OCR Text |
Show REPORTS OF AGENTS IN UTAH. 181 as rapid during the past two years as I have wished. What else could he expected when they spent mast of their energy quarreling among themselves? Harmony of feeliuwexists between themnow, and I balieve they &rein a position to do mood work in ooGing years. One of the most noticeable resnlts of the advent of the wgite Rivers here has been to advance them with nousual rapidity, at the same time to retard the progress of the Uintahs, bringing tbemmoreupan s, common level. The reservation is large enough.for hoth tribes, and mare. and withal much h&n been accomplished toward advancing the Ute tribes in bring:ng the White Rivers here. FARMING AND AGRICU1.TURE. These Indians have made a fair show in farming the past season, although my &a-tistical report does not show a greater number of sores under oultivrstian than in 1884. I estimate that they haveabout 24'3 aoresuudercultivation, seeded for the moat pert to oats, wheat, aud potatoes. They are now cntting their grain. They will probably have abont 6,000 bushels of oats, 1,900 bushels of wheat, and 1,800 bushels of potatoes. Besides the above,nearly all these Indians who have made any attempt at agriculture have small gardens planted to varioua kinds of vegetables, which they sell to the white emplgv6s. As a means of encouraging these Indians I would recommend that the oat8 pnr-chased for the Government stook of this ageuoy be purchased of the Indian-not by oontract. They raise enough for all the agenoy demands. This plan, if once adopted, will encourage tho Indians and he a matter of economy to the Department. For in-stance, the Governruent pays a220 a hundred for oats delivered at Provo 150 miles away, while they oat, be purchased fmm the Indians at $1.75per hnodred dilivivsred st the agency mill-s, saving of 45 cents in the prioe of the oats and s, completesaving of the freight, $2.75 per hundred. The Indians aowed lea8 wheat this year than formerly, mainly heosose we have not been able to make good flour at the agenoy grist-mill. The mill ia an old ane and nearly worn out. It has been a, matter of economy to them to raise oats, sell them, and buy fiour. There is no market for wheat near here. The Department has ordered a transfer of the grist-mill fronl the Ouroy to thisagenoy. When this is done there is no reanon why exoellent flour should not be made here. The mill machinery to be transferred is ell new, nsver having been set up. The season opened early; more rain has fallen than usual, and everything has been sncouragiug to the Indians. Several of the old farmers have enlarged their fields, and some of the young men have gone to farming for the first time. A few, @a-peoially those who own one, two, or three cows, have fenoed in grass-land and turned their attention to raising hay-a new departure. In former years they have de-pended, in a, great measure, npon the agent far hay, rendering assistance in the hay-field for it. I think these Indians raise about aue.tliird of their suhsisteuoe; one-third they ob-tain from hnnting, trapping, and interoonrse with the whites; the other third is fnr-nished them by the Government. Game is -radoally disappearing from the reserva-tion, and o ~ i n gto the rapid settlement o? lauds mound the reservation they are compelled to confine their movements, more than ever before, within their bounds. One of two things moat happeu: They must either reiae more grain, or the Govern-ment must furnish them more supplies. STOCK. Thrse stallions were aurohnsedfor imorovine the stack of theno Indians. and they hi)\.* u11c.tI illc.18~1 0 d 1s;go earenr. A 1lkr.l ui'.i00 cows nod heirera and .'O'l~~~a..l&r delivered 1~1 .Ieas r ntontll. l'llep shc,nlcl I,e giver, ro tltc ,nos1 dc*cl.v>~I~ndgi an9 s f lw a rl!l!e. Thii rrser\.ntion iaear,vciallr n#ln~,totdo ~ r n z i ~I,~urrl, ,,sea.~~nidf tbd I11dian8 awn cattle is very small. - SCHOOL. I opened the agenoy boarding.sohool on the %Othof September, 1884, with a. teacher, matron, and cook asemploy6s. The attendance was light first, averaging not over ten or twelve for the first three months. Duriu the winter months the average at-tendanoe waa from twenty to twenty-five. Aa tfe Indiaos began tbeir farming m the sprin the larger boys were taken out of achool to do farm-work. The school then dwinfled down to an average attendanoe of about ten or twelve again. This small attendance did not warrsnt the oontin~~aucoef the school. I t was therefore olosed an the 18th of May. The school children are bright and'intslligeot,and would make excellent progress if tltey only understood the Euglishlanguage. This school has haen |