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Show 122 VIII. BILAGAANA NINAAD^' Utes crossed the Colorado River below the mouth of the San Juan and raided as far south as Canyon de Chelly. Many of the refugees from the raids fled to the region of Navajo Mountain and Paiute Canyon. But wherever the Navajos went, they found it more and more difficult to hide from their many enemies. As early as 1848, Mexicans had led slave-raids into Monument Valley. In 1850 they had raided as far west as Black Mesa. The army also found it less difficult to move troops deep into Navajo country. The Miles campaign of November 1858 reached Black Mesa and the Hopi Pueblos. One of these parties, under Captain Macomb, moved along the Old Spanish Trail through southern Colorado. Along the way they met Cayetano on the Animas River. Near Moab they turned south through Utah. They passed the Abajo Mountains and went down Recapture Wash. They noted seeing Bear's Ears to the west on their way to the San Juan River. The Navajos seemed open to attack from all directions. The Navajos living in the north had one more group of whites to deal with. The Mormon settlers of Salt Lake Valley began spreading through Utah in the 1850s. A group of them set up the Elk Mountain Mission at present-day Moab in 1855. Later, Mormons had regular contacts with the Navajos. Leaders such as Jacob Hamblin traded and met with the Navajos living closest to the Mormon towns and farms. The greatest contact was in the Navajo Mountain and Tuba City areas. There Hamblin became good friends with the Navajo leader Todich'iinii Nez or Spaneshanks. It was several years before this friendship turned sour. Other Navajos went as far north as Salt Lake City to trade, as they had with the Utes before the Mormons arrived. On one occasion, six Navajos led by Atsidii K'aa'k'ehii were attacked near modern Richfield on their return from such a trading trip. All but the leader were killed. Over the years, it became clearer to the Navajos that the Mormons were one more source of competition for their land. The initially friendly relations between the two groups became hostile. The Navajos knew that the Mormons gave the Utes guns that were used in raids. The Mormons, however, also tried to form a Ute-Navajo alliance in 1859. In that year, Navajo Agent Silas Kendrick heard that the Mormons were offering the Navajos aid in fighting the American soldiers. The Mormons told the Navajos not to comply with their treaty because the Americans were cheating them. The Navajos may have |