Morning journal and courier., 1880-09-13
Chief Ouray,
His Life, His Religion and His Exploits in
 Peace and War.

From the Denver (CoL) Tribunel l h the death of Ouray one of the historical 1 characters of Colorado passes away He has I figured for many years as the greatest Indian ] of his time, and during his life has fioured quite as prominently before the country as has any white man in the Rocky Mountains.
 1t IS, therefore, meet and proper that on the occasion of his death his life should be re- membered The record of his deeds is one of simple parts, yet he has proven himself elevated so far above other men of his race
 ana tune that his acts stand out in bold re-
 lief OurEy was in many respects-indeed.
 we may say in all respects-a remarkable In-
 dian; man of pure instincts, of keen per- cept!on, and apparently possessed very pro per Ideas of justice and right, the friend of the white man and the protector of the Indi
 an; ever boldly asserting the rights of his tribe, and as continually doing all in his DOW
 CT to create favor for the white man with the Indian.
 Ouray's father married an Apache woman; hence the epithet which is so often sneerinR- ly applied to Ouray by those of the Indians who d1shked him, of being an 'tApache pa- poose." The Indians became so accustomed to associate with the Mexicans that some of them began to adopt the customs of this peo- ple and when Ouray's father and mother came to the conclusion that they wanted to be married, they quietly marched up to the little adobe church, which stands on the hill In the village at the Red River crossing, and had the priest perform the ceremony, just at any good Catholic would And when Ourav
 was born they took him to the same adobe
 building and had him baptized into the Cath
 olic church, the only instance on record of the kind.
 Ouray had long been chief among the
 Utes, but IS more renowned for his wisdom than his bravery. During his young man. hood; however, he was accustomed to lead the Ute braves to battle, and was very brave as well as successful fighter He generally planned well and fought bravely During these times the Utes were engaged in dead ly encounter with the Arrapahoes, Cheyen- nes and Sioux. It was war between the plain Indians and the mountain tribes. Ou- ray entered into the spirit which characteriz- ed his race with a will, and soon became a re- nowned warrior. He soon was famed for wisdom, and his counsel was sought by the
 Utes far and near. When the white men first began to settle in what is now Colorado, they found Ouray, chief of the Tabequache or Un- compahgre tribe, the largest band of the tribe and in great favor with the members of other bands, so that while he was not head chief, he was man of the greatest influence and power among his people. He was also disposed to be friendly toward the white set tiers, and soon became known as a mediator between the two races He continued using his authority and influence among his people until, as he expresses it, the year after Lin coln's death he was recognized as head chief by the Indians" In 1873 he acted as inter preter, and, in recognition of his services at that time and in the past the Government settled an annuity of $1 ,OO0 upon him, which he has since continued to draw regularly
 The Utes have had five wars with the Arra- pahoes, and Ouray said that during some of these he led as many as seven hundred war rlors to the battle field. The second war oc- cured about 1858 and some of the battles were fought just above where Denver stands Ouray had but thirty men with him, while theS SArrapahoes numbered seven hundred. They came upon the Utes in the morning. just before daylight, and took the mountain Indians completely by surprise. However, Ouray rallied his few warriors and they hur- riedly formed in a square, after retreating a short distance and, after fight which con tinued fourteen hours, repulsed the Arrapa- hoes
 It was during this fight that Ouray lost his little boy-the only son that had been born to him. He says that when he saw the Ara pahoes coming he threw water in the face of the child, then six years of age, for the pur- pose of awakening him, but failing in this he threw covering over him and left him to go and fight the invaders of the camp But the entire day passed before he could extri- cate himself from the entanglements involv- ing him, and when he did get away and have an opportunity to return to his tepee, his boy had disappeared and was never since seen by his father.
 Ouray lived in good style. He owned a farm, which is real garden spot, of 300 acres. Of this be cultivated about 100 acres, raising all kinds of cereals and vegetables He lived in neatly built and commodious adobe house built for him by the Government and neatly furnished and earpeted. He own ed great numbers of horses and good many cattle and sheep, and when he went out rode in a carriage which was present from ex- Governor McCook. He hired laborers from among the Mexicans and Indians and also expected his wife to do her share of the farm work. Ouray's wife, Chopeta, was kind hearted and very much like Ouray in her na- ture, being kind and ell-disposed toward the whites. The chief had become very much at tached to his present manner of living, and it is said was disposed to remain on his farm and surrender the reins of government to some young man.
 Although baptized into the Catholic church, Ouray did not profess the white man $ reig- ion. Senoughlbase is the Ute god, and in him Ouray believed. He said that when good people die they would go to a delightful place like beautiful valley, with clear stream of water running in it. there to meet with the friends and the spirits of friends who have gone before They will all meet there-friends, brothers and parents.