Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-16
TROOPS MAY BE NEEDED
UTES CARRYING THINGS WITH A
HIGH HAND.

Gov Brooks of Wyoming has not yet
made any formal request on the Secretary
| Of the Interior for troops to curb the I'M
| ruly Utes who have broken out of their
reservation in Utah and are having a gen.
eral shooting holiday through the COM
| monwealth Of Wyoming. The Secretary of
the Interior, in response to several COM
| munications from the governor has said
that troops will not he sent unless asked
for, and now the next move is up to the
governor. The only communication on the
subject that had been received by the In
terror Department today was a message
from Inspector Mclaughlin this morning
saying that he had corralled forty of the
more tractable Utes and turned them over
to their agent who had come over into
Wyoming to get them.
The history of this uprising, which so far
has not been accompanied with any blood
shed except that from slaughtered sheep
and game dates back couple of weeks or
twenty years. as one chooses to look at
1t. The Utes in question are some Of the
old band who took part in the Meeker mas
sacre in Colorado two decades ago. There
are good many ugly individuals in the
band and they are now armed to the teeth
with the best brand of repeating rifles on
the best frewater the country affords. It
may be said, however, that they do not buy
the best, taking the worst by preference.
Outbreak of the Utes,
The Indians have been dissatisfied and
ugly for long time, and there have been
number Of tribal f1are-ups. The last
trouble came when a band Of about 800
left the reservation and went north into
wyoming. They headed across country
and camped for awhile near Douglas.
Then the state authorities notified the
indian off1ce that their pets had got out
or hand and were mussing up the seen
cry, and please to take them away. This
the Indian office would have been glad to
do but the Utes would not be taken.
The interior Department sent Inspector
Mclaughlin, one of the best men in the
Douglas he found no Indians, and the
report was that they had headed north
and were apparently going over the line
into the Dakotas or on their way to visit
their old friends and enemies. the Crows
up In Montana. Sheep men reported that
they We're in the neighborhood of Gill
lette, In the northeast corner Of Wyo-
ming, drinking, shooting up the country
and having a glorious time generally
Mclaughlin started after them again
and got the forty, as before mentioned
but that was all he could get, and the
question now remains whether the troops
Will be requested to handle them.
Chary About Using Troops.
lie IeUeFdi autnOrltleS nave been chary
of mixing the War Department up in the
game for several reasons They do not want
to send troops to deal with the Indians till
the civil authorities have exhausted all
means ar-their command to control them
Then the situation Is further complicated
by the fact that these Utes are land-in-
severalty Indians and as such are citizens
of the United States They have the same
inalienabe right to get drunk and shoot
up the state of Wyoming as any other citi-
zen and If they become boisterous the legal
thing for the local authorities to do is to
jug" them for disorderly conduct.
Now, the job of 'vagging" 800 Indian
braves armed with Winchesters and loaded
with whisky and other ammunition is not
what the average county constable thinks
he is paid for. II the troops are requested
and sent there may be a bad mix -up, for
the Indians are thoroughly out of hand and
could put up fight that would take the
west back twenty-five years to the days
of real Indian outbreaks. Which horn Of
the dilemma Gov. Brooks will take has not
yet been divulged, but if anybody wants to
apply right now for the job of sheriff at
Gillette he probably can get 1t without
much local opposition.