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Show 126 Years of Loss, Years of Adjustment, 1882-1933 then allotted without the People taking part in what they were given. The Ute People's continued opposition, the government's bureaucratic slowness, and the remoteness of the area delayed the opening of the reservation until 28 August 1905. A little over one million acres of the land was set aside as the Uinta National Forest (much of this then used for grazing by non-Ute ranchers). The rest was opened for homestead and sale. (See Map p. 124) The announcement of the opening started a land rush. Stories were told of fabulous wealth in minerals and natural resources. Several hundred people located farms on the lands. But the land bubble burst. There was not sufficient water for irrigation, and the terrain was difficult to mine. Ironically, much of the land which the whites were so eager to take away from the People proved to be nearly worthless. By 1912 many of the new settlers were poverty striken.29 Mission to South Dakota, 1906-1908 The opening of the Uintah Reservation provoked a revolt. After their requests to be removed from the reservation to their own territory were not granted, from three to six hundred People (mainly White Rivers) gathered at what is now called Bridgeland with their horses, wagons and supplies. They did not want allotments, and they did not want whites moving onto their lands. They decided that they would leave the country. One of the leaders was Red Cap. He had begun to gather the dissatisfied Ute People at the Bear Dance in the spring of 1906. On that occasion he reminded the People that: "The white men have robbed us of our cattle, our pony grass, and our hunting ground."30 He advocated a league with the Sioux, the Crow, and all Northern tribes to bring force against the federal government. Other leaders of the group were Appah, Andrew Frank, and Sapaneis Cuch. The group traveled toward South Dakota. Legal considerations made it difficult to go after them with an armed force. However, their movements were closely watched and reported in the local newspapers. In Wyoming the People ran out of food and killed some cattle to eat. The citizens in the area were further alarmed. |