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Show 52 The Southern Utes great chief's head only by inches. Ouray kept the post between him and his assailant, and when Sapawanero struck again, the ax handle hit the post and broke. Without his weapon Sapawanero was no match for his powerful brother-in-law. Ouray threw him down into an irrigation ditch that ran past the blacksmith shop. Grasping Sapawanero's throat, Ouray reached for his knife, but Chipeta, who happened to be nearby, pulled the knife from its scabbard just as her husband grabbed for it, thereby saving her brother's life. Seeing how Sapawanero fared, his accomplices in the blacksmith shop took to their heels. In spite of this altercation in front of the blacksmith shop, Sapawanero was usually very loyal to Ouray. Whenever Ouray was away from the Agency for any length of time, he left Sapawanero in charge. Besides visiting the other Ute bands, Ouray and Chipeta once a year packed their camping outfits and hunted in the mountains for a few days. Sapawanero always knew where he could find them, but he never disturbed them on these trips except in emergencies. Ouray's quick action and firm stand prevented the spread of the Ute outbreak in September, 1879, in which Agent Nathan C. Meeker and other employees on the White River were killed. For his efforts to maintain peace at this time he was granted an annuity of $1,000 as long as he remained chief of the Utes. Never until the time of Ouray had the Utes enjoyed as much unity. Ouray is noted mainly for his unwavering friendship for the whites with whom he always kept faith and whose interests he protected even on trying occasions. When he visited Washington, D.C., in 1880, President Hayes called him "the most intellectual man I have ever conversed with." He was about five feet seven inches tall, and as he grew older he became quite portly. His manner was refined and polished, his face stern and dignified in repose but lighting up pleasantly when he talked. He ordinarily wore the white man's broadcloth and boots, but he never cut off his long hair which he wore in two braids that hung on his chest in the Ute fashion. Ouray lived until August 24, 1880, and was considered an eminently great leader. He directed his powers and energies to the task of solving the many problems arising from the coming of the white men. Illness overcame him on a visit to the Southern Utes and he died on the west bank of the Pine River near the present agency. He was secretly buried in the rocks about two miles south of the town of Igna- |
