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Show [ They] asked me to have the commission write to Washington and tell them this was wrong and ask Washington to have them treated right. 81 The efforts of the commission to make allotments and secure consent failed. The commission was relieved from duty February 4, 1896.82 The Dawes or General Allotment Act of 1887 envisioned the allotment to Indians of individual tracts of reservation land for use as farms. Most of the Uncompahgre Reservation land was not agricultural. 83 Even that area originally selected by the Ute commission of 1881 ( see p. 14) did not contain sufficient agricultural land. Therefore, the Indian Service decided to assign to some Uncompahgres lands north along the Duchesne River - within the Uintah Reservation. The consent of the Uintah and White River Utes was supposed not to be difficult to obtain. However, a more experienced observer, Agent Randlett, noted: ... it should not prove surprising if the Uintah Reservation Indians plead that the Government respect their legal right to be consulted in this matter and not to establish a precedent for arbitrarily violating justice and equity in disposing of their legal possessions. 84 An agreement to relinquish lands on the Uintah Reservation for Ute allotment of lands to the Uncompahgre was not signed until January 8, 1898.8- On June 7, 1897, Congress passed an act requiring all allotments in severalty to be made by April 1, 1898 and providing that all lands not allotted to be opened to settlement. 86 There was no provision to negotiate nor to obtain consent of the Uncompahgres. Ironically, a provision of the act reserved title to the United States of all lands containing " gilsonite, asphalt, or other like substances." The gilsonite interests were dismayed at the reserving of mineral lands to the United States. The federal authorities seem to have been undecided as to the best method of disposing of the gilsonite lands. It was not until March 3, 1903, that Congress finally adopted a compromise plan for opening to claim the sections on the Uncompahgre Reservation containing asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances. 87 With the announcement of the new allotment program came some protests. Agent Randlett contended that the Allotment Act ( June 7, 1897): ... is the result of four years' discussion in Congress, originating through the schemes of parties seeking possession of the valuable asphaltum deposits found upon the reservation. It is regretted by all interested in the welfare of these Indians that this result was reached without making provisions for locating these Indians upon homesteads, as promised in the treaty made with them in 1880; and it is hoped that the matter will be reconsidered by Congress separated from the interests of the rich asphaltum sharks, whose schemes have brought nothing good to themselves and only fruited 20 |