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Show 146 TALES OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS. of the unfortunate men, who were slain at the beginning of the outbreak, and buried them in a beautiful spot near the crystal waters of White River. He then started at the head of seven hundred men for the camp of the hostiles who held the captive women, and which he had every reason to believe was located on Grand or Blue river. After a march of about six hours he received orders to suspend operations against the Indians, as negotiations for peace were in progress, and it was believed they would agree to surrender the captives and deliver the warriors who had led the outbreak. The military and the country generally considered this a disgraceful termination of the campaign, but were, of course, powerless to prevent it. . Ouray, the head chief of the Utes, had started on a big hunt which was to have lasted three months, but news of the trouble at White River caused his speedy return. He sent a positive command to the hostile Utes to cease fighting. Ouray was renowned in his tribe for his wisdom, and his friendship for the white man made him very helpful in the material progress of Colorado. Up to the time of his death, in 1880, he lived at his home in the Uncompahgre with his wife, Chipeta, who, like Ouray, was kind and well disposed towards the whites. His home was a comfortable adobe built for him by the Government. He took great pleasure in cultivating his farm, and was anxious to surrender the reins of government to some younger man, desiring only to be known as Ouray, "the white man's friend." He had but one son, who was stolen from him by the Arapahoes during a war many years ago between the Utes and that tribe. It was a source of great grief to him. |
