| Show Orson Whitney says Settlers in Salt Lake Valley were not much molested by the red men although several Indian children were ransomed the first winter by the settlers at the fort to save them from being shot to death or tortured by their merciless captors Before the ploneers had been long in the valley the leaders encouraging were the people to keep guard around their cattle and they were cautioned not to sell guns or ammunition to the Indians or allow them to steal from them The Indian practice of capturing and selling children from weaker tribes proved hard custom first Brigham Young allowed children underregulation for the settlers to deal with the Mormon Settlers to trade that they would be cared for At for and the edu cated on an apprenticeship basis Acco tohistory complied 1in the 1940byteam of WPA researchersl who made an inventory of Sanpete County archives it is possible that one of the underlying causes of the trouble with the Indians during the Walker War may have been the effort of the settlers to enforce the Indian Slave Trade Law which prohibited the settlers from buying the Indian children Enforcement of this law is believed to have fired the flame that erupted into the Walker War Sonne records that in 1850 the Shoshones ambushedparty of Utes in the mountains Walker organizedraiding party and and Arapene smoked the warpipe Chief Walker called on Brigham and Young asking that some of the young men of the settlement at Fort Utah be sent to Brigham assist Young the Utes would in their not listen retaliation to his against request and the urged Shoshones the warlike chief to cease fighting and bloodshed Sowiette when he heard of their plans urged them to stay home and heed the big Mormon Chief counsel Walker turned his back on peace Sowiette could say would stop him talk nothing How many ralds Walker made against the Shoshones at this time is not known but the grisly account of their triumphal celebration in July is recorded by Peter Gottfredson F Whitney Conway Sonne and possitly others It is suggested that possibly this rebuff by Brigham Young may bhave caused Fort Utah Walker to become sympathetic to proposed Again Chief Sowiette advocated peace attack against Although he too realized that white encroachment was taking up lands and forests and streams that had been the domain of the Indians dignity and statemanship ofgreat moral leader still with all the he advocated peace Walker argued that they should destroy the whites beginning with Fort Utah or the Indians would eventually be destroyed Tullidge reports that as the argument flared between the two chiefs their followers were almost evenly divided Tt is recorded that Sowlette ingesture of friendship to the white settlers said When you move you will find me and my men inside the Fort defending l5 Sowiette is said to have gone -87 so far as to warn Isaac Higbee of |
