Agent H. P. Myton filed his second annual report for the Uinta and Ouray Agency on August 28, 1900. He noted, “The Uinta Agency is located 110 miles from Price, Utah, the nearest railroad station, and it is 110 miles of about the worst road I ever saw.” The subagency for the Ouray Utes was 35 miles to the southeast.
            The Agency served a total of 1,699 Utes. Reporting to the Uinta Agency were 470 Uinta and 364 White River Utes. Another 19 White River Utes had joined the 846 Uncompahgre Utes at the Ouray subagency.
            The Agent noted that only a small portion of children attended school. He suggested marriage customs contributed to low attendance. Boys often married between ages 14-16 and girls between ages 12-14.
         Children of the White River Utes would only attend school by force, Agent Myton suggested.  He requested permission to cut off rations to White River families who did not send their children to school and the use of soldiers to enforce the order. He also noted that some Utes would be killed in the effort to enforce school attendance as “the leaders of this band are a mean set of Indians.”
            In September the Utes would sell 900 tons of hay to the U.S. War Department at a price of $6,420.00. Agent Myton noted they would still have several thousand tons of hay remaining. In addition, crops of oats would exceed the previous year.  
           Agent Myton also recommended, for the second time, that the Utes be allowed to hire an attorney to collect money owed them by the government for land they had owned in Colorado. He said the government had turned the land into a forest reserve and had no plans to sell it.

Information from the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900

On August 25, 1900, Indian Agent Joseph O. Smith reported on the state of the Southern Ute Agency. He noted, “In comparison with other Indian tribes, I believe the Ute to be an exceptionally sturdy, healthy people…”
         Agent Smith described “the driest summer seen in Southern Colorado in many years. There was not rain during the months of June, July and August.” The grazing land for livestock was poor and hay fields that did not have access to irrigation were almost barren. A new irrigation ditch had been completed which delivered water from the Pine River to thousands of fertile acres on the high mesas to the west of Ignacio. Two canals were in operation carrying water as far as eight miles.
          Miss Gertrude R. Hileman, teacher at the Presbyterian Mission School at Ignacio reported 37 students enrolled with average attendance of 17 students, less than 50%.

Information from the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900

In 1900, the Ouray boarding school at Leland, Utah had enrollment of 60 students with average attendance of 44. Enrollment more than doubled during the year from 24 in the first quarter, to 33 second quarter, 51 third quarter, and 54 fourth quarter. Superintendent John M. Commons hoped to reach full capacity of 80 students the following year.
            Commons reported the school’s farming activities during the year produced “half enough potatoes for the pupils, besides a good supply of other vegetables, and plenty of hay to feed our herd of 25 cattle during the winter.”
            The school’s greatest need was a water system. Water had to be hauled by buckets from the Uinta River to the school, a distance of 300 yards. This took several of the larger boys away from their studies for “a considerable amount of time.” Commons said, “When the mercury ranged for 10 to 20 degrees below zero, and when the pails, barrels, and wagon become covered with ice from an inch to 4 inches in thickness, hauling water for all purposes in the school of 50 or 60 pupils is a real hardship.”

From the Report of the Superintendent of the Ouray School in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900

U.S. government employees working on Indian reservations received a yearly salary. It was paid quarterly–in four installments paid every three months. Following are annual salaries for government employees at the Uinta Agency, Utah in 1900.

Indian Agent  = $1,800.00 per year

Agency Clerk = $1,000.00 

Physician = $1,000.00

Miller/Engineer = $ 840.00

Sup. Irrigation = $ 840.00

Carpenter = $ 720.00

Wheelwright = $ 720.00

Blacksmith = $ 720.00

Field Matron = $ 600.00

Issue Clerk  = $ 600.00

Herder  = $ 400.00

Stableman  = $ 400.00

Blacksmith Assistant  =  $ 300.00

Interpreter = $ 200.00

Carpenter Asistant = $ 120.00

Police Captain = $ 15.00 per month

Police Private  = $ 10.00 per month

Pay rates varied by how long a person had been employed. For example, the Superintendent of Irrigation on the Uintah Reservation had a salary of $840.00 per year. The person holding the same job title on the Ouray Reservation earned $1,000.00 per year because he had been in the job longer and earned higher pay for his years of service.

Information from the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900

In the mid 1800s an Indian Agency in the West was managed by a small staff. By 1900, Indian Agency staffs had grown considerably. Following is a list of employees and their job titles for the Ouray Agency in Utah.

White Staff at the Ouray Agency, 1900

H. J. Palmer, Clerk    

Samuel A. Tate, Physician    

Hugh Owens, Farmer 

Wm. Stark, Carpenter

E.F. Addis, Farmer       

Wm. D. Evans, Blacksmith      

John McAndrews, Superintendent Irrigation

Peter Steinmetz, Wheelwright   

Indian Staff at the Ouray Agency, 1900

James Kanapatch, Assistant Blacksmith 

Henry Modoe, Ferryman

John Nachoop, Assistant Carpenter    

Ben New cow ree, Herder         

Jack Johnston, Laborer               

Charley Alhandra, Interpreter   

Louis Fenno, Police Captain   

Monk Shavano, Policeman       

Jake Yump, Policeman       

John Sullivan, Policeman       

Ben Oc cup pi upe, Policeman       

Joseph Arrive, Policeman       

Jim Colorow, Policeman       

 Information from the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900

Ute Chief Tabby was 90 years old and blind when this photo was taken. Indian Agent Howell P. Myton on the Uinta Ouray Reservation in Utah wrote this note across the photo: “…he has always been a good indian and given good advice to his people.”

According to the High Uintas Preservation Council, Tabby Mountain on the southwest edge of the Uintas is named for Tabiuna-To-Kwanah, Child of the Sun, warrior and leader of the Uinta-ats band of the Ute people. Born in about 1800, Chief Tabby died in 1902.

Photo courtesy the Denver Public Library Western History Collection.

In the mid 1800s an Indian Agency in the West was managed by a small staff, typically an Indian Agent and a clerk. A large agency might have included a carpenter or blacksmith and two or three herders.
          By 1900, Indian Agency employment had grown considerably and included jobs for Indians. On Utah’s Uinta Reservation, for example, the twelve-man police force was staffed by tribal members.

White Staff at the Uinta Agency, 1900

Howell P. Myton, Agent 

J.A. Gogarty, Clerk               

Henry B. Lloyd, Physician         

G.H. Johnson, Wheelwright 

Sam McAfee, Carpenter

George W. Dickson, Miller/Engineer 

L.H. Mitchell, Farmer  

John Otterstedt, Blacksmith

W.S. Smith, Supervisor of Irrigation

Libbie Whitlock, Field Matron   

Indian Staff at the Uinta Agency, 1900

William Wash, Herder  

Edgar Meritats, Stableman 

Vernie Mack, Interpreter  

George Atwine, Assistant Blcksmth 

Roger Star, Assistant Carpenter    

James A. Robb, Issue Clerk      

Billy Woods, Police Captain  

Albert Chapoose, Policeman 

Tom Arrum, Policeman

Tavoopont, Policeman

Jim Atwine, Policeman

Joe Gross, Policeman

Tocumach, Policeman

Sam Robinson, Policeman

Tosey, Policeman

Sopunics, Policeman

Harry Tabley-Schutz, Policeman

Dave Weech, Policeman

Information from the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1900

The Annual Report of the Commission of Indian Affairs for 1913 shows a slowly decreasing population on the Unitah Ouray reservation.

During the fiscal year 1913-1914 there were 48 births and 62 deaths on the Uintah Ouray Reservation. Twenty deaths were due to tuberculosis and 14 were children under the age of three years.

One hundred twenty families lived in permanent housing while 150 families lived in tents or tepees in the traditional manner.

There were 238 children eligible to attend school but only 147 were actually enrolled. Eighty-two children attended residential boarding schools – they lived at the school and came home to visit as allowed. Thirty children attended a non-residential boarding school. There were no children attending a day school on the reservation. Thirty-five children apparently lived near enough to a town to attend public school off the reservation.

According to the 1913 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Uintah Ouray Reservation in Utah had the following livestock:

1,948   Horses and mules

   353   Mares

     71   Stallions

1,863   Cows and heifers

   512   Steers

     38   Bulls

2,982   Sheep, goats and burros

Livestock value:  $163,232.00

Value of livestock sold:  $5,929.00

Value of livestock slaughtered:  $2,611

One hundred years ago most of the Ute Indian population lived on reservations in Utah and Colorado. The 1913 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs gives us some idea of how they supported themselves.

Income for the Uintah Ouray Reservation as a whole (1112 Utes):

Wages                                              688 

Crops                                          57,790

Basket weaving                           1,900

Rations                                              -0-

Timber sold                                  1,426

Livestock sold                              5,929

Land sold                                    79,720

Land leased                                   5,441

Trust fund payments                62,939

Interest on trust fund               98,034

Treaty agreements                    22,856

Indian labor & misc.                    4,870

Total                                       $341, 793

Spread among the 1,112 Utes living on the reservation, the income for the year 1913 averages $307.00 per person.

The Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs are filled with statistics. From these we gain a little perspective on reservation life in the year 1913.

          Ute populations on Colorado reservations:

          504   Wiminuche

          360   Capote and Muache

          Ute populations on Utah reservations:

          478   Uintah

          451   Uncompahgre

          283   White River

       2,076   Utes living on reservations in 1913

The 1913 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs offers a look back in time at the state of Indian Reservations.

          In that year, some 300,000 Indians lived on reservations. The total Indian population was 331,250 (excluding Indians in Alaska).  All the reservations combined covered an area as large as the New England States plus the State of New York. Collectively, their lands were valued at $900,000,000. The timber on reservation land had an estimated worth of $80,000,000.

          The annual Indian death rate (all causes) was 32.24 deaths per 1,000 Indians. Among the total United States population, the annual death rate was 16 per 1,000 persons. Tuberculosis was a growing problem across the nation. Among Indians, 32% of all deaths were due to tuberculosis compared to 11.2% for the general U.S. population.

          Ten thousand Indian children had no schools available.

          In 1860 the Conejos Agency was established for the Tabeguache Utes. The name came from the River in Southern Colorado. The little town located along the river was also called Conejos. It was the home of the Indian Agent, Lafayette Head.
          In 1869 the Agency was moved to Los Pinos Creek and renamed Los Pinos Agency.
          The Agency was relocated again in 1875 to the Uncompahgre Valley. However, the name Los Pinos Agency was retained.
          The Tabeguache Utes and their Agency were moved to a new reservation on Utah’s Green River in 1881. It became the Ouray Agency, named for their famous chief who died before the move.
          In 1886 the reservation was consolidated with the adjoining reservation as the Uintah and Ouray Agency

In his 1885 report, Agent Elisha Davis noted that some Utes worked as freighters, hauling supplies by wagon from Provo City to the agency, a distance of 150 miles. He reported they had delivered 48,148 pounds of annuity goods and supplies and earned $1,444,44. They also hauled 30,350 pounds of freight for traders, at 3 cents a pound, from Salt Lake City to the agency. Agent Davis noted the Utes did this work with their own teams of horses and “they make careful freighters.”
          The agency had a stock of three stallions and 20 bulls for breeding plus a herd of 400 cows and heifers. The agent reported some Utes had developed their own herds. One Ute had “470 head of as good stock as there is in Utah, worth $12,000; another has 300 head; and others have 50 to 100 head.” Despite these successes, the agent reported “the number who own cattle is very small.”
          A large irrigation ditch was built to support “an immense tract of land” which the agent reported was “proving a success beyond my most sanguine expectations.” He noted that many Indians had built “several quite substantial houses, mostly of sawed logs.”

From “Reports of Agents in Utah,” Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885

In 1885 Agent Chn. F. Stollstemer reported supplies were issued weekly at his agency. According to Indian Bureau instructions, a weekly issue included about one and three-quarters pounds of beef, the same quantity of flour, a few grains of coffee and sugar, and a little baking-powder, salt and soda – not enough to keep them from starving.
          The agent noted that they received no bacon, no corn, no potatoes, no beans. He stated:

there is no game left to speak of, it is hard to see how they will manage to exist. In former years, when game was plentiful on the reserve, they were furnished supplies in abundance. Now, when the game is nearly exterminated, their supplies are systematically reduced from year to year. If no relief is granted them, they will be compelled by hunger to steal cattle, and continuous troubles, perhaps an Indian war, will be unavoidable.

From “Report of Agent in Colorado,” Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885

In 1880, many of the Ute Indians were removed from Colorado and resettled on reservations in Utah. This was a result of the public outcry over the Meeker Massacre.  The land they were given was shockingly barren compared to their Rocky Mountain homeland. The Ouray Agency was a new reservation established for the Tabeguache Utes near the existing Uintah Agency.
          The 1885 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs offers a glimpse into life on the Utah reservation, three years after the Tabeguache Utes were relocated from Colorado. Of course, the report was written by the Indian Agent, J.F. Gardner (a white man).
          On August 12, 1885, Agent Gardner filed his second annual report. The agency office had been moved across the Green River to the former site of Fort Thornburgh. There were eleven buildings on the four-acre site, built of round logs (called stockade-built). Roofs were logs covered with dirt. Special Agent Leuders had repaired the buildings.
          Gardner said the buildings were fine in dry weather but “untenable in in the rainy season.” He had built a new agent’s house – a lathe and plaster dwelling 28 by 44 feet. The cost of the building was $1,994.54.
          A frame school house was also built at a cost of $800.00. It was 16 by 30 feet in size and needed to be plastered before ready for use. The school could accommodate thirty “day-scholars.” (There were no facilities for students to live at the school.)
         When the facility had been used by the Army, soldiers slept in tents surrounded by dirt embankments for protection. The embankments were removed and the flattend area seeded with grass.

<em>Content from “Reports of Agents in Utah,” Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885</em>

Bear Dance, Utah Reservation

Indian Agent Elisha M. Davis  reported agriculatural progress by the Uintah Utes in Utah. In his 1885 annual report he  estimated the Uintah Utes had about 243 acres of ground under cultivation. At the time of the report they were cutting grain. He projected a harvest of 6,000 bushels of oats, 1,900 bushels of wheat, and 1,800 bushels of potatoes. Most of the Indians also had vegetable gardens.
          Agent Davis made an interesting, and very logical, proposal. The Government purchased oats to feed livestock owned by the agency. These purchases were made through the usual government contracting process. Agent Davis proposed:

As a means of encouraging these Indians I would recommend that the oats purchased for the Government stock of this agency be purchased of the Indians—not by contract. They raise enough for all the agency demands. This plan, if once adopted, will encourage the Indians and be a matter of economy to the Department [of Indian Affairs].

For instance, the Government pays $2.20 a hundred [pounds] for oats delivered at Provo, 150 miles away, while they can be purchased from the Indians at $1.75 per hundred [pounds] delivered at the agency mill—a saving of 45 cents [per hundred pounds] in the price of the oats and a complete saving of the freight, $2.75 per hundred [pounds].

          Davis went on to note that the grist mill at the agency was nearly worn out. He had arranged for a new and unused grist mill stored at the Ouray agency to be transferred to the Uintah Agency. As soon as it was installed, the Uintah Agency would be able to produce “excellent flour.”
Agent Davis estimated the Utes under his agency “raise about one-third of their subsistence; one third they obtain from hunting, trapping, and intercourse [trade] with the whites; the other third is furnished them by the Government.”

Photo Courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection

Content from “Reports of Agents in Utah,” Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885

Agent Davis reported that a boarding school had been in operation at the Uintah Agency for the past eight or ten years. The school opened for the 1884-85 year on September 20, 1884. There was a teacher, a matron and a cook. For the first three months there were ten to twelve students. That rose to twenty to twenty-five during the winter months. As farming began in the spring, the “larger boys” left to help with the work. The number of students returned to ten to twelve and the school year ended on the May 18, 1885.
The agent’s comment on education is revealing:

The school children are bright and intelligent, and would make excellent progress if they only understood the English language…To be sure many are taught to read, write, and spell, but in no one case to my knowledge have the teachings received at the agency school had a tendency to eradicate from the minds of the pupils the superstitions of the tribe. They are so intimately connected with the tribe, even when they are at school, that they know nothing and dare nothing except what the superstitious parents tell them. I advocate sending the children away to school as the only way to make permanent improvement among them.

From “Reports of Agents in Utah,” Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885

Hillers stereoscopic photo Elkskin Tepee, Utah

In his 1885 annual report, Agent Elisha M. Davis stated his observation of differences between the Uintah and White River bands of Utes. The two bands had shared the Uintah Reservation in Utah since 1882. Davis began his assignment about the time the White River Utes were relocated from Colorado. By the time of this report he had known both groups for three years.

The Uintahs branched off from the great Ute nation and settled by themselves in this valley many years ago. The Uintahs are an agricultural people, depending very little upon the chase [hunting]. The habits and customs of the Uintah Indians are more nearly like those of the tribes north of them. The language of the Uintahs is, I apprehend, the pure Ute language, it having undergone little or no change since they settled here.

The White Rivers have never taken kindly to agriculture. The chief cause of the Meeker massacre was because Mr. Meeker tried to compel them to work. They have never been contented to settle down in one place. Their habits are more like their southern neighbors. Their language is different in many respects from that of the Uintahs, it [the White River language] being strongly tinctured with Spanish.

          Agent Davis held the U.S. Government responsible for some of the conflicts between the Uintah and White River Utes. Being forced to share their reservation land with the White Rivers was difficult enough for the Uintahs. 

To widen the breach, between them, the Uintah were compelled to stand peacefully by and see the White River Utes, whose hands were reeking with the blood of Agent Meeker, his family and his employees, receive a large cash annuity, when they were brought here in 1882, and they [the Uintahs] receive nothing…and then a large herd of beef cattle belonging to the White River Utes was brought here at the same time, which was issued to them in abundance, while the Uintahs received little or none.

          The Uintah Utes were included as part of the “Confederated Band of Utes” who shared an annual cash annuity of $50,000 for giving up reservation land.  When divided among roughly 3,300 eligible Utes, each person’s share was about $15 per year. However, “pensions” to families of the Meeker victims, totaling about $3,000 per year, were paid out of the White River share of the annuity. This reduced the share received by each White River Ute to $13 per year.

From “Reports of Agents in Utah,” Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885

Walter the Seltzer Man took me on a sentimental journey this week. He is a featured interview in National Public Radio’s Driveway Moments, Volume II.
          Walter is the third generation of his family delivering bottled seltzer on a New York City route. But, Walter is a dying breed in a dying occupation. He notes that seltzer bottles, as antiques, are now more valuable than the product. Most people buy pre-carbonated beverages in the grocery store cartons. Walter’s loyal customers profess to prefer mixing their own. For many of these senior citizens, Walter’s visit is a welcome familiarity. The Seltzer Man is one stable connection to a rapidly disappearing way of life.
          Walter’s story triggered my own memories of delivery men who brought goods and services to our rural home–Barney the postman, Pete the milkman, Art the dry cleaner man, Marvin the newspaper man, Don the propane man.
          These men were known by occupations rather than last names. But they were regulars who held the same jobs for years and became fixtures in our lives during the mid 1900s. They were never too rushed to “pass the time of day” with customers. For a few years, we had only one car and Dad, a travelling salesman, was sometimes gone two or three days. Delivery was important to us. Every year Mom wrapped a Christmas gift for each delivery man – a block of Wisconsin cheddar cheese straight from the little factory where Dad once worked. 
          Home delivery still occurs, but in a more impersonal way today.     
          Occasionally, the FedEx truck rumbles to a stop on our street. The driver drops a package on the front porch, rings the bell, and rushes away to keep on schedule. We catch only a glimpse of him or her.
          The men who hoist our trash into the truck that rumbles down the alley every Wednesday have time only for an occasional wave. New faces appear every few weeks.
          Times change but memories last.

Five years ago I began keeping a list of the books I read. Looking back at year end allows me to evaluate how I spent my time.
          Usually, I complete 15-20 books–a mix of middle grade works and adult fiction and non-fiction. The high count of 29 books on my 2009 list surprised me, until I realized that six were children’s picture books.
          Typically, one book stands out as the most compelling read for that year. As I reviewed the fifteen books I completed in 2012, I recalled my days of total immersion in two very different books. One offered outstanding research and exceptional writing (it was a Pulitzer Prize finalist) and the other a unique yet believable point of view.

Here are my  ”stand out” books from the past five years of reading:

2012 Empire of the Summer Moon – Non-fiction, S.C. Gwynne

           Memoir of an Imaginary Friend – Fiction, Matthew Dicks

2011 DOC: A Novel – Historical Fiction, Mary Doria Russell

2010 An Absence So Great – Historical Fiction, Jane Kirkpatrick

2009 Blood and Thunder – Non-fiction, Hampton Sides

2008 All Over But The Shoutin’ – Memoir, Rick Bragg

I look forward to lots of great reads in 2013. I’m already wait-listed for two new books at my local library and have a Christmas gift book downloaded on my Kindle. I hope that you, too, enjoy great reading in the new year.

Note: some of the books listed were not published in the year I read them.

 Before gold seekers and settlers moved into Ute territory in the mid 1800′s, meat was plentiful. The Utes were skilled hunters. Deer, elk, antelope, and mountain sheep grazed on the mountain sides. Great herds of bison roamed the parks (broad meadows surrounded by mountains).
          They caught fish in willow baskets and cooked them on a spit over a fire. They also boned and hung them on poles to dry and store for winter. John C. Fremont reported receiving dried fish from the Utes during his travels in 1843. The Utes also trapped river animals. Roasted beaver tail was a special treat.
          Wild grass seeds, such as pigweed, lamb’s quarter, and millet, could be ground for flour to make flat bread. There was fruit in the mountains during spring and summer. Strawberries, currants, chokecherries and plums were eaten fresh or dried for winter use.
           The autumn buffalo hunt was the major source of winter food. Ute women preserved the meat by cutting it into strips and drying it in the sun.  The whole family joined in gathering small nuts of the pinon tree in the late fall. Picking and roasting this treat was a festive family event. (Those tasty nuts are still a great treat today.) Another treat that could be stored for travelling or for winter was made from dried crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas. These were chopped and mixed with berries to small fruit cakes.
          After living on a limited diet of stored food during the winter, everyone craved fresh greens. The first sprouts of grasses were especially tasty. Ute women used sticks to dig wild carrots, the roots of sego lily and fritillary. Brake fern, asparagus, bitterroot, wild potatoes and onions grew in the runoff from high mountain snowmelt. They gathered eggs laid by ducks and mud hens.  The Utes ate the blossoms and fruit of the yucca plant and used the root for soap.
         

This series of posts attempts to answer the most frequently asked questions from students who visited this site in 2012. Information from The Handbook of North American Indians, Volume II, Great Basin, Smithsonian Institution

Utes- Mrs. John Marshall, pappoose Kate (daughter of Luke Snow), Chipeta, pappoose Scoop, Mrs. John Patterson, Mrs. Buckskin Charlie (Toowee), pappoose Japanese

According to Chipeta’s great nephew, when a couple had no children, relatives might give them a child. A brother of Ouray married a sister of Chipeta. They gave a baby to Chipeta and Ouray. This little girl, born about 1863, was called Cooroopits. She grew up to marry a Ute known as Tom Patterson. Cooroopits is often found in photos of Chipeta taken when she travelled from the reservation to visit frineds in Colorado in the early 1900s.
          In accounts by people who visited Chipeta and Ouray in the 1860s, three other children are mentioned. Living with Chipeta and Ouray were a girl called Sowanarotance and boys called Antonio and Atchu. In a 1904 census taken on the Utah reservation, Antonio (born about 1855) appears to be living in the camp with Chipeta and McCook’s family.
          Chipeta and her second husband, called Accoomooquats, are listed in the 1885 census of Utes living on the Utah reservation. Also listed in their teepee are six boys ranging in age from 5 to 15: Duascuno, Sevito, Guadelupe, Jose La Cross, Francisco and Joh Peto. When land was allotted to individual Utes in Utah, John Peto received land near Chipeta’s. In 1906 he is called “J.P. Chipeta” in a list of Utes being compensated for land taken from them for construction of a toll road.

This series of posts attempts to answer the most frequent questions asked by students who visited this site in 2012 (based on search terms used).

Photo courtesy Denver Publi Library, Western History Collection 

Opening of the Gunnison Tunnel, 1909

Inauguration Day is a good time to think about Presidents of the United States. Have you ever met a President in person?
          Would you be surprised to know that Chipeta and Ouray had personal meetings with several U.S. Presidents?
          During his first trip to Washington City in April 1863, Ouray and a delegation of Utes met with President Abraham Lincoln. At that time Lincoln presented Ouray with a black cane, his standard gift to the leader of each Indian delegation he met.
          On February 5, 1868, Ouray and another delegation of chiefs met with President Andrew Johnson. The President gave them a tour of the White House.
          In January 1872, Ouray and a delegation of Ute chiefs were received at the White House by President and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant .
          The following year, Ouray and another delegation of Utes were back in the nation’s capital. During this trip the Utes agreed to give up their claim to the San Juan Mountains. Ouray and the delegation met with President Grant on October 24, 1873.
          President William Howard Taft came to Colorado in 1909. On September 23, 1909, he gave a speech in Grand Junction, Colorado, reportedly attended by 12,000 people. Chipeta and a group of Ute chiefs were among the specially invited guests. After the speech, Chipeta and the special guests stepped onto the stage to meet the President. This group of guests would accompany the President on a train to Montrose for the opening of the Gunnison Tunnel. President Taft insisted that Chipeta ride with him to the railroad station in his open touring car.

Photo courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection.

Sources: Indian Agent Expense Records, National Archives; Washington Evening Star, October 24, 1873; Bits of Colorado History, Al Look (Golden Bell Press, 1977)

Chipeta was most remembered for her kindness.
          Early Colorado settlers recalled how she helped them survive in the rugged mountains. In spite of the fact that they were invading the homeland of her people, Chipeta showed new arrivals where to cross swollen streams in spring or where to find edible plants. Sometimes she came to their aid with a gift of dried meat in the midst of winter.
          People who met her in later life also spoke of her kindness and her concern for other people. If someone did something for Chipeta, before long she sent them a “thank you” gift. Often it was some item that she had beaded – a hair ornament, a little purse or pouch, a knife shield. Sometimes it was a large gift like a beaded saddle bag. No good deed went unnoticed by this woman. Many people who met Chipeta said, “She was the kindest person I ever knew.”

This series of posts attempts to answer the most frequent questions  asked by students who visited this site in 2012 (based on search terms used).