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Show 78 The Uintah Ute People night and made dip nets of many different sizes. They learned to fish through ice with arrows or spears. They also learned to dry the fish and store them for winter, when they were shared among all the People.2 The Comanche and Shoshone acquired the horse from the Spaniards earlier than the Uinta-ats. They were thus able to push the People out of their traditional Basin homeland. Escalante reported in 1776 that his Indian informants told him that the Basin was uninhabited, because the Utes feared the Comanche. However, after the Uinta-ats acquired the horse they were able to regain their territory. When the traders and trappers came into the Basin in the 1820s, Uinta-ats were in the area. The Ashley-Smith expedition reported in 1822 that several thousand Indians were living in conical, grass-covered lodges at Brown's Hole, north of the Uinta Mountains. However, not all was peaceful between the Uinta-ats and the trappers. Antoine Robidoux's post on the Uinta River caused very unsatisfactory relations with the Indians. It offered traffic in women and in whiskey and served as an attractive spot to draw other intruders into Uinta-ats country. Robidoux himself became a symbol of slavery and cruelty among the Ute People. In 1844 the People burned Fort Uintah while Robidoux was away. The fort was then abandoned. In 1847 the Mormons came to permanently settle in Utah and the surrounding areas. Initially, the Uinta-ats were not affected by their presence. The Mormons settled near the Great Salt Lake, at the edge of the Ute lands. However, Mormon settlements dislocated Tumpanawach, Pah Vant, San Pitch, and others. Refugees drifted towards the Uinta Basin, which the Mormons had decided was unsuitable for Anglo settlement. This continuous influx of population was absorbed into what became known as the Uintah Band. An example of the growing cohesion of this group is the appearance of men who led larger and larger groups of People. The principal motivation uniting the several groups was resistance to white invasion. For example, Sowiette became an important leader. He was described by the Mormons as the "Chief of the western Ute bands. |