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Show CHAPTER V The Confused Founding of a Reservation To recapitulate briefly, the pressures of the opposing forces in the territory of Utah caused President Lincoln to set aside the area of the Uintah Valley Reservation on October 3, 1861. His action was confirmed by Congress on May 5, 1864. As the Civil War came to an end, Superintendent 0. H. Irish, with the aid of leading Mormons, including Brigham Young, negotiated a treaty with the Utes. The terms of the treaty included the removal of the Utes to the Uintah Valley in consideration of substantial compensation from the federal government. The Senate failed to act on the ratification of the treaty, even though President Johnson recommended it, while a dispirited Ute tribe placed increasing pressure on the settlements in raids for food. This created a V most difficult situation for the Mormon populace. The Mormon settlers were new on the land and their numbers were few. Economic resources were limited and territorial aid was meager. Thus two entire counties and a score of new settlements were abandoned in the war. Once the Black Hawk War had reached a stage of limited action, the efforts to remove the Indians and keep them on their reservation began. |