Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-03-26

SENDING THE UTEs To UTAH.
The first important item of business
for Mr.. Kirkwood, on taking charge of
the Interior Department, was a complaint
from a delegation of Indians that Carl
Schurz had swindled them.
Mr.. Kirkwood is likely to have his
hands full of such business, as soon as it
becomes well understood among the res
e~rvation Indians that Hayes and Schurz
are put aside; but he car hardly receive
information of any outrage conducted on
a larger scale than the one new com
planned of.
The case is that of Schurz' Ute treaty,
by which the Colorado Indians have been
dispossessed of about eleven million
acres of land, much of it supposed to be
Of much great mineral value, and much
more of it palpably of great agricultural
value. The Indians, in their protest to
Secretary Kirkwood, say that it was rep
resented to them that the white men
wanted the mountains and mineral lands
on their reservation ; but that now, after
giving up these, they are to be deprived
of nearly all their arabic lands, and have
not enough for living on, and for grazing
their ponies.
On examining the agreement, Mr..
Kirkwood finds that the facts are very
much as the Indians have feared. Not
content with any moderate plumber of
the Ute lands, solemnly assured to them
by treaty forever, Carl Schurz arranged
for seizing their acres by the millions,
and left them, out of their vast
and valuable heritage, only a pitiful
patch at the. junction of the Grand and
Gunnison rivers, with no hunting grounds,
nor even enough land for agriculture, in
case the Indians should desire to under.
take it.
But as if suspecting that this land SC
assigned would be unsuitable and in.
sufficient, Mr.. Schurz's agreement further
stipulated that in case the Grand and
Gunnison region should not be found
satisfactory, the Utes should be driven
out of Colorado altogether. Accordingly
Mr.. Kirkwood informs the complaining
Indians that he is sorry they are moi
pleased, but they can at least go still
f,rrthar frora }ha,- n1I 1o,oa. o,J .14ll<
down in Utah.
Such is one specimen of Mr.. Schurz's
Indian management. Spectators, squat
tiers and ~prospectors coveted the Ute
reservation, which had been assured tt
the tribe by national pledges, and was
owned by them under a perfect lega
title. Schurz caused a delegation of Ute
chiefs to be brought on to Washington
and there by turns talked and coerceG
them to give up their lands. He caused
a pledge of a large annual salary for tn.
most prominent Of them, Chief Ouray, tt
be written into the agreement, and alst
q provision for rewarding chiefs whit
should be of service. At the same tim
troops were sent upon the reservation
and . campaign Of determination wa
threatened. After holding out for week
the Ute chiefs consented to q certain
agreement but when they had gone t,
Washington Congress deliberately altered
it. The Utes, as a tribe, rejected tn,
compact unanimously T; and then, infa
nous as the fact is, Schurz's Commission
ers warned them that, unless they signet
it, Hayes Government would not be an
swerable for the invasion of the reserva
ton by the white men of Colorado il
overwhelming numbers.
Then they signed under compulsion
Granting that they knew what they wert
signing, they did not act of their free
will. But MI. Kirkwood says that they
have had had their money for the sale
which, being conveniently put in the
convenient form of cash, has already
found its way to the pockets of white
traders-and that they can either be
penned up in a small and unfertile piece
OF their once splendid reservation, or car
60 to Utah.
This is the result of Schurz's dealings
with one tribe of the Indians whom il
was made his special business to protect
against encroachment, plumber and ruin.