History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 23

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 1080

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After dinner, court was called, with Johnson still at the bat, Douglass on deck, Gen. Adams short-stop, and Ouray center field.

Q .- You say you were not present at the massacre at White River ; were you ever engaged in any massacre ?

Objected to, but objection afterward withdrawn. A .- No.

Q .- Never ?

A .- Never.

Q .- What ! never ?

A .- Well, dam seldom.

Great applause and cries of "Ugh !"

Q .- Did you or did you not know a man named

N. C. Meeker, or Father Meeker ?

A .- Yes.

Q .- Go on and state if you know where you met him, and at what time.

A .- I met him at Greeley, two or three years ago. After that, I heard he got appointed Indian Agent somewhere out West.

Q .- Did you ever hear anything of him after that ?

A .- Nothing whatever.

Q .- Did the account of the White River mas- sacre which you read mention the death of Mr. Meeker ?

A .- No. Is he dead?

Gen. Adams .- Yes, he is dead.

At that announcement the witness gave a wild whoop of pain and anguish, fell forward into the arms of Gen. Adams and is still unconscious as we go to press.

We do not wish to censure Gen. Adams. No douht he is conducting the investigation to the best of his ability; but he ought to break such news to the Indians as gently as possible.

Ridiculous as this nonsense may sound, it was almost duplicated a few days later by the testimony of Sowerwick, an Indian upon whom Gen. Adams relied for "reliable " testimony. Sowerwick said that he knew nothing and had heard nothing about any trouble at the Agency; whereupon Adams asked him how the women and children happened to be captives in the Indian camp. He denied all knowledge of the captives, too, though Adams had met him and talked with him when

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the prisoners were recovered, and Sowerwick had taken an active part in the council which was held before the prisoners were surrendered.

Said Adams, " Now, Sowerwick, didn't I meet you in the captive camp, on Plateau Creek, and didn't I talk with you in your own tent about the women and children ? "

Adams in the eye, and unblushingly answered, " No."

It was a monumental falsehood, for Adams had known Sowerwick intimately for years, and could not possibly be mistaken. Moreover, the Indian had not denied or attempted to conceal his iden- tity at the time mentioned, but had met Adams as an old friend whom he was glad to see, even under circumstances which, ordinarily, might be embar- rassing.

Of course nothing was gained by such testi- mony, and finally Gen. Hatch refused to hear any more of it. Ouray was also terribly disgusted, but was powerless to compel the Indians to testify. They were afraid to say anything, lest they should give themselves away. They were terribly suspi- cious of the Commission, and Ouray was com- pelled to guard the white men at the Agency, to save them from assassination. Richelieu was com- pletely nonplused. He begged for time, which was granted him, and which he used in haranguing the Indians, but to no avail. The story of the Agency massacre never passed their lips.

The testimony of the captives was read to Ouray, and objected to by him as "squaw-talk." Hatch and Adams, however, said the testimony should stand unless disproved by the Indians im- plicated. Another lease of time was asked and granted by direction of Schurz.

Days dragged into weeks and weeks dragged away. At last Ouray announced a grand coup. Jack and Colorow were coming in. They came. They mounted the witness stand. They acknowl- edged their leadership in the attack on Thorn- burg, and told the story of the fight-told it straight, too, but of course laid all the blame on

poor dead and gone Thornburg. They didn't want to fight; oh no. They were driven into the battle by a stress of unfortunate circumstances, over which they had no control. If they had been printers, no doubt they would have called it a typographieal error.

Finally, after exhausting the story of the Milk The innocent savage turned half around to look , River "accident," they were asked about the Meeker massacre, and every ear was strained to hear the first syllable of their reply. The first syllable was "katch." It was also the last and the middle and the whole answer. "Katch " has no English synonym; it is too expressive for that. It means, in a general way, that the speaker has no information on the subject, and nothing to say. And thus ignominiously was ended the hearing of testimony by the Ute Peace Commission-testi- mony as valueless as can be imagined.

There was great curiosity in Colorado to know why Jack and Colorow came forward and testified so freely about the Thornburg fight; but curiosity was soon exchanged for disgust when it became known that they testified under a guarantee of immunity from punishment. It appeared that an arrangement was effected between Schurz, Ouray and Jack (a sort of tripartite alliance), by which Jack and his band were to be whitewashed, pro- vided they came forward and testified and consented to the surrender of the "squaw Indians," Doug- lass, Johnson, et al., or, rather, the surrender of twelve of them named by the captives as partici- pants in the Agency massacre. But the crafty savages, as usual, got the best of Mr. Schurz. They only testified to what he knew already, and to what everybody knew. They paused at the very point where their testimony might have proved valuable.

The next question was in relation to the surren- der of the twelve assassins already spotted, and more time was asked, as usual, and, as usual, was given-by orders from Washington. The Indians assembled at Ouray's house and deliberated for several days, varying the monotony by an occa- sional war-dance, in which Ouray (although,

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

169

nominally, one of the "Peace" Commissioners) joined, in full war-paint and feathers.

Finally, the Commission was reconvened to hear the verdict of the defendants. The Indians came in heavily armed, and filled the council-room. Ouray announced the ultimatum. The twelve would be surrendered, provided they could be tried at Washington. Colorado justice had no charms for them. Colorado was all against the Utes. The Commission was against them. Adams and Hatch were their enemies. The poor Indians had no friends this side of Washington. The twelve must be tried there, and a delegation of chiefs, headed by Ouray, must go and see fair play, talk with the President, and have a good time generally.

Adams withdrew in disgust, but that stern war- rior, Gen. Hatch, opened out on the Indians with

undisguised bitterness. His remarks were inter- rupted by Colorow drawing his knife and throwing it down on the floor- the gauge of battle. Every other Indian drew a knife or revolver, but as the whites present made no answering demonstration, no conflict resulted.

The conference broke up in disorder, and the Indian demand was telegraphed to Washington, whence the answer came back that the ignomini- ous terms must be accepted. Further time was then demanded for the surrender of the twelve, and that, too, was granted. It has now expired, however, and the surrender has not been made, though Ouray still promises that it shall be done. Perhaps it will, as the twelve have little to fear from the results of a trial-at Wash- ington.

CHAPTER X.

THE UTE QUESTION IN CONGRESS.

D EEPLY disappointed, not only with the results of the negotiations just noted, but still more deeply at the failure of the Government to allow the troops an opportunity of settling with the still hostile Utes, the eyes of the people turned naturally to Congress, as a court of last resort, where the foul wrongs which they had suffered would be atoned in some measure. They were pre- pared,'by the experiences of the past few weeks, to see the Meeker and Thornburg assassins go un- punished, but they insisted that Colorado could no longer shelter the savages whose hands were still steeped in blood.

Congress assembled on the 1st day of Decem- ber. Senators Teller and Hill and Representative Belford were in attendance, and, early in the ses- sion, introduced several separate measures for the removal of the Utes from Colorado, claiming, in general terms, that the Indians had forfeited their rights under the Brunot treaty, by which they bound themselves to live in peace with the whites.

Judge Belford's bill for their removal did not sug- gest any asylum for the assassins, but simply pro- vided that they must depart from Colorado. Sena- tor Teller introduced a joint resolution to the same effect. Senator Hill's measure authorized the President to treat with them, with a view to their removal. It would have been better, perhaps, if the three movements had been consolidated in a simple demand for their removal, leaving all else out of consideration.

The first opposition to the bill came from West- ern and Southern members, who suspected that the design was to remove the Utes to the Indian Territory. This was met and silenced by a pro- viso that the Indian Territory should not be selected for their residence.

Then the real opposition to their removal to any point began to be manifested in various forms. The question was raised as to whether the South- ern tribes had done anything to demand their removal from the State. Then somebody wanted

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to know whether the outbreak had not been the natural result of "encroachments " on the reserva- tion. Secretary Schurz and Commissioner Hayt were each on record with statements that the miners were crowding the poor Indians uncomfort- ably on their 12,000,000 acres.

This was, of course, vigorously disputed, not only by the Colorado delegation but by many other members who knew, by personal observation, how false it was. Many Congressmen had visited Colorado during the summer, and each one of them sided with our own members.

Senator Teller introduced a resolution requiring the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to substantiate his statement that miners were on the reservation by detailed accounts of the " encroachments " to which he had referred in his report to Congress. The resolution directed him not only to specify the violations of the Brunot Treaty by white settlers, but also to state what steps, if any, the Indian Bureau had taken to protect the reservation, as required by the treaty " and such other informa- tion as was in his possession," for the information of the Senate.

To this resolution there has been no response, as yet, and none is expected-for the sufficient reason that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs cannot point to one violation of the treaty by white men. The Utes have looked out for that themselves. It has been death for a white man to violate the treaty.

As a part of the history of Colorado Indian troubles, and to show the temper of Congress on the question, the following report of one of the debates in the House of Representatives is repro- duced :

" WASHINGTON, December 19 .- In the House yesterday, the Chairman of the Committee on In- dian Affairs reported back the Senate bill author- izing the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with the Ute Indians for the relinquishment of their reservation in Colorado, and their removal and settlement, with amendments requiring the con- sent of the Indians to the cession of any part of

their reservation, and providing that no agreement shall be valid unless agreed to by three-fourths of all adult males who have not forfeited their treaty rights, and unless confirmed by Congress.

" Mr. Springer said the time had arrived when civilization had reached the boundaries of the Ute reservation, and all efforts to preserve peace there would be futile in the future. Congress must look, then, at the question squarely, fairly and plainly, and must decide it in the interest of justice. He did not believe in treating with the Indians as equals; he believed in the policy of regarding the whole of the lands within the limits of jurisdiction as public domain, and Indians as citizens of the United States, and of teaching them to obey the law, and to understand that, when they killed inno- cent persons, they were guilty of murder.

" Mr. Belford stated that the Ute reservation, in Colorado, consisted of 12,000,000 acres, or 4,000 for every man, woman and child, in the Ute tribe. He was opposed to the committee amendments to the Senate bill, and he predicted that if they were adopted, that next year would witness a renewal of the conflict which had recently attracted the atten- tion of the country. He challenged Conger, or any officer of the Interior Department, to point his finger to a complaint ever made by the Ute Indians against the people of Colorado. If those amendments were adopted, as certain as God reigned above, next spring the teeming thousands which would pour into Colorado would cross the line of that reservation, and would prospect the mountains for mineral wealth, and the Government would not have the power to arrest the progress of the vast tribe. If the Government desired to pre- vent war and protect the people of Colorado, it must provide some method that would secure the removal of the Indians from the State. In com- ing to Washington to take his seat, he had passed through large States, every acre of which has been stolen from the Indians; and, the gentleman said, ' while our fathers robbed the Indians, we want you to belong to the goody class of people in the West.' He called the attention of Conger to the fact that

Short. Graven. In.D.

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the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1878, showed that more frauds had been com- mitted against the Indians in Michigan than in any other State or Territory.

" Mr. Hooker said that Belford and Springer pro- posed, in violation of the most solemn treaties, to rob the Indians of the territory which had been conceded to them by the Government. If they were a powerful nation, with a great army at their backs which could point cannon at their faces and demand justice, these gentlemen would not dare to take the position they do. He held the Govern- ment was powerful enough to do what was right, and to see that justice was done, even though the people who demand it demand it in the name of law and moral right, and not because they have physical power to compel it.

"Mr. Belford said the tide of civilization-of Anglo-Saxon civilization-is sweeping over the country, and that the Indians must yield to it.

"Mr. Conger asked what sort of bill this was which required for its sanction and support a ref- erence to all the world-renowned rascalities prac- ticed on the Indians since the discovery of America. This great nation had made a treaty eleven years ago with a mountain tribe of Indians, by which those Indians were permitted to go far into unknown mountains, supposed to be uninhab- itable by civilized people, and remain there. They had been driven away from all the land which it was then thought the avarice and greed of white men might desire. But now the enterprise and avidity of the white man had discovered treasures of silver and gold in the neighborhood of these mountains, and one had been found within twenty- five miles of the Ute reservation. In former years, men had waited until miners or agriculturists had stepped over the lines of Indian reservations, but now they were becoming bolder, and now as soon as they came in sight of the mountains-as soon as they came in sight of the foot-hills, twenty- five miles off, the Commissioners appointed to protect the Indians in their rights, brought in a bill to remove the Indians from their territory and

reservation. The whites had not yet passed into their reservation.

" Mr. Haskell denied the last statement, and said already the mountains to the east of Leadville and in the Ute reservation were filled with miners, and the conflict with those miners brought about these difficulties.

" Mr. Conger asked why have the miners gone on this reservation ? Why have the citizens of the United States violated the treaty ? Because they have power to go there, and because they can make a disturbance there and excite the Indians, and can then rush to Congress and demand that the Indians be driven from their reservation. The history of the past and the history of the present run on all fours.

" Mr. Belford-I most emphatically deny that the people of Colorado have given these Indians any occasion for the late outrages, and I challenge the gentleman to point to anything of the kind. The statement of the gentleman from Kansas, Haskell, is not correct.

" Mr. Conger-I thought it was not correct, but I did not dare to correct it myself. I was feeling my way.

" Mr. Haskell-I re-assert what I asserted be- fore, that the miners are on that reservation to- day.

" Mr. Conger-I do not enter into the question of veracity between these gentlemen. My friend from Kansas may, possibly, be able to stand on the plains of Kansas and know more about what is taking place on the mountains of Colorado than the gentleman from that State knows. (Laughter.) If there be any trouble there, it has arisen from the violation by the citizens of the United States of the treaty made within eleven years, and the gov- ernment, it seems, has taken no pains whatever to enforce the treaty, and to keep out of this Indian reservation those who have no right to go there. The very battle to which allusion has often been made, the very fight with our troops, was caused by sending an armed force into the reservation contrary to treaty stipulations, and without notice.

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" Mr. Belford-They were sent at the request. of the Agent.

" Mr. Conger-That may be; it was because in- dividual miners went over the bounds of the reservation and violated the treaty, that all the trouble had arisen. I venture to assert that fair investigation will show that more than nineteen- twentieths of our Indian troubles from the com- mencement of the Government till now have been caused by the violation of the treaty on the part of our citizens. I assert that the provisions of this bill are in violation of the treaty itself, which pro- vides that there shall be no concession of territory except with the consent of three-fourths of the male Indians. I condemn the bill because Con- gress has no right to resolve that no agreement be made to break a treaty made with any power; I oppose the bill because it is unjust to the Indians ; I oppose it because its very advocates say that the Indians must be removed, because they are in the way of the white men ; I oppose it because it pro- vides that these Indians shall be located in some other part of Colorado; I oppose it because I think it the duty of the United States, with the strong arm of its power, to protect the Indians in their reservation."

Mr. Conger represents a State (Michigan) which, more than any other in the Union, has, in the past, defrauded the Indians of their rights; but of course that does not matter if Colorado is no nearer right than Michigan was when she drove out the Indians, to possess herself of their inher- itance.

It is not a question of comparison, but of fact. If the Utes of Colorado have, as Mr. Belford claims, forfeited their treaty rights by outlawry and resistance, why should the " strong arm of the Government " reach out to " protect the Indians in their reservation ? "

The duty of the Government to protect the Indians existed when the latter were living at peace with the Government; and if there had been, as there were not, any "encroachments" upon the reservation hy white men, it was clearly

the duty of the Government to have removed the usurpers. It was also the duty of the Govern- ment to protect the people of Colorado from Indian encroachments and outrages, by keeping the latter on their reservation at the same time the whites were kept off of it. But the Government did neither.

It left the Indians free to roam over the entire State at will, armed and equipped for robbery, arson and murder, all of which crimes have been committed from year to year, until the very day when Mr. Conger rose in his place and demanded -what ? Not that the murderous and trespass- ing Utes should be restrained, but that they should be " protected." Congress has no power, says Mr. Conger, to break a treaty. Then the Utes are more potent than Congress, for assuredly they have broken the treaty of 1868, and have defied the " strong arm of the Government," by making war upon its army and massacreing its Agents.

Apparently, however, there is no power on earth which will convince the East that Colorado does not want the Utes removed, in order that she may inherit after them. Even if this were as true as it is false, there would be both reason and justice in the demand. Their reservation is enor- mously too large for their diminished numbers, and its mineral wealth is of no value to them what- ever. They ceded the rich San Juan country to the United States for a consideration, and it has more than repaid the outlay already, while the Utes themselves are no poorer, or would not be if the Interior Department would pay them their just dues. Now the Government might go down into its pocket a little deeper and buy the rest of the reservation, with equal or exceeding profit. Pay the Indians as much or as little as may be neces- sary for their land. Colorado does not demand that they shall be robbed, even by the Indian Bureau.

Congress cannot be expected, however, to rise above the influences of the Interior Department in this Ute business, and the people of Colorado

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expect little from that quarter. A " delegation" of Indians is going on to Washington, and the average Congressman is no match for the guileless child of the forest when the latter has a grievance. Ouray will have a larger, more sym- pathetic and far more powerful audience at the Capitol than Teller, Hill and Belford combined. Capt. Jack will be the hero of the day-the Indian who whipped Thornburg in a " fair fight" -so called by the Ute apologists, although the brave men who died with Thornburg in that death- canon of Milk River may have entertained a dif- ferent idea as to the fairness of that foul attack. Capt. Jack will claim that it was a fair fight, of course. Congress will believe him, and the penny- a-liners will dilate upon the " wrongs " of the poor Indian, ad nauseam. After settling the Ute question to suit themselves, the Indians will come back to Colorado and become ten times- more intolerant and dangerous. than before, feeling that they have nothing to fear from the "strong. arm" of the paternal but, apparently, idiotic Gov- ernment

The Ute war is not over, though a truce is called for the moment. The inquiry now in progress at Washington as to the merits of the matter is too superficial and ex parte to result in anything but a complete surrender to the Indians. Apparently. there is no disposition to hear white testimony on

the question. The House Committee on Indian Affairs was, some time since, notified that Gov. Pitkin, of Colorado, was a material and competent witness for his people; but, while a palace car load of Utes are sent on, at Government expense, to justify the murders committed by themselves and their kinsmen, the Governor of the commonwealth is not even asked to be present when they are examined, nor is it known that a single white man, other than Government agents, will be present with them in Washington.

The result will be, no doubt, that Congress will do nothing toward their removal or better manage- ment, and, in the early spring, there will be more and greater troubles between the hostile Utes and the white settlers, but with this difference-the whites will not get the worst of it in the next encounters. The misfortune of this will be that, in addition to the inevitable casualities of these conflicts, the people of the State will be accused of waging a mercenary war upon the Utes. In that case, they must answer that the "strong arm" of the Government was not raised for their pro- tection, and it became a virtuous necessity to defend themselves. The blood of the martyred Meeker cried from the ground in vain to the Government in whose service he was assassinated, but the brave men of Colorado are not deaf to its demands.

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CHAPTER XI.

THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE UTE QUESTION.

TN carrying out the farce known as the " Peace Commission," appointed to ascertain the guilty ones implicated in the Ute rebellion and the Meeker massacre, and to perfect some plan of settlement, the twelve guilty Indians were at last settled upon. When this much had been done, their work came to a halt for several days, and seemed at one time almost certain to prove fruitless of good. A de- mand had been made for these guilty wretches, but it was only after extending the time, during which they were to deliver over as prisoners these parties, two or three times, and after making all sorts of promises as to the fair treatment they should re- ceive, and using all the persuasive means possible, that at last a majority of those called for were brought forth and delivered up. It was then pro- vided by the Government that they should go to Washington, accompanied by several other promi- nent members of the tribe, and that the Commis- sioners' duties be continued at that place. Accord- ingly they were taken to Washington in high style, fed on the fat of the land during the further session of the Commission, and finally all returned to the reservation and turned loose, with one exception, in order that they might be again at liberty to commit such other outrages as they felt disposed. Chief Douglas, however, was imprisoned at Leav- enworth, where he " held the fort " until a few months ago, when he was released and returned to his tribe, and is now at Los Pinos in a state of real or pretended lunacy, and thus it is that the Gov- ernment has punished the murderers of Col. Thorn- burgh, Agent Meeker and their companions.

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History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 23

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 1080

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 1080