OCR Text |
Show most sat i s facto~il lustration of what can be accomplished with proper management in training Indians to habits of industry. The Indians upon this reservation, at the time of my arri-~al in the Tenitory, mere the most ~ a r l i kaen d least disposed to labor of any Indians in the su-perintendency. There being no agent at that point, I sent JLr. Thomas Carter, in the spring of 1866, temporarily to take charge at the ageucF, with instructions to start a farm and put in a crop. Mr. Carter Kas an industrious, working manl and cleared and plowed some forty acres of land, in good part by Indian labor. There was great antipathy to work on the Dart of the men., the -g reater aart of what was done being b r the A - " squawsand children. In the fall of 1866, Major D. W. Rhodes was appointed as agent, which nosition he held for a vear. Aeent Rhodes. although in manv resnects good officer, was no~possesse2w ith an inBtinctiveY love of Lard mark, for its own sake, so 'that no progress was made during that year. When Agent Rhodes resigned, I placed Xr. P. Dodds temporarily in charge, and he was afterward, at my suggestion, appointed as agent. During his first year, some eighty awes of land were plowed and put into crops. He was entirely familiar with farming in all its branches, and was at all times aiding and laboringi with the Indians about their work, thus inspiring them with zeal in the cause, and overcoming their hereditary antipathy to labor. His first crop was, however, almost en-tirely destroyed by grasshoppers. The Indians were not thereby dis-couraged, but the present season engaged in labor with great energy. The location of the farm was chaneed. new bnildines erected. and one Lundrtcl arid tell :irrrs of ue\v l:~r~d'~.h!hrel'crlo r~b~u 811c.sa nd s&e brus< anal j~l;lnr~t:o~ lc trol~s. The \,aloe of t l ~ir~ u [~u ) v e~uanedl ~rrl~~e gropsfo r the cresent season-will be more than equalto all the government funds expended at the agency duriug my term of service. The principal chiefs, including Black Hawk, for many years engaged in active hostilities, are among the most industrious Indians upon the r-es.e. r vation. I feel coulident that 910,000 per Fear, jndicionsly expended at this reservation. one.l~alft hereof ;iununllv for e:~ttlea nd the ba1;lnc.c for tools. presents, and the labor of a few whites to aid and instruct the ~udiaus; would in five or six )ears collect all the Utah Utes upon thereser\-ation, and make them permanently self-supporting. FARiKlXGI OPERATIONS. The sketch iust eiveu of the nroaess in farming onerations at the Uiuuli :~gencii s i; ~u l~smntcite~ l ~r toryof the \-a>o& other rtforts in the same direction in other parts of the Territur~w hiclt 11;1\-ebern made during my term of service. -Small farms were started at various points for the Merent tribes, the assistance furnished on the part of the gov-ernment beiug principall~ confined to plowing the land, furnishing seed grain, and some slight aid im some instances from laborers. In every instance I have taken especial care to send among the Indians none but industrious laboring men, men who would not only talk to them of the diruitv of labor. but illustrate bv their ads their belief in the doctrine. '~he' re~~l11l:t;s (been utost sati:~~t:torj. IVhile h ~ l~ittlte .\\.ari accol~~pljsheddo ring tile first sensoo, the result, ;lsseen in tllu crops raised the prrarl~tj rnr,~sl~owthsa t ir is not necrssiv to wait for a gin-er:~ rion tode\,t.lol) hnhits of industry. The chiefs :lull heal men of the l'al~-Ce~ltsP, I lyres, (iotihips.$nlrl IVt.src.rn Shosl~onesa re tho most in-dustrious inen in their respe'otive bands. |