OCR Text |
Show REPOBTS OF AGENTS IN COLORADO. 45 he ths o m , md that msay of the aqoettm will' remain in the ark nntil fureihiy expelled therefrom. The Indians hold the opinion thnt the Government !as broken faith with them, and there is danger of their taking the matter of the removal of the settlers into their own hands nniess meaura are taken by the proper authorities to prevent such a ostastrophe. There is reason to believe that auoh a termination of the dispute would he quite neeepfsble to some of the settlers, r h o think that by resorting to such a course the Indians would only involve themselves in trouble with the Government. which would eventuate in their hanish-ment from the State of Colorado. The Utes are as peaceable and as well-disposed toward the whites ae ang Indiana in the country, and in the event of any trouhle growing out of this Uncspehgre Park affair, the whits mso r i l l have to hear the disgrace of giving rise to it. Every day it becomes of higher import&nce that friendly relations should he maintained with the Utes, for it ie in their power to stop, for a time at lcsst, the development of the great Sao J u m miningdistriet, which borders on the reservation. In conclusion, I have to ssy that, in my opinion, the treaty stipulations should he carried out to the letter, and I nonld respectfully recommend, if the land in dispute is so important to the town of Ouray as it is claimed hg some to he, that neeotiatiow heat onceeannmenced with the Indians for the relinquishmentby them of that portion of their re~ervatiw. Very reapectfolly, yoor obedient servant, W. D. WREELEIL, Cnitad Stoles I8dian A p n t . The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN A~k~nms. SOUTHERN UTE AGENCY, RIO LOS PINOS, COLORADO, Aae=u si 27. 3877. SIR: In obedience to your instrnoti ns of July 10, received on the 13th instsot, I have the honor to snbmit the following as the annual report for this aeeney for 1677. This is a new a eocy.the location of which, in accordance with instractions from the Office of Indian Iffairs of April 27, 1877, was selected June 7. 1877, after a thorough exploration of the southorn portion of the Ute reservation, and approved by the Dipartment June l I. E77. I t ismggretted that this report is meager snd deficient, on aorount of the vary brief period of tilue which has dsped since the arrival of the sgeot. It has been impossible to procure soy satisfactory data ar called for in the accompanying blanks,*# I have not seen more than one-fourth of the Indims to he ooliected nt this agency, and being without any pres-ents or sopplies whatever, it was an impossibility to get them together. The Indians to be collected st thi. agency are the li'eeminncha. Muache, and Copota bnnds of the Lit tribe, now roaming over the southwestern portion of the ULe reservation in Colorado aud Northern New Mexico, extending ss far enst ns Cimarroo. Tbe temporary agency buildings, the erection of which will he begun in a few day& to be completed in about four weeka, will consist of s storehouse and several additions1 rooms .for the use of the agent and employ6s. This agency is estahlisbed in compliance with treaty obligstions of April 29, 1874. Two thousand dollar8 was placed to the credit of the agent oo the 21st instant for the purpose of carrying on the work of erecting the buildings, hut it is thought that sll the neeesaa, expenses for the temporary estahlishlnent of the sgency wiil not ereeed more thnu tso-tlirds of that amount. - The Indisns far whom this sgency is established may hs asid to be mild though not bar-herons. They seldom manifest violence to settlers,pwvided their demands for somethin to eat are seeedea to; and it may not he out of place here to say that they have been burfen-some to the ritiseoa in this respsot They sometimes attempt to frighten those settiad an the ceded district, s~ser t iogt hat they never sold the land, and that the Government baa failed to comply with the trestg. Bevarsi ettempts to burn the buildings of settiers have been made, hut it i8 hoped that after the agency is established thaae annoyances will cease. Them is some dissatisfaction emong the Indians with regard to pleciog the agency on the Rio Lo8 Pinoa, as they claim they were promised their sgedoy on the Rio Navajoe when t h y nigoed the treaty, hot it is clssrly manifest that the beat looation for all interested, snd meeting all the requirements of the letter of instruotions, is the place slready selected. Little cnn he said in relation to the civilization, missionary work and industry of these hands. They regard any labor whatever with contempt, and their civilization and eenersl sducstian must he necessarily tedious, if with soy success whatever, unless they asn hs taught to labor. There is hot a single feature iu theii chsrsoter whioh, if I am correctly informed, is to he admired. They hnye the reputation of being exceedingly chaste and virtuo~l~. Regretting, from th circumstances before referred to, the impasrihilib of furnishing s fuller report. I have the honor to be, most respectfnllg, your obedient servant, F. H. WEAVER, United Slates Iqdian Aqcnl. The COXWISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. |