| OCR Text |
Show 159 very little good land to be had. The site was not only remote but also bleak and dry. The valleys of the White, Green and Duchesne Rivers were ribbons of green in a huge wasteland. The soldiers under the command of Captain H. S. Hawkins were pleased to receive the -'elcome news that the Fort was to be moved to the north about 35 miles near the mountains. The new location was at the mouth of Ashley Creek Canyon, six miles upstream from the new Mormon village of Vernal, Utah. There, the post came upon difficult times. It was hard to justify the existence of the establishment, and although a military reservation of 21,851 acres was set aside, title was never gained to it by the Federal government.2 During the years 1882 and 1883, General Crook recommended and the War Department planned an elaborate fort with an estimated cost of $84,000. All this was in vain; the fort was only able to get $1,500 for construction in 1883, and was abandoned in July, 1884, The short life of the military post matched the fate of the unusual Indian reservation and agency it was designed to protect. The almost offhanded way in which the "Uncompahgre Reserve" or "Ouray Reservation" was established was a result of the nearly irresistible pressure from the people of Colorado. The level of attention immediately dissipated after the Indians were expelled. Thomas G. Alexander and Leonard J. Arrington, "The Utah Military Frontier, 1872-1912: Forts Cameron, Thornburgh, and Duchesne." Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 330-354. |
