The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-10-11
THEIR GRIEVANCES.

1t is not supposable that the Ute Indians
have entered upon the warpath without
a gricyance, real or imaginary. Unhappi.
", as IN most of our Indian troubles, the
grievance of the red man is again of char.
acter to amount to almost to full justification,
The trouble with the Utcs is by no means Of
recent origin. Claiming to own most Of the
western half Of Colorado their possessions
were invaded as long ago as 1870, and finally
in 1872 a treaty was formed with them by
which they ccdcd to the United States large
portion of their territory, including the pres.
cnt city Of Leadvillc, for 100000. But will
it be credited, no, dollar of the money was
ever paid, However there were a couple Of
agencies established among them, one on
White River and the other known as the Pinos
agency, and the Indians being literally sup
piled from both with provisions and other
necessities, and their children educated in
missionary schools the whites were enabled
to keep them in pretty good humor. Within
the last year or two, however, the miners, in
their search for gold and silver, have been
rapidly encroaching on their reservations far
beyond the boundaries of the unpald,for ces,
sion of 1872, and this has tended daily to
make the Indians more FESTIVE Now coming
down to the immediate cause of the late out
break, it appears from Agent Meeker's own
report, that he had had last summer tract Of
land near the White River agency plowed up
which the Indians-and no doubt justly
claimed as their own, and which they had
found very useful as grazing spot and corral
for their horses The dispute grew so hot
Father Meeker IN his logged way claiming
that it was putting the ground to much better
use to raise grain OIL it than to keep il for graz
ing purposes that finally the Indians threat
ened violence, and Meeker tauntingly told
them he had called upon the government for
troops, and when they came he would have
the refractory Indians punished. 1t needed
only positive information on the part of the
Indians that Thornburgh was on his way to-
Meeker's and to light the fires of war The
first step was to massacre the agent Meeker
and the men in the employ of the agency, and
then to advance and meet Thornburgh and his
little command.
The question is, under such state of facts,
are the Utes greatly to blame for resorting tol
the only means of redressing their grievances
that an Indian knows of? To copy the Ian.
guage Of the st. Louis Republican,: "They
had sold their land and received no money for
it. The land they had not sold, and in the
undisturbed possession Of which they were to
be protected, has been invaded by the whites,
and they have been made to see their fate
which is complete expulsion from Colorado
is it any wonder that they have attempted to
avenge this open and fragrant violation of the
treaty and struck blindly and fiercely at their
fate? Would not white men, under the same
circumstances have done the same? Can the
crime of which the government is confessedly
guilty be covered up or excused by calling the
occurred-'lazy, thleving, numbering vaga-
bonds p"
Nevertheless the war having begun, there is
no help but to prosecute it to the end. The
news of the massacre of Meeker and his com
panlons will Of course be carried to every In.
dian lodge in the west and to allow it to go
UNPUBLISHED would be placing every agency
and border settlement in immediate and immi.
nent peril. Just or unjust now, the necessity
is as unavoidable as it is dire, that the power
of the government must be exhibited in such
as way as to demonstrate that it can never be
safely defed