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Show for in said agreement. 42 In this way the LItes would receive compensation for their land. The Commissioner's hopes and ideas were good, but were not realized. Congress failed to pass the bill that would have given final Government approval to the negotiations. With the failure of Congress to ratify the agreement, affairs on the Southern Ute Reservation came to a standstill. Because the agreement for removal had been signed by the leaders of the Southern Ute Bands, their agent assumed Congress would react favorably to removal and did not attempt to improve the condition of the agency buildings located near Ignacio. A letter from the Office of Indian Affairs, dated February 7, 1878, informed him of the contemplated removal and directed that no further attempts to improve the reservation were to be made. At the time of this directive only two buildings had been constructed at the agency location; one was used as a storehouse and the second was a three room dwelling. 43 From these two small buildings the agent, F. H. Weaver, was expected to serve the needs of some 800 Utes who had reported to the agency for rations. 44 The task was impossible, yet arrangements for better conditions for the Utes were not made, a'nd these people were forced to live in a state of " limbo." This state of " limbo" was complicated by conflicting forces. The Colorado citizens were not satisfied with the location of the Utes. The citizens of New Mexico would not allow the Indians to move back. Finally, Congress would not agree to move them to a new location along the continental divide. The Indians continued to be in a confusing and tenuous position. 42. Ibid. 43. Report of the Secretary of the Interior. 1879, op. cit.. p. 512. 44. Ibid. - Bureau of American Ethnology Photo IGNACIO - A Southern Ute Leader. - 17- |
