Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-09-23

HIS WORDS OF SYMPATHY.
indian. are victims Of q conflict ne
tween state aud National
Laws.

The majority Of the Indians In Utah.
those who have been restrained from
crossing the Colorado line to hunt. arc
In distress.
An official Investigation into their
condition was ordered several days ago
BY BrlFadier General u. G. Merriam,
commanding the departments Of Color
ado and Missouri lie announced yes
tcriay. says Fridays Denver News.
that be had learned that the redskins
were practically poverty stricken. and
In need Of help.
Furthermore. General Merriam ac-
knowlodgcd that there IL a serious clash
between the state and national govern.
mcnts az to the rights OF these Indians
10 hunt on their old grounds In Color
ado and that the Indians are the VIC
Tins.
colorado, u course. is trying TO en-
force her own laws" continued General
Merriam. land among them Is that per-
tnining TO game. Hut hundreds OF years
ago. might say, these Indians who nrc
now driven back across the line were
enjoying their hunting grounds IN thia
State. When they were driven across
the line 10 their present reservation In
Utah the United States government
guaranteed that they should be
allowed 10 return TO these
agn,ing grounds and klll same same,
Understood aud appreciated The
right for them 10 so hunt In Colorado,
was part ~ the transaction involving
their movement Into Utah. This was
years before Colorado became n State
and had State laws. But Colorado en-
acts laws, aud among them ~ one pre-
venting the slaughter of game nt Ger
tain seasons u the year and preventing
the Indians from Utah crossing into
Colorado onto their old hunting
grounds. Here we have ease ~ n
creature ~ the United States ennctlnF
laws which are calculated 20 repeal or
dcadcn the laws ~ It's parent
III the state of Colorado wishes Ia
enact game laws IL has a right to. but
when the present ones were complied
there should have been a provision iu
them allowing the Utah Indians u cross
over tho line aud hunt upon thulr old
grounds. uH that privilege was granted
them by the United states government
when they were driven across the line
and has never been by that government
destroyed The Indians, iu my mind
NA.AHN ANN Nf"NAF 80 NNNANN NNNNNNNH NAMHA
ull these stories about outbreaks are
founded on little or nothing. But they
wish 10 hunt and Ca hunt upon their
old grounds. Hunting IL their natural
avocatlon. IL Il not serious when II has
been taken from them by
second partieH7 II Colorado ha,
the right to destroy thi
eject Of n privilege granted by the ma.
tlunnl government long before Colorado
had laws then there IL nothing more e
be- said
Recently investigated these In.
dlans. and I nnd that they are In dis.
trcas, The government does not give
them fortune. They cannot live upon
that They are engaged In agricultural
and cattle pursuits. but the majority Of
them are IN a wrctchodly poor condi,
ton ana In need of assistance. My
sympathlca are far from against the In,
dinna, You read of the Indians comlnf
over the line Tor game. ana In the next
paragraph you read Of the white mer
hulng this same game. Which has tht
more right TO do SOP
There are now from nfty 10 one hun,
drrd Indians across the line, and the
Eumc wurlous have been instructed /.
drive them back. using force II ncccs,
Hnry. The White Rocks agency. neal
Fort DucheHnc. Utah. has four tribes OF
Indians, namely the Ulntnh whit,
River. tnCompnhrrc and White River
utes, The total number IL aboul
100