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Show 96 As the agency at Uintah grew, so did its responsibilities, not just as the new home for the Utes, but also as a peacekeeping agency. It is necessary to haul to the agency this year a large amount of provisions, as large numbers of Indians from Colorado and Arizona often collect at the agency during the winter, and it is necessary to furnish them with subsistence to keep them quiet and to prevent their killing Government stock. A considerable amount of supplies will also be needed for the resident Indians, who have not raised crops sufficient for their necessities.12 It must be said that the Uintah reservation had been intended as a home for these people, or at least part of them. Tourtellotte's inability to deal with the scattered band of Utes in Eastern Utah does not mean that they were not entitled to the services and supplies as were those who stayed at Uintah to try to farm. Tourtellotte says: The Elk Mountain Utes, Fish Utes, Sheberetches, and Yam Pah-Utes, are the most wild and disorderly Indians of this superintendency. On their hunting expeditions they sometimes visit frontier settlements, for purposes of begging and stealing. They also permit Navajoes to pass through their country with stolen stock. They continually promise to cease depredations, but do not keep such promise. 12Ibid., pp. 143-144. |