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Show 176 REPORT OF UTE COMMISSION. Park so promptly with seven of the lading Indians to prevent any further t r o u h by an apprehension on the art of the settlers that s. general outbre& was imminent. The presents ordered %y the commission for these Indians had not arrived, and as the agent has no interpreter, I instructed Mr. Curtis to remdn until they oame, and with the agent to diliatribute them to the Indians vho had assisted the work of the C0111m18910n. On my return, the goods having reached Bear (Yampa) River, I stopped a da at the treder'8 store to inspect them and approve the bill. A duplicate bill, mark el^, is appended. The condition of the White River Indians and the agricultural capacity of their country seem to be but little known outside of the agency and its vicinage. The old distinction of the Yampa and Grand River bands is rapidly disappearing, and they all call themselves "White River" Utes. The ohief no longer has absolute authority,but acts only in accordance with the will of a majority of his councilors. They are all well otf; hardly an Indian hesless than twenty-five ponies. All have good gous and an abundance of ammunition. Game is plentiful, and the Indians are nch from their hunting. They hunt of the reservation going two, tpree and four hundred miles north, preferring to keep their own gamstlntact until thereit i s gone. They alao own in common fifteen hundred head of cattle, from which herd the beef is supplied. None of these cattle are supposed to be killed without the consent of the sgent. The White River Valley is so mild and sa well protected in winter that the herd can graze within sixteen miles of the present agency during the whole season. This is the place to which the honorable Commissioner of Indian Affaim has ordered the removal of the agenoy. There the valley is wider, and the fall of the river so y a t that irrigating drtohes are being easily oonstruotsd, and a fall of sixty feet for ml hug purposes can be secured. The agent is already breaking up the ground, and hopes ta obtain a wheat crop at least by next season. The settlers on Snake and Bear Rivers regard this valley as far superior to their own, and better adapted far grasing and agricultural purposes than any other part of - thiis ceou~ltry.. AU seemed to concur that a t least five thousand Indians oauld be sup- ported there. the agent a, professional farmer, claiming that he can support ten thou-sand people'in that vailsy and its subsidiaries. Ha also says: "This White River range on the reservation is unequ&led in the West, and it passeasea the great asdvn-tege of not being trespassed upon by any otherherds; a condition that diminishes the labor af her&g and reduces the lasses by eatrays and stealings. Thiaran e has a money value of at lcsst $50,000. There is no section comparable with it mut% of the divide between White and Grand Rivers." This country seems much better adapted for cultivation than the Uncompsh e Valley. It lies south of the mountain ran es,which protect it from theextreme cog. ,, . it is fully as nesr s, ri~ilroad, about 175 d e a over a good natural road, snd ia wed removed from the settlers. Should it be thought best to consolidate the La8 Pinoa with the White River Agency there certainly would be no difficulty in supplyin them. the White Rivers have not more than404 certainly less than 500, an! your honorable body has already approximated the number in Oway9s band as ahout 1,000, making s, total of, at most 1,500 Indians. In reporting as to the needa oithose peo le, I would 60 leave to call attention to the necessity of a polioe force. The agent %as not seonred(hi8 quota allowed by law, deeming such a smdl number inpuffioient to compel obedience. Some of these Indisns need something mare than moral suasion. ' While the majority mean well, and would probably prorent any open outbreak, the few who me ill-disposed can make great trouble for the sgent, and commit depredations in the vicinity of the reservation with little fear of bein p~~nishedA. Ute polioe could do much toward prevending a repe-tition of the ~idd? eP azk calamity, and be of greet value in securing the guilty should any insubordination occur. Another want now felt at the agency is a trading-post. At present the nearest is aixty miles, andthe next fifty miles beyond. If these tri s of one sind two hundred miles for barter could be checked, it would undoubted1 felp to keep theae people on the reservation and loealiee them. Certainly some gootgmight be effected by allowing any and all tcsders to build fimt-claas buildings at the agency and do their trading there. Liquor should, of cotuse, be prohibited, but to make the experiment a suo-eess ammunition will have to be sold, thou h that may be easily regulated by the order of the agent or the ohief of polioe. So ?on as the present system of the govern-ment obtains in regard to the rations of the In%ians, th*y kill have to hunt, and it a ;ems but fair that under certain restrictions they be allowed to buy their powder and lead atrsaaonable prices, and that, too, on the reservation. The Indians had oonsiderable to say about the money that was due. They .yeem less anxious for the money itself than to have the debt in some way discharged. There are s. few things they would be benefited by having, and I will ask your permission to enumerate them: First. A grist-mill. It will be difficult to make these Indiana self-sustaining with- |