OCR Text |
Show 66 Ute Delegations, 1863-1905 Army. Then the leaders were taken to New York City. There they attended the P.T. Barnum Show. In June they returned to the West, going by train as far as St. Joseph, Missouri. They were escorted to Colorado by the First Colorado Cavalry.2 While in Washington the Ute leaders demanded justice. Ouray explained: I, and my party came here because we wished to come. You may give presents to other Indians, but we don't want any presents. You want our land because there is plenty of gold there, but all you are willing to give us is copper. Do you think we are fools? You talk as if you could whip us. You are now fighting with your own brothers and can't whip them. [Civil War] You will find it harder to whip us. We wish to go home, and when we get there, we may be willing to make a treaty.3 However, the Ute leaders were greatly impressed on this trip by the wealth and military power of the United States. How greatly is shown in an incident which occurred soon after the delegation returned home. A group of Taviwach was accused of stealing horses and other livestock in the Fort Halleck area. A group of soldiers from the Fort came upon the group and demanded that they give up the livestock. The People refused, stating that they had captured them from the Sioux. A fight occurred in which one soldier was killed and four wounded. The People escaped with their horses and started gathering a larger force together to confront the whites. However, the Ute leaders, who had recently returned from the East and had seen the power of the government, stopped these efforts. They explained that: "The government had enough soldiers to surround their whole immense country and close in on them to wipe them from the face of the earth."4 1868 Delegation In January 1868 it was decided to bring another Ute delegation to Washington to convince them to sign another treaty. Ute leaders of the Parianuche, Uintah, Yamparika, Taviwach, Moache, and Kapota traveled across the country with Superintendent Alexander Hunt and Agents Head and Carson. Hunt decided the leaders were poorly dressed and ordered each a plain coarse suit, woolen shirts, sock, neckties, and drawers. He also spent $100 buying tobacco, fruit, cigarettes, and fancy articles for them. |