treaty, which had meant the

0 The Ute Treaty of 1868 is in Kappler, Latws and Treaties, 11, p. 990; Rockwell,

pp. 72-82.

Utes,

The

#1 Rockwell, The Utes, pp. 71-81.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Mountain Men and Fur Trappers

Rio de Los Pinos, the tributary of Las Animas River in present day

La Plata County, named by the Spaniards in the eighteenth century.

Also, almost immediately after the treaty was negotiated, it was discovered that the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado held

huge treasures of rich minerals.*

Actually, a third agency was maintained at Denver from 1871 to

1876 for the Utes of that area. During those years, the Utes still hunted

buffalo there for the winter supply of meat and sold hides and other

products to merchants. By the time that Colorado became a state of

the Union in 1876, the huge herds of buffalo had been largely eliminated from the plains and the Utes around Denver had no products to

sell and no more money to buy goods from the merchants. Soon their

presence in the capital city became a source of friction and trouble.”

By the Act of April 10, 1869, Congress paved the way for President Grant to end all troubles with Indians by settling the remaining

Indians on reservations deemed large enough to support them if they

engaged in agriculture.

22 Robert W. Delaney, “The Southern Utes a Century Ago,” Utah Historical Quarterly, XXXIX, No. 2 (1971), 124, citing the report of W. F. M. Arny of 1870.

#3 Ibid.,p. 81.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Uses

Los_pinos

'—<PR\NC1F’AL

AGENCES

RIVERS

WHICH

HAVE

THE

AREAS

SERVED

THE

SOUTHERN

From the collection of FloydA

UTES

O'Neil, University of Utah

“uouwpunoy

alopy “woipu] wvouswy ayy Jo wnasnpy 5,081 @Y1 w uayv]

“[opayy 99vag ujoour] v Suuvem “Goiney Jovy) 40f souuns wvuin g

“woungusuy upnosypuLg “uvpuy

2117 wiayimog v Jo sydvisoroyd 1saquve a1 Jo auo ‘moquivy

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

Ute braves of the Capote band of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

The man on the right is wearing a fine example of a beaded pendant. Smithsonian

Institution.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Row 1. Guero, Chipeta, Ouray, Piah (Tabeguache chief).

Row 2. Uriah M. Curtis (first interpreter for northern Ute bands), ]. B. Thompson (agent at Denver Ute Agency), Charles Adams (agent of Los Pinos

Agency

1972-75),

agreement).

Otto

Mears

(government

negotiator

for

the

1873

Row 3. Washington (a leading chief of a northern Ute Band), Susan (sister of

Ouray), Johnston No. 2 (Susan’s husband), Capt. Jack (leader in the

Meeker

incident), John.

Society of Colorado.

Photo

was taken

about

1874. State Historical

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

“uoyppunoy akapy uvpuy wvouswy

2y1 Jo wnasnpy AvanQ Jaryy) ynm papproossv Gasopr ‘orang

“uoyvpunoy alapy

“uvipuy uvouswy ayp Jo wnasnyy -oing puv ysopyuy

xnouvavyg ‘sjamvpq ("t 01 1) “sjayo-qns sy ypo iojuad

ayp ut paas st ving) - pupq 215yvdwosury ays o sfaryy

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

The American Period:

of the Reservation:

The Creation

1848-1900

In 1868 the geographic locations of the three bands of the Southern Utes had changed little from the time when the first Spaniard had

entered their domain in the 1700’s. During the Mexican period the

bands were moved closer together, their use of the plains as hunting

grounds was restricted and their lands were defined as a reservation.

However, these changes seem due more to pressure on the Utes from

the Comanches and Apaches than from either the Mexicans or the

first Americans who entered the region.

The 700 Weeminuches lived in an area that stretched from Tierra

Amarilla northward to the Las Animas River and on to the Colorado

River. Their chiefs were Peersichopa and Cabegon. The headmen

included Sewormicha, Piwood, Ignacio, Chiwaten, and Tobats. The

bands of Cabegon and Sewormicha cultivated the land along the La

Plata River, one of the few groups of Utes to grow some of their own

food rather than trade for it. For the most part they were self-supporting with only a few of the band visiting the agency at Tierra Amarilla.

Supplies received from the government included powder, lead, salt,

and blankets. Their hunting grounds were located west of the San

Juan headwaters and their lodges on the Las Animas, the La Plata, and

the Mancos rivers. They traded bear, deer, beaver, and a few otter

skins for horses, sugar, and coffee. In turn, the horses were traded to

the Mouache Utes located at Cimarron in exchange for buffalo robes

and the skins to the Navajos for blankets. Of the three major bands

of the Southern Utes, the Weeminuche remained the most isolated

from Anglo contact.

The 484 Mouache occupied the San Luis Valley as well as the east

side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains north of Taos. They were

given supplies from the Cimarron agency and occasionally the Abiquiu

agency. In 1869 an agency on the Conejos River was established for

these people. The new location was considered a more practical distribution point for the goods given to the band.

The 500 Capotes lived in an area ranging north from Abiquiu to

the Navajo River with Tierra Amarilla being the central location for

most of the band. The agency at Abiquiu was the distribution point

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

for government goods for the band although some rations were received

at Tierra Amarilla. Of the three bands the Capotes seemed to rely

most on government for survival. The one exception was the group

under the leadership of Sapota. His people, about 65 in number, stayed

near the San Juan river most of the time and rarely ventured south to

either Abiquiu or Tierra Amarilla. His hunting skill was so great that

he was able to provide game for nearly all of the needs of his people.'

Other leaders of the Capotes at this time included Timpioche and

Chorez.

In 1863, a reservation had been defined for the Utes, although

little attempt was made to restrict the Utes to this land. After 1868

the three Ute bands were forced to occupy much smaller territories.

The reduction of this reservation in 1868 came not from pressure of

other Indian tribes but rather from the pressure of the Anglos. One of

the Anglo groups pressuring the Utes onto smaller territories was the

miners.

Gold

had

been discovered

near Denver,

Colorado,

in 1859.

Soon prospectors were spanning out from the area towards the mountains to the south and the west looking for more of the precious mineral. By 1860 a group of miners had entered the western slope of Colorado and had located gold in the San Juan mountains of southwest

Colorado in the heart of Ute land. After the Ute treaty of 1868 miners

came in increasing numbers to find the rich minerals of this region.

In direct violation of the previous Ute treaties miners trespassed on

the reservation.

The Federal Government, unable to stop the invasion of Anglos,

responded to the crisis by calling the Ute leaders together. The Government tried to negotiate with the Indians for the land occupied by

the miners. Congress had passed a law in 1871 stating that the Government would no longer sign treaties with the Indians but rather would

now sign agreements. The change in terminology meant little to the

Indians for the meaning was the same; the Government wanted the

Utes’ land. In 1873, the Utes signed the Brunot agreement, in which

they gave up their claim to the San Juan mountains. The agreement,

also known as the San Juan Cession, was signed into law by President

Ulysses S. Grant in 1874.%

+ Schroeder, “Brief History,” pp. 64-73.

2 Gregory C. Thompson, “Southern Ute Lands, 1848-1899; The

vation” (unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Utah, 1971), pp. 12-15.

From the collection of FloydA

ation of a Reser-

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Creation of the Reservation:

1848-1900

The land taken by the government was rectangular in shape and

included the middle section of the 1868 reservation. Now only a narrow strip of land along the western boundary of the state of Colorado

connected the northern part of the 1868 reservation with the southern

part. The southern part of the reservation was now a section of land

110 miles long, running from the Utah boundary east along the New

Mexico-Colorado border, and fifteen miles wide, beginning with the

New Mexico boundary and running due north.

For some time the Anglos of northern New Mexico had wanted to

move those Southern Utes located at Cimarron and Abiquiu onto the

southern portion of the Ute reservation. The Brunot agreement of

1874 had stated that all of the Mouache and Capote Utes not located

on the reservation in Colorado were to be moved there and an agency

created for them. Originally, the agency was to be located on the

southern portion of the reservation so the Southern Utes could reach

it without traveling long distances. One agency had been located

north of the San Juan Cession but had been so far from the Southern

Utes that they had refused to travel there for their rations. Instead

they remained in New Mexico.

In 1875 the agent at Cimarron, Alexander G. Irvine, reported

that about 350 Mouache Utes were located at that agency. The

settlers located in the area had complained about the travels of the

Utes to and from the Colorado reservation and asked that Irvine

attempt to have the Utes moved from the area. Irvine pointed out

that the agency buildings were located on leased land not permanently

owned by the government. The original intent had been only to use

the buildings for a short time before making other arrangements for

the Utes. Now the settlers were asking him to see that those arrangements were made.

In his report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,

Irvine agreed with the desire of the settlers.

The other agent, S. A. Russell, who was secing to the needs of

the Utes at Abiquiu, agreed with Irvine. He felt these Utes should

also be moved from northern New Mexico to southwestern Colorado.

Two years lapsed before Congress acted on the request of the

New Mexicans to have the Utes removed to Colorado. The Cimarron

agency was ordered closed in 1876, but the Utes had refused to leave

the area. Until a solution could be worked out, the government farmer

was left to oversee the needs of the Utes. The solution came as part of

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

the appropriations act of 1877. An amendment was added to the bill

which stated that the provisions of the 1874 agreement would be carried out and an agency for the Southern Utes located on the southern

portion of the reservation.

In May, 1877, Indian agents, Francis A. Weaver and Benjamin

M. Thomas selected a permanent site for the new agency on the Rio de

los Pinos, the Pine River. However, by the end of the year the agency

had not been built nor had the Indians been removed. Further legislation was necessary before the building and the removal took place.

By July, 1878, that legislation had passed Congress and the Utes at

both Cimarron and Abiquiu were readied for the removal. The trip

from northern New Mexico took one month. By August 16, 1878, they

were located at the site of the new agency. After nearly twenty years’

cffort the Government had finally moved all of the Utes in New Mexico

to one reservation in Colorado.

The Anglos of northern New Mexico were satisfied with the

removal of the Utes from their area, but the people of Colorado were

not. The gold discovered in the San Juan Cession had brought increased numbers of people to the arca. They felt the removal of the

Utes into southwestern Colorado would only cause them more prob-

lems. Also, Colorado had become a state in 1876, and the Anglo citizens felt that additional Indians would discourage settlers from coming to the state. The citizens called for the complete ouster of the

Indians from the state.

As the Utes were being removed from Cimarron and Abiquiu,

New Mexico, a commission was being sent to meet with the Utes in

negotiations for removal from Colorado. A bill had passed both houses

of Congress during the spring of 1878 directing President Rutherford

B. Hayes to seek approval from the Colorado Indians for removal.'

This committee met with the Southern Utes at the same time those

Indians from New Mexico were arriving at the Los Pinos Agency.

The commission asked the Southern Utes to move to the northern

portion of the Colorado reservation. The Indians refused. Those

Utes who had just arrived didn’t want to move again and the rest

refused to live with the northern bands. However, the Southern Utes

did agree to move to a smaller reservation located just north and east

@ Ibid., p. 2.

+1bid., p. 25.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Creation of the Reservation: 1848-1900

of their present reservation at the headwaters of the Piedra, San Juan,

and Navajo rivers. (See Map)

In exchange for the new reservation, which consisted of 728,320

acres,

the

Utes

were

to cede

title of their

old

reservation,

nearly

1,894,400 acres, to the government. Compensation was to be given

for 1,100,000 acres relinquished, and a new agency was to be established on the Navajo River.

Congress wanted the Southern Utes moved onto one common reservation with the Northern bands. When the signed agreement from

the Southern Utes was presented for approval, Congress refused to

grant it. The Colorado delegation was dissatisfied with the compromise and had pressured Congress to seek another solution.

In September, 1879, an incident occurred which focused national

attention on the Ute situation and generated public support for Ute

removal from Colorado. At the northern agency in White River, the

agent, Nathan Meeker, attempted to have the grazing land near the

agency plowed and planted in grain. The Indians did not want the

good grazing land plowed and they protested. The agent refused to

heed their protests and, over-reacting, asked that the army send troops

to the agency. The entry of the troops to the reservation caused considerable

anger

among

the

Utes.

About

Utes,

led

by Douglas,

attacked the agency, killing Meeker and eight young men working for

him. In addition three women and two children were taken captive

and held hostage for twenty-three days.” At the same time the troops

called to the reservation by Meeker were attacked. Nearly three hundred Utes under the leadership of Captain Jack ambushed the soldiers

and pinned them down for six days before relief could reach them.

These events created a national uproar against the Utes, and the

public called for their removal to Indian territory.

Congress instructed the executive branch of the government to

negotiate with Utes for their removal from Colorado. On January 16,

1880, Ignacio, Buckskin Charlic, Severo and Blanco (Ojo Blanco)

representing the Southern Utes, and Ouray and other leaders of the

Northern Utes left the reservation for Washington, D.C., to negotiate

with officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” The Ute leaders agreed

Floyd A. O'Neil, “The Utes of Eastern Utah” (unpublished Manuscript, Western

Americana Collection, Marriott Library, University of Utah, n.d.), p. 26.

#New York Times, January 31, 1880, p. 1.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

oleanON

WNOZI¥Y

688l NOIIVAYISIY

d3SOdodd

NY3HLNOS

‘suiN ong

31N

1os 07

105,01

SUIN

o SO0L

oliDwY

DL,

aN0Y

Aouno

apuanijar®

6/8l NOILVAYIS3Y

NY3HLNOS d3SOd0odd

® nnbiay

31N

OOIXIN_MIN

. sofauo

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

The Creation of the Reservation: 1848-1900

to relocate. The agreement signed by them on March 6th was

approved by Congress.

In addition to relocating the Utes, the agreement stated that all

claim to their reservation would be relinquished. For this they would

receive allotments of land along the La Plata River. To seek the

approval of the tribal members, a committee of five was to be named

by President Hayes. If the agreement was ratified by the tribe, Congress was to give final approval.

The commission named for the tribal negotiations included

George W. Manypenny, Alfred B. Meacham, John B. Bowman, John

J. Russell, and Otto Mears.” After gathering in Denver, Colorado, on

June 28th, the commission left for the Ute agencies. The negotiations

began on August 15th, and by September 20th, 581 Southern Utes

had ratified the agreement. Shortly afterwards the other Ute bands

in Colorado followed the Southern Ute example. By December the

agreement had been approved.

Immediately the Ute commission began preparation to move the

northern bands to the Uintah Reservation in Utah. After a short

delay the White River Utes were moved and about one year later the

Uncompahgre band was relocated.

Removal of the three Southern Ute bands did not proceed as the

commission had hoped. The lands designated as the new reservation

were poor for agriculture and incapable of supporting the Utes. At

the same time the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad had reached

Durango and was pushing its way up the Animas River to Silverton.

The railroad brought more people to the area who again pressured the

Utes for their lands. Once more the Utes were caught between the

forces of the civilization process. A new reservation had been established for the Indians, but was declared unsuitable for farming, the

occupation the BIA hoped the Indians would embrace. The land

hungry Anglos wanted not only the lands of the old reservation but the

lands of the proposed reservation.

Although the citizens of Colorado pressured Congress for a decision on this dilemma, a solution was not found for a number of years.

Two alternatives were presented but each was turned down. One was

to move the Colorado Utes onto the Ute reservations in castern Utah,

but the other bands did not want the Southern Utes relocated there

7 Thompson, “Southern Ute Lands, 1848-1899,” p. 57.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Photo taken in Washington, 1480.

State. Historicat Socikry or CoLorabo.

Left to right, Galota, Otto Mears, Severo, Shavano, Col. H. Page, Jocknick.

Stare Histontcat. Soctery or Coromso

Photo taken in Washington, 1880

Left to right, Sawawick, Henry Jim, Buckskin Charlie, Wass, William Burns,

Alhandra.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

“uouwpunoy afa,

uvousuy ayp Jo wnasnyy ssosp i w,, yonwip

dv |

“wounpsuy uvwosynug 0ggy jo uawssisy

ay) auosau 01 uoSurysvy w apym ouvavyg

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

Severo, Capote chief. His hair is bound with fur strips and he is carrying a

[ringed tobacco pouch. Smithsonian Institution.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Ignacio, most famous chief of the Weeminuche band, now known as the Ute

Mountain Utes. The town of Ignacio, Colorado,was named in his honor. Smithsonian Institution.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Buckskin Charlie, famous chief of the Capote band. Taken in Washington, D.C.,

in 1880. Smithsonian Institution.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Creation of the Reservation: 1848-1900

and the Southern Utes didn’t want to move. The second alternative

was a suggestion by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, J. D. C.

Atkins, to move the Indians to San Juan County, Utah. Bills were

introduced into Congress in 1886 and 1887 asking for this removal but

they failed to win support.

In 1888 the removal bill again failed to pass either the House or

the Senate. However, Commissioner Atkins added a clause embodying the proposed removal to a bill making an agreement with a group

of Montana Indians. On May 1, 1888, the Montana Indian agreement with the Ute removal clause passed Congress and was signed by

the President.”

On August 4th, a commission of three, J. Montgomery Smith,

Thomas S. Childs, and R. D. Weaver, met with the Southern Ute

bands at Ignacio. The negotiations took several months before threefourths of the male population of the three bands agreed to relocate.

By January, 1889, the agreement had been sent to Congress for its

approval. Within one month the Senate had voted favorably for

removal, but the House rejected the agreement.

Those groups against removing the Utes from Colorado who

applied enough pressure on the members of the House to vote down

the bill included the citizens of Utah, who decided they had too many

Indians in their territory already, the Indian Rights Association, a reform group located in Philadelphia who thought progress in civilizing

the Utes would be destroyed because of increased isolation from whites,

and the cattle companies which used the La Sal and Abajo mountains

as grazing areas.

The combined resistance of these groups against removal managed

to defeat all removal bills introduced into Congress for the next five

years. With each session of Congress, bills were announced that would

relocate the Utes in San Juan County, Utah, but all failed. Not until

1894 was a bill presented that received the support of these groups.

The 1895 Bill introduced into Congress by Andrew J. Hunter

from Illinois asked that the Utes be located on their old reservation in

southwestern Colorado. Individual allotments of land were to be distributed to the Ute families and when all of the families had been

given land, then the special status of the reservation was to be removed

and the land not taken by the Utes was to be opened to white settle-

s Ihid., p. 90.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

ment. The Government hoped that once the Utes had been given the

individual allotments that they would become farmers and cultivate

the land given to them. The Hunter Act, after some delay in the

Senate, passed both Houses of Congress and was signed into law by

President Grover Cleveland on February 11, 1895."

Before the bill could be implemented, the Utes had to agree to it.

commission

consisting

of Meredith

Kidd,

Thomas

P. Smith,

Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and David F. Day, Southern

Ute Agent, was sent to the reservation to explain the new bill to the

Southern Utes and to gain their approval. Within several months 153

of the 301 eligible male adult Utes had signed the new agreement. The

margin of difference between those wanting to remain on the old reservation and those wanting to move to a new location was only five

votes. However, the Secretary of Interior decided that the Southern

Utes wanted the new agreement and approved the five vote margin.

When the Utes approved the agreement, a new commission was

named to distribute the allotments. By April, 1896, 72,811 acres of

land had been allotted to 371 Utes. The Department of Indian Affairs

approved these allotments on June 12th."

Because one-half of the Southern Utes voted against the 1894

agreement and the planned allotments, the Government officials felt

obliged to accommodate them. Those Utes against the agreement

included the Weeminuche band under the leadership of Ignacio. Earlier they had wanted to move to San Juan County, Utah, and had

moved when the 1888 agreement had been approved by the tribe.

Later when the agreement had failed to pass Congress the Southern

Ute Agency had been forced to bring them back to Colorado. They

refused to return to the Los Pinos agency, however, and established a

camp on the western end of the old Southern Ute Reservation. The

western end of the reservation was retained as land-in-common for

Ignacio and his band while those areas of the eastern end not taken by

the allotments were opened for Anglo settlement. A sub-agency was

opened for the Weeminuche at Navajo Springs in 1897. This was the

beginning of the separation of the three bands of the Southern Utes

into two groups, the Mouache and Capote bands located on the eastern

portion of the former reservation and the Weeminuche band located

“Ihid., p. 116,

wbid., p.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Creation of the Reservation: 18481900

on the western end of the reservation. After the turn of the century the

two sections became known as the Ute Mountain Reservation, the

home

of the Weeminuche

band,

and the Southern

Ute Reservation,

the home of the Mouache and Capote bands.

Once the allotments were given to the Capotes and the Mouaches

and the reservation established for the Weeminuches, the remaining

lands, 523,079 acres, of the old reservation were ready for Anglo settle-

ment. On May 4, 1899, President William McKinley signed the proclamation and the reservation was opened.” This act marked the end

of another era in Southern Ute history.

Utes at the Denver Exposition of 1882-83. Smithsonian Institution.

i Ibid., p. 126,

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

OJIX3IW

M3N

0Ogvy¥0102

ninbigy’

1701

avoy

QvouTIvy

avoy

SAVOSTIVY

Sesl

SAVOY

vouID

ANV

A1dv3

130d4ng

uoyBuwang

obupung

UOLIBAIIS

as043U0p

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

Economy

During the 17th Century, the Utes acquired the horse. Because

the horse allowed the Utes to gather in larger bands, their economic,

social, and political structure changed. Before, each family group had

spent most of the year alone, hunting and gathering food. With the

horse, the Utes could hunt buffalo on a large scale, ranging far into

the plains and transporting the animals back to central camps, where

not only the meat but the hides, the sinews, and even the bones were

used. The horse also allowed the Utes to increase their trade with

other Indian groups. By 1670 horses themsclves were a major trade

item with the Shoshonean tribes to the northwest. The Utes had

traded before with the Pueblo tribes to the south, but this trade in

buckskins, buffalo hides and surplus food increased as transportation

became casier. The Utes also captured Indians of other tribes in raids

and sold them to the Spanish.

For two hundred years, the Utes hunted and traded with little

interference from the Spanish. But in 1848, their lands were transferred to the United States, and in 1859, gold was discovered in Colorado. Thousands of settlers rushed westward. Everyone wanted to get

rich, but upon arrival in Colorado, most found nothing. Although

many settlers went back to where they came from, enough stayed and

tried to start farms that the Utes were put on a reduced land base with

fixed boundaries.

For twenty years the Utes lands were gradually reduced and

hunting became harder as more of the old hunting grounds were put off

limits to the Utes or settled and farmed by the encroaching whites.

The Utes became poorer and poorer. Seeing this, the government

started to give them food and supplies at Abiquiu, Tierra Amarilla,

Taos, and Cimarron before each winter season and in the spring. During the other seasons, the Indians were expected to shift for themselves.

The Utes came to depend heavily on these “presents” from Washington

because they could not support themselves on the reduced land base.

This state, however, satisfied no one, so the whites began a second

major change in the economy of the Utes.

The Utes were gathering and hunting their food when the white

man first saw them, so in the eyes of the white man, they were primitive savages and uncivilized. The white man saw himself freeing these

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

unfortunate Utes from their primitive life and civ zing them by teaching them to cultivate crops.

The Utes, however, did not jump at the opportunity to stop hunting and start farming. There was great resistance, primarily because

they felt that nature should not be disturbed by plowing up the ground.

This resistance was widespread among the Utes’ neighbors as well.

When the United States Government sent an Indian Bureau official to

persuade

the Shoshones

to farm,

the Shoshone chief Washakie said,

“God damn a potato.” The Utes seemed to realize that the change

to farming would mean a change in their whole way of life.

Before 1879, the Utes had made a few changes in their economy.

They herded on a small scale; the Government had encouraged sheep

raising and some of the Utes had taken on this new job. Some of the

women had small gardens, but hunting was still the basis of their

economy.

Men hunted as they had for centuries, some of the bands

even going back to their old hunting grounds for buffalo after they had

been placed on reservations. The women still tanned hides and made

clothes for their families. Food gathering had decrcased after the

Utes got horses because hunting was easier, and it decreased still more

after the first treaties because the United States Government sent

annuity goods to the Utes.

There was a real conflict between the two cultures. The Utes

wanted to continue hunting, trading, and raising horses; the Whites

wanted them to settle down and support themselves by farming. This

conflict was at the bottom of the Mecker incident in 1879. Nathan

Meeker, the Indian agent at White River, was a man who sincerely

tried to make the Indians come into the white man’s culture and cultivate the land; Meeker thought growing crops was best for everyone.

He also tried to make the Utes sell most of their horses, since he

thought it was foolish to let horses eat good grass when cows would

provide milk and meat.

The culmination of a long series of misunderstandings between

friendly Utes and their equally well-meaning agent was the massacre

of Mecker and others by the Utes. Mecker couldn’t cross the barrier

of different cultures to convince the Utes that they should start farming and his failure to communicate his intentions led to tragedy both

for himself and his charges.

The Southern Utes adapted to agriculture more casily than the

Northern Utes, perhaps because they had more contact with the

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Economy

Pucblo tribes. By the time of the Mecker Massacre, the Southern Utes

were already beginning to grow crops, and not long after, hunting as

the main source of food was replaced by herding and farming. Ouray,

the great leader of the Utes in the 1870’s, had foreseen this and had

devised long range plans to bring about this transition. First, he would

secure one reservation for the Colorado Ute bands and then modify the

hunting ecenomy to fit the growing market for tanned buckskin. Then

the Utes would cease roaming and augment their reduced hunting

income in their restricted territory by stock raising.

An Act of Congress of May 27, 1902, authorized the Secretary of

the Interior to permit a right-of-way through allotted lands of the

Reservation

for irrigation ditches,

provided

the Southern

Utes con-

sented, and to expend funds of the Southern Utes for irrigation of

10,000 acres on the western part of the Reservation, up to $150,000

for the purchase of perpetual water rights and fifty cents a year per

foot for maintenance of water.

The Utes, according to the treaty of 1880, were to receive per

capita payments from that date on and the tribe was allowed the use

of $25,000 per year for its benefits. The total per capita distribution

as of 1880 was $50,000 per year. Additional payments from previous

treaties meant a large sum of money for the Ute Indians.

By 1910 approximately one hundred heads of families, half of the

able-bodied men, were doing some farming and cultivating cither on

their own allotments or on tribal land in the reservation. Approximately 6,500 acres were cultivated, and the principal crops were alfalfa

and oats. Perhaps one hundred Indians were raising cattle and some

sheep, either exclusively or in conjunction with farming. Many Utes

owned large numbers of horses, although these were of little value

except to themselves.

The Ute Indians are now in a fight to save their water rights from

encroaching whites who took their lands. It has been a never-ending

fight to preserve what belongs to the Ute Indians. The Utes are

unrelenting in their efforts to protect their lands and people from the

encroachments of other people.

The present economy of the Southern Ute tribe is based on grazing

of livestock, sale of natural gas, tourism, farming, local employment

from governmental sources, and a few jobs in industry and commerce.

A newly opened tourist complex will provide many new jobs.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Government

About

1600 the Ute Tribe was a loose confederation of seven

bands. The Southern Utes made up three of the bands: the Mouache,

Capote, and the Weeminuche bands. The Ute bands were broken up

into small family units, usually just five or six people, for most of the

year, so that they could gather food. The older relatives, usually some

members of the grandparents’ generation, were in control of each

household.

In the winter, around twenty families came together in winter

camps. Camp leaders, or chiefs as they were sometimes called, directed

such communal enterprises as camp movements, defense against enemy

raids, war parties, and dances. The family units were still in control

of things pertaining to the individual.

Each band in this loose confederation had its own chief and

council. The council, the distinguished clderly men of the various

families of the band, advised the chief on all important matters. The

chief, who retained his position for life and frequently chose his successor, usually won his place by his exceptional ability. He had to be

kind, brave, wise, and liberal. A chief with ability and a powerful personality asserted great control over the people.

The unity of the band broke down whenever no man could gain

control as chicf. Then any man who could get a following of more

than his family assumed the title of chicf, and the authority was so

divided that the council ccased to function. Ute governmental units

were, then, the family, the winter camp, and the band; cach operated

during different scasons of the year.

The cconomic changes brought about by the horse created

changes in the government. Since the Utes could range farther on

their buffalo hunts, they werc more likely to encroach on the territory

of hostile tribes; thus skills of warfare became as important as the skills

of hunting. The band leader who led the hunts became a military

leader as well.

So, during the 16th century, seven bands of the Utes went through

a period of transformation and consolidation made possible by the

horse. From small family groups dominated by the older and more

experienced

relative

in cach

camp,

the

Utes

were

consolidated

larger bands under the control of powerful war leaders.

From the collection of FloydA

into

A new coop-

O'Neil, University of Utah

Government

erative group emerged, led but not completely controlled by the younger men of the tribe who were eager for war and glory. The family

units still settled individual affairs, such as most crimes, and could control the whole band.

During the 1700’s the expanding Ute tribe fought many successful wars against their enemies, including the Navajo and Crow. This

century marked the zenith of Ute strength and glory. The leadership

of the bands fluctuated between the older men of the council and the

young men who exercised leadership during times of war. The man

who had a fairly large following assumed the title of chief, but kept it

only as long as he proved himsclf capable of leading those who chose

to follow him, and as long as he fulfilled their needs. When the people

stopped following him, he could no longer claim to be a leader. As

the chiefs assumed the leadership of the bands, there was continual

opposition to any measure brought up. Unanimity was almost impossible on any issue.

This factionalism within the tribe was intensified after 1848. One

reason for this was that the U.S. Government had appointed Ouray

as chief of the Utes and some of the people did not like this. Ouray

was a great leader in spite of the early opposition to him and he did

much to keep the Southern Utes from uscless fights with the encroaching whites.

Ouray, perhaps one of the greatest chiefs of the Uncompahgre

band of Utes, was born in Taos, New Mexico, in 1833. His mother

was a member of the Uncompahgre band and his father, Guera

Murah, was half Jicarilla Apache. While a youngster near the Taos

pucblo, he learned to speak both Spanish and English, but preferred

Spanish as it was dominant in that arca. Only later did he learn Ute

and Apache.

At the age of eighteen he gave up his work as a sheep herder and

came into western Colorado to become a full-fledged member of the

Tabeguache band of Utes in which his father, in spite of his Apache

blood, had become a leader. From then until 1860 he lived like all

Utes, hunting, fighting the Plains Indians, and visiting with other

Ute bands.

While still a young man Ouray married a Tabeguache maiden,

Black Mare, and a son Queashegut, was born to them. When the boy

was five years old, he was kidnapped by the Arapaho near Fort Lupton. Ouray had gone on a buffalo hunt north of Denver when the

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

Arapaho raiding party attacked the Ute camp on the banks of the

Platte River. Ten years later a federal negotiator, Felix Brunot, helped

with the search, hoping that if he found the boy Ouray would help to

obtain his people’s consent to give up their lands in the San Juan

Mountains. The boy was found with the Arapaho and taken to Washington D.C., but refused to admit that he could possibly be Ouray’s

son.

In 1859, after his first wife’s death, Ouray married another Tabeguache girl named Chipeta. She was sixteen and Ouray was twentysix at the time of their marriage.

Ouray’s relationship with the United States government began

with the treaty made by the Tabeguache band at Conejos, Colorado,

October 7, 1863, to which his name is signed “U-ray or Arrow.” During the negotiations Ouray translated the speeches of his people into

Spanish which the government interpreter changed into English. He

also signed the treaty of Washington, March 2, 1868, by the name

“Ure.” A later amendment dated August 15, 1868, carried the name

“Ouray.” The treaty he negotiated gave the Utes 16 million acres of

land, mostly in western Colorado. Before the treaty could be implemented, large new deposits of gold were found in the San Juan Mountains.

Ouray accomplished his objectives primarily through patience,

diplomacy, and the strength of his personality rather than by any

power that he had as head chief of the Utes. Many of the Ute chiefs

were jealous of Ouray’s position, especially the Northern Utes who

believed that the federal government should have chosen one of them

as spokesman of the Ute nation. It took them a long time to accept

Ouray.

Even in his own band there was some resentment. Once in 1872,

at the Los Pinos Agency, five sub-chiefs of the Tabeguache band tried

to kill Ouray. The one chosen as leader of the group was Sapawanero,

a brother of Chipeta and the man who usually took charge of the

Tabeguache band when Ouray was gone. The would-be assassins hid

in the agency’s blacksmith shop as Ouray led his horse across the plaza

to get it shod. As Ouray tied his horse to the hitching post, George

Hardman, the blacksmith, gave him a warning wink.

Ouray was put on his guard just in time, for seconds later Sapawanero ran out of the shop brandishing an ax. Ouray jumped behind

the post as Sapawancro swung the ax at him, the blow missing the

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

“wonmgusuy wowosyg “1f 9y wouf pays

Su umo say w sopoay v puv “Aoing) Jo opm iaduy) “uawom ay()

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

The Southern Utes

great chief’s head only by inches. Ouray kept the post between him

and his assailant, and when Sapawanero struck again, the ax handle

hit the post and broke.

Without his weapon Sapawanero was no match for his powerful

brother-in-law. Ouray threw him down into an irrigation ditch that

ran past the blacksmith shop. Grasping Sapawanero’s throat, Ouray

reached for his knife, but Chipeta, who happened to be nearby, pulled

the knife from its scabbard just as her husband grabbed for it, thereby

saving her brother’s life. Secing how Sapawanero fared, his accomplices in the blacksmith shop took to their heels.

In spite of this altercation in front of the blacksmith shop, Sapawanero was usually very loyal to Ouray. Whenever Ouray was away

from the Agency for any length of time, he left Sapawanero in charge.

Besides visiting the other Ute bands, Ouray and Chipeta once a year

packed their camping outfits and hunted in the mountains for a few

days. Sapawanero always knew where he could find them, but he

never disturbed them on these trips except in emergencies.

Ouray’s quick action and firm stand prevented the spread of the

Ute outbreak in September, 1879, in which Agent Nathan C. Mecker

and other employees on the White River were killed. For his efforts to

maintain peace at this time he was granted an annuity of $1,000 as

long as he remained chief of the Utes. Never until the time of Ouray

had the Utes enjoyed as much unity.

Ouray is noted mainly for his unwavering friendship for the whites

with whom he always kept faith and whose interests he protected even

on trying occasions. When he visited Washington, D.C.; in 1880,

President Hayes called him “the most intellectual man I have ever

conversed with.” He was about five feet seven inches tall, and as he

grew older he became quite portly. His manner was refined and

polished, his face stern and dignified in repose but lighting up pleasantly when he talked. He ordinarily wore the white man’s broadcloth

and boots, but he never cut off his long hair which he wore in two

braids that hung on his chest in the Ute fashion.

Ouray lived until August 24, 1880, and was considered an eminently great leader. He directed his powers and energies to the task of

solving the many problems arising from the coming of the white men.

Ilness overcame him on a visit to the Southern Utes and he died on

the west bank of the Pine River near the present agency. He was

secretly buried in the rocks about two miles south of the town of Igna-

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Government

cio. Forty-five ycars later, most of his bones were recovered and reinterred in the cemetery southeast of the agency and the grave appropriately marked.

Four old Utes who had helped in the original burial supervised

the removal and acted as pall bearers at the second ceremony. These

were Buckskin Charlie, Joseph Price, John McCook, and Naneese.

The ceremony lasted for four days while the Indians performed many

of their sacred ceremonies. It was concluded by a Christian service.

This reburial of the Utes’ most celebrated chieftain was attended by

the largest group of whites and Indians ever assembled on the Southern Ute Reservation.

The authenticity of Ouray’s remains was established in affidavits

by Buckskin Charlie, Joseph Price, John McCook, and Naneese. They

were among the six men and one woman who had buried Ouray fortyfive years before.

During Ouray’s leadership, the Utes underwent many important

changes. Under the treaty of 1868 the first agency for the Northern

Utes was set up at White River. Because Utes were restricted to the

boundaries set up by the treaty and could not range as far for hunting

as they had before, the government supplied rations to be issued to the

people. After so many years of freedom, the Utes found it hard to have

to ask for food and clothing.

During the first years after trouble had ceased, the medicine men

were again very influential, partly because many people were afraid

of them. The Utes continued to believe in the idea of good and bad

medicine; they considered medicine men witches or crazy people and

believed that they caused sickness.

The chieftainship had tended to become hereditary. Sons of men

who had led horse bands took over their father’s position at his death.

However, the authority of the chief had deteriorated to the point that

he was simply the spokesman for his tribe at the call of the agents.

Agents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs came and went. Most of

them knew nothing about Indians or Indian life, and therefore could

not reach an understanding with the Utes. Sometimes an agent was

able and sympathetic, but more often the agents were dishonest or

incompetent. Sometimes, though honest, they knew nothing about

Indian character and tried to make him abandon the nomadic life he

had known and turn himself into something else.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

Farly in the 20th century, the Utes still had a general feeling of

hostility toward white people, but by this time they had also learned

about the cash economy of white society and they sometimes made

good use of this knowledge.

During this difficult period following Ouray’s death in 1880, Buckskin Charlie was chief of the Southern Utes. He was named Chief at

Ouray’s request and there was not a single dissenting voice to protest

the appointment. Charlie had been a sub-chief under Ouray, and had

learned much about governing from him. Charlie had even accompanied Ouray to Washington in 1880, and in 1905, with a band of

350 Utes, had marched in the inaugural parade of Theodore Roosevelt.

But Buckskin Charlie was most important in the ways he helped

his people through the difficult adjustment to life on the reservation.

He was trusted and liked by the whites, and thus his advice was listened

to with respect. But Charlie did not try to make the Utes become like

white men. He insisted that all tribal festivals and ceremonies be carried out in the traditional ways, and encouraged the tribal crafts and

customs. He spoke good English, but preferred his own Ute tongue,

and he only wore white’s clothes when he went to visit the white men.

In things like farming, which were new to the Utes, Buckskin Charlie

was open to new methods and new suggestions. He always tried to keep

peace and protect the interests of the Utes, and he usually succeeded.

Chief Buckskin Charlie died on May 8, 1936, and was succeeded

by his son, Antonio Buck, Sr., but he was the last hereditary chief of

the Utes. Later the same ycar, under the provisions of the WheelerHoward Act, the Southern Ute tribe adopted a Constitution and Bylaws which provided for a chairman and a council of six to conduct

the business of the tribe. As hereditary chief, Antonio Buck, Sr. became

the first elected chairman of the tribe.

Chief Antonio Buck, Sr., died February 6, 1961, and was buried

at Ignacio, Colorado, on Saturday, February 11, 1961. The funeral

was held in the Presbyterian Church, followed by a graveside service

in Ouray Memorial Cemetery and concluded with a feast in the agency

recreation hall where tribesmen and other friends spoke in tribute to

his leadership.

He was wearing his beaded buckskin shirt, with a carved stem

redstone pipe and a fringed and beaded pipe-and-tobacco pouch in

his hands. An ocher stripe was painted on his face from his hairline

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

uvwosypug “sumpuy 10f paompoid Sfioads aq 03 auo 1v] ay1 VM 1 Q691 Wt Po

uosuw] wnuvlusg v Fuuvam s sopuss Yy wr uvw 2], “puq 1y Jo siaquite

“wonmsuy

1507 “Jopatu 2ovad.

vy uysyong

O'Neil, University of Utah

From the collection of FloydA

The Southern Utes

down across one closed eye to his chin. This was the Indian way of

burying their chief.

His daughter, Miss Frances Buck, requested the executive director

of the State Historical Society to attend the funeral and accept Tony

Buck’s eagle feather warbonnet and rawhide drum as gifts to the Historical Society’s Museum at Montrose, Colorado. Many of these articles have been returned to the Southern Ute Museum at headquarters

of the Southern Ute Tribe in Ignacio, Colorado.

The 1950’s were an important era for the Southern Utes as they

had the opportunity to reclaim lands or money for lands lost through

treaties. Samuel Burch was the chairman at this time and with the

help of his vice-chairman, John E. Baker, Sr., started to write a program to unite the three Ute bands. With Wilkinson, Cragan and

Barker as their lawyers, the Northern, Southern and Ute Mountain

Utes converged on Washington, D.C., to fight a legal battle with the

Court of Claims. When the final decision was made, the Utes were

awarded 32 million dollars to be divided among the three bands.

The Southern Utes along with the other bands had to write a

program for use of the monies awarded them. In the case of the Southern Utes, Samuel Burch, John E. Baker, Sr., and their staff, started

to write the “Rehabilitation Plan” which Southern Utes are still following with a few modifications.

‘With the death of Chairman Burch, the Southern Utes were looking for leadership. The Tribe clected John E. Baker, Sr., to head the

program and the council elected him to the chairmanship.

The program became the envy of many Indian tribes throughout

the country and many of its projects were copicd by other tribes, universities, and the Federal Government. In the early 1950’s, the Utes

had such programs as Headstart, teacher aides, youth camps, land use

plan, zoning, and many other programs that arc being used nationwide now.

Today the Southern Utes persist in their intentions of making

their lands and their people economically and socially successful. Following the wise leadership of its carly chief, the present Tribal Council

is demonstrating vision and realism in planning and expediting a modern and sophisticated program of economic and social improvement.

The tribe’s money, its natural resources, and its pcople arc committed

to a full, responsible, and cffective participation in the affairs of the

local tri-cthnic community, the state of Colorado, and the nation.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Government

The Southern Ute Tribe is proud of its accomplishments, determined in its purpose, and deeply aware of its responsibilities to its members, to its neighbors, and to the whole nation. This constitutes the

pledge and commitment of the modern Southern Ute Tribe.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Intertribal Relations

About 1640 the Utes were traditionally at war with the Navajo

tribe to the south and the Great Plains tribes to the east. The enmity

among these tribes was basically due to their location. During the

summer the heat forced the Plains tribes to retreat to the foothills of

the Rockies, which was an ideal location for hunting and camping,

so year after year the Utes had to fight for its possession. As the Utes

joined forces against the Plains tribes trespassing on their land, a dislike was established which prevented any peaceful relationships between these tribes. The Utes would not allow the Plains Indians to

trespass, and the Plains tribes attacked them outside of their territory,

especially on the eastern plains.

The combined forces of Ute bands traveled on foot in 1600 when

they went eastward into the plains to hunt buffalo. A large group was

necessary for protection against enemies, and for greater safety the

men, carrying large shields of hide, walked on cither side of the women

and children.

Differences of opinion among the leaders of the Ute bands led to

conflicts within the tribe itself, but such differences seemed to be of

little importance since bands usually were ready to unite against the

enemy.

The Utes were a warlike people in the sense that they fought continually for their territorial land. Even the women sometimes played

an important part in the warfare. They kept the camp equipment

ready for a fast withdrawal during enemy raids. In home territory

fights, some of the older women armed themselves, wore headdresses,

and followed the men into battle. They scalped and took clothing and

other loot from the bodies of the fallen enemy. After this they could

then take part in the scalp dance to cclebrate the victory. But not all

the Utes’ fighting was in full scale battles. They sometimes raided and

then made a quick retreat to avoid involvement in a large war and

thereby the risk of losing their loot and endangering their lives. These

raids were usually against camps of the Plains tribes during the Ute

buffalo hunts.

The relationships with the Shoshone, Bannock, Paiute and Jicarilla Apache were usually peaceful because the Utes had intermarried

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Intertribal Relations

with these tribes.

The

Ute language is closely related to Shoshone

and Paiute; these three are of the same Uto-Aztecan linguistic stock.

From 1600 to 1879, Ute intertribal relations became a complex

problem, especially after direct contact with white men. Before this,

the Indian tribes and bands usually dealt with each other according

to traditional relationships; they knew who were their traditional enemies and who were their friends. But the white man became a third

party and was hard to define as clearly friend or enemy. To the Utes,

the white man was unpredictable. He extended friendship or he did

not, or he opened fire on them. He came in large or small groups, or

he traveled alone. He was Spanish, French, or American and he had

many interests such as hunting, trapping, or exploring. In any event,

the Utes most likely judged him by his relationships with the surrounding tribes and with the Utes themselves. When the white man extended

gifts and friendship to an enemy tribe and was accepted by them, he

would be considered an enemy too. A white man who tried to be

friends with both the Utes and an enemy tribe could not always be

trusted. When he fought the enemy of the Utes, the Utes could easily

accept him as a friend or even adopt him into the tribe.

During the period of carly European exploration, Ute intertribal

relationships were affected very little by the coming of the Spanish

and later the French. The Utes still fought Plains tribes, and provided

a kind of guardianship over the Jicarilla Apaches, a relationship which

was considered unjust by the Jicarillas.

Between 1707-1746, the Utes and Comanches, united under a

rather weak alliance, first attacked the Jicarilla Apache, then turned

on each other to wage a war of extermination, the Comanche-Ute War,

which continued through the rest of the eighteenth century. The Utes,

who had entered into treaties with the Spanish as early as the 1670’s,

and had become their allies, joined the Spanish in 1779 to fight the

Comanches. During the war the Utes served as guides for Spanish

punitive expeditions and paid in territory for their Spanish protection.

The conclusion of this war came when:

The execution of the royal policy in New Mexico was placed in the

hands of Governor Juan Bautista de Anza, who successfully established

in 1786 a peace with the Utes, Navajo, and Comanches, and used these

Indians, now reconciled with one aother, against the Apaches.

As traders, at first Spanish, then Mexican, French, and American,

began coming into their lands around 1770, the Utes found a new way

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

to acquire material possessions. Their interest in these whites was

limited to what they could get from them, especially weapons such as

knives and guns to fight their cnemies.

During this time, the Utes must have been very confused by the

situations the white man created in his dealings with the tribe, its

enemies, and its friends. These white men were individual trappers,

lone traders, and strong-hearted, bold explorers. Many of them lived

among the different tribes, married Indian women and a few were

even strong enough to become chief of a tribe. James P. Beckwourth

became chief among the Crows and led war expeditions against their

enemies, one of whom was the Ute tribe. William Bent married a

daughter of a Cheyenne chief and became popular among the Cheyenne, but must have been very unpopular among the Utes for helping

these enemies. “Uncle Bill” Williams was a good Ute friend who had

lived among them, but he was killed by a Ute war party who did not

recognize him until he was dead. “Uncle Dick” Wooten made a treaty

with the Utes and obtained passage through their country in exchange

for tobacco and sugar.

The first major effect of contact with whites on the intertribal

relations of the Utes was the introduction of the horse, which came

indirectly from the white man. Many tribes quickly saw the advantage

which these animals would give them in hunting and in war. With

horses, many, many tribes moved out into the Great Plains, developing new ways of life based on buffalo hunting. These Plains tribes soon

were among the main friends and enemies of the mountain-dwelling

Utes. As carly as 1630, the Southern Utes were classified as horseIndians; it is believed that these animals were stolen from the Spanish

in the Southwest by the Ute, Comanche, Apache, Kiowa, and Caddo

tribes. The Western Utes, cut off from the rest by the natural boundary of the Colorado Plateau, did not obtain horses until 1776.

As Utes acquired large herds of horses, a higher level of subsistence became possible through increased exploitation of buffalo herds;

this, in turn, appears to have helped the rapid development of mounted

bands organized around hunting.

The coming of the horse intensified the peaceful or hostile relationships of the Utes with the neighboring tribes. Soon the buffalo

became extinct in the Ute range, and the Ute hunting bands traveled

farther east into the Great Plains, the land of the Plains tribes; so

because of the horse, the frequency of wars with these tribes increased.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Intertribal Relations

The horse became a source of power; the more horses a man had, the

more influence he had. Stealing horses from other tribes was not disgraceful but honorable and daring. In turn, other tribes stole Ute

horses. The Ute attitude toward warfare was similar to their attitude

toward horse stealing; they would rather make hit-and-run raids for

horses, food, and other loot than fight full scale battles. But when they

were obliged to fight in their own defense, they were a formidable

enemy. Colonel R. I. Dodge called them “the Switzers of America”

because, like the Swiss, they fought mainly in defense and were unbeatable in their own land. Colonel Dodge continued:

Though the whole force of the mountain bands [the Utes] numbers but

little over 400 men, all the powerful plains tribes, though holding them

in contempt on the plains, have an absolute terror of them in the mountains.

As white settlers progressed westward across the plains fighting

and forcing the Plains tribes to move, the Utes soon acquired a liking

for the “palefaces.” They could see that these whites had as much

trouble as they did with the Plains Indians, and that not only were

these people fighting, but they were actually getting rid of these enemies. For this reason, they willingly joined and helped the white forces.

It was also nice to be on good terms with the “palefaces” who gave

them many gifts of food, clothes, and weapons. Usually by offering gifts the whites could establish confidence among the Utes.

While the Utes were still fighting their neighboring enemies, they

paid little attention to the settlers who began to move into their mountains, even up to the Pike’s Peak gold rush. The Utes fought this last

large battle against the combined forces of the Cheyenne, Arapaho,

and Sioux in 1859, although other small battles occurred after this

date.

As of this time the Utes were described as:

...the proud, good-humored people who lived deep in the Rocky

Mountains.

They came to Denver to watch in amusement

the frantic

scrambling of the white man, to trade a little at the stores and taste

lightly of the strange and intriguing new civilization, and to gather in

the presents that were often there for them from Washington.

The Utes had become a friendly people who had no interest in

the white man except his gifts, so they lived apart from him in the Ute

country, in their Shining Mountains.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

As the American settlers increased, the United States government

took control over the relations of the Utes with other tribes and with

the white man. At this point, Ute intertribal relations were largely

replaced by the single relationship with the United States. In 1868,

all the Ute bands were nominally united and a treaty was signed with

the Federal Government which established the first boundaries of the

Ute reservation. The tribe usually stayed within these boundaries but

often left to hunt in the plains and some of the bands occasionally

raided the white settlers. Whenever the tribe wandered or acted in a

way the settlers did not understand, statements such as the following

were issued to reassure the whites as to the position and intent of the

Indians:

Tabbywatts, Piemps, and Yampa Utes, from White River country, the

Uinta Utes, Snakes, Bannocks, and other northern tribes of Indians were

assembling in the Bannock country, fifty miles cast of Bear Lake Valley,

to perform their traditional religious rites. They meant peace, and when

through with their rites would disperse.

By 1873 the Utes were friendly Indians no longer; they resented

the white man forcing them from their land. They became restless;

but under the leadership of Chief Ouray, a new treaty was made with

the Federal Government and three Ute agencies were established:

White River, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre. During the time of the

Meeker Massacre in 1879, some of the Northern Utes from White

River made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Utes at Uncompahgre to join in a general war against the whites. This was the last

known attempt of the bands to unite for war.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Intertribal Relations

HEYENNE

COMANCHE

S3gdL

Va1

VANYS

NVSe ®

Y1IEvoIr

sogand

ONIMOEHOISN

NVP

swndide

soviy

conam man__

0Qv¥010D

YNOZINY

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Religion

Around the lodge fires in ancient times the young Utes learned

from the older people that there was one supreme being, a good personal God. Under him were other beings, including a spirit of war, a

spirit of peace, a spirit of floods, a spirit of thunder and lightning, and

a spirit of blood who heals the sick. The Utes were pagan in the sense

that they did not believe in the white man’s God, although they had a

supreme God who was similar to the God of the Christians.

The supreme God of the Utes was associated with the sun. The

sun was a bisexual diety, the He-She, whose power created all things.

All the minor gods represented the power of the Great Spirit in one

combination on earth, but they were still subordinate to the Great

Spirit of the sun. Through these minor gods, the Utes believed, the

Great Spirit expressed his love for all the Indians. When an Indian

died, it was believed that he went to the Happy Hunting Ground in

the sun where there was no sickness or any other miseries of life. In

this place he led an ideal life filled with hunting, feasting, dancing, and

merrymaking.

The Utes held a general animistic belief in spirit personalities belonging to both men and animals. There were a number of animal

gods, chief among them being the coyote. Many legends of the feats

of these creatures were retold, and the Utes made every effort to win

the favor of these gods because they could cause illness. Thus the

medicine man, or shaman, ministered to the sick by drawing out the

spirit cause of illness.

Until reservation days, the individualistic religion seems to have

changed very little. The Utes were nature worshippers who accepted

and were satisfied with what nature gave. But as the white man moved

into Ute lands, whittling them away bit by bit, the Ute way of life was

restricted and the ceremonials were gradually reduced.

When the Sun Dance reached the Utes from the Shoshone around

1890, it was

quickly adopted

because the Utes already believed that

the power to cure came from the sun and that spirits sent visions to

worthy men telling them to dance. The Sun Dance was held once a

year as a curing ceremonial, and the young men danced to gain power

to cure through being cured themselves. Although the dance was

directed by an appointed shaman, each dancer decided whether to

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Religion

participate on the basis of a vision telling him to dance. In spite

of the Christian elements, which may derive from the proselytizing of

the Wood River Shoshone around 1890 or later from the influence of

the Native American Church, the Sun Dance easily seemed a continuation of earlier ceremonials.

Today the Sun Dance has become a binding factor among all the

Utes who have remained culturally Indian. Those who tend toward

the white man’s culture do not participate. It is the symbol of the

native culture which has practically disappeared and all of the frustrations inherent in acculturation are shown through it. Like most

revivals, the Sun Dance is an attempt to recapture a culture through a

supernatural medium after realistic direct methods of retaining that

culture have failed.

Like the Sun Dance, the peyote cult was introduced to the Utes

around 1890. Organized as the Native American Church, it is a panIndian, semi-Christian movement. The purpose of the ritual peyote

meetings is to cure individual illness through the power of peyote and

prayer. Just how the Native American Church reached the Utes is

uncertain, but it corresponds to the Plains prototypes. The ideology fits

the Christian-like pattern observed by Kroeber among the Arapaho.

Opler reported that among the Northern Utes “Jesus” and “Jesus

Save Me” occurred in several songs; prayers were addressed to Jesus,

God, and Mary, and “peyote,” “brotherly love,” “chastity,” “love,” and

“faith” were English words in Ute prayers. All mankind were included

in their prayers, but local members, especially the sick, were particularly blessed.

Although the members of the peyote cult rarely participated in

the Sun Dance, peyotism has also become a rallying point for Utes

trying to preserve their culture. Peyotism is practiced mainly by fullbloods, and is generally believed to be a principal mechanism for fighting disease on the reservation.

The modern day Utes have changed as the missionaries have come

and worked among them. The largest faith is Catholic and the

Protestants are next. Many of the Utes still believe in the old way of

Indian religion. It was told that the Utes’ religion will continue but

will be held in trust to those that have been chosen to continue it. The

Utes believe that Indian religion is sacred to them and should not be

given out. They will tell you only what they want you to know and

this feeling should be honored by all.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Ute Recreation

All the people in the world, no matter what their mode of existence may be, have activities which are for the enjoyment of the group.

Such was the case of the Ute Indians of North America before they

came into contact with the white man.

The problem which hangs like a shadow over any attempt to speak

of Ute recreation during this period is the fact that the only source of

information is the older generation of the Ute people.

Ute recreational activities included games, dances, songs, and

stories. The number of these recreational activities of the Utes is so

great that to discuss all of them would make this book too lengthy.

Therefore only a few from each category will be discussed.

The games played by the Utes varied from games of chance to

athletic games in which whole bands participated. Most of the games,

even the athletic games, were accompanied by betting.

A game of skill which both men and women played was ball

juggling in which the object was to throw two or more balls into the

air at the same time and juggle them like a present-day circus clown.

There is no indication that this pastime was borrowed from the whites

or that any wagering was done in connection with this game. The balls

were one and one-half inches in diameter.

The hoop and loop game was played by persons who could throw

spears or darts accurately; sometimes bows and arrows were used. A

hoop was rolled on the ground in front of the participant and he would

attempt to shoot his dart or spear through the loop. This was a wagering game and was played primarily by men.

The game which was probably the most popular was the hand

game, in which high stakes were won and lost. A row of players sat

facing each other on ecither side of a shelter. Before each player was

a bundle of sticks six to eight inches long and pointed at one end. They

were his wagering sticks. Two cylindrical bone dice approximately two

inches in length and one-half inch in diameter were used; one was

white and the other was either black or had a black band. All the

players swayed to and fro to accompanying music and chants. One

player on one side held a die in each hand, and placing one hand above

the other, allowed the one in the top hand to pass through to his lower

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Ute Recreation

hand which held the other die. Again and again he changed the dice

from hand to hand, all the while shaking his hands up and down or

putting them behind his back to mystify his opponent. His opponent

hugged himself firmly, all the time closely watching the hands of the

player with the dice. This would go on for a while, then the player who

had been embracing himself raised one arm above his head and suddenly pointed at one hand of his opponent. If the hand he pointed at

contained the dice, he took them and shuffled them in his hands as the

other player had done. If, however, he had guessed wrong, the players

on his side forfeited one counter and this was taken from the bundles

and stuck in the ground. This game was played until one side had

acquired all of the sticks.

Other Ute games included double ball, shinney, and ring and pin.

Shinney is similar to the present-day game of lacrosse. The buckskin

ball used in shinney was shaped by a drawstring and a thong wrapped

around the outside. It was usually three and one-half inches in

diameter and was called “pokunump.” The shinney stick, called a

“beher,” was rudely whittled with a broad curved end and was approximately twenty-seven and one-half inches long. This game was played

primarily by women.

The Utes adopted card games from the whites, and the Mexican

game called “monte” became the favorite. Men and women alike,

cach playing in his own group, gambled at this game, for both sexes

had the urge to gamble. Often after a few hours of monte, some

unfortunate gambler was reduced to absolute beggary.

The Utes loved horse racing and indulged in it at every opportunity. Besides transportation, the main use of the horse to the Utes

was racing, and every Indian who could afford horses kept some primarily for racing. To them any individual who did not have a horse to

run in a race was a nobody.

The horse was also a sign of wealth and an individual’s standing

was measured precisely by horses he owned. It was estimated in 1874

that the Utes possessed some six thousand horses. Races were run on

a straight track which was only a few hundred yards long. The owners

rode their own animals and at a signal all started together with their

arms outstretched or frantically plying a quirt of leather. They dug

their heels into the horse’s ribs and yelled loudly as they tried to cross

the finish line first. Sometimes a horse would not stop at the end of the

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

track and there was a runaway. The rider did not seem to mind the

laughter of the spectators. On these races the Utes gambled heavily

and if an individual thought there was at least a chance of winning, he

would bet his last possession, even his bed and board.

The Ute love for racing is further revealed in a report by the

Indian agent to his superiors in the spring of 1879:

Late in January a Ute named Johnson, always friendly with the agent,

always wanting to be civilized and to have things, requested us to break

a pair of horses for him, wanted a wagon, wanted a farm, and he must

have a team to work. Accordingly the men spent a good deal of time

in breaking the horses, . .. and of course we kept the horses on grain and

hay, so that they would be in condition to work.

Last week I discovered

he was in the habit of racing these horses in the afternoon, and it was

evident that his object had been to get them in good heart so that he

could beat his brethren of the turf!

When issuing day rolled around, one of the main events of the

day was a mimic buffalo hunt on horseback. The men took rifles and

revolvers and gathered around the gates of the corrals where the beef

cattle were to be slaughtered and the meat distributed. The cattle

would be chased by youngsters and each longhorn was chased and shot

by men on their horses. This was a great sport on issuing day and it

typifies the Ute’s love of fun and merriment.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Songs and Dances

The Utes greatly enjoyed singing and dancing. Their belief that

animals had souls led them to imitate the actions of animals in the

Bear Dance, the Dog Trot Dance, and the Turkey Dance. The Utes

danced in their winter encampments, on their hunting and raiding

parties, and any other time they felt like doing so. For the dances there

were appropriate songs, but the Utes also had songs for serenading

their neighbors, smoking their pipes, and welcoming guests. Although

:here were many traditional songs and dances, special ones were invented for special occasions, or simply to express the dancers’ emotions.

The Utes were famous for their dances and taught them to many

of the Plains Indians. Some Utes danced in the Buffalo Bill Wild West

Shows in the early 1900’s and most of the dances performed in the show

were Ute dances even though dancers from many other tribes participated.

Most of the dances were given titles by the white men when they

first saw them done and the names correspond to what they had seen.

The Lame Dance, for instance, imitated a person walking or attempting to dance with a lame right leg. This dance was performed only by

women and it was not unusual for one hundred to take part. Two

parallel lines were formed not less than thirty feet apart, the women

standing one behind another facing west. Four drummers sat facing

the dancers with a line of singers directly behind them. The drummers

and singers were usually men. The women danced toward the drummers and singers until they were close to them, then the leaders turned

toward each other with the rest following behind. The leaders danced

toward each other until they almost met, then they turned away from

the drummers and singers to a point opposite that from which they

started. The rest followed, forming a double line.

Another dance was the Tea Dance, which probably began as an

imitation of the white man’s custom of afternoon tea. The Utes liked

to dance and sing, so instead of merely sitting down and having tea,

they sang three songs. The first they danced to, the second and third

they sang while passing around a pipe for everyone to smoke, then tea

was served. When the dance was held outdoors, the participants

danced around a fire. The men gave their bracelets and other ornaments to women who danced with them. There was no special time

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

set for the tea dance. It was performed, like other social dances, at

any time when the people were in an encampment. Most likely it was

held chiefly near the agencies on “issuing day” when the Indians came

to draw their rations from the government.

When the Utes traveled on hunting or raiding parties, they sang

songs and danced along the way. Sometimes a warrior would imitate

a dog following a horse along the trail, and from this came the Dog

Trot Dance. The Utes danced before going on a raiding party and

when they returned. They had a victory song for when they won and a

mourning song for when they lost.

But of all the Ute dances, the Bear Dance is probably the oldest

and shows the characteristics of all the dances. The Bear Dance was a

spring festival that preceded the separation of the families in search

of food and game. Before the coming of the white man, small groups

of Utes, probably numbering fifty to one hundred, took up winter

camps in skin or brush tipis in the coniferous forests of the foothills

along the southern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Early in the spring,

probably about February, the winter camps joined together with others

from their band and the dance was held. Doing “the bear’s dance”

secured its kindness toward human beings.

The Ute story of the origin of the Bear Dance tells of a man

going to sleep and having a dream. This man dreamed that if he

went to a certain place in the mountains he would see a bear. It was

in the spring of the year when the snow was melting and the bears were

just awakening from their winter hibernation. The Ute went to the

spot he dreamed about and there he discovered a bear shuffling forward

and backward in a dance. The bear taught the Indian how to do this

dance and how to sing it. Then he told the Ute to return to his people

and teach them to do the Bear Dance. So every spring, when the bears

start emerging from their winter sleep, cach of the seven bands of Utes

dance the Bear Dance.

The dance was held in a large circular space enclosed by a barrier

of upright poles, between which the branches of trees were woven

horizontally. The walls were about nine feet high and the enclosure

about 200 feet in diameter. The door faced east and on the west was

an excavation about five feet long, two feet wide and two feet deep.

Sheets of zinc were placed over this during the dances, and the singers

sat around it, resting their moraches, long, curved, notched sticks, on

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Songs and Dances

the zinc. This hollow cave was said to be connected with the bear, and

the rasping sound produced by the morache was said to be like the

sound made by the bear.

Dancers in their best finery assembled in the enclosure, the women

on the south side and the men on the north. When the dance started,

the women walked over to the men’s group and selected their partners

by waving or pointing toward whomever they wished to dance with.

The men completely ignored the women and continued their conversation. After choosing their partners the women lined up in the middle

of the lodge and joined hands.

As soon as the music and chanting began, the men walked up to

the women who had chosen them and also grasped hands. The two

lines, which faced each other, started moving forward and backward

in time with the music. The dance step consisted of two bold steps

forward and three mincing steps backward. As the men went forward,

the women retreated and as the women advanced, the men retreated.

Occasionally, the couples took hold of each other’s arms and swayed

their bodies for a few minutes. The Bear Dance usually lasted for three

days and three nights.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Medicine and Cures

Like all people, the Utes had ways of curing both illness and

wounds. Mothers needed to help their children when they were sick,

and the leaders of war or hunting parties nceded to know what to do

when a man was wounded. Many of the medicines were made from

plants which grew where the Utes lived. These cures have gradually

been

abandoned

as white

doctors

have

become

common,

but

many of them worked very well and are still sometimes used by the

older people.

1. Spearmint leaves

— these leaves were picked and brewed and

used for an upset stomach. They were also picked fresh and

wrapped in a cloth and applied directly on a swollen area. This

was especially cffective on bee stings.

2. Sugar

— it was poured directly over large cuts, to help suppress

the bleeding.

3. Grease (tallow which was melted, or any fat) — this was also used

to suppress bleeding.

4. Flour — generally browned in a frying pan and when it was thoroughly browned, water was added and this was given to the patient

to curb diarrhea.

5. Skunk grease

— This is used on chapped skin areas, usually the

hands and feet.

6. Urine — this was not human urine, but urine from a horse. It was

used on raised pustules which broke and caused severe itching.

7. Potatoes

— they were sliced and soaked in vinegar and tied to

the forehead with a handerchief when a headache persisted.

8. Sagebrush

— it was boiled, as a tea, and used with a little sugar

and given to a person with a cold. It could also be rubbed between the hands into a person’s shoe and this would curb the smell.

9. Tobacco — a small amount of tobacco would be put into a decayed

tooth to alleviate the pain. When cotton was available the tobacco

would be wrapped and then packed into the decayed area, thus

climinating the horrible taste.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Medicine and Cures

10. Baking powder or soda — when a person had a very sore throat,

the mother would wash her hands thoroughly and pour baking

powder over the index finger, she would then stick her finger down

the sick person’s throat and with the powdered index finger, swab

the sore throat. The baking powder would start to bubble and

loosen the mucous stuck in the throat area. The patient would

usually vomit because the gag reflex area would be stimulated and

this would bring up the mucous as well as the baking powder.

This procedure is called sat’ ma que.

BELIEFS

The Utes had many beliefs about ways to avert danger, injury,

and even death. Unusual events were often taken as signs of danger,

and some natural things like lightning were not understood and so

were frightening. Important events like childbirth were often dangerous and so a group of beliefs grew up around them, and some of the

practices which were prescribed or forbidden would actually help

the mother or her child.

Like the use of the old cures, many of these beliefs are gradually

disappearing. Many young people, however, still do not comb their

hair or whistle at night because their parents taught them not to, even

though they do not really believe that bad things will happen to them.

1. When the owl hoots at night or a bird flies into the house, it generally means death will occur in the immediate family.

2. Whistling at night might cause the coyote (similar to the present

day boogie-man) to attack.

3. Mirrors must be covered when it rains because lightning will strike

the mirrors. And any dogs in the house must be thrown out, as they

too attract the lightning.

4. Sweeping the floor or combing the hair at night indicates that something evil will happen.

5. When someone dreams about blood, it means that the dream may

come true, if he doesn’t tell anyone about it immediately after waking up. If he tells someone about the dream, it will not happen as

severely as it happened in the dream. For instance, if someone

dreams about someone else getting killed in a car accident and sees

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

blood all over, he has to tell this dream on awakening. When the

dream is told, the person who was killed in the dream would be

hurt less; maybe he would have just a small accident at home.

6. Hair that has fallen out or been cut should always be burned.

There arc two reasons to do this. The birds will get it and make a

nest out of it and the owner of the hair will have persistent headaches until the bird’s newborn leave the nest. The Navajos also will

get cut or combed-out hair and take it to their home and perform

witcheraft over it, thereby causing the owner of the hair to become

sick or dic. The Utes were afraid of the Navajo people and believed that they could actually cast an evil spell on them. This is

still prevalent today, yet some Indian women have intermarried

with Navajo men, and their spouses have been accused of causing

some evil spell to be cast on certain people, especially ones who have

not been very friendly to the Navajo men.

The Utes also believed that there were two evil supernatural be-

ings, the Pa ah a pache, the waterbaby, and the Se ach, the witch,

both of which were dangerous to human beings. These evil beings

were the counterparts of the good beings of the Utes’ religion.

The Pa ah a pache is described as resembling a fish with a mustache and long black hair. He resides in the rivers and captures small

children who like to remain cutdoors after nightfall. Many people

say that they have heard the Waterbaby crying at night. One story

the Utes tell about the creation of the Pa ah a pache is this: One time,

many years ago, an Indian woman left her baby in a cradle by the

river and went about doing her work. He then strapped himself into

the cradle and when the mother returned she began to nurse the baby.

As the Pa ah a pache began to nurse, the mother began to disappear.

He was swallowing her.

The Pa ah a pache was not dangerous to older people, although

they sometimes saw it. It seems to have been rather playful at times.

One story is told about an elderly man who was fishing in the river

without much clothing on his lower portion of his body. The Pa ah a

pache saw the old man fishing in the river and decided to go over and

investigate what he was doing. He noticed the old man didn’t have

any clothes on and being a curious fellow by nature, he came close and

tickled the old man. The old man said, “Who’s bothering me?” and

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Medicine and Cures

began to kick furiously. The Pa ah a pache left after he had thoroughly upset the old man. Soon after, the old man decided he had

caught plenty of fish and jumped on his horse and rode away. That

evening the Pa ah a pache came to the old man’s home. The old man

thought he heard something outside and peeked through his tent flap

and there stood the Pa ah a pache beckoning the old man to come with

him. The old man told him he wasn’t interested in him, that he was

sleeping with his wife and didn’t have any use for him. The Pa ah a

pache became very sad and went home. After that the old man packed

up his wife and all their belongings and moved away from the river.

He didn’t want his wife to find out about the Pa ah a pache liking him

because he might have to explain why.

The second supernatural being, the Se ach or Witch, is described

as having scales like a fish, long hair and red eyes that hang out. He

used to call all the little children and when he caught them, he put

them into a small basket which he carried on his back. He carried a

magic bone which he used to entice the small children, and when they

were caught he took them to his home and sent them out to look for

large, flat rocks. He put these rocks into the fire until they were very

hot, then he put them under the arms of the children. In this way he

baked them and ate them for dinner.

The Se ach could be tricked and even killed. A small boy found

a way to kill him. The boy collected many white mushrooms and dried

them. When they had dried completely he took the black parts from

\underneath and ground them very fine. Next he dipped his arrow into

this fine black dust and shot the Se ach. The Se ach died. Many people

collected this dust so that when a Ute suspected the Se ach was present

he could sprinkle this dust around and the Se ach would leave the

people alone.

‘When the Se ach stared a person directly in the eye, the person

became under his command. (This is similar to what many Indian

tribes say happens with snakes and the moose; the person becomes

hypnotized and he is unable to move, except to obey the one giving

the command). He led the person to his home near the river and

baked him.

To escape from the Se ach called for an ingenious plan and it

goes like this. The Se ach caught a small boy and put him into his

basket on his back. As he walked home, he had to go under the pifion

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

branches and as he bent to go under these branches, the small boy

picked up a medium-sized rock. Soon the boy had several rocks in the

basket.

As the Se ach went under the branches again, the small boy

lifted himself out and the Se ach couldn’t tell that the boy had lifted

himself out of the basket, because the weight of the rocks replaced the

weight of the missing boy. This was clever of the small boy as he tricked

the Se ach.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Story Telling

Another form of recreation for the Utes was story telling. Often

the elders of the family group would gather around the campfire at

night and tell the children stories. Many of these tales were religious

or admonitory, teaching the children about the beliefs and traditions of

the Utes. Other tales were simply entertaining, much like fairy tales

told to children today. The characters in many of the tales of all kinds

are animals who speak and behave like people, animals like the prairie

dog, the frog’s children, the red bug, the fox, and the bear. Still other

tales were about the Utes themselves, about warriors and hunters, and

about the everyday lives of the Utes.

Different storytellers had different versions of the tales, and details were often added or forgotten as children who had listened to

stories grew up and told them to their children. The tales that follow

are just a few of the many Ute tales.

Worr anp CovoTE

One day the wolf saw the coyote carrying a bag with him, so he

started out after the coyote and asked him what he had in the bag he

was carrying. But the coyote didn’t want to show him what he had in

the bag and he started running from the wolf, so the wolf chased him

around and around. Finally he caught him, then he told the coyote to

take out the things he had in the bag. When he did take them out,

they were all little people. He took out quite a few of them, and finally

the coyote closed the bag really fast, and left very few in the bag. The

old man who told this story said that this was the few amount of people

that are left here, as the Southern Ute people are now. He said if the

wolf hadn’t done this to the coyote there wouldn’t have been so few

Indians left here; there would have been more people today. After all

this had been done, the coyote told the wolf, “Now go and make your

arrows. Now there is going to be a war.”

TuE RACE BETWEEN THE SKUNK AND THE COYOTE

The skunk and the coyote decided they would pool their plans and

catch some prairie dogs for lunch. The coyote said, “I'm going to walk

into the mud and also roll around in it until I'm all muddy and then

T’ll go lay down near the prairie dog colony.

You must go and tell the

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

prairie dogs that I have died.” After the coyote had rolled around in

the mud, the skunk decided to cover the coyote’s face with timothy

hay, making the coyote look like an animal who had been dead a long

time.

The skunk went to the prairie dog colony and said to the prairie

dogs, “Come quickly and see the coyote, he is dead near the mud hole.

Don’t you want to go see him?”” The prairie dogs followed the skunk

until they came to an arroyo near the mud hole where the coyote was

stretched out. The skunk said, “Look, he is dead!” He then got a big

stick and hit the coyote very hard. The little prairie dogs said, “Yes, he

surely is dead.” The coyote made sure he didn’t move a muscle when

the skunk hit him very hard. He did not like what the skunk did and

thought to himself that this certainly was not part of their plan.

After the prairie dogs looked over the supposedly dead coyote

they decided to leave. It was then that the coyote jumped up very

quickly and seized about eight prairie dogs of different sizes. The skunk

and the coyote decided the only fair way to divide their catch was to

have a race, and the winner would take all the prarie dogs. In the

meantime, they built a big bonfire and started to cook their catch.

They dressed the prairie dogs and put them under the coals to bake.

As the skunk and the coyote got ready for the race, the coyote

thought to himself, I can beat this puny skunk any day. The coyote

got a strip of bark from a cedar tree and tied it to his tail. He was to

set fire to this strip of bark to start the race. He it the bark and the race

was on. The coyote ran so fast that he was a good distance in front

of the skunk, and soon all the skunk could see was the smoke from the

lighted bark as it whipped in the air. The skunk had decided from the

start that he wasn’t going to run very fast, so he didn’t hurry. When

the skunk noticed that the coyote was out of sight he turned back to

the bonfire where the prairie dogs were cooking. He thought the

coyote was probably nearing the hill which had been designated as the

finish line, so be worked very fast to fetch the biggest, juiciest prairie

dogs out of the bonfire. When he got them out he took them a short

distance away and sat on a large rock. From this point he could see

the smoke from the bark which was still tied to the coyote’s tail. Meanwhile the coyote’s only thoughts were on how fast he had run and the

delicious meal which he didn’t have to share with the skunk. What the

coyote didn’t know was that the skunk had already eaten the biggest

prairie dogs and had left the smaller ones in the fire.

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

Story Telling

When the victorious coyote returned to the bonfire, he started to

dig furiously for the prairie dogs. He scarched for the larger ones but

found only the smaller ones. As he found the smaller ones, he threw

them in all directions because he didn’t have any use for these small

ones when there were larger ones to be found. He stirred the coals

and yet he couldn’t find the larger prairie dogs. It was then that he

noticed tracks leading in the direction of the big rock and they resembled the tracks of a skunk.

He followed the tracks and he was right,

they were the tracks of the skunk.

He noticed the skunk’s face and

hands were very greasy and he asked, “Hey, Skunk, did you save me

some meat?” The skunk didn’t reply but he did throw what was left

of the prairie dogs — the bones! When the coyote saw these bones, he

ran very quickly to the spots where he had tossed the smaller prairie

dogs. He had a difficult time trying to locate all the prairie dogs which

he had thrown because he didn’t bother to look when he was throwing

them. The skunk was very pleased that he had finally tricked the

coyote, as the coyote had always been known for his slyness.

Tue Rassrr ANp THE Fox

One warm, sunny day a little rabbit was strolling very contentedly

through the forest when suddenly a skinny, hungry fox pounced upon

him saying, “Aha! I'm going to eat you.” The frightened little rabbit

in self defense replied, “Please don’t eat me. I'm very, very small and

not big enough to fill your starving stomach. If you spare me my life,

T’ll show you where there are many very fat and very juicy chickens

that will fill your stomach.” The greedy fox, thinking of all the fat,

juicy chickens replied, “O.K. it’s a deal. Take me quickly to the

chickens. I'm very hungry.” Away the two animals went down the

path to the farmer’s house. After a while the rabbit stopped and

decided that he should go along with the fox closer to the farmhouse

and they crept slowly toward the house. The rabbit stopped and said

to the fox, “See that house over there? That’s where the fat chickens

live. Tl go ahead first and unlatch the door to the chicken house so

you can rush right in.” The hungry fox, thinking only of all the fat

chickens he would soon consume, didn’t suspect the rabbit of trickery.

The rabbit unlatched the door and yelled to the fox, “Hurry, hurry,

jump in.” The fox dashed through the door going full speed ahead

and began grabbing at the chickens greedily. The rabbit suddenly

From the collection of FloydA

O'Neil, University of Utah

The Southern Utes

slammed the door shut, latched it, and away he ran toward the farm-

house yelling, “Hey Mu ti cauch (White man), come quickly; there

is a fox in the chicken house and he is killing all your chickens.” The

farmer came running out of the house with a gun in his hand and ran

as fast as he could to the chicken house. Bang! Bang! Meanwhile

the rabbit retreated to the hillside to watch the fireworks. Bang!

Bang! The rabbit smiled and went on his merry way and thought how

lucky he had been.

Tue Fox anp THE Sace HEN

One day the fox decided to put on all his beautiful buckskin

clothes and take a stroll along the river bank. He put on his moccasins, leggings, vest, and war bonnet. He looked very handsome and

felt he owned the world. Soon he met up with the baby sage hens. He

said “Get out of my way,” and started kicking the sage hens around

and they scattered in all directions. They hid under bushes and behind

rocks and tried to stay out of sight because they thought he might come

back and start kicking them around again. Soon the mother sage hen

came to find her babies and found that they were hiding. She asked,

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you hiding?” The baby sage hens

told her they were afraid of the fox, because he was all dressed up and

when he saw them he started

This text is long and has been trimmed here. Open the source document for the complete record.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.