The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-19
Were Not Willing.

pushed through. that properly demahhs
deliberation and care
Were Not Willing.
Perhaps this will be as good place
as any to mention the sequel TO tne
| Irintah allotment. which has attracted
some public attention through exagge
rated tales printed in various parts OF
the country The Indian population OF
/ the JJintah reserve was divided De-
/ tween White river, Uintah and IN
! cornpahgres A large majority OF the
I White Rivers were never reconciled TO
the idea Of opening their country TO
| settlement They are the group least
advanced in civilization. In the spring
of 1905, before allotment began, dele
cations from all three bands visited
Washington with the purpose of learn
I ing from the authorities here just what
events were pending and having the
! significance thereof explained to them
Representatives of the Uncompahgres
and the Uintahs though not Disgusting
| their continued preference for the old
over the new order of things, neverthe-
| less indicated their readiness TO trust to
/ the government, but the White Rivers
held out to the last. insisting upon hear
ing the same facts repeated by the
president. secretary of the interior and
commissioner of Indian affairs and then
only half recognizing the inevitable
Returned Dissatisfied.
AT the official conference here they
made an urgent plea for permission for
their band to remove from the Uintah
reservation to some reservation where
no white people would disturb them. or
TO find homes in a forest reserve. When
repeatedly assured that these requests
could not be granted they returned TO
Utah i'm dissatisfied mood and did all
they could. short of actual violence, to
embaTrass the work of the allotting com
mission. A few weeks ago this Office
received information that a large part
of the White River band of both sexes
and all ages had left the reservation
and were starting for some point In
South Dakota. apparently uncertain
whether to settle down I'm the Black
Hills or to go on to Pine Ridge or Rose
| bud. To their ignorant minds any,
thing which still remains Indian coun-
try must be open TO all Indians equally
| for residence purposes. Their agent
followed them into Wyoming, intercept
ed them in their journey across that
state. and for several days counseled
with them. urging and adnonishing
them to return to their own country.
and trying to point out 10 them the use
lessness of going further with any such
project as they had in view.
Advice to the Utes.
when he announced that the Indians
were deaf to all reasoning and had de.
cided as d fnality to push on. / sent
him the following dispatch: If abso-
lutely certain you cannot induce the
Indians to abandon their intention, you
viii return TO the agency. Before do
ing so warn them that if they persist
| in disregarding your advice they must
take the responsibility for anything that
happens to them. Explain that the Cit
izenship to which they attribute their
independence has its burdens as well
( as its privileges, and that as citizens
they are liable 10 punishment by local
authorities for any unlawful acts they
may commit.
What will happen to these Indians,
who on any foreign reservation cannot
be recognized except as visitors OF per-
misted to stay very long in that char-
acter there is no prophesying. AS allot-
tees under the old law they are citizens,
and as citizens they are not subject 10
even the benevolent despotism exer-
cised over non-citiZen Indians by the
United States government
Cannot Be Forced 10 Return.
Il do not sec that there is am fed
eral authority which can convey them
back, fOrcibly and against their will
! 10 d country where they belong, except
+ by process provided by The constitution
to meet situations with which local au-
thOrities confess themselves unable 10
cope. The most that this office or de-
partment can do of it's own initiative
is to order their expulsion from any
( foreign reservation they may have pen
etrated and impose u fine Of 81 600 upon
any one OF them who returns without
permission. But. as they have no mon
ey the fine would be for all practical
purposes a nullity. Threats Of the
guardhouse would have no terrors for
the guardhouse would at least mean
I free food and shelter; and on the reser-
Walton. where much difficulty is expeT-
/ fenced in finding employment for In
dams already living there, no opening
seems TO offer itself for the utilization
/ of the labor of band of intruders I'M
/ der condemnation of vagrancy.
/ To forestall criticism that all this is
narrative of adventure rather than dis
I cussion of the allotment question.
may conclude by saying that the White
| River exodus means fresh troubles in
J Strengthening out the land tangIe at
/ Untah. These wandering Indians who
have not yet fairly identified themselves
/ with their allotments viii be all the
more difficult to identify after their ex-
eursion, even though they may return
! by and by Indeed, it may eventually
/ be impossible to determine the owners
of many tracts set apart for the White
/ River Ctes, Thus, through the defee-
/ tivenesS Of so many land titles, the de-
Yelopment of the country may be seri-
ously retarded