| OCR Text |
Show The Uncompahgre Ute People 113 by. As they passed our camps their gait broke into a run. Sheep were abandoned, blankets and personal possessions strewn along the road, women and children were loudly wailing. ... It was inevitable that they should move and better then, than after a fruitless and bloody struggle. They should think, too, that the land was lost beyond recovery.25 In the rear of the camp about a mile away was a horde of non-Ute settlers waiting for the final word when the reservation would be opened. Several troops had to be ordered to hold back the civilians. In three days after the troops left, the rich lands of the Uncompahgre were all occupied, towns were being laid out, and lots were being sold at high prices. The Uncompahgre Reservation in Utah was established by Executive Order January 1882. It was described thus: . . . the bottom lying along Green River and White River contains all the farming land within the lines of the reservation. There is not a stream outside of the two mentioned that has running water in it two months during the year; the fact of the matter is, it is nothing but a desert, and it is just an utter impossibility to keep the Indians within the bounds of this reservation, as on three sides it is bounded by mountains where there is plenty of grain, grass, and water . . . .2<> No wonder the Uncompahgre People were shocked and dismayed. The bleak, poor land could not have been more different from the lush mountain home they were forced to give up. They, who had remained loyal and friendly to the United States, were being dealt with as severely as if they had not. With soldiers at their backs they were forced to move out of the land of their fathers. |
