The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1880-01-27
Tuesday, January az. 1880.
Drtyfne the Utes to War.

The New York Sun under the above
caption gives the Indian bureau whack
between the eyes, and pitches into Carl
Schurz rough shod. The Sun says:
A new device for breaking the truce in
Colorado and forcing the Utes out upon
the war path is now tried. On Saturday
last, CHIEF Douglass, applying tor rations
at the Los Pinos sAgeDcy, was refused by
Major Sherman, now in charge there
Thus, in the dead of winter. and at q
time when their attempts to hunt would
probably be interpreted as hostile, the
White River Utes are cut off from Gov.
eminent supplies, and are treated as
hostile in spite of the peace conference.
Only the other day Mr.. Carl Schurz, in
speaking of his treatment of the Utes, used
this language:
ut has never been held by the Department OF
the Interior that If individual OF the ote nstSa
committed q crime, the whole nation shoni. "
held respor stble and punished therefor
deem 1t my duty to do All can toTa5G wa and
present difficulties without an tnolan war anu
without doing injustice 70 any one
Nevertheless, in now cutting of the food
of the White River Utes and leaving them
TO starve. MIR. Schurz risks a war or
invites one; in forcing the innocent to
hunger as we'll as the guilty, he does the
Injustice which he declared it his duty to
avoid; in unjustly and iuhumanly constru-
ing provision of the Ute treaty, re
curing the surrender of offenders. as
releasing the Government from it's
duty to supply food, he Furnishes
the whole tribe for the act of few.
But this device, which has caused deep
discomfort among both the Uncompahgre
and White River Utes, is only the latest
of long series of efforts to push the Utes
20 ho HalF hau0
not yet been told to the House Investjga-
ting Committee. but enough has been
made known TO show that the original
provocstions to the outbreak came from
Mr.. Scburz's own men. Hitherto the
official aim has been to fasten public atten-
tion exclusively on the conduct of the In
dams afteri they went to war, and SO to
divert it from the caucus that drove them
to war,
Gen. Adams, one of Mr.. sSchurz's own
commissioners, tells the House Commit
tee that Meeker was overbearipg with the
Utes; that heidrove them twelve miles from
the agency, around which their camp used to
be; that he removed them again, because
he wanted TO plough on the lands they
occupied; that he threatened them with
punishment by the soldiers, which was the
cause of their taking up arms.
Mr.. Leeds says the Indian Bureau fail
ed to send the supplies of food and the
farm tools due under the treaty, Gen.
Fisk shows that bureau neglect forced the
Utes to travel IT'S miles TO RawliDs for
food, and that -four needed at W hite River
stayed at Rawlins until it rotted. There
is plenty of such evidence before the Com
mittee; yet much of it had been made
known to the Indian Bureau by Meeker's
predecessor, Mr.. E. H. Danforth, as long
ago as 1877, This is tbs language of Mr..
Danforth's report:
1.-The annuities and supplies furnished these
Indians amount to- at q liberal estimst tie, not over
the annuity goods and but part of their supplies
mare reached this agency during the year. Goods
purchased in August last year have been lying at
the railroad depot, ITS miles away, since Novem-
Der last, period OF over nine months. Flour pur-
chased the LIST of June is still at Rawlins cloth
ing blank cts. implements, utensils of any kind
have been issued at this agency for nearly two
years; no -four, except once, fifteen pounds to q
family, since last May
And now, unless the Utes, ignoring
these shameful violations of n contract
under which their own part was long ago
fulfilled. ignoring also their sufferiDgs
from bureau neglect aud from agency
tyranny, will acknowledge their late out
break to have been unprovoked, by the
cruel token OF delivering up twelve of their
number to be hanged, MIR. Schurz proposes
to starve them, man, woman, and child, or
else drive them to the warpath in despair.
Then viii follow that spoilation!ot the Ute
lands which is the end and object of all
these performances"