Omaha daily bee., 1895-12-07
THE NJMDLE UTEs.
| Remarkable Fents of Horscmnnship u
Whom EngnEcd in Wnrfnre.


when Engaged in Warfare.
At the time of my visit, says writer in
the Country Gentleman, there were a good
many of the Ute Indians in Colorado, and al
though not in open warfare, they were SLY
and thievish, and one had to be constantly
on his guard in camping out. l got a good
deal of amusement In studying the speci-
mems of the noble red man l met and had
a good many ideas that l had previously
held materially changed.
One old buck In the suburbs of Denver
had two squaws whom he kept constantly
at work tanning buckskins, the process con-
sisting mainly of kneading the hides hour
after hour with the knuckles. This occupa-
tion the squaws followed up for a good many
hours, seven days in a week, and got a large
amount of il-treatment and abuse as princi-
pal pay for their work. When one of them
had prepared meal OF antelope or jack
rabbit, the lord and master would sit down
and devour the principal portion of it, leav-
ing the remnants Of the rspast for his half
famished wives.
In physical endurance the Utes were no
match for the white frontiersman, as they
violated every law of health and every prin-
ciple of prudence. They gorged and starved
by turns. and If they had any money they
spent it for candy and pills. Their passion
for investing in patent medicines, and espe-
cially in pills. was wonderful and all-con-
suming, and this popularity was carefully
fostered by the druggists and grocers of
Denver. Doubtless pills helped them after
one of their gorging feasts. and this led to
their i-,discrimnate use of them at all times
when tired, lazy, or sick. Although not the
equal of white men in endurance and the
intelligent conserving Of health and strength
some of the Indians would perform wonder
full feats on horseback. @
One young buck gave exhibitions Of skill in
horseback riding and archery. In large
vacant lot in Denver dt was mostly vacant
lots in those days. he had planted post
eight or ten inches in diameter He would
ride In a circle around the post at distance
OF sixty yards radius. and shoot arrows at it
with his horse on a dead run He circled to
the left and rode with his left leg over the
horses back and his left arm over its neck,
holding his bow in his left hand, his right
passing under the horses neck and graspng
the bowsprlng. At the instant of shooting
his right eye would appear beneath the
horses nsck for second to aim the arrow,
and then the arrow would speed to its desti-
nation, hitting the post three times out of
four From the post, which represented the
enemy only his left leg and arm app: :ared in
view, his entire head and body being pro-
tected by the horse. He would shoot three
arrows in one circling around the post The
quiver holding the arrows was slung so the
open end just appeared above the right
shoulder
The arrows then and still in use were
wooden shafts, with heads cut from hoop
iron. The heads were triangular in shape,
Win u narrow ntck, WnlCH was inserted III q
split in the shaft and tightly bound in with
green rabbit gut deerskin thongs, which
shrunk in drying and made a union of great
permanence, The front edges were ground
sharp, and some of the bucks would shoot
with force enough to mortally wound
buffalo at thirty yards. In spite Of the COM
paratve cheapness of firearms at that time
every hardware store in the country being
stocked up with rifles sold by the govern
merft in the years succeeding the war-the
Indians did not take to their use very cor
daily, preferring as an everyday weapon the
bow and arrow. The lightness and simplicity
Of the bow and arrow, with the total alb
sence of any intricate machinery which he
could not repair himself, doubtless had some
thing to do with this choice.