Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs - 1880

Page 56

REPORTS OF AGENTS IN COLORADO. As to the number of Indians uoder the charge of this agenoy I have no certain means of knowing. In the acoomvellyiogstatiaticel report the popnlatioo by tribes is believed to be aj,proxiruata!y correc*, belug made up from the bast soorcea of informa-tion st mg oo~umaud With a f it aatisfaotion in the resnlt of my etiorts dnring the psst t,wo years to pro-teat and prou~otet he best lnterenta of theae p.ople,and wi th the hope that t h e filture will be ntora fruitfni 4,f good resolta, I bave the honor to remain, Vary respaotfullg, your obedienc servant, S. 8. LAWSON, United Staten Indian Agent. T h e COMMISS~ONEORF INDIAAFNFA IRS. LOB PINOS INDIAN AGENCY, COLORADO, Se~tmbm1, 1880. SIR: In compliance with the inatrootions contained in circular letter of July 18 last, Z have t h e honor to submit t h e folluwing a s r u f~irs t annual report of the affairsat this syetbcy: I received my commission as United States agent Jnly 4 Isst, and at once entered oplln the diecharge of my dut,irs. The Lma Pinos Ageoog is lcloatsd in the western part ofColorado and on the Unoom-pahgre Rivar, in oloaa proxiluity tothe San Juan Rangeof mountaios. It isooosidered a pleasant. and healthy looat,ien. It is tweoty-five milea from Ouray, the nearest town or white aett,lument, two hundered and ten milas from the osmest railroad etation- Alstnoas-and eighty miles from tbe nearest t,el*graph etatioo. The sgrnoy buildings comprise theagent's house and office, h i l t adobestyle; byei-aiatt's bunae, built of oottonwuod loge; owpentar's house and shop, adobe; plank-solitb's ahnp and house, built of frame; meas-house, built of frame; warehaoae, built in part of atoneand adobe; one log buikiiug furniahas quarters for farmer, miller, harder, and lilbo~.era, and sleo for atorage of agricoltnral implements, tools, &c.; one log barn for agency horses and for storing in part the bay for the agenay hums, and 02.0 ro,.t house; all in very fair coudiriae. The trader a t this ageooy hwooa LC) boildiog, pllt up a t birr own expense. Massrs. fiauderaun & Co., of tbeoverlsod ma8 and stage rout*, have a frstue bui ld~uglo oatad near the agency fur nse as s way sta-tron sod aorom~nodat,ionfo r par t of their stock. The Indiana belortgiog to this agenay coroprise the Tabequaobe band of Ut,es, and onmbnr in all 1,500 aouis There is not one mined blood or belf-breedamong the notme band. At thia time, and after thaaxcitameot canned by tbeiate troubles wttb the Utes upan White River, rn t,ba oorrharu part of this Ytsta, it allorda me great pleasure to - report the Irtdienn undar my charge logill, peaceable, m d well dispoaed towards t h e whit,** nod thn gt,veromnnt. Th4,y ware behaved thsmaelvaa with jr~rlgmaot, cooloeas, and p o l aa,tse, get they have slwovs miluifd*tcd an iutarast in whibtever newsthere waa rumg, anti especieiiy lo the ra&ttera oudar aoosidaratioo by the apaoiill ooznmia-sionera oppo~ut sdto act and eouosdupoo their affairs, and gave signs of general eat-iafactiou when qllast,ions pertait~isg Lo the treaty were suaceasful on the part of the povernrnrot and n aurarg uf earahlisbing permsrbaot peace. The Utes, under proper n>snsget.n#estI. lind to be a williug, traorsble, and luysl peopla; they raqaire goud friaudly advice and enoooragsmatst to bring them to that degree of ciuil$aatiun so much desired by the government. The aocaal and rnorai condition of theae I>dt.ns is as rood as io auy comteu!lit.y of people of the same number. Qawbling has been s prevailing v c- among a uotober of the yonog man, hot 1 bave, with aterdy persever-ance, alumoat, if not etttiralg, weaned them from this bad habit. Uut,il the treat,y whicb is now beiog negotiated with the Ute Iodiaos ia comj>leted, the Iodi ros mvt>oved sttd sat t la~lp srruilneo lg uiwo a raaervstioo, as is aontemplsted by the prorisic,rts crf nrid trtrat,,~,a geooy boildiog* emoted. sohoc,la established, s n d other nrc..ssitry nrrangrnleots perfectad for them, no further progress oao ba made in the wag of a<lvilt,cing t,hetu in laarllirtg or in agriculture; in faat, shonld they remain much longer in the urwatt1r.d ooudir.ion t.hay bave bean during the psst gear, sntici-paling x removal, I fear that tho-a who have bean andrsvoriog to suooaed with emell far.mx will bawule discouraged and fwll back again into idleness 10 the wily s,f fdrxuiog there has not b. eo aa much prograas made by the Indians at thi s aganoy dnring rhn ~ X R G8e BY .o &J collld be deaimd, yet t,bis cao be esaily socouotad for becanna of the zln~ettlerl ooodi iou they hsoa beem io since thelate troubles sruuog their ki~gnnmn ouon White Rivcr. before referrad to. There hw. however. been some r i~i t tyI ttdist,o f ; ~ s j i ~ ci,~~u,u w: whoul are cl$~eidI,l v;rdannu, a n d uthcra o i the r r i l~e, eul l lvat lnr iu the ;,,rlroglrll 8 u ~ ~ e t l t ) -sfc~rcvl.~ 'They wi.1 r~i a tr, l l l ~)e ar, ar near rs 1 cau nr oreraor e n r ~mn f l~il~te.a o hundred Lu*llc.la uutxtuu.. 6 v a hundred bn~hniaw rn. twenty-ti.vabnabaia wheat, seventy-Eve buahela osis, two hundred bushels turnips, to: