Service on the Indian Reservations

S E RV I C E

O N T HE T I N I N D IAN RES ERVA O S .

BEI N G T HE EX P E RI E N CE S O F A S P ECIAL I N D IA N AG E N T WHI L E

I N S PECT I N G A G EN CI ES

A N D S E RVI N G A S

AGENT FO RVA RI OUS TRI BES ;

I N CL UD I N G

EXPLANATIONS O F HO WT HE G OVERNM ENT S ERVIC E I S CO N DUCTED O N T HE RES ERVATIO N S ; DESCRI PTION S O F AGENCIES ; AN ECDOTES I LLUSTRATING T HE S A N D HABITS , CU TOMS , PECULIARITI ES O F T HE IN DIANS ;

A N D

HUM RU ANED TE AN D T RE F TRAVEL O O S C O S S O I S O .

By E . E . W H I T E .

I I S RA T D La x U T E . 1 8 COPYRIGHT , 9 3 ,

Y . . B E . E WHITE

rv ed (A ll Right s R ese . )

D I P L O M A P R ES S . Y A R K A N S A S D EM O C RA T CO M PA N ,

L I T T L E R O C K .

1 893 . I N T R O D U C T I O N .

H E C APT R I . — APPOINTED SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT ORDERED T O

— ~ — WASHINGTON SWINDLED A N D LAUGHED A T A C “ —T O QUIRING EXPERIENCE NORTH CAROLINA .

N the United States Ind ian service there are ﬁve

a ﬁft - Speci l Agents , ﬁve Inspectors and yeight A Agents . The gents have perso nal su pervision and

f t he control , within certain limitations , of all a fairs on

various Reservations , and in many cases several separate f Reservations , and several di ferent tribes , or remnants

of tribes , are under the j urisd iction of one Agency . The d uty of the Special A gents and Inspectors is to A v isit and inspect the gencies fro m time to time , and investigate all complaints concerning the Ind ians or f af airs on the Reservations . Special Agents are also

often detailed to serve as Agents for indeﬁnite terms .

The Special A gents are u nder the im med iate d i r ec f tion and control of the Co mmissioner of Ind ian A fairs , and the Inspectors are in like manner subord inate to t he

Secretary of the I nterior . 4 O N N SERVICE THE INDIAN RESERVATIO S .

There being no separate circu its , or prescribed time A for the inspection of gencies , each of the Special A gents and Inspectors has a ﬁeld of d uty coextensive

with the limits of the United States , and is required to go

wherever and whenever he may hap pen to be ordered .

N otice of my appointmen t to be a Special Agent wa s a cco mpanied by an order to report in person at the I n fi in d ian Of ce , Washingto n . Presenting myself to the

Co m missioner , I was informed that the p urpose of the order was to enable me to receive a co urse of instruction at the D epartment before entering u pon my d uties in

the ﬁeld . Fro m the ﬁrst information of my appointment I had been op pressed with a d istrust of my ab ility to meet the

require ments of the service . I was shown at the D e

a r t m en t p , and , as I fancied , not in co mpliment , b ut

rather in derision , that I was the youngest Special A gent then in the service by twenty years , and in add i

tion to my inexperience in age , I was a stranger both to

me Indians and the Ind ian service . I n reco m mend ing m for appointment yfriends had probably u rged , in lieu

of experience , my ordinary business qualiﬁcations , and what they believed to be so me natural adaptability to k that ind of service .

When I wa s deemed well enough informed to take f the field , notice was u no ficially co m mu nicated to me O F N 5 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGE T . that I wo uld be first sent on a sort of training trip to the E N astern Band of Cherokees , in orth Carolina . This information co uld not have been more acceptable to me

wa s if it had been designed as a sp ecial favor , because I u nwillin g to be sent to the large Agencies in th e West u ntil I possessed more knowled ge of the service than it

os s ibl e ' t o was p acqu ire in Washington .

Bu t having accepted the appointment , I was eager to veteranize myself and acqu ire that peculiar accomplish “ ment called experience . My ﬁrst lesson , however ,

a hi which I received even before I got o ut of W s ngton ,

like many others which followed , was in the highest

degree u nsatisfactory . I m ay say that it conformed

exactly to my idea of a mean trick , in my then unso

his t ica t ed p state , and , in add ition to wou nding my pride

most grievo usly it cost me a dollar , and , so far as I

a s know , h never proﬁted me anything in return .

It occurred as follows : O n the morning of the day

named in my orders for my departu re fro m Washington ,

I went to the D epartment to receive the special in s t r u c t ions which I had been told wo uld be ready for me at

’ 9 o clock . B ut being d etained beyond that hour , I

fou nd to my d ismay , u pon retu rning to the hotel , that

it lacked only a few m inutes of train time . I had ascertained that I should depart fro m the Baltimore 6 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

wa s Potomac depot , but ignorant of its location . I sup

it wa s posed so mewhere toward the o utskirts of the city . The hotel at which I was stop ping is situated on

n wa Pennsylvania Avenue , less tha half yfrom the Cap it o l to the White Ho use H urrying out on the curb a stone , I hailed cab and inqu ired of the driver , and with n manifest a xiety , I now have no doubt , if he co uld get me to the Baltimore 8: Poto mac depot in time for the

n h is h trai . Glancing hastily at watc , he said

’ M ay be I can , if yo u ll j u mp in qu ick . Detectin g a

rascally gleam in his eye as he said that , the thou ght

ﬂashed throu gh my m ind that his intention wa s to

secure my fare , with no id ea of gettin g me to the train . h For t at reason I told hi m , and with more vehemence ,

wa s I am now willing to ad mit , than necessary , that I would pay him a dollar—double fare—to get m e to the

depot in time , b u t not a cent if he failed .

of It was a pleasant autu mn day , and a grou p ten or twelve distinguished looking men—Senators and Mem — bers of Congress , I imagined were standing in front of n the hotel . My egotiations with the cab man attracting

their attention , they suspended conversation amon g

themselves and looked at me in an amused sort of way , which at the time I d id not comprehend . A s I stepped into the cab the driver sprang to his

seat , gave his horse a cu t with the whip , and we dashed O F EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT . 7

nearly straight across the street , stopp ing in front of a h large brick ou se j ust a little beyond , and in full view

of the hotel . D is mo unting qu ickly and jerkin g the

O cab door pen , the driver called o ut H ere ye air ! ' ? ” H ere ye air what I d emanded .

Baltimore Poto mac depot . Train goes in ten

minutes , he replied .

A s I alighted fro m the cab and gave u p the dollar , I looked back across th e street . The men in front of the “ s eem ed hotel threw kisses to me , and to say , Call again ! 9" N I proceeded d irect to Charleston , orth Carolina . k The Chero ee Reservation , known as Q ualla Bou ndary , k lies in Swain and Jac son Counties , in the extreme

o f T enn es s ee southwest corner of the State , near the line

and Georgia . Charleston is the seat of the Agency ,

thou gh not within the Bou nd ary .

This pretty little m ountain town occupies a p i c t u r

T u c k a s ee ee esque situation on both banks of the g River ,

' a beautiful tributary of the Tennessee . Here I had my

N e headquarters during my stay in orth Carolina , a p

r i od of two months . Fro m this point I made several

trips to Asheville by rail , and rode over the Indian

Reservation , and the surroundin g country generally , on horseback . 8 O N T HE SERVICE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

H E C APT R I I . — AMONG T HE EASTERN BAND O F CHEROKEES I N A

HURRICANE .

H E land s owned by the E astern Band of Chero

kees are estimated at sixty - ﬁ v e thousand acres

ﬁft ytho usand in a body known as Q ualla Boundary , in

Swain and Jackson Cou nties , and ﬁfteen thousand in

Graham and Cherokee Cou nties .

’ Accord ing to the Agent s census report , there are n ine hu ndred full -blood Cherokees still inhabiting these

lands , their ancestors having been permitted to remain in that cou ntry when the main part of the tribe removed

I 1 8 2 to the nd ian Territory , in 3 .

These Ind ians receive no annu ity , or other personal

aid , fro m the Government . Most of the m own small

farms and so me live stock , dwell in log houses , wear

- civilized dress , and are self su p p orting . The Govern

‘ ment exercises guard ianship over them , and general A supervision of their schools , thro ugh their ge nt at

. Charleston Their ed u cational. facilities consist of two

ﬁ v e board ing schools at Yellow H ill , and d ay schools in other settlements . F E A A A 9 EXPERIENCES O A SP CI L INDI N GENT .

After one day spent in council with the Ind ians o n

Q ualla Bou nd ary , I mad e a trip on horseback to M urp hy ,

in Cherokee Co unty , to meet those in that locality . Ford ing the Tennessee R iver above the mo uth of the

T u c k a s ee ee V g , I fell into the alleytown Road at the

N a n t a ha la h mouth of the , and traveled directly u p that

strea m to its sou rce at Red Marble Gap .

H id away here in these w ild and almost im pe n etrable

u m mou ntains , seldom seen by man , and altogether

known among the great rivers of the earth , this little

river is indeed one of the physical gems of this continent .

t Only twenty miles long , ﬂowin g in a d ue nor h co urse , and h igh mountains rising precipitously fro m the water ’ s

edge on both sides , the sun never shines on it except

o for a few hours at midday . Fo r this reason the Cher — kees ca ll it N oonday River the beautiful name N an b ta alah , as they pronou nce it , meaning that in their

language .

After two days spent with the Indians near M urphy , and one day with a s m a ll band residing on H anging

Dog Creek , beyond the H iawassee River , I set ou t for

Robbinsville , in Graham Cou nty . Com ing back on the V Charleston road as far as alleytown , I there tu rned

Cheo ih west across Mo untain . Soon after I began to ascend the mountain a heavy W rain and indstorm came u p . A mile or more further 1 0 S D S S ERVICE ON THE IN IAN RE ERVATION .

on I actu ally rode into the clouds . They were banked

u p against the m ountain side , and of s uch density as to

be as dark as night , except when illu minated by light

ning . The road was a narrow d u gway , and ascended

in a zigzag course , with an almost vertical wall on one

side , and a gorge several hundred feet deep on the

wet other . The grou nd being and slippery , my horse f held his footing with great di ﬁculty . Like myself , he

felt the presence of danger . Proceeding cautiously a

few steps at a ti me , he would halt and shiver , and then pick his way slowly o n a few steps and stop and sh ud

“ der again . Heavy th under , which jarred the earth ,

and blinding ﬂashes of lightning , wh ich enveloped me

in ﬂame , were almost continuous . Several times the wind al most twisted me o ut of the saddle , and seemed about to lift my horse bod ily fro m the earth . The

ea v i es t rain was the I ev er saw . It appeared to de f scend in sheets instead O drops and streams . I d id not

wa ter t o . see m be in mere rain , bu t in In the course of half an ho ur I suddenly emerged

from the clouds . Halting and turning my horse around in the road , I looked back down the mountain . I had

tk r ozz /z actually ridden g the clouds , and into the su nlight A ll above them . along the side of the mou ntain , and

t he r ea t far ou t over the valley , lay . g bank of clouds , rolling and tu mbling and rearing u p in places , like some gigantic thing of life in mortal co mbat . . EXPERIENCES O F A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT 1 1

The mountain still rose several h und red feet above

a n d me . Rid ing on to the s u m mit , I halted there su r v e ed y the scene again . It was a scene worth behold

ing . The su n never shone brighter than it was then

shining u p there above the clouds . D own below , the

A n d o n storm was u nabated . there the su mm it I could see that the clouds extended entirely arou nd the mo un

tain . The thu nder was still boo ming with undiminished

fury . The clouds were still rolling about in the most

violent co m motion , and lurid with continuous lightnin g .

Trees were swaying in every d irection , and in the awful roar I thou ght I cou ld d istingu ish th e sounds of falling

timber . I n easy sigh t were several other peaks also above the

clo uds . Sittin g there calm , serene and m ajestic , with their rich green lau rel and spru ce blended with the sear

and yellow leaf of the ash and oak , and bathed in the

r e bright sunlight , their colors mad e more brilliant by

ﬂ ec t io n w fro m the dark clouds belo , they constituted ﬁt

settings in the vast ﬁeld of roaring , upheav ing vapor

with which they were girdled abou t , and added m uch

to the grandeu r and magniﬁcence of the scene . The cold wind on the su mmit soon com pelled me to proceed on down throu gh the sto rm on the opposite n side of the mou tain . By th e time I had descended

e that far the hurricane had spent its force . Som rain 1 2 S ERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . wa s still falling , and it seemed as cold as ice water . Fro m there o n down to Robbinsville every rivulet was a

torrent . So me of these ﬂowed across the road , and

were al most deep enough to swim my horse . Water was rushing down the mountain sid e in heavy volu mes

no where there were streams or channels . The road n was washed i to gullies , and thereby rendered well nigh

impassable , and in some places dangerous . I arrived

at Robbinsville j ust at nightfall , thorou ghly wet and

chilled , and su ffering terribly fro m cold and neu ralgia , in consequence of the exposure . O F 1 3 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

E CHAPT R II I .

—A J OHN J AYBIRD , THE INDIAN RELIC MAKER

L A WYER DUDE AND A .

EN H I had completed my d uties at Robbinsville , .

I set out on the return trip to Charleston . At the ford on “ the Tennessee Riv er I fell in with a young

Cherokee named John Jaybird , and rode on to Charles

i n ton h is company . M r . Jaybird is known both amon g

the whites and Ind ians as the Indian relic maker . H is ch ief employment is carving the images of men C and an imals in a kind of lay , or soft stone , found in

that locality . With no other imple ment than a pocket

' knife he can carve a n ex a c t image of any animal he

has ever seen , or of which he has ever even seen a “ ” picture . For these curiosities , or Indian relics ,

he calls them , he ﬁnds a proﬁtable sale among the

whites . A few days after my meeting with h im , Jaybird made himself the hero of an incident that wa s the subject of m uch hu moro us Co m ment as long as I stayed in t he 1 4 O N T HE S SERVICE INDIAN RESERVATION .

cou ntry . A d ude came ou t from the city to visit M r .

He Siler , a prominent yo ung lawyer of Charleston .

professed to be fond of ﬁsh in g , and fro m the ﬁrst mani f es t ed great im patience to embark I n that delightfu l

pastime . He was very loud , and so extremely bluster

’ ing and energetic that M r . Siler s village friends stood

z off and looked on in a ma ement , and so metimes in great

B S wa s s amusement also . ut M r . iler courteo u and N obliging , and not disposed to be critical . evertheless , it was wh ispered about among his hom e friends that at heart he would be glad enough to get the d ude off in

the woods o ut of sight . Anyhow , he said the d ud e

S . hould ﬁsh as mu ch as h e . wished E quipped with bait and tackle , they betook them

’ selves to the river . To the d ude s evident astonishment the ﬁsh refused to co me out on th e bank and su ffer him

S to kill them with a club , and he hifted abou t too much

to give them a chance at h is hoo k . He could always

see a better place somewhere else . H e soon began to manifest d isap pointment in the ﬁsh and d isgust for the t coun ry , and intimated that the people were shamefully

deﬁcient in enterprise and style , and in no respect what

S they hould be . Rambling on down the river—the d ude leading and

— S who Siler following they came in ight of J aybird , was S also fish ing . ittin g motionless on a rock , with his EXPERIENCE S OF A S PECIAL INDIAN AGENT 1 5 gaze fixed o n the cork on his line he seemed the co un er a r t fi t p of the lone sherman .

’ B ' y j ove Yonder s an Ind ian , said the d ude ’ e let s make h im get away and let us have that plac .

“ ’ O h . no , replied Siler ; that s John Jaybird , one

’ of the best fellows in the world . Let s not bother

Mr . Siler and J aybird were close friends . ” N “ ’ o , said the d ude ; that s the most decent place ’ ! I ve seen , and I intend to have it ; I do , by J ove

’ “ Oh , no ; don t do that , Siler pleaded ; he

’ m a ke would n t d isturb us . Besides , if we try to h im

’ we go he s liable to get stubborn , and had better no t

’ have any tro uble with h im . Wait and I ll ask h im to

’ let you have the place ; m ay be he ll do it .

’ Oh , get o ut , the d ude ej aculated what s

- k the use of so m uch politeness with a lazy , sleepy loo ing Ind ian ? Watch me wake him u p and make him ! trot . By jove , watch me h Swelling i mself u p to the highest tension , he strode u a p to J aybird , who was still u naware of their pproach . Slapping his hand down on Jaybird ’ s head and snatch

ing his hat off , he exclai med H ! ere , yo u Ind ian ; clear out from here By jove , clear out ! 1 6 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

J aybird looked u p at the intruder , b ut with a face as

barren of expression as the rock u pon which he sat .

Com prehending the demand , however , he replied

Yes ; me no clear ou t Me heap like it , this place .

Me heap ketch h i m , ﬁsh . ! ! Get out , I tell you By jove , get ou t roared

the d ude , with visible signs of embarrassment and rage .

’

Yes , me no git out . M e heap like it , th is Before Jaybird could ﬁnish the sentence the d ude

S slapped h im on the ide of the head with his open hand .

Springing to h is feet , J aybird uttered a whoop and ran

into the d ude , butting h im with h is head and shoulders

’ instead of striking him . The d ud e s breath escaped

fro m him with a sou nd not u nlike the bleat of a calf ,

and he fell at full length on his back . Jaybird went

down on top of him , pound ing and biting with a force and ferocity that suggested a cross between a pugilist

Wl ld c a t and a . The d ude tried to call Siler , but Jay ’ bird put his mouth over the d ud e s and bit his lips a l

’ o ff most . H e bit the d ude s nose , eyebrows , cheeks ,

ears and arms . He choked h im , and beat h im from his

waist to his head .

When J aybird th us S prung h imself head foremost at

t h the d ud e , Siler fell over on e ground in a spasm of c ’ laughter . This d id not es ape J aybird s notice , and he

j u mped to a wrong conclusion as to the cause of it .

1 8 S SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

called to him for help . H e seemed surprised , and

’ n co uld repress his resentment of Siler s cond uct no lo ger .

Readj usting his eyeglass , and taking a closer look at

J aybird and Siler , he exclaimed in a tone of mingled revenge and satisfaction °

A h ! ’ , by jove Yo u re calling for help you rself ? e now , are you Yo u played the deu ce h lp ing me ; ! ’ yo u d id , by jove I hope he ll beat yo u to death and

’ scalp yo u , and if it were not for the law I d hel p him ! ! do it ; I would , by j ove J aybird relaxed no e ffort u ntil Siler was as badly

whipped as the d ude . Then rising and deliberately s i tti n on lei s ba it p g afresh , he resu med his seat on

- the rock , and again remarked in the same half su ppli

C ating tone , though with rather an om inous shake of the head s Yes ; me no git o ut . M e heap like it , thi place .

M e heap ketch h im , ﬁsh . N k S one of their bones being bro en , iler and the dude

were able to get back to Charleston . The whole town

gathered in to look at them , and the affair provoked

many witty co mments . The doctor said he could patch up their wo unds well enough for all practical e p urposes , bu t he shook his h ad discouragingly when

asked if they would ever be pretty any more . 1 9 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

M r . J aybird came o ut witho u t a scratch , and Siler

said the last they saw of him he was sitting on the rock ,

gazing at the cork on his line , precisely as he was when they found him . 20 S SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

A E V CH PT R I . — A NIGHT AMONG MOONSHINERS GLAD I WA S NOT RE —“ ” LATED T o OLD DAVE UPSTAIRS - A N UNCOMMON — BEDCHAMBER TH E OCCU PANTS O F THE LOWER ‘ - — BERTH M UST NOT LOOK CRO S S EYED ORDERED T o BACK WASHINGTON .

HA T portion of N orth Carolina was known in the

Revenu e D epartment a s o ne of the worst moon

i n shine d istricts th e United States . Bein g a stranger ,

wa s and traveling alone over the country , I several times f suspected of being a revenue o ﬁcer . Under this sus p ic io n my life wo uld have been in peril if I had com e

even accidentally on an illicit distillery , or u nconsciously

turned fro m the main highway in the direction of one . The ﬁrst inti mation I had of being thus suspected wa s on a trip by the wago n road from Webster to

Charleston . The ro ute lay across a range of mountains ,

and , as I had been delayed by an accident , nightfall

overtook me long before I reached the su m m it . J ust

' as twilight wa s settin g in I c a m e to an old mountain

’ wa s cer s cabin . The old fellow o ut at the roadside S 21 EXPERIENCE OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

as I d rove u p . He seemed to have been apprised o f

my approach , and I was m u ch puzzled by the cunning , wariness and evident susp icion with wh ich he regarded u me . At ﬁrst he ref sed me hospitality for the night , o n the plea that he had not a blade of fodder or a grain

a of corn for my team , or a mouthfu l of nything for me a to eat . H e declared th t he was right on the verge

b e of starvation , and that he did not see what was to come of the cou ntry ; that if times d id not take a turn for the better pretty soon the bottom would ‘j is ” n a c ha ll t y drop ou t entirely . I reminded hi m that it was several miles to the near

on d est house the road in either irection , and told him that unless he could take m e in I would ha Ve to tie up

my team and sleep u nder the trees .

’ ’ n a t cha ll a ea r ea ? You ain t j is y f to go on , air you

he asked .

n a tu r a l l Yes , I replied ; j ust y afraid . Besides , f as the road is d i ﬁcult and dangerous , and I have never

’

’ ‘ I do n t been over it , believe I could ﬁnd the way in a

dark night , as th is is going to be , even if I were brave

enough to try .

’ ? W Yo u don t , eh hat do yo u call you r name , if it ’ s a fair question ? W hite . 22 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

White ? By gravy ! Any kin to old Uncle D avey ” ? White , of Soco Gap

I hope not . ’ ! ’ ’ Yo u don t say Well , I ll be hanged if you don t

’ j i s n a t cha llyknow h im mighty well fur a man that ain t ” no kin to h im .

’ k N b e Do n t now him at all . ever heard of hi m

’ ’ ’ D i a n t f n a t cha ll Well , you ve j is y got the old

S » rascal ized u p abou t right , anyhow . You have , shore

fur a fack .

’ How d o yo u k now I ve sized him u p at all ?

’

Why , d idn t you say you rself j is now that yo u j is

’ n a t c ha lly hoped you warn t no kin to the old Repub lican son - o f- a - gun ?

Yes , and I stick to it , b u t ! ’ Bully fu r you , Colonel Hanged if I would n t

’ n a t c ha ll stick to it too . I m j is y glad myself that yo u

’ A n d ain t no kin to the old rapscallion . , Colonel , if

’ ’ n a t c ha ll it s a fair question , I d j is y love to know

’ whu r yo u er

To Charleston .

! ’ ! ’ You don t say You hain t lived there long , I

’ reckon . I ain t never seed you there . I don ’ t live there at all: and did not say that I EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGEN T 23

’ “ ’ ’ D on t t a k e f o i no o fense , Colonel ; don t take no

’ l . ense . I don t mean no harm ; none at all B ut , gen

’ t l em en d n a t c ha ll whu r , I j is ylove to know you do live , if yo u don ’ t mind A In rkansas .

E d ev il ! A — TH I n rkan Say , Colonel ; my name —Wm E P is Beasly . H . Beasly , squire , J . . , jestice of

’ the peace of Panter Creek Precinct . By grab , I m j is

’ n a t c ha ll nii n d y glad to meet you , and if yo u don t

’ ’ ’ n a t c ha ll o u er tellin , I d j is ylove to know what y u p

’ to in th is neighborhood ? The wa r hain t broke ou t a ? gin , has it N ’ ? ow , S qu ire , wh at su ggests war to yo ur m ind I — acknowled ge t ha t I am very h ungry that is one reason whyI wanted to stay all night with yo u—bu t I d idn ’ t

su ppose I had begun to look m uch like an army .

“ ’ Oh , by gravy , no ; I wo uldn t say that yo u look

’ — nti n N like an army especially the ﬁg part . o ; by

’ j acks , I d never say that . B ut , honest Inj un , now ,

’ Colonel ; ain t yo u j is n a t cha lly up to so me devil ment in this neighborhood ? Blast my buttons if yo u ain ’ t the fust White man I ’ ve seed fro m A rkansas since the

G en tl eM EN war . , the way the m toothp icks did ﬁght wa s ! a caution to General Jackson Well , Colonel , A ? how er all the folks in rkansas now , anyhow H anged

’ n a t cha ll if I would n t j is ylove to know . 4 A 2 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

wa s d id Squire , that another reason why I want to

n i ht ' wit h stay all g yo u . I wanted to tell you all abo ut Wthe folks at home , and talk over old times generally ith yo u . B ut I reckon I had better get o ut here u nder the trees and try to rake enou gh dry leaves to

k A n d gether to make a bed before it gets too dar . ,

’ Squ ire , if I thou ght yo u could spare it . and it wou ld

not p ut you to too m uch inconvenience , I would ask

’ yo u for a drink of water , for I haven t been as thirsty

o nn n r w a r and g y since the . Bu t never m ind ; may be I

’ eonl a can stand it till morning . If yo u spare me a

little water , thou gh , and even an ear of corn to parch ,

I think I could get alo n g m uch better

S ! Confound it , Colonel ; het u p that sort er talk

’ Spare a drink 0 water ! The J eem s es River ! D og- gone

it , go down to the spring and drink a barrelful . And ! ’ lookee here By gu mp , I ve knowed fellers to git bit

’ s on stranger so bad it m ade thur heads swim , an yo u look to me more like the slickest kind of a yankee carpet

bagger than any Arkansas toothpick I ever seed . B ut

’ ’ ’ s a A bein as you yyou er fro m rkansas , an ain t no kin

’ to old D ave , dog my cats if I don t let yo u stay , if I

’ ’ ’ 0 0 never hear the last of it . A year corn an a bed ! ’ h ’ wh leaves Thunder an lig tnin ; y bless my time , ’ you j is n a t c ha lly would n t need anything else b ut

’ ow bristles to be a plu m hog . You ll ﬁnd our fare p

26 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

A t su pper there was nothing in the appearance of the

t wa s table to su gges starvation , or that the botto m

’ about to d rop ou t of the cou ntry , as the Squ ire seemed

. wa s to fear On the contrary , the fare , though plain ,

wholesome and ab u ndant .

’ ’ m The Squ ire s fa ily consisted of himself and wife , a nd two c sons and two d au ghters , the four latter rang

- ing in age fro m sixteen to twenty two years , one of the

T wo sons being the oldest and the other the youngest .

s mall rooms constituted his do micile . The main roo m contained a large open ﬁreplace at one end and t wo

beds at the other , and also served as a sitting room .

The side roo m served as a d ining room and kitchen ,

and also as the bedroo m of the boys . When bedtime came on the ’ Squ ire asked me if I

was a good climber . I told h im I was ﬁrst rate for a

m an of my thickness and weight , but that he could see for h imself th a t I wa s not exactly of the right b u ild for wh a trapeze performer , and asked him y he wanted to

u know . H e replied that he would have to send me p

“ ’ wa s stairs to sleep , and sorter afeared I could n t m ake

n a t c ha ll it , because he had j is ynever had time to ﬁx

reglar steps .

Looking upward , I saw j oists overhead , but neither

wa s ﬂoor nor ceiling . B ut to my amazement there a EXPERIENCE S OF A SPECIAL IND IAN AGENT 27

im m ed i a t el o v er bed u p there , y one of those below , the feet of the bed posts resting u pon and toe - nailed to

the joists . The staircase consisted of cleats nailed to the

wall . Mrs . Beasly and the girls having retired fro m

the room , I proceeded to ascend to my bedchamber by

i - - C climb ng hand over hand . As I reached the top leat

and was trying to swing myself u p on the joist , the

’ Squire called out '

' Think yo u kin make it Be kea r f u l ; that s right whu r a great big Cincinnati d ru m mer was tother night

’ when he fel l an j is n a t cha llylack to have killed hisself ; he d id , shore fur a fack . f The joists were abou t three eet apart , with j ust one

narrow plank on them in front of the bed . Sitting d o Wn on the side of the bed and drawin g o ff my boots , I tied the m together with my hand kerchief and swung

them across a j oist , saddlebag fashion . There were

wa ll s ° a n d open cracks in the , as I rolled back on the bed

t he and covered u p , I heard su ppressed giggling in side

room , which threw me into a very profuse cold sweat . The bedstead was the most abom inable contrivance

of the kind that I have ever seen . All of its joints were

loose and seemed to hav e been lubricated with rosin . Every time I moved it swayed aro und and creaked and r a t t led a l m o st i as loud as a Mex can cart . 28 S ERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

A fter I got settled in bed , and probably appeared

to be asleep , M rs . Beasly came qu ietly back into the w ’ roo m and resu med her seat at the ﬁre ith the Squ ire . A moment later I heard her reproaching h i m for send

A s ing me u p there . they were below me and the sound s of their voices ascended, I could hear them even w when they conversed in hispers .

H e seems like the nicest kind of a man , I heard

the dear old lady say .

? wa s Yo u think he does , d o you the suspicious

’ old scamp s response .

“ Yes ; and Bettie and Susie d id so hate for yo u to

pu t him up there , she replied . S ! ” “ Bettie and usie he almost snorted . Well ,

’ ’ - his looks don t suit me , not a dog gone bit . An I

’ want to give you a p inter right now . If he don t ﬁll

’ the bill with the u ndersigned there m u s n t be nobody else go in ’ crazy nor actin ’ a fool over him about these

’ ’ u premises ; there m us t , shore fur a fack . I ll bet my

’ ’ years he s up to som e devilment , an if I ketch him

’ ’ ’ - lookin cross eyed at you or one o them gals , I ll larrup

’ ’ him u ntil he ll wish he d never been b or n ed ; I j is n a t cha ll ywill .

Oh , you er too suspicious . ' ’ Well , he may be all right , and then agin he mayn t . H ’ ’ e says he s fro m Arkansas . That s a lie on the face O F N 29 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGE T .

A a of the papers , as them shev ille lawyers say . Wh t

’ would a feller fro m Arkansas be doin in this country ,

’ ’ k n n a t c ha ll t o ow . . I d j is ylove , That s too thin H e ﬁ looks to me mighty like an everlasting revenue of cer .

’ A n —I F li e i s — if he is , I say and tries to git down

’ ’ ’ fro m there to - night to go p r o wlin arou n lookin for

’ n a t c ha ll o ff stills , he ll j is ybreak his neck short at the ’ wh shoulders . That s y I d rove the poor little thin g

’ ’ d a off u p there . I reckon yo u an the gals woul tucked h i m away in a cradle here by the ﬁre ! B ut I

’ ’ ’ ’ don t want none 0 the boys bla m in me for lettin an

’ ’ enemy roost aroun my house to p ick em u p unawares .

n a t c ha ll H e pretended to be afeared to go on . I j is y

’ n u t her don t believe that . My op inion is that he d id

’ ’ ’ ’ th a t j is to git to hang arou n here an tu rn your n an ’ e the gals head s , u ntil h is posse can co m in sometime

’ - n a t cha ll to night , an then j is y raise sand . Oh , yo u ’ m ’ m ay d epend on it , there s ore of e m in the neigh

or ho o d b . B ut the man that can git ahead of old

’ S P n a t c ha ll qu ire Wm . H . Beasly , J . . , will j is yhave to

’ git u p a right smart earlier in the m o r n in than I think

that feller u p there ever riz ; he will , shore fur a fack . ” ! wa s Aha I said to myself ; once I blind , bu t now I see a thing or two . This grizzly old rascal is a f moonsh iner , and thinks I am a revenue o ﬁcer . While I was lying there med itating u pon the ludi 3 0 SERVICE O N THE INDI AN RESERVATI ONS cr o u s n es s of my situation , the girls came tiptoeing back

into the roo m , and Mrs . Beasly told them to go o n to

bed . They came back as noiselessly as kittens to the

' bed i mmediately beneath m ine . B u t not a sound d id I

hear , except the faintest rustle of clothing and j ust a

m ere suspicion of persons getting in bed . S I meditated so me more . uppose my crazy old bed

S S stead hould break down , or I hould get frightened in

a n d /( n oel : my sleep and j u mp o ut , or fall ou t accidentally

’ myself cr os s - eyed ! The Squ ire probably would not

want a better pretext for larrup ing me , and the fact that the old lady regarded m e as “ the n icest kind of a man would doubtless add to his enjoyment of the

performance . Before retiring the ’ Squ ire extingu ished the ligh t in

i t he the f replace , and soon the very stillness of place A became oppressive to me . lon g towards m idnight , and when my nervousness wa s abou t to succumb to f a

tigue and loss of sleep , the dogs began to bark . Som e m inutes later I heard a sound as of an owl hooting . I

wa s was satisﬁed it a counterfeit . It was a good im ita

tion , but not the genuine sound . I lay still and listened .

’ The Squ ire arose and tiptoed from the roo m . The

’ a n dogs ceased to bark . H alf hour later the Squ ire . crept back into the roo m and felt his way back to his bed . 3 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

After the lapse of an hou r , and when I was again

a s l ee I about to fall p , heard the approach of a cow

wa s bell . The do gs barked as before . It the ﬁrst time I had ever heard dogs bark at owls and grazing

t he wa s stock . I noticed also that the rattling of bell

with a so mewhat pecu liar stroke , and al most as regular

- as d ru m beats . It m oved slowly along in front of the

house and a short d istance beyond ceased entirely . A ’ S gain the quire stole ou t for half an ho u r , and then

crept back as before . At the same time I heard his

two sons stealthily enter the side roo m and go to bed ,

where I supposed they had been all n ight . Surely my presence in the neighborhood had p ut ’ S the boys on the alert . The qu ire was evidently

send ing and receiving grapevine d ispatches . If questioned abo ut it he would probably say that “ the boys were j is n a t c ha lly hold ing their usual weekly

prayer meeting . When morning came I felt as if witches had been

wa wa riding m e all night . Wishing to see if the y s

C lear so that I m ight arise , I moved my face slightly over the edge of the b ed and glanced at the lower

a berth , taking p rticular care , however , that my eyes

’ did not get crossed , because the S qu ire was sitting at the

- ﬁre , looking as fresh as a mornin g glory . To my great o relief the girls had arisen and gone fro m the r om. 2 O N T HE S 3 SERVICE INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

’ Seeing me awake the Squ ire remarked that it wa s

wa s time to git u p . I replied that I j ust considering

et d own my ability to g . He chuckled a little over that , and a s I descended h e adverted to the topics of the evening before with the observation

’ A n A ! m en yo u say you live in rkansas Gentle ,

but you er a long ways fro m ho me ; yo u air , shore fur a

’ ’ t o fack . Well , I m powerful glad you ain t no kin old I ’ ’ D ave , anyhow . don t say noth in agin old D avey

’ ’ myself , because I don t know nothin agin him , but

n a t c ha ll then folks will j is y have their suspicions , you

know . There being no reason why I should conceal my

er s o n I business fro m any p , conceived the idea that there might be so me fu n in maki n g it known to the

’ wa s Squire . Bu t his eagerness so great that I deter

m ined not to enlighten him d irectly , bu t to co m pliment

A t M rs . Beasly by giving her the information ﬁrst . breakfast I purposely engaged her in conversation—not

- — a cross eyed conversation , however and told her truth

who fully I was , and the nature of my business in that

’ cou ntry . I was correct about the fun . The Squire was

both astonished and delighted . The intelligence relieved

him of great suspense and u neasiness , and h is cord iality

iv at o nce became de monstrat e . H e said he was j is n a tc ha lly gladder than ever that I warnt no kin to

3 4 O N T HE S SERVICE INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

Reporting to the D epartment and asking for further

n instru ctio s , I received an order by telegraph to return A to Washington . Proceed ing by way of sheville and

VVa s hin stopping one day at that place , I arrived at g

1 t h ton on the s of D ecember . 8 5 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

E V CHAPT R .

FROM WASHINGTON T o THE INDIAN TERRITORY A N D — ’ —“ KANSAS A NIGHT AT TIGER J ACK S A DAFE AND ” ’ — DUMB HA YT HEN NAGUR T o TH E S A C AND FOX — AGENCY M V FIRST SPEECH T o BLANKET INDIAN S A —A T o T o TH E QU PAW AGENCY VISIT THE MODOCS .

EPO RT I N G to the Co m missioner of I n dian A ff a irs

in person upon my arrival in Washi n g ton fro m

N t orth Carolina , I fo und him directing the prepara ion of instructions for m e to proceed to Kansas and the v Ind ian Territory , to in estigate an alleged sale of land s

wa s by the Black Bob Band of Shawnees . I t a case of u nusual importance and the Co m m issioner was g ivin g a it close person l attention .

Proceed ing d irect to M uscogee , the seat of the Union A gency , in the Indian Territory , I arrived there o n the

t h d a A 4 y of January . The Union gency e mbraces what are known as the ﬁv e civilized tribes - the Chero

kees , Choctaws , Chickasaws , Creeks and Seminoles .

The Agent at that time wa s the d istinguished youn g

Cherokee citizen , Colonel Robert L . Owen . Colonel 3 6 S S ERVICE ON THE INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

w O en is part Cherokee , thou gh the wh ite blood largely predo minates . H e wa s the first tribal citizen to hold f A the o fice of gent , and he sustained that important and d i fficult trust throughout h is term with ' distin

g u is hed ability and the highest satis

t o faction and credit the Governmen t . M ost of the Black Bobs being

’

u nder Agent Owen s j urisdiction ,

CO L WE i n , R e g e L n , O N . and he having reco m mended the v es t i a t io n g , I was , of course , d irected to confer with h im for a starting point . H aving acquired all the

t h information he could give , o n th e 7 of January I

moved up to Wyandotte , Kansas , and served notice o n the a lleged p urchaser of the land of the t ime and pl a Ce when and where I would begin taking testimony .

' wa Fro m Wyandotte I returned by yof Olathe , Kan V sas , where I stopped a week , to inita , in the Cherokee N ation , where I was to begin the investigation , and where I was met by the purchaser and h is attorneys . N early all the witnesses being Indians and u nable to

E t speak the nglish language . their deposi ions had to be taken through an interpreter . When we had taken all V the testi mony obtainable at inita , which took us more

than ten days to do , I adj ou rned the investigation to

A he I the Sac and Fox gency , w re I had been nformed so me important witnesses co uld be found . R S T 3 7 EXPE IENCE OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGEN .

I proceeded by the Frisco Railroad to Red Fork , and

who thence in a buggy with M r . C . C . P ickett , then

S a c lived at and Fox . We left Red Fork at sunrise ,

bu t there was six inches of crusted snow on the grou nd , and it so i mpeded our progress th at notwithstand in g

a t we crowded o ur team all day , night overtook u s

’

Tiger J ack s , many m iles short of o ur destination .

- Tiger Jack is a full blood Uchee Indian , and a mem

ber of the Creek Legislative Cou ncil . H e owns a little ’ c o m f or t a bl e l o farm , has a few fru it trees , lives in a g

“ ’ cabin , and seemed to be traveling the white man s

~ road qu ite su ccessfully . B ut he pretended that h e E could neither speak nor u nderstand a word of nglish , and a grunt was the only response he wo uld make to

o ur request for entertain ment for the night , or anything

- else that we cou ld say to him . A red headed , scrawny

f we old Irish reighter , who m happened to meet there , H undertook to plead with him in our behalf . e made w a very ingenious and elo quent appeal , bu t hen he

t u n paused Tiger d id not even gru n , bu t looked as

moved as the gatepost . I n an instant the mettlesome

we old fellow got mad , and before could su ppress him

he had denou nced Tiger , among nu merous other th in gs ,

” ‘ d u m b ha t hen as a gru nting id iot , a dafe and y na

i nt l em a n gu r , and no g . He even threw o ff his coat and cap and challenged the Ind ian to come o u t 3 8 S SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

side of h is yard and ﬁght . B ut even that failed to

move Tiger . Apparently he was no more susceptible

wa s of intimidation than he of persuasion .

we Bu t as there was no other house in reach , mad e u p ou r m inds that if he kept u s out of his cabin that

night he would at least have to draw a gu n on us . Seeing u s begin to u nharness our team he cam e o ut side and motioned to us to drive in u nder a hayrick in

S S his corral . Then shrugging his houlders to how us

wa s that it too cold for him to help us , he hu mped hi m

self u p and trotted back into his cabin .

Going in ourselves after feed ing the team , we found Tiger sitting before the ﬁre and his wife busy preparing

- supper for us . M rs . Jack is also a fu ll blood Indian , i but , having been ed ucated in a m iss on school , she

E n speaks glish withou t embarrassment . She said Tiger E u nderstood nglish as well as she , bu t was ashamed to i speak t before strangers . We told her jo cosely that we o had bserved his embarrassment before we came in , and had no doubt that he was very bashful in all lan

a n guages when there was ywork to do .

O ur supper was bountiful and wholeso me , includ ing

venison steak and sofka , the latter a delicious dish which the Creeks make of hom iny , sweet milk and other ingred ients . After a night of perfect rest and refreshing sleep , M rs . Tiger served us a breakfast which

‘ I still remember with a cravin g appetite . N 3 9 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGE T .

We arrived at Sac and Fox early in the afternoon , and after I had called on the A gent at his ofﬁce I r e c e i v ed an extremely ceremonious call myself fro m a

S a c wa s com mittee of the and Fox Council , which I informed ha d been in session two d ays considerin g a set of by- laws which had been recom mended to them by the D epartment for the ad ministration of j ustice in the

f a s petty d omestic a fairs of the tribe . This co m mittee w

P a hs he a who co mposed of Keoku k , the principal chief , p , w an under chief , and a fussy old fello whose real name

I have forgotten , but who m I heard Henry J ones the “ - ca ll half breed interpreter , Old War D epartment , a

nickname which I considered entirely appropriate . They

came , they said , to welco me m e in the name of the

tribe to their Reservation , and to invite m e to add ress

the Council on the proposed code of laws . Being cond ucted to the council roo m by the A gent

and the co mmittee , I was introduced , ﬁrst to the Cou n c i l and then to the members personally . The Cou ncil

- was composed of twenty one members , nineteen of W hom were in full Indian costu mes . Two members ,

’ Chief Keoku k and his son Charley , were in citizens

n d ress . Keokuk is the son of the origi al chief of that

wa s name , and for who m the City of Keoku k , Iowa ,

named . H e is a man of great natural ability and

force of character . 40 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

S After shakin g hands all rou nd , I proceeded to peak .

I had to S peak slowly and pause at the end of each sen

who tence u ntil the interp reter , stood at my side , could

o wn repeat it to the Council in their language .

Soo n a l t er I commenced I felt myself outraged by

the cond u ct of the majority of the Cou ncil , bu t when I d ropped the subject of laws and started in to say th ings f to the o fend ing members , I was promptly assured that what I had regarded as gross d iscourtesy was I n fact

the very best form of Sac and Fox pol iteness . Old War D epartment occu p ied a conspicuou s seat

i m mediately in front of me , attired in the most fantastic

- costu me of the old time warrior that I had ever seen .

After I had spoken a few sentences , he p ulled his blanket u p over his head and down in front entirely to l the f oor , co mpletely wrapp ing u p and hid ing every

S wa s part of h is person fro m ight . I su re I had started

o ff on a line that d id not su it him , and that he had adopted that method of exclud ing the rest of my speech

fro m his ears , as well as of showing his resentment of what he had already heard . A pparently following Old War D epartment ’ s ex

- ample , another very solemn looking old fellow arose to

e his feet , and with great d xterity wound his blanket

tightly around his body , fro m the crown of his head to e the soles of his feet , and then stretched hims lf at full

42 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

length o n the bench , face downward . Others also wrapped their heads and faces u p in their blankets and stretched themselves ou t—so me on the benches and l e some on the f oor , som on their faces and some on

, b ut their backs , all apparently to sleep through the

A n d speech . so on , one after another , all except Keo kuk and threeor fou r others settled themselves down in the most u nd ign iﬁ ed and rid iculous postures I had ever seen hu man beings assu me .

It was more than I could stand . Like the Irish man

’ a t Tiger J ack s , I got m ad and pro ceeded to make what

I c o ns id er ed so me very apt quotations from h is most

pointed and energetic remarks . B ut as soon as the Agent and Keoku k co uld get in a word they assured

m e that I had m isconstrued their cond uct entirely , and d that no d isrespect was intended . The offen ing mem bers themselves ca me forward and earnestly protested

en that instead of meaning to be d iscou rteous , their d ea v or had been to d ispose themselves in such way as

to give their u ndivided attention to all I had to say .

Being satisﬁed by t he apparent sincerity of their man

wa s ner that this true , I cooled d own and proceeded

A t with my speech . its conclusion every member of the Cou ncil came forward and shook hands with m e

P a hshe a who again . Then , after Keok u k and p had

S r e each made a short peech , a vote was taken , which O F 43 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT . s u lt ed in the adoption of the by- laws by a large

majority .

So far as the Black Bob m atter was concerned , the trip to Sac and Fox was a disap pointment . It tu rne d ou t that no testimony was obtainable there or in that vicinity that would throw any light on the case one wa y or the other .

o o r B ut being now on the gro und , I embraced the p p t u n i t yto inspect the Agency , as it was my d uty to d o . Under the j urisd iction of that A gency are the Sac and

Fox , Pottawatom ie , Iowa and Kickapoo tribes , and the A bsentee Band of the Shawnee tribe . Major Moses N eal , of H u mboldt , Kansas , was Agent , and I fou nd all of his affairs in reasonably good cond ition . Fro m Sac and Fox I went direct to the Q uapaw

A c o r gency , which is situated in the extreme northeast

ner of the Ind ian Territory . That is an Agency of the f — remnants of eight d i ferent tribes the Q uapaws , M o

docs , Wyandottes , Shawnees , Peorias , Ottawas , M iam is E and Senecas . ach of these rem nants m aintains a

S f tribal organization , peaks a d i ferent language o r d ia

n lect , and ow s and occupies a separate Reservation .

Many of the m have made consid erable advancement ,

- hO e are self su pportin g , and give good p for fu tu re pro V gress . Colonel J . . Su m mers , of M issouri , was the

a Agent , and he seemed to t ke an intelligent and active

interest in their welfare and develop ment .

O F 45 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

The Modocs at the Q uapaw A gency are the same

Indians that carried on the re markable war in t he lava

1 8 beds of Oregon in 7 3 , and whose chief , Captain Jack ,

- killed General Canby . Scar Face Charley , Captain

’ Jack s brother , who succeeded that noted savage as

wa s chief when he hung for killing General Canby , is — — still chief of the tribe . This tribe always small now

- nu mbers bu t twenty two ad ult males , and less than one

e hu ndred people altogeth r . A fter these M odocs had been subd ued in the lava beds they were brought fro m O regon and placed on the

wa r Q uapaw Reservation , as prisoners o f . They have

always been allowed the liberty of the Reservation , bu t

Scar - Face said they had never beco me reconciled to

the Q uapaw cou ntry , and lived in the ho pe of being perm itted to retu rn so me day to their once free and

- —a happy homes in the far o ff O regon mountains hope ,

however , which I felt su re , thou gh I had not the heart ‘ t hei r d es t i n to tell him , it is ynever to realize .

When I had inspected the Q uapaw A gency , and taken all the testimony in the Black Bob matter obtain

i n able that locality , I returned to M uscogee , where I

v t he 2 n d closed the in estigation on of M arch . 46 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

E V CHAPT R I .

M Y FINDINGS IN THE B LACK BO B INVESTIGATION —A N - SPECULATORS EX GOVERNOR , LAWYERS , BANKERS AND A PU LL IN WA S HINGTON

Y ﬁnd in gs i n the Black Bob investigation were substantially as follows

In fulﬁllment of treaty stipulations , the Govern ment ,

1 8 t wo s e v in 54 , allotted h u nd red acres of land in e r a l ty to each head of a family in the Black Bob

Band . These allotments were made fro m the Black

Bob Reservation , which is situated in Johnson Cou nty , between sixteen and t wenty - two miles fro m Kansas

t e City , and h y are now a mong the most valuable farm

lands in Kansas . Being in the very midst of the terrible guerrilla war fare wh ich began o n the M isso uri - Kansas border as early

1 8 as 57 , and was kept u p with u nabated ferocity u ntil the

Wa r b et ween close of the Great Civil the States , the . Black Bobs su ffered heavily fro m the devastations of

both sides . Long before the close of that ﬁerce and de EXPERIENCES O F A S PECIAL INDIAN AGENT 47 structive stru ggle they had been d espoiled of all their

es live stock and other movable property . Finally , to cape fro m the atrocities of war so frequently happening i i m in their m idst , and in which the r lives even were i periled , they abandoned the r homes and sou ght and obtained refu ge amo n g the friend ly tribes in the Ind ian

Territory .

1 8 6 1 8 Between the years 7 and 7 3 , the I nd ians not

having returned , and not being expected to ever do so ,

r wh ite settlers took possession of thei lands , and have

S occupied them ever ince . This they have done with

an honest p urpose , and in the conﬁdent expectation that the Govern ment would restore the lands to the

p ublic dom ain , subject to p urchase or hom estead entry

h who by w ites , or ascertain by j udicial decree were

the heirs of the original allottees , and provide a plan

whereby the settlers m ight p urchase d irect fro m them .

N o patents had ever been issued t o the allo t tees for

their respective allotments , and of course they could

make no conveyance to individuals u ntil that was done .

B ut in the meantime nearly all of the origi n al allottees h a d o f t o d ied . In their cases , cou rse , patents had issue ,

not in their names , but to their heirs or legal representa t i v es wa s . For th is reason it necessary to ascertain and determine by j udicial decree who were the heirs of each

n of the deceased allo ttees . To p rovide for this , Co gress 48 S A ERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS . passed an Act authorizing and d irecting a su it to be

brou ght in the United States Court at Topeka , to ru n in the name of the United States against the Black Bob

Band of Shawnee Indians . I n compliance with this

A c t the A ttorney General of the United S tates a p

a pointed two special a ssistants , one , lawyer of Wyan

dotte , to represent the Govern ment , and the other , a

lawyer of Lawrence , to represent the I nd ians . Both

of these attorneys were paid by the Govern ment , each

receiv ing , as I recollect , the su m of

The su it wa s brou ght and a decree rendered in a c c o r d a n ce with the genealogy of the heirs , which the

attorney for the Ind ians had prepared for that p urpose .

The su it was a m ere formality , no resistance bein g made

to any of the proceed ings , and the decree being agreed

S ob to by both ides . B ut , however qu ietly and easily t a in ed , th is decree settled the question of heirships , and

perhaps correctly , and the patents were issued accord i n l g y. B ut instead of the patents being transm itted to the

I ndian Agent for delivery to the Indians , as they ou ght

to have been , they were handed over to the attorney

for the Government . They were not even intrusted to

the attorney for the Indians . The inﬂuence of the d is t i n gu is hed United States Senator fro m Atchison at that time wa s successfully invoked to thu s d ivert these

50 A SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

tract belonged to him , and he could sell it to the m an ff who o ered him the highest price for it . The settlers would thereby be enabled to com pete with the S p e cu

a nd lators , co mpetition m ust be avoided , even if an u nsuspecting and too co n ﬁd in g United States Sena t or d id have to be p ulled to work Ind ian Co m mis s io n er n Price . A little matter like that was not to sta d

in the way of su ccess at all .

In land transactions Ind ians are slow and capricious ,

and to make p urchases from so large a nu mber , scattered

over an area of country two hundred m iles in extent , was an undertaking which must have requ ired ex t r a o r d i n a r two ypatience and determ ination . B ut after years f of persistent e forts , and an outlay of tho usands of dol

wa lars in the yof expenses , these speculators se

t cu red deeds to nearly ten housand acres at $ 3 per acre . I n consequence of the vacillation and procrastination of the Indians , the Governor and the lawyers had to make a great many trips to d i fferent places in the Ter r it o r y, and in d oing so they always traveled together ,

invariably stopped at the same house , all occup ied the

sa me roo m when practicable , and generally two of them

slept in the same bed , and often had what one w itness

described as a rattling good time .

The p urchases w e re all made in the name of the

Governor , with money furnished by a Leavenworth O F 51 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

bank . The Governor was the sole grantee in each of

the deeds . B ut whenever an Indian came forward to

S ign a deed , the attorney for the Ind ians was o n hand with his genealogy of the tribe to see that a l l the heirs

to any particular tract joined in the conveyance , and

A n d that no money was thrown away on strangers . at such interesting mo ments the attorney for the Govern m ment was always present with the patents , and si u l t a neo u s ly with the signing of the deeds the Indians were requ ired to also S ign receipts to him for their

n s patents . But the pate t were never in fact delivered to

t the Ind ians , b ut in every ins ance , except one , they were handed to the Governor . The exception was in the case of a rather pugnacio us you ng I nd ian named B illie i Williams . H e threatened to break into the r roo m and “ whup the whole o u tﬁt ” if they d id not give hi m his hi m patent . They gave it to him , paid extra

t he for h is two hundred acres , patted him on back and begged him to say noth in g about it . N otwithstanding the Governor was ostensibly the sole

purchaser , it was clear that the attorney for the Ind ians wa s always present with his genealogy of the tribe to

a guard h im gainst the scylla of doubtful heirships , and the attorney for the Govern ment was always there so manipulating the d elivery of the patents as to steer h im clear of the charybd is of the co mpetition and O pposition of the settlers . 52 SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

N o services in the busines s of b uying or selling the

u n land were requ ired of the m , or even contemplated , A der their appointment fro m the ttorney General . O n

s the contrary , su ch service as they were renderin g to the Governor were altogether repu gnant to the nature of the d uties incu mbent u pon them as attorneys to con

d uct the lawsu it .

A n d certainly they were not devoting m onths and e months of th ir time , and staking whatever of good

reputation they may have had , to thus facilitate the

Governor to obtain and proﬁt by an u ndue advanta ge

over both the Ind ians and the settlers , w ithout reward .

A nd surely there wa s roo m for reward in the pros “ p ect iv e proﬁts of the speculatio n . Three dollars per acre was the consideration named in each of the — deeds less than in all . B ut u pon a personal

inspection of the land , as well as from the testimony of

1 0 competent witnesses , I found it worth fro m $ to $ 3 5

per acre , or an average of per acre , exclusive of

the improvements made by the settlers , and an average

i n of per acre , or an aggregate of

cluding the im provements . Fortunately a clause in the treaty between the Shaw nees and the United States pr ovided that no convey ance by any member of the tribe should be valid u ntil it was approved by the Secretary of the I nterior . The 53 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT . deeds in this case were presented at the D epartment for

approval , not by the Governor , the ostensible grantee ,

h imself , but by the attorney for the Govern ment . And li e did this in writing as attorney for the Governor , and not as attorney for the United States . B u t before m e he testified that he “ j ust happened to be goin g to Washington to see some Union Pacific Railroad people N d in ew York and Boston , and j ust carried the eeds along as a gratu ito us favor to the Governor because h e had free transportation over the railroads and th e Gov er n or E v had not . idently forgetting th is , the Governor himself testified before me a few days later that he did not know but that some o utside influence might

be necessary to procure their a p proval , in which event he knew this attorney would be the I z a n d i es t m an h e

‘ ’ ” cou ld get , as he had a political pull in Washington .

h r ec o m Agreeably to my ﬁnd ings as ere outlined , I

mended that the d eeds be not approved , that the cond uct of the attorneys be reported to the D epartment

’ h b e d eb a r r ed of J ustice , and t at they fro m practicing e b fore the Department of th e Interior . My reco m mendation as to the deeds was concu rred in by Indian Comm issioner Atkins and adopted by

Secretary Lamar , and they were never approved The penalty wh ich this entailed u pon the speculators wa s the loss of every dollar that they had invested in

ent er r l se the p . 54 S O N T HE R ERVICE INDIAN ESERVATIONS .

I was never advised what action , if any , was taken in

ha d reference to the attorneys ; and , as I performed

my d uty in the case and was done with it , I never

cared to know .

More than a year afterwards , however , the Senator fro m Wyandotte introduced a resolution into th e Kan

sas State Senate , which was adopted , memorializing the President of the United States to place the State A of rkansas u nder martial law , because of the assas s i n a t i o n o lit i c I a n of a pro minent p in that State . The Senator fro m Wyandotte being the attorney for th e

who Government and the man , the Governor said , had “ a political pull in Washington , the introd uction of this resolution reminded me in a characteristic m anner

’ a l t ho u h he m a ha v e that , g y been reported to the D e p a r t m e n t of J ustice and debarred fro m practicing before

the D epartment of the Interior , he was still masquer

ading in the toga of a State Senator , and gu iding the destinies of the Republican party in Kansas as Chair

o f had man the State Central Com mittee , j ust as he been doing for a great many years before . N 55 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGE T .

A E V CH PT R I I .

T O — S — OKLAH OMA CLAY COUNTY , TEXA TRIP THROUGH — T HE COMANCHE RESERVATION FORT SILL—LONG

O V T HE —HI S H RN MA ERICK , UNPAID HACK DRIVER

S FO R PA Y D A Y PI TOL PRACTICE .

T the close of the Black Bob investigation I was ord ered to O klahoma to expel the intruders

fro m that much coveted b ut forb idden country . Fro m

M uscogee I proceeded by rail to Henrietta , Clay

Cou nty , Texas .

Fro m Henrietta to Fort Reno , in Oklaho ma , a d is

a n d tance of one hundred ﬁfty m iles , the only means of transportation wa s the veh icle u pon which the mail was

wa s carried , and wh ich I had been informed a fou r

horse Concord stagecoach . Bu t to Fo rt Sill , seventy

t wo - - miles , it was a horse canvas covered device of tor

ture which has been appropriately named the jerky . “ ” Boarding the j erky at H enrietta j ust at dawn , I

fou nd myself in co mpany with D r . W . W . Graves , of

Whitesboro , Texas , who was en route to the Kiowa , 56 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

Co manche and Wichita A gency to take the place of

Agency physician . He proved to be an agreeable trav eling companion .

Clay Cou nty was sparsely settled . Between the Big Wichita and Little Wichita Rivers we passed through “ a prairie do g town several m iles lon g . The man with the hoe had not t hen made his ap pearance there very

nu merously , and the cattle barons seemed to be indeed mo narchs of all the range they cou ld ride and all the

cattle they could round u p . B ut it is a magniﬁcent cou ntry—entirely too good to be given u p to graz ing

and since that date settlers have swarmed into it , forcing the m averick lords to yield it up to the m and drift fu r

ther west , or go o ut of b usiness .

’ At Charlie s Ford we crossed Red R iver and entered

the Kiowa , Co manche and Apache Reservation . Thence to Fort S ill our route lay throu gh one of the richest

and most beautiful countries that I have ever seen . The ﬁrst ﬁfteen m iles was u p the valley of West Cache

s nI OO t h we Creek . Then crossin g a broad , prairie , E entered the valley of ast Cache , and followed it to

wa s wa s Fort Sill . It a splend id spring day , the grass

fresh and luxuriant , and fro m morning till night there was an unbroken expanse of virgin prairie—rolling

a . ridges , broad valleys , and stre ms of running water O ur long day ’ s journey terminated at Fort Sill j ust

58 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . in time for us to hear the boo m of the sunset gun and see the ﬂag of ou r cou ntry S lowly descend fro m the tall

ﬂagstaff in the center of the parade gro und , to be furled

for the night and then hoisted again at su nrise . Fort Sill occupies a p icturesque site at the conﬂuence f of Cache and M edicine Blu f Creeks , at the eastern ex

r em it t yof the Wichita M ountains . I t was established i n 1 8 6 9 , when the Co manches , Kiowas , Apaches ,

A —i n Cheyennes , rapahoes , Pawnees and Sioux fact all — the plains I nd ians were on the warpath . I t is built

of blue limestone , contains quarters for ten companies , and is one of the three princip al Posts in t he Oklahom a and I nd ian Territories —Fort Reno and Fort Supply

being the other two . The permanent garrison consists

of four troops of cavalry and three com panies of infantry .

A t we noon the next day passed Anadarko , the seat A A of the gency for the Co manches , Kiowas , paches ,

Ca dd o es Wichitas and , wh ich is situated o n the south

- ﬁ v e bank of the Washita River , thirty m iles north of

Fort Sill .

D r . Graves stopped at Anadarko , and I thou ght I wa s going to have a loneso me trip fro m there on to

Fort Reno , b ut at th e relay station on Spring Creek I

got a new d river , who furnished me plenty of amu se . ment . The drivers met there and exchanged outﬁts ,

each doubling back on h is own d rive . S S EXPERIENCE OF A PECIAL INDIAN AGENT . 59

hu I was struck with the co mical ap pearance , grim

mor and d roll philosophy of my new d river , and soon

became much interested in hi m . H is name , he said ,

wa s Longhorn M averick . H e see med desirous that I should know that d r i v m g the mail was not his u sual

wa s b r o ess i on occupation . He said he a cowboy y p f ,

bu t being stranded , ﬁnancially , a few weeks before , he was forced to come down te mporarily to d riving that old

b uckboard . It was h is intention , he said , to resign ’ as soon as he co uld make the contractor pay him f o r his

labor , and never be cau ght at that employment again .

Manifestly M r . Longhorn M averick had no conﬁdence

wa s in his em ployer , ashamed of h is ou tﬁt , and believed that if he ever got any pay for his services he would

have to ﬁght for it . He said that in fording the Cana

' dian River as he came down that morning , he drove into a deep hole that had been washed o ut since the

— i n evening before , and got a d ucking fact narrowly

escaped drowning . Then when h is team got where he

thought they co uld to uch botto m , they ca me very near

getting stuck in qu icksand . These accidents , added

to other annoyances , present and prospective , had p u t

him in an extre mely bad hu mor . H e was sarcastic and

sullen , but he looked so exceedingly funny in his sullen ness that I co uld not forbear to play a little on h is feel ings occasionally 60 S S ERVICE ON THE IN DIAN RESERVATION .

Without our consent we had been transferred at Fort ” v e Sill fro m the jerky to an old buckboard . Th is hic l e was so old and d ilap idated that no person except an impecu nious mail contractor wo uld have a c k n o wl

c o n ﬁd en ed ged its ownership . M r . M averick told me t ia lly that it had descended to the contractor as an i heirloo m fro m h is grand mother . M r . M aver ck also informed me that the contractor was “ tainted with ” “ aristocracy , and the heirloo m having been his

’ s a m i l ca r r i a e e beloved ance tor s f y g , he priz d it as a pea rl of great price . H e even ad monished me that a rule of the contractor requ ired all persons to treat it with the respect and reverence d u e a relic ‘ of such sacred a ssociations , and that every person who d isregarded that edict was forever debarred fro m laying his irreverent ” hands on the heirloom , either as passenger or driver .

And then in mock emphasis of th is admon ition , M r . M averick irreverently kicked o ff the re mainder of the

‘ dashboard , and , d rawin g his p istol , sp itefully shot a

spoke o ut of one of the wheels .

M r . Maverick had also learned , he said , that the — contractor wa s a very econo mical man s o econom ical

r th at he never paid his drive s a cent for their services . This was a rule from which he had never been known

to d ev iate . H is trick was to work the d rivers as long

n d as he could on pro mises , a then set them adrift moneyless , threadbare and hu ngry . S O F 6 1 EXPERIENCE A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

After some reﬂection M r . M averick qu ietly assured me that other drivers might sub mit to that sort of treat

wa s ment if they chose to do so , but whenever he so

a c constrained to tender h is resignation , it would be

a com panied by several very pointed person l remarks .

I n fact , if an honorable exception was not mad e in his

’ t/i e con t r a ctor s s on P ete wou l d r oba bl i n /z er i t lz i s case , p y

’ r a n n s ca r r i a e be or e tb e cl os e o tb e n ex t a d a g y g f f p y y.

A n d with that o minous observation M r . M averick d rew

S h is p istol again and shot o ut another poke . As we trotted down into the broad channel of the ! treacherous Canadian River , M r M averick looked at me with a peculiar expression fro m the corners of h is remarkably expressive eyes and asked Preacher ? N ? ? e ope . Why Want to get married I answ red . Git married nothin ’ Thou ght if yo u was a preacher

' yo u d better be p r a yi n “ Anything abou t to happen ?

N - inety nine chances to one there is .

’

That s almost u nanimous . Want me to pray for you anyhow ?

’ ’ s helli n Prayers can t do me no good . Better be

down the corn for you rself , thou gh . What ’ s the d i fﬁculty ?

This bla med river . 62 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

N ice looking river . What have you against it ?

Too d ad burned u nreliable .

I n what r CS p ec t ? ” Q u icksand ! ‘ Holes ! ” Bad ?

’ N - inety nine chances to one we ll get stuck , and if we do i t would take a h undred yoke of steers to pull u s

’ ou t . B esides that , we d sink o ut of sight in twenty ” m inu tes .

’

All right . We ll go in on the one chance in a

hundred . D rive slow , and give your team plenty o f

time to drin k and cool o ff . And before you start in ,

’ “ ” d on t you t/i i n b t/z i s p r eci ou s ol d li ei r l oom i s s til l i n ? ” en m ber ed wi tb too m a ny sp okes The expression which this answer prod uced on Long horn ’ s face showed plainly that he u nderstood that I

knew the really d angerous character of the stream , and

was only playing with him . Giving me only looks for

a rejoinder , he plunged in and crowd ed h is tea m throu gh

u nder whip , and , to o ur happy surprise , without the

slightest m ishap . But the Canad ian River is really the most dangero us

stream in the Territory . I had been dread ing it , and

now ﬁndin g myself safely across , although not a preacher , it wa s a relief to me to breath; grateful thanks to the S upreme Protector of all wayfaring mortals for hold ing S A 63 EXPERIENCES O F A PECI L INDIAN AGENT . us in the hollow of H is ha n d throu gh both the holes

and the qu icksand . Longhorn said h e would rather go back to Western Texas and live on mezquite beans the balance of his days th an be compelled to cross that river every day

for a year .

Ren o where An hou r after dark we arrived at Fort , E I found good acco m mod ations with M r . vans , the

post trader . 64 S SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RE ERVATION S .

A E V C H PT R III . — A T FORT RENO T HE COMMANDING OFFICER A N D M Y “ — - SELF A HOPELES S MISFIT EX PARTE CO OPERA — TION T O OSAGE AGENCY MOURNING A N D

DANCING .

m S stated in the preceding chapter , ybusiness at Fort Reno was to attend to the expulsion of cattle and boo mers fro m Oklahoma What was then known as Oklahom a was the section . of country S itu ated almost exactly in the center of the

Indian Territory , as it then existed , which was opened

1 8 8 to wh ite settlement in 9 , and fro m which the Cou n

o f ties Oklaho ma , Cleveland , Kingﬁsher , Canad ian ,

Logan and Payne h ave since been formed . Being owned by Indians it was not subj ect to settle

ment or occu pancy by whites . B ut the Ind ians d id not occu py it themselves—having relin quished that right to the Govern men t years before—and whites had

a now invaded it , and were gr zing cattle and makin g

t he; settlements , regardless of law .

I t had been reported to the Department t hat there '

66 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

B ut before any step had been taken , except publica E V tion of notice to the intruders , Colonel . . Su mner ,

f who the perm anent com mand ing o ﬁcer , had been

absent at Fort Leavenworth , returned to the Post and

a resumed co mm nd . H is arrival was signalized by an instan taneou s cessation of c o - operation between th e

fi a n d wa s com manding of cer myself . It demonstrated

to my satisfaction in my ﬁrst interview with h i m , thou gh

’ o n e t ha t c o - a brief , there would be no operation or

wa s co harmony between u s . It apparent that as

operators we were a hopeless m isﬁt . D isapprovin g the plan which I had adopted he refused to assist me to

carry it out . O n the other hand , the plan which he p roposed was more hero ic than was permissible u nder

my orders , as I understood them , and also , as I thought ,

u nnecessarily harsh o n the intruders . For that reason f I could not sanction it , or su fer it to be enforced on

my responsibility . It soon became m anifest that o ur

d isagreement was irreconcilable . Telegraphing that

information to the D epartment , I asked to be relieved

fro m further service in the matter , which was pro mptly

done , and I was ordered on to Osage Agency . D uring my stay at Fort Reno I becam e pleasantly E E acquainted with Captains A , . Woodson and . M .

H ayes , Lieutenant A . C . Macomb , and several other f o ﬁcers , fro m each of who m I received courteous atten P R S F A P C L I I G 67 EX E IENCE O S E IA ND AN A ENT .

“ c o - O tions . They all told m e that peration between Colonel Su mner and myself was altogether unlike the

c o - usual operation between him and themselves . f Being their com manding o ﬁcer , it was his habit , they

said , to requ ire of the m a prodigious a mou nt of the only kind of co - operation that he seemed to know any “ Co - thing abo ut . operation between h im and myself wa s —a of a strictly negative kind case , possibly , of ex

S tre me stubborn ness on both ides . B u t as between hi m

c o - and them , operation partook m u ch less of the

wa s ex a r te nature of a deadlock . It more p , it

m ust be confessed , bu t it was also m uch more exped i ” co - tious . They said that when he said operate to the m they always dropped everything else and co - o p ” e ra t ed h with him rig t there on the spot , and generally

- in double qu ick tim e . They said the privilege of doing this wa s about the only one they had that was

m a r e not liable to be denied the any day , and they p p c ia t ed it , because the surgeon had often advised them that it might impair their health to dwell permanently

in the guardhouse .

Proceed ing by way of Caldwell and Arkansas City , A Kansas , I arrived at Osage gency while all the Indians

on th e Reservation were in camp there , awaiting an annuity payment The Agent had recently assu med

charge of the Agency , and it was soon manifest to m e 68 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . that h is friends had made a great m istake in procu ring

his appointment . H e had been colonel of a regiment

of M ich igan cavalry d u ring the war , and commanded a V brigade in one of the irginia campaigns , in which he

A t d istingu ished himself for skill and gallantry . that

time , and for m any years afterward , he doubtless pos

sessed great mental vigor and executive ability . B ut he had never had experience in the management of

wa s I ndians , and was now too old to learn . Indeed he

too m u ch enfeebled , both physically and mentally , by

- age and ill health , to have properly d ischarged the

d uties of Agent , even if he had known how .

The Osages are not refractory I nd ians , but they had not been slow to detect either the lack of experience or

i n ﬁr m it ies the of age , and by wheed ling and encroach

ment , had j ust abou t taken charge of both the Agency

and th e Agent . H e had su ffered them to camp all N around his house . ot less than one hu ndred and ﬁfty

tepees were crowded against his yard fence . Inhabiting these tepees were at least seven hundred and ﬁfty

I ndians , and an equal nu mber of dogs . — It wa s also the mourning season of the Osages a

time when all the tribe , at regular hours d uring a cer

who tain nu mber of d ays , mourn for all have died

’ d uring the preced ing year . But the reader must not get the impression that these period ical seasons of E E G 69 XPERI NCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN A ENT .

n mo urni g ever interfere with the d ancing season , which

n ew co mes in with the year and goes o ut with the old ,

t h e or , in other words , is perpetual . The terrible wail of

mourner is heard only once a year , excep t when a death

- occurs , but the sou nd of the to m to m m ay be heard

so mewhere on the Reservation every day in the year . Those who had dom iciled themselves as neighbors of the Agent were doin g their full d uty at both mou rning “ B con and d ancin g . oth exercises seemed to be

d ucted by an established pro gram me , with Chief Black

D og as master of ceremonies . A t dark the to m - to ms were brou ght o ut and the

dancing co mmenced , and blended with the monotono us

- t o m ki- i to m of the dru ms , and the merry y of the

dancers , were the ﬁghting and barking of the dogs .

This was kep t u p u ntil midnight , and , as the reader

wa s may i magine , wh ile it continued sleep impossible

’ in the Agent s house or any where near i t .

’

At 3 o clock the mou rning began , and then it seemed

that pandemoniu m had broken loose in earnest . The — u proar wa s started by a few crones professional — mourners b ut in ten m inutes a ll the Ind ians and dogs i n cam p h ad joined in and were wailing and howling as

wa s if the j udgment day at hand . This was continued

co half an hour or more , and then the camp became m

a ra t iv el p yquiet until daylight . 70 R TH S SE VICE ON E INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

At d aybreak the squ aws com menced com ing to the

’ hydrant in the Agent s yard to ﬁll their water pails ,

and then there was no more rest for the weary , or sleep

’ for the sleepy . Then when the Agent s fam ily sat down to their meals enough of his wards ﬂattened their noses against the windows to almost exclude the day

light fro m the d ining roo m .

This had been the S ituatio n of the Agent and his

family fo r three or fou r d ays when I arrived , and it had

driven him al most to d istraction . H e said he had su f fere zi the Indians to th u s intru de u pon his prem ises

S because , being a new A g ent , he wanted to how them that he felt a paternal interest in their welfare and hap

i n es s p , and would even sacriﬁce his own comfort and that of his fa mily to pro mote theirs . I expressed my

approval of his motives , and forbore to criticise h is j ud gment excep t to m ildly su ggest that he probably could have mad e even a more favorable i mpression by

taking ﬁfteen or twenty fam ilies into his hou se as guests . The truth is I p itied the u nfortunate old man in h is

f b e t roubles , and pro fered , pu rely as a favor to him ,

c ause it was not my d uty , to make the Indians move

wo r t heir camp myself . B ut , notwithstandin g he was

wa s r ied almost to des p eration , he afraid it would i mpair his inﬂuence over t hdm even for m e to take

a ction . 7 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

’ Of course , withou t the slightest do ubt of the Agent s

honesty , in the light of this error of j ud gment , and other

evidences of incapacity and want of tact , I could not be N hopefu l of his success . evertheless , I was determined

to do my duty by him . I made a thorou gh inspection

of his Agency , instructed hi m as far as practicable in

regard to his d uties , and made such recom mendatio ns to the Department as I thou ght would facilitate him in t he ad ministratio n of his affairs . 72 A SERVICE ON THE IN D I N RESERVATIONS .

E C HAPT R IX .

T O W ORDERED O URAY AGENCY , UTAH , FORTH ITH UP T HE KAW A N D GREAT S MOKY HILL VALLEYS — — — I N DENVER I N CH EYENNE A SYMPATHI! ING —A T — PORTER GREEN RIVER , WYOMING ALARMING O F T HE A T NEWS SITUATION OURAY .

N the 1 2 t h of J u n e I received an order by telegraph

or t/t wi t/t to proceed f to O uray Agency , Utah ,

where I wo uld ﬁnd written instructions awaiting m e .

To say that I wa s pleased with this order would be

to express but half the truth . I was elated . I had

always wanted to visit the beau tiful City of Salt Lake , and see my M ormon brother u nder h is own vines and

ﬁg trees . I u se the plural nu mber because I had always

u nderstood that he had several , and sat around u nder

the m qu ite pro miscuously .

I had heard of no d isturbance at O uray , and the order did not create even a suspicion in m y m ind that

t her eo wi t h there m ight be trouble the Indians . I su p

wa s posed the emergency merely a business matter .

74 C A S SERVI E ON THE INDIAN RESERV TION .

N E tenderfeet fro m the orth and ast , as they were

swelterin g in rather heavy , dark clothes , and often d uring the day I noticed m any of them regarding my E soda water costu me with evident envy . ven when I

S sought my berth in the le eper and retired for the night , w a ay o ut toward the west line of the State , my clothes 6 ’ were still in season . When I arose at o clock the next morn ing we were running throu gh an arid plain in

t r ee i n — Colorado . There was not a sight no vegetation

of any kind , in fact , except so me scatterin g bunch grass R and sagebrush . The ocky Mo untains were in sight ,

’ and away o ff to the southwest snow - capped Pike s Peak

stood ou t clear and d istinct against the horizon . We

were in three hours ru n of D enver . A ll the passengers being u p , I again observed that

a l p a ca m ine were the only straw hat , coat and su m mer

we trousers on the train . I also realized that had

climbed u p into a different climate . We were now at an elevation of perhaps three tho usand ﬁve hu ndred

wa s feet above Kansas City . A ﬁre burning in the

heater furnace in the car , and I noticed that some of th e

passengers had on overcoats . I went o ut on the rear platform to try the tempera

wa s ture . There a stron g wind fro m the north , and it too k me b ut a m inu te to d is cOv er that if I stood out

- there very long I would get frost bitten . A 75 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDI N AGENT .

From that time on it seemed to me that all the pas s en ers g stared at my p icnic attire , and winked and said

S l n ec es things to one another on the y, more than was o sary or p lite , and I was glad when we got to D enver , ' I where I hoped I would see no more of any of them . was now satisﬁed that they were not as t e n d er f o o t ed

as they at ﬁrst seemed to be .

’ We arrived in D enver at 9 o clock , and had to lay

over there fo ur h ou rs . By that time of day the su n was

warm enough for me to take a walk over the city . Denver is indeed the Q ueen City of the Rocky Moun

tains . Situ ated between the Great Plains on one sid e

and the Rocky M ou ntains o n the other , and at an ele

ﬁv e vation of thousand ﬁve hund red feet above th e sea , the atmosphere there I S so p ure and Clear that O bjects can

be seen at long distances with wonderfu l d istinctness .

The mou ntains are said to be ﬁfteen m iles away , and yet fro m the centre the city appears to be b u ilt righ t u p

against them .

’ A t I k o cloc my train pulled ou t for Cheyenne ,

Wyo ming . The railroad skirts the plains all the way

fro m D enver to Cheyenne , bu t the Rocky Mountains may be distinctly seen fro m t lf e car window at any

point o n the ro ute . ’ The road crosses the S o u t h Pl a t t e River at the town

G e t he e of reeley , wher entire valley seems to b u nder 76 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

irrigation . Great canals take the water from the river and cond u ct it alon g the foothills for m iles and miles

wa down the valley , giving it o ut on the y to lateral

d itches , which d istribute it among the farms .

At the Greeley depot I saw large quantities of fru it s

S and vegetables , includin g strawberries of very ﬁne ize — and quality s o ﬁne indeed that I accused one of the k venders of hav ing imported them fro m Ar ansas . H e h denied it , however , and tu rned the laug on me by th e re mark that he had “ never heard of that place before ! ”

’ O We arrived at Cheyenne at 5 clock , and stop ped there more th an an hour to get su pper and transfer to the main

line of th e Union Paciﬁc fro m O maha to San Francisco . Cheyenne is nearly a thousand feet higher than D en

ver , and , it seemed to m e , more than a thousand feet

colder . I started u p town , bu t soon fou nd that I could

not stand it without an overcoat , and was attracting too

m uch attention anyhow . So I returned to the sleep ing

car , where I was glad to ﬁnd the porter shovelin g coal

into the heater fu rnace . As I walked in he glanced sidewise at me and said : H its gu ine ter be mighty cole u p dar u nder dem

n snow sheds whar de ro d crosses d e mountain .

A n d we ! were going u p into the snow , eh That was

i u informat on to m e , tho gh I did not feel called on to

O n say so . the contraryI said O F 77 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

’

Yes ; I ve no doubt it will . Will we get there before bedtime ?

’ be o d a r k hel t Oh , yass , sah ; f . Big , y man lak

’ ’ you could n t go to bed dat early . B ut d en dat s all

’ ’ ’ 0 right , boss . I s on to d e m close you rn , an I ll ﬁre u p and make dem udder fellers take o ff dere coats an

’ S u d b e set in dere sh irt leeves wid you . D em m ighty

C N A u rl ee n s proper lose in ew . I speck d is de fuss

’ ’ eb b er n ebb er ti me you come ou t Wes . I wish I d

’ co me o ut yere de fuss time . D is de poores wh ite

’ ’ ebb er man s co untry I d id see . I se guine back to Ar

kansas , whar I com e from , de berry fuss chance I git .

’ ’ s ho l f o D at what I y guine do . I d give bits right now fu r one de m H ot Springs baffs to wash d is a kk er l i

d uss offer me . ? Hold on there . Are yo u fro m Arkansas

’ d i it S f Lookee yere , boss , yo u se not a p y heri f , is ” you ?

’ N o ; and if I were I wouldn t arrest a nigger that

kept a good ﬁre for me . B ut I am fro m Arkansas , and

thought perhaps we m ight be related .

15 D e Lordy m ussy , boss , I speck we . You know

Colonel Beaver D am Williams , what owns dat big plan

’ t a t i o n down on N obles Lake ?

Oh , yes . ? Wh D oes you , shore enou gh y, de Lordy mu ssy , A 78 SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS .

’ r u n n i n t o ed d er ebb er boss , m e an d e Colonel been g ’ ﬁ since I been b ig enough to tote a letter to de pos of ce .

’ D e Colonel s one m ighty good white m an ; dat what

’ s ho l he yam . Say , boss ; yo u right suttin you se not a d ip itysheriff ?

Oh , yes ; positive .

’ I S yo u ? Lor bless yo u fur dat ! I ain done

’ ’ l a k wi d d i it nothin , b u t I never d id to sociate a p y

’ a ller sheriff . D ars a y gal at Pine Blu ff been makin her brags she gu ine ter hab me brung back dar wid a breach

’ ’ o pro mises , b ut I ain make no more prom ises den sh e

’ erb o u t i t is , an if she keeps goin on I gu ine ter hab her brung out yere and gib her t o dem Mormon niggers

d o at Ogden . D at what I gu ine . While I was stop d ere d e u dder d ay dey tole me d ey mighty short on

’ ’ ’ f o wives . D ey ain got more n three or apiece , an de m white Mormons d ey tells ’ em d at ain ’ half enough

o ff You hear my horn , if she d at b ad to marry , I j is

’ take her ober d ar and lef her . Yo u know dem M or

’ d e ll c a n mon niggers , y j is marry all de wim min dey

git dere hans on . Boss , lem me git some more coal in

’ " ’ f u r n is to dat . I ll make de m udder fellows sweat dey

’ s hol gits thro u gh dem snow sheds , I y will . I ll make

’ ’ em wish dey d idn t hab on nothin but linen d usters .

’ ’ I doan lak dere looks m uch , nohow . D ere ain a

’ d e ebb er dru mmer in whole shootin match . D ere y 79 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

’ - - one two risses . We calls em two risses because a heap

’ ’ 0 times h it takes two of e m to pay de porter a d i me . As the train p ulled up to the station at Green River

the next morning , Ind ian Inspector Robert S . Gardner ,

I wa s wa with who m acquainted , came elbowing his y

through the crowd to meet me . H e said he intu itively knew when he s a w the S itu a tion at O uray that I would be the man sent to take charge ! Take charge ? What is the matter down there? I asked as my mind “ forthwith reverted to home and

the gleefulness with which I had received the order . ’ ? ? Why , don t yo u know What are you r orders

the Inspector asked .

I know absolutely nothing , I replied . My order

‘ ’ is simply to repair forthwith to O uray and ﬁnd i n s t r u c t i o n s . I a m going in blindfolded , as it were .

I may as well confess that I wa s abo ut to beco me ”

forthwith so mewhat dissatisﬁed with the service .

’ Well , the I nspector continued , you ll ﬁnd plenty of ‘instructions ’ down there—enou gh to make you r head

swim . In add ition to what yo u get fro m the D epart

‘ S a o n er o Co l o ro w o u ment , p and will want to give y a

’ ’ whole passel , and yo u ll ﬁnd about as mu ch co mfort

in one as in the other . The Indians are m ad and A threatening . The gent telegraphed his resignation

the other day , and immed iately lit o ut for tall timber , 8 0 N SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIO S .

wa s without waiting for leave fro m the D epartment . I

down there a week ago , and the Indians , who m I have k known personally for years , wo uld not spea to me . I remained one night and h urried back to report the

situation to the D epartment . The War Department

had also heard of the trouble , and Colonel B ush , of th e

S wa s ixth I nfantry , there with a small escort fro m Fort

n i ht I wa s D ou glass th e same g , to ascertain the situa

tion . H e pushed right back , and troops will be sent as

qu ick as possible . I t will be your d uty to try to pacify the Ind ians and prevent an o utbreak until troops can go

M c Kewen k to your relief . W . A . , the Agency Cler , a C brave young fellow from Baltimore , is in harge , with

n ine white employes , b u t they are liable to be attacked

any day .

I felt very tired , and sat d own on a bench to rest .

82 C H SERVI E ON T E INDIAN RESERVATIONS . and could not weigh or measure med icines with a smaller

implement than a spade or a quart cup . H e said he kep t a young docto r abo ut the store to measure ou t all “ iz en wa s iz en the p med icines , but as qu inine not p ,

e he guessed he and I could get it ours lves , without

waiting for the doctor , who happened to be absent . i Then hand n g me a bottle he told me to help myself . A ll ” right , I said ; give me so me capsules to p ut

’

? ? . Capsules What s them , pardner he asked

: I explained what they were , and he said

O h ! T hem tbi ng s ? Great gulliver ! A d ru mmer sneaked in here while I wa s o ff on the ro und - u p last

’ ’ fall , and fooled D ock into buyin four bushel of em .

Dock thou ght he had played thu nder , and su re enou gh

we he had , for when they co me found ou t they wus a

’ ’ \ fraud , and throwed em away . Yo u don t want none

’ ' ’ 0 the m things . Yo u co uld n t ﬁll a dozen of em in

two days .

Oh , they are not hard to ﬁll , I replied and I

’ don t want the quinine unless yo u have them .

Sorry yo u said not hard to ﬁll , he returned , but ’ k we . hold on a minute . I believe throwed em bac here

’ I j is want to S ho w you what a whole passel yo u don t

’ know abou t em . At the place indicated in a rear corner I saw a great 8 3 EXPERIENCE S O F A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

r pile of sweepings f o m the ﬂoor . Scratching arou nd in

this p ile of dirt , he got out an armful of capsule boxes

and piled them on the counter . O pening a box , I com menced ﬁlling the little cu ps by tapping the O pen

wa s m ends down o n the qu inine . The d ruggist a azed .

Watch ing me closely until I had ﬁlled three or four , he suddenly straightened u p and exclaimed “ S ! -k ay , pard ner If you ever hear of the fool iller

’ d r ift i n a n d over into this part of the range , j is give me

’

D ock a signal , will you , and by grab we ll hide o ut . Me and h i m tried to ﬁll them things with a spoon !

Ri v er l Fro m Green h ad the comp any of M r . Sam

M c D o well r e , a very intelligent youn g man who was V turning fro m a isit to his home at D anville , Kentu cky , A ’ to O uray gency , where he was a clerk in the trader s store . O ur route the ﬁrst day lay across a hot and d usty

sagebrush plain . Th e early morning was cool and

’ bracing , but by 9 o clock the heat was intense . The

su n blazed on us from above , and was reﬂected back in ou r faces with increased heat fro m the garish earth

- below . All day we could see vast snow banks glisten ing in the sunligh t o n the high mou ntains o ff to the

i c e- south and west of us . B ut the sight of those clad

I t he peaks n d istance only tantalized u s , instead of alle v i a t i n g o uj ‘ d isco mfort th ere o n that hot and shadeles s 8 4 N SERVICE ON THE INDIA RESERVATIONS .

M ’ . a x on s plain J ust before night we reached ranch ,

the ﬁrst settlement fro m Green River . N S ext morning we passed throu gh eger Canyon , in which we fo u nd the heat more insu fferable than it was

t he E on plain the day before . scape fro m the su n was

j ust as impossible , and between the bare walls of the

canyon there was not a breath of air stirring . At noon we crossed over to the west side of Green R iver at Jar

’ vey s Ferry .

l Soon after c ro s s in g t he river we began to asce n d the

U intah Mou ntains , which lay d irectly across ou r road , and an hour before sunset we d rew wearily u p to the

D iamond Ranch , a su mmer sheep ranch on the su m mit

e of D iamond Pass , at an el vation of p erhaps twelve thousand feet . N ext morning I was shown ice more than an inch

hic k A n d w t . . that was no u nusu al circumstance O in g to the great elevation i c e forms there an inch th ick in

I s t the warmest nights of the year . Abou t the of

O ctober the pass ﬁlls u p with snow , and rem ains so

I s t wa s u ntil abou t the of M ay . When it thus closed all the m ail for U intah and O uray A gencies and the town of Ashley had to be carried over by footmen on snowshoes—the only means by which a crossing could

0 be effected .

Resu m in g ou r j ourney at sunrise in two ho l rS we had EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT 8 5 descended from the mou ntain and entered a stretch of

country u nlike any I had ever seen before . It wore a

most forbidding aspect , and was appropriately named

the bad lands . There was not a tree , scarcely a blade

S of grass , no vegetation of any kind , no ign of moisture , — no rocks nothing b ut rou nd little clay hills and hollows .

All places and all sides looked alike . The su rface of the earth fro m the botto m of the hollows to the tops of — the hills wa s everywhere precisely the same alternating

streaks of d un , yellow and red clay , and all baked and

cracked like the silt in the bed of a d ry lake . w Wind ing , t isting and toiling up and down and

’ 1 2 around those h ills and hollows u ntil o clock , we then emerged fro m the bad lands and entered the valley

of Ashley River , at the town of Ashley . This valley is a real oasis—the only one on the road between Green

a n d » River O uray . It is two or three miles wide , six or

i n seven long , and at that time contained about

habitants , all Mormons . The m ain settlement consti t u t ed a very prettylittle rural town , and thro ughou t the valley there were many evidences of thrift and i a d u s t r A wa s y. good portion of the valley under irri

a t io n g , and interspersed amon g the ﬁelds of grain and

alfalfa were orchards and long lines of shade trees , which added greatly to the natu ral beauty and attract iv enes s of the valley . 8 6 S ERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

After halting an hou r and a half at Ashley , we started

- ﬁ v e A s ou t on the last twenty m iles of ou r journey . c en d i n g fro m the valley , we saw our road stretching

away to the south across the sand iest , hottest and most

we d esolate desert that had yet encou ntered . A few

em m iles further on we crossed the bou ndary line , and t er ed the Reservation .

z wa s In this bla ing desert there neither shade , nor

water , nor h u man inhabitant , and bu t little of either vegetable or animal life of any kind—scarcely anything

b ut deep , loose sand , into wh ich ou r horses su nk to

their fetlocks at al most every step . The poor beasts

t he staggered in the traces almost overco me by heat .

And althou gh M c D o well and I were protected fr o m

u m the d irect rays of the su n by the hack cover , being f accusto med to such exposu re , we su fered almost as

b e severely as the horses . O ur heads ached , ou r eyes

came inﬂamed , and o ur faces b urnt and swollen . k A An hour after dar we arrived at the gency . E P C E S P C D G 87 X ERIEN S OF A E IAL IN IAN A ENT .

E CHAPT R XI . — I N CHARGE O F OURAY AGENCY HO W A CLERK HA D — “ ROBBED T HE INDIANS T HE AGENT N O MORE H W BUT T HE P URT Y RITE , PAID MONEY QUICK , A N D — S RESIGNED BY TELEGRAPH TROOP EXPECTED .

N the letter of instru ctions referred to in the tele

a t graphic order Osage , and wh ich I fou nd awaiting

’ wa s A me at O uray , I informed of the gent s abdication , C A and ordered to take harge of the gency myself , pac if ythe Indians , if possible , and keep the D epartment

advised of the situation . As soon as I had read the letter I sat d own at a desk in the A gent ’ s ofﬁ ce and wrote an order formally assu m

ing charge , and then im med iately addressed myself to an inqu iry into the character of the Ind ians and the

causes of the threatened o utbreak . The Ind ians of the O uray Agency nu mber abo ut

persons , and are known as the Uncom pahgre

Band of Utes . They are among the most benighted

A t and intractable savages in the United States . that 8 8 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . date there were b ut two members of the band who co uld speak E ngl ish well eno ugh to carry on a simple

S a o n ero wa s conversation . p princip al chief and Colo

row an u nder chief .

These Indians had formerly lived in Colorado , and in their treaty of removal to Utah they had expressly r e served the right to retu rn to their old Reservation at

certain seasons of the year , to hunt . B ut lately a ﬁght

’ had occurred o n White R iver between Co l o r ow s band

and some cattle men , who had accused the Indians of

stealing cattle , and forbidden them to ever cross the

O ld line of the Reservation again . This had caused

great irritation and excite ment among the Indians , and as they were angrily asserting their right and intention

to continue to hu nt in the forbidden cou ntry , further

wa s trouble liable to o ccu r any day . And , of cou rse , a serious collisio n with the whites in that quarter would

be im med iately followed by an u prising at the Agency .

The two Reservations , the old and the new , lie broad

sid e to each other , and are only separated by th e

boundary line between Colorado and Utah . O n th e Colorado side are certain streams and valleys wh ich t he

I nd ians have always coveted , and which were formerly

tho ugh t to be in Utah . The Indians say that while the tribe lived in Colorado they Were always told that those streams and valleys were not in that Reservation , b ut

90 S ERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

‘ ’ swap countries , and told us that when we came over here those running waters and grassy valleys wo uld be

ou rs . We ca me , and the white man took possession of

o u r old Reservation . Then , the ﬁrst thing we knew , the white man snatched those streams and valleys away

u s— n ew fro m took them ou t of o ur Reservation , where w m they had al ays been , and p ut the in the old , where

‘ n - they had ever been before and say , white man mis

taken ; they do not belong to Indian , but to All ” time belong to wb ite m a n !

I M cKewen asked M r . who they accu sed of this . He replied :

S ir ! E M e , Washington . verybody . The ﬁrst time you hold a pow - wow with them they will charge yo u

with it . I also asked him if he thought they would ﬁght over the disp uted strip and the right to hu nt in the old Res erv a t i o n . H e said

Co l o r o w n o w Yes , sir . is over there with his band ,

m aking medicine , dancing , and swearing that if he is interfered with he will kill off the entire tribe ” of

wh ite people . H e has never seen bu t a few thousand

whites , and he cannot believe that they outnumber the

U tes more than two or three to one , at most , and h e considers one Ute equal to several white men . More

S a nero D u Ches n e over , rﬁ has lately gone u p valley EXPERIEN CES O F A SPEC I AL I NDI AN A GENT 91

nd a built a wickiu p right across the west boundary line , o r right across where he th inks it is , and is living there to keep u s from stealing that side of the Reservation ” also .

And this was not all . Contemporaneously with these occurrences a large su m of money was sent to th e A gent with which to make an annu ity pay ment . After all the Indians on the Reservation had p resented them

selves and received their shares , there were three hu n

dred and sixty names o n the rolls still unpaid . The

Agent and Clerk M cKewen had both lately co me to

the Agency . The census of the tribe h ad been taken ,

- and the pay rolls m ade out and certiﬁed , by their p re d ecess or s , and they were alike u nfam iliar with the

papers and u nacquainted with the Indians . They read off the three hu ndred and sixty names to the I n d ians

p resent , thro u gh the interpreter , and in qu ired where the

delinquents were , and the cause of their absence . The Indians answered that every member of the tribe had

been paid , and that the u npaid names were ﬁctitio us . They also claimed the remainder of the money

for themselves , and d emanded that it be paid to the m

wa s at once . The Agen t convinced that the names

were ﬁctitio us and frau d ulent , bu t under the regulations of the D epartment he was required to retu rn the money to the Treasury until the roll could be corrected for the 92 S C TH E S ERVI E ON E INDIAN R SERVATION .

m next pay ent , and he so explained to the I ndians .

They retired to hold a cou ncil . In a short while a delegation of ch iefs came back to the o fﬁce and inqu ired if money had been drawn on the

ﬁctitious n a mes at any previous payment . The retained

- ﬁ copies of the pay rolls on ﬁle in the of ce , which were

lea d hurriedly examined , showed that they been paid equally with the bon a ﬁd e names per capita a t each payment for several years past , and the chiefs

were so informed . With su ppressed rage they returned

to the co uncil and reported their information . It was

received with furio us grunts of anger , and provoked

several highly inﬂam matory speeches . The speakers said they had seen the white man steal their eastern

bou ndary , and been sho t at o n their old Reservation ,

where they had a right to be , b ut they had not known that a part of their ann u ity was also being stolen fro m ! them . It was time to fight The whole tribe reappeared at the o ffice and again A demanded the money . The gent started to explain again that he wo uld first have to write to Washington

fo r authority to pay them . Jerking o ut their gu ns and

t A p istols , and cocking hem in the faces of the gent and

clerk , they co m manded in most belligerent tones “ N o m or e wr i te ! M oney! P a r ty gn i eb / l P a y X F S P C A G T 93 E PERIENCES O A E IAL INDI N A EN .

A nd the Agent no more write . H e counted th e

money ou t to them p urty qu ick , and the next thin g

wa s he wrote his resignation , and the e mployes used to

b tel e r a /z lau gh and tell me that he did that y g p , and followed it up in person an hou r later on the best horse

at the Agency . Subsequent investigation developed proof that the robberies had been com mitted by the former clerk with

’ O i ou t the knowled ge h is Agent , the latter s responsi bili f y for them consisting solely in his inco mpetency

and neglect of d uty . Under the regulations of the D epartment the Agent

is required to take a census of h is Indians once a year , and Correct and certify the roll for each annu ity pay

ment , by add ing the births and subtracting the deaths . Then when the money is sent to him it is his d uty to

d ivide the total amou nt by the whole nu mber of Ind ians ,

to ascertain the per cap ita share of each , and make pay

ment accordingly .

b - B ut the former Agent at O uray eing an easy going ,

incompetent man , he had intrusted all this business to

who the clerk , had promptly embraced the opportu nities f thu s a forded to rob the Ind ians . Being permitted to take the census and make the d isbu rsements in his own

way , he was enabled to enter the three hundred and sixty ﬁctitio us nam es on the rolls and draw their p er 94 C T HE I R ER A I SERVI E ON IND AN ES V T ON S . cap ita shares and forge their receipts therefor at each

payment , witho ut detection by the stup id interpreter or the two unsuspecting and inco mpetent white witnesses

- required by the regulations . And the pay rolls being

perfect on their face , it was impossible for the acco unt f ing o ﬁcers at Washington to detect the frau d . After making out the rolls for the payment j ust de

scribed , this clerk was u nexpectedly d ism issed fro m the t service , and knowing hat exposure , and perhaps arrest

and punishment , wo uld follow , he im med iately de

A n d b camped for M exico . efore the payment came A on the gent was also removed . 'And a few days subsequent to this m utiny the Indians were aro used to another dangero us tu m ult of a n ger and excitement by an u nusual d ouble tragedy a mong them

A r r o wo d selves . A co m mon Ind ian named shot and killed a pro minent chief and medicine man named

S ha v a na w wa s S , while the latter itting on his pony , on ’ f the plaz a i m med iately in front of the A gent s o ﬁce ,

surro u nded by a score of his warriors . After shooting

S ha v a n a w A r r o wod , wheeled to ride away , but before he could get o ut of range the friend s of h is v ictim had A ﬁred a hu ndred bullets into his body . rope was then tied arou nd his feet and his body dragged to the ban k

D u Ches ne t e of River by his own pony . At h river the pony was also shot , and its lifeless body and that of 95 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

its owner , secu rely lashed together , were , am idst the most ferocious yells of anger and the wildest howls of

grief , rolled over the bank into the deep and turbid

’ river by the savage chief s savage avengers .

Following these d isturbances , and j ust before my

P a r ic e wa s arrival , an Ind ian named p killed by another “ wa s named Wass . Wass a head man and med icine

wa s man , and , I think I may add , a bad man . H e accused by Pa p r ice of havin g made bad medicine

two for his sons , both of who m had recently died .

Pa r i ce Meeting Wass , p said to h im

You have killed both of my pappooses , and yo u

m ight as well kill me .

Fro m a motive known only to h imself , Wass raised

h is gun and shot the old man dead . When called to account for this deed the only j ustiﬁcatio n that Wass or his friends had to offer for it wa s that as P a p r ic e wa s rather an old man he had only a few more years to live

anyhow , and that , therefore , no very great wrong had

been done . I ndeed , for this reason he and his friends regarded the very suggestion of pu nish ment as p rep os t ero u s . This was the state o f affairs that had constrained the

Agent to resign and abandon his Agency , and inspired the telegraphic order to me to proceed forthwith ” to

take h is place . 96 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

And this wa s not only the cond ition of the Un co m

a h r es a d p g , bu t two other large bands of Utes on the — j oining Reservation the Ui n t a hs and White Rivers

were si milarly d isaffected . They had lately set ﬁre to A the gency farm fence , backed the Agent u p in a corner f of his o ﬁce , kicked h im , j am med his hat down over

his eyes , subj ected him to other gross indignities , and

com mitted other acts of insubord ination .

EX PER I ENCES O F A S PECIAL INDIAN AGENT 99

country at large , accepted their respective Reservations , w and covenanted to d ell within their bo undaries , and

’ learn to walk in the white man s road . I n consid eration of these concessions on the part of

the Ind ians , the Government covenanted on its part to

pay them an ann uity in cash , or subsistence supplies , u ntil they could learn to su pport themselves—generally

- ﬁ v e limited to twenty , twenty and th irty years ; to pro

’ n ec eS S i vide m ills , shops and med icines to meet their ties ; an A gent and teachers to govern the m and teach

t he C the m arts of ivilization , and a physician to attend

their sick . O uray was established in ful ﬁllment of one of these

wa s treaties . I t built for a temporary army post , and after having been abandoned by the War D epartment it was turned over to the Interior D epa rtment for an

’ A n gency . All the houses , except the Agent s dwelli g

and one other , are mere hu ts , constructed of logs set in

o f d ir t the grou nd stockade fashion , the roofs mad e , , and the cracks daubed with mortar .

It is - S ituated at the conﬂ uence of the Green and

D u Ches n e m os t ' i s o l a t ed Rivers , in one of the wildest , ‘N and remote regions in the est . The two nearest white settlements were U intah Agency and the Mormon town

- ﬁ v e of Ashley , each twenty m iles d istant . The next n n earest were Ra gely , Colorado , sixty miles , and 1 00 T SERVICE ON HE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

- ﬁ v e Heber , Utah , one hundred and twenty m iles .

Green River , Wyo ming , and Provo , Utah , each one

m n h undred and sixty iles , were the earest accessible

railroad and telegraph stations , and Fort Dou glass , at

Salt Lake C ity , two hundred m iles , the nearest army

post . The Reservation consists m ostly of mou ntains and

D u Ches n e deserts . O n Green , and White R ivers , and

f ew a smaller streams , there are so me irrigable valleys ,

which , with water , could be made highly prod u ctive . B ut of the two m illion acres embraced in its li mits not one co uld be relied o n to prod uce a crop of any kind

with o ut irrigation .

I t is almost a rainless region . On the mountain

ranges there is a great d eal of snow in the winter , bu t at the Agen cy it is not u nusual to see three hundred

and ﬁfty perfectly clear days in the year . Indeed , the Reservation has been described as so m any acres of ” clear sky .

Soon after I had installed myself as Acting Agent , the

employes all came in together to report .

wa s A M c Kewen At the head of the roll M r . W . . ,

‘ the clerk , who m I afterward s came to know as one of the most capable and trustworthy Clerks in the ser

e ma n vic , and as brave a young as ever ventured into H B I ndian cou ntry . e was a native of altimore , and

1 02 A S SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATION .

N ew York and San Francisco by the Co m missioner of

b t he Indian A ffairs upo n estimates sub mitted y Agents .

These supplies consist of beef , ﬂou r , salt , bacon , sugar ,

S C coffee , beans , soap , blankets , hawls , shoes , lothin g ,

wagons , farm implements , equip ments , school

and medical su p plies . Th always delivered o n

c t ors foot at the Agencies by t the mselves , bu t all the other supplies are transported fro m the principal m arkets of the y transportation con

S i a tractors . ometimes e mergencies Agents are fur h ished w ith money and authorized to p urchase certain supplies themselves in open market in the v icinity of their Agencies . One item of the public property for which the Agent at O uray was responsible was a herd of two thousand

ﬁve h undred head of cattle , scattered over a meagre , A sagebru sh range ﬁfty m iles in extent . nother at

wa s Uintah Agency one irrigating canal , n ine m iles

7 ) long , and it was the only piece of Government prop ert ythat I ever receipted for with a feelin g of safety . Before the close of the ﬁrst d ay news of my arrival had been carried by runners to all parts of the Reserva — ’ — tion even to Col o r ow s band in Colorado and in the afternoon a runner came fro m S a p o n er o to ask when I was goin g u p to his cam p to hold a cou ncil with him ° wa s and his people . H e then camped six or seven m D u Ches n e iles u p River . 1 03 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

M anifestly this was a play of the wily old savage to

test my executive strength and skill . I told the runner to go back and tell hi m that for so me days I would be

a n occu pied with business at the Agency , but that if y

Ind ian o n the Reservation b a d a nytbi ng to sa y to m e I wo uld hear him a t tb e oﬁi ee whenever it su ited him to come . After hanging about the o fﬁce and watch in g me two

t o or three ho urs , with his blanket drawn u p so as con

ceal all of his face excep t j ust one eye , the runner sud de a ly turned fro m the d oo r ca s in g where he had been

peep ing in , mou nted his pony and started back to cam p

t he in a lope , usual gait of the b lanket Ind ian on horse back . Late in the afternoon two yo ung head men came down and told me that Col or o w was expected to arrive that

S a o n er o night , and that he and p and all the u nder ch iefs and head men of the tribe wo uld co me in o n the following day to hold a long cou ncil with me on b usi

t ness of the greates im portance .

A council called for by the I nd ians themselves wa s

exactly what I wanted . I had conﬁdence enough in myself to believe that if I could get the m to talkin g with

m e I co uld pacify them , at least temporarily , and avert

r an outb eak . Indeed , that seemed to be ou r only hope .

A ri d to carry ou t that plan I knew I would have to hold 1 04 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

S on ﬁrmly to my au thority as Agent , how no u neasiness , and perhaps m ake free use of the strategem known in

the vernacu lar of the West as blu ff .

’ M cKewen About 9 o clock next mornin g , as M r . and f I were crossin g the plaza to the o ﬁce , we saw a bril lia n t lycostu med and splendidly mounted In dian ascend

D u Ches n e fro m River botto m abou t a mile away , o n

n s a t the road lead i g down fro m U intah Agen cy . H e

his horse like a knight of old , and as the rays o f the morning sun ﬂashed on the tinsel of his costu me he wa s

as magniﬁcent a ﬁgure as I ever saw on horseback . I t

a n r o wa s S p o e .

we S As stood and looked another Ind ian came in ight ,

abo u t ﬁve paces beh ind the ﬁrst , and then another

abou t th e sam e d istance in rear of the second , and in that order they continued to come u ntil we had counted

- one hu ndred and forty two . From that point the road

ran half a m ile at an obl ique angle , and as they stretched

away in single ﬁle , and marched in a slow walk , broad

side to us , across the level mesa , they presented a truly

imposing savage array .

Col o r o w - ﬁv e i , accompanied by twenty or th rty men ,

but no women or child ren , had co me in very early in A the morning and established cam p nea r the gency .

t ra vCled They looked like they had all n ight , and we afterward s fou nd ou t that they had in fact come fro m

1 06 O N E T SERVICE TH E INDIAN R SERVA IONS .

E CHAPT R XIII .

W T HE U —S A P O N ERO CO L MY FIRST COUNCIL ITH TES , —” ” O—ROW A N D CAPTAIN BILLY A PURTY GOOD IDEA EXTRICATED FROM A D A NGEROU S DILEMMA BY A

YOUNG SQUAW INTERPRETER .

’ H E cou ncil at Co l o r ow s camp lasted about an

ho ur . At its conclusion the Ind ians all came

f S a o n ero Col o r o w across the plaza to the o ﬁce , p and

walkin g together in front . As many as could ﬁnd roo m i n the large o fﬁce crowded in and seated th em

o n selves the ﬂoor , and all the rest bunched u p a gainst w the door and indows , the pony holders crowd ing close u pon the heel s of those stand ing on the gro und .

A good natured , happy sort of an Indian named Captain B illy had previo usly been introdu ced to me as the Agency interpreter . H e was now seated ﬂat on

- S a on er o the ﬂoor at the right hand of p , whom he evi d ent l yregarded as the greatest man on earth , and the

- com ical , owl like exp ression of his co untenance showed that he wa s almost overwhelmed by his sense of the gravity of the o ccasion and the tremendous r es p o ns ibili

o f ties his position . O F A 1 07 EXPERIENCES SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

And o minous as the situatio n see med to b e , I could not refrain fro m lau ghing o utright when I tu rned fro m Captain B illy to take a good look at Co l o r o w and thou ght abou t Bill N ye ’ s h u morous biographical sketch

Co l or ow of h im as Brigad ier General Wm . H . . Colo row ’ s ward robe had probably never contained anything

more military than paint and feathers , and nothing could have been more rid iculo us than the thou ght of that stalwart old “ co ffee cooler struttin g around in striped

a n d tro users , plu med hat , shoulder straps , sash sabre , u nless I t wa s the ﬁgure wh ich he h imself ou t at the E D enver xposition the year before . O n that occasion he fell into the hands of some misch ievous dru m mers who d ressed hi m u p in one of their beautifully e m broidered night robes and turned hi m loose in the expo s i t io n hall in broad d aylight i n that u su ally secluded

garm ent . The old m an was entirely gu ileless , and innocently and proudly paraded the streets and ex p o s i “ tion hall in his white man coat , as he cal led it , u ntil the police enticed him into a patrol w a gon and hauled

o ff - h im to the guardhouse , where they d ouble teamed on h im and mad e h im swap his bea utiful robe of many n h frills and ﬁgu res for a d i gy old orse blanket .

When all the Ind ians had sett led themselv es on th e

S a o n er o a d ﬂoor and beco me qu iet , p slowly arose , v a n c ed and shook hands with m e , and , with great solemnity , began his speech . 1 08 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

S a o n e ro m p was of ed iu m height , lean and sinewy ,

a e m and apparently sixty years of g . H ard lines arked h all of his featu res . O ne could almost doubt that t ey had ever been illu minated by a m ore genial light than E the s mile of incred ulity and derision . vidences o f

o a a n d str ng ind ivid uality , obstinacy , sav ge ignorance V su perstitio n were isible in h is face , bu t th e things plain est to be seen in the gleam o f h is eyes and the curl

and qu iver of his lips were hatred of the wh ite race , and

a h eart troubled to the point of absolute d esperation .

S Beginnin g lowly , he spoke a few sentences with

remarkable ease and d ignity , and then paused for Cap E tain Billy to interpret h is words to me in nglish , wh ich ,

to my astonish ment , the Captain proceeded to do as follows :

S a o n er o - p say he glad to see you . All lee Inj u ns glad to see you . M aybe Wash ington send you to tend to it some b usiness for Inj un . M aybe dat p urty good ” idea . ” “

? . What else d id he say I asked , that is not all

’ S a o n e ro Dat s all p say , he replied , as he nod ded

A t t he w ith great assu rance to the ch ief to go ahead .

a h next p use , instead of attempting to interpret t at part , he coolly waved it asid e as if it was of no consequence

m wa whatever , and erely said by yof explanation

S a o n e r o O h , p , m aybe he jes talk abou t it some ” D a t k d iffu n ce tin gs lon g time ago . ma e no .

1 1 0 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

r ' m et en t d eal m o e c o p than the Captain . We sent for

her .

S a o n er o t hen p delivered another section of h is speech , and when he paused that time Captain B illy said

S a o n ero Jes like I tell yo u . p jes talk about it some

tings long time ago . Maybe so me tings abou t treaty .

- i t M aybe Washington tell you abo ut dat treaty . D at purty good idea . Lon g time ago Uncompah gres live

in Colorado . By and by make it d at treaty and com e N over d is sid e line . ow , fu st ting Inj u n know white

S a o n er o man steal it d e line . M aybe dat what p talk

’ a b o u t f

’ - ! l e n ow Maybe so , yo u pop eyed bronco Do n t yo u

n ? t what he is talki g about I said with so me severi y , for I realized the great d anger of tryin g to hold a coun

cil with I nd ians , especially in their then desperate fra me

of m ind , th rou gh an ignorant interprete r . H e replied

S a o n er o — p tal k about treaty jes like I tell you .

S a o n e r o Dat treaty purty good idea , p say .

wa s u M anifestly it not only seless , bu t positively dan

n t gero s , to continu e the cou ncil wi h h im . H e seemed

a to be doin g the best he cou ld , bu t his ment l vision was so narrow and h is knowledge of the E nglish language ” so nearly lim ited to the phrase p urty good idea , that ,

he wa s however good his intentions , liable to convey er one n o the m d of the I n r ous im pressio s t in s d ians , or A N 1 1 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN GE T .

m t lead them into positive isunders andings , that , instead

r m of allayin g thei dissatisfaction , ight increase it even

n to the point of precip itati g trouble at on ce . “ Seeing no other pu rty good idea lead i n g o ut of

Eh this d ilem ma , I frankly told Captain Billy that his glish was bu t little more intelligible to me than u ndiluted Ute—that in fact “ I was not sure that I could understand — h im any better than I could S a p o n ero and asked hi m to S a o n er o i h tell p that I had sent for the girl to help, t er r et S p , and thou ght it afer to await her arrival . H ow he interpreted it t o S a p o n er o of course the Ind ians and

the Great Sp irit alone know . B u t whether he d id it correctly or incorrectly , it greatly intensiﬁed the look of

’ d istress in the old man s already p ainfully troubled face .

" S a p o n er o turned to Co l o r o w and conversed w ith h im and the other chiefs in a very earnest and mu ch troubled

Co l o r o w manner for ﬁve or ten m inutes . Then arose ,

shook hands with me , and proceeded to speak , h is voice u nm istakably betraying suppressed anger and excite m ent . Captain B illy ’ s face had assu med a look of bewilder

wa s ment , and I satisﬁed that he h ad blundered badly in his interpretation of my words and meaning to the

“

. Co lo r ow Ind ians Because of th is , and the actions of ,

S a on er o p and several others , I began to fear that they might become aroused to a ction before t he girl inter

preter co uld co me to our rescue . 1 2 A A 1 SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

Co l o r o w S When had poken several sentences , he

i who motioned to Capta n Billy , said

’ Co lo r o w k B say all lee Inj u ns hearts heap sic . ad

’ wh ite mans m ake it a heap o troubles . M aybe som e

Inj u ns p urty quick ﬁgh t now . Young men heap mad

— Co l or o . w heap bad talk S qu aws jes all time cry .

say hole o n little bit , maybe Washington ﬁx it . Yo ung ‘ — men say N o ; Wash ington heap talk j es all time talk — ’ b ut no ﬁx it . P urty bad . Colorado cattlemans

Co lo r ow shoot at , m aybe so seventeentimes , maybe so ’ u d d er Co l o r o w s forty times , y d ay . Shoot two young

’ i Co l or ow s men , and k ll it pony . What you tink of it ” Co lo ro w ? d at , say ! d id ? E Of course What I think of it , that vidently “ Co lo r o w was magnanimous enough to allow the C0 10 rado cattlemans to state their side of the case them

selves , for he refrained fro m any allusion to the fact that he and his band had sh ot back at them perhaps three “ or four times seventeen or forty times , and chased t M c Ke wen hem clear o ut of Garﬁeld County . I told in u ndertone that I intended to evade the question if I

co uld , but if pressed for an answer I believed I should frankly ad mit to the old man that as matters then stood

I wa s very mu ch dissatisﬁed with the marksmanship of “ ri the Colorad o cattlemans , a d asked him what he thou ght abo ut it , as he seemed to be doing considerable

1 14 ER C T H D I R R A I S S VI E ON E IN AN ESE V T ON .

S a p o n er o the ﬁrst ﬁre ? For answer he said he w ished he had a big cannon loaded with buckshot and tacks with which to take what a h unter would call “ a pot

S hot at the whole crowd .

All e fforts to ind uce S a p on ero to allow the girl to

n interpret proving futile , and determini g to take no fur

ther risk with Captain B illy , I had made u p my mind to give u p the council as a failure when the girl v ol u n teered the information that a com petent wh ite inter

wa s preter nam ed James D avis then visiting his brother ,

an employe at Uintah , and she had no do ubt he would

come to our assistance if requested to do so .

S a o n ero p bein g acquainted with D avis , he read ily assented to an adjournment of th e cou ncil u ntil I could

c e send for him , and as this was annou n ed very Ind ian present mou nted h is pony and departed for camp in a l O e p , not one waiting for another , and the ch iefs barely taking time to shake hands with me and M c Kewen as ﬁ they hu rried out of the of ce . A 1 1 EXPERIENCES O F SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT . 5

E V CHAPT R XI . — ORDERED T O UINTAH A—GENCY TAKE CHARGE O F THAT AGENC—Y ALSO T HE UINTAH A N D WHITE RIVER UTES DESCRIPTION O F T HE RESERVATI ON A N D A GENCY .

N the second day after the council described i n

“ r eced in c ha t er the p g p , I received a d ispatch to proceed im med iately to U intah and take charge of that A gency also . It is hardly necessary to say that I could not regard this order otherwise than as the reverse of what Captain Billy would call “ a p urty good idea It threw the re s p o ns ibilit ies of both A gencies u pon me at a most crit ical time and subjected me and the em ployes to the great hardship and danger of frequent trips between th e

two places . It also conveyed the information that the A two gencies were to be consolidated , and that there after all the Ind ians on both Reservations were to be

—or on e A en t u n d er a l l tko I n d i a n s u nder one Agent g , — as the scales might ﬁnally tu rn information which , in the e of o d be t o verynatur the case , it w ul impossible 1 1 6 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

M c Kewen a n d l long conceal fro m them , and wh ich knew would greatly au gment the d issatisfaction of the

U ncom pahgres , at least , and perhaps blot o ut any good impression or p a c iﬁ c a t o ry e ffect that o ur recent cou ncil

m ay have had upon th em .

- B u t right or wrong , p rudent o r ill considered , the

M c K ewen order had to be obeyed , and leavin g as my

representative at O u ray , I started to U intah at sunrise

the next morning , acco m panied by M r . D avis , the

O uray carpenter . Seven miles ou t fro m the A gency we left the m ain road on the mesa and d rove down into D u Ches n e bot

S a o n er o who en to m to pay ou r respects to p , was

camped there with h is entire ind ividual band , wh ich

D av is said consisted of about six hund red Ind ia n s and

wa s two thousand do gs . The old man glad to see

was u s , and as h e d isliked the Agent at U intah , he “ c u t o ff also pleased to hear that h e had been , as the

Ind ians call a d ismissal .

’

We arrived at U intah at 4 o clock in the afternoon .

As we d rove u p we saw a man in shirt sleeves standing

’ in front of one of the traders stores , who m I instinct

I v el e A yrecogn iz d as th e gent . H e was looking at u s

' O n e S f S with h is hat cocked over on . ide of head and

his h is thu mbs hitched in the arm holes of vest . The thou ght ﬂashed through my mind that certainly the

1 1 8 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

tion and more bloody history than the Unco mpahgres .

They are the identical Indians who , less than seven years

1 8 before , or in Septe mber , 79 , com mitted the M eeker

M assacre , and fou ght the battle in which M ajor Thorn

wa s burgh killed . They then belonged to the Whi t e River Agency in S Colorado , and Meeker was their Agent . u ddenly one day they broke o ut and killed and m utilated in the most shockingly barbarous manner every white person

’ n d a u h on the Reservatio , except the Agent s wife and g

’ A who ter , and the gency farmer s wife , escaped death d by h i in g , b ut were afterwards d iscovered and held in

horrible captivity for three months . I t is said that the ch iefs themselves killed the Agent as they were returning with hi m to the o fﬁce from his

house , where they had j ust been his guests at d inner ,

and that the massacre was all over with in th irty m inutes . A few days later they attacked a colu mn of troops

u nder M ajor Thornburgh , as it was marching throu gh A a canyon to the relief of the gency . The attack lasted f two d ays , and the troops su fered terribly in killed and

wo unded , Major Thornburgh himself being killed at

the ﬁrst ﬁre . The I nd ians were so securely concealed and intrenched behind t he rocks o n the walls of the canyon that the troops cou ld neither see them nor d is

m e lodge them , and every ti e a soldier exposed hims lf 1 1 9 EXPERIENCES O F A SPECIAL IND IAN A GENT .

to their sight he was instantly killed or wou nded . The entire com mand was held in this critical S ituation u ntil r e- enforcements arrived and ca me down on the Ind ians

fro m above . The i r p u nishment for that outbreak had been ex t r e m el ylight , and now they were reported to be again

n d isconte ted and threatening .

i n c o m The U intah Reservation , which is occup ied

Ui n t a hs mon by the White R ivers and the , embraces

. the famous valley of the D u Che s n e River and its trib u t a r i es the Strawberry and Uintah Rivers , and many

smaller streams .

r e This is the ﬁnest valley in Utah , the j ustly

n own ed valley of the Great Salt Lake not excepted . Its

length is esti mated at eighty m iles , and its average

- ﬁ v t e . wid h at twenty m iles I t is abu ndantlywatered ,

and nearly all irrigable . The su rface is generally

S smooth , thou gh with enough lope to give good velocity

r - b to all the water cou ses , wh ich , bein g mostly fed y

melting snows in the mou ntains , are fuller in su m mer than in winter . N otwithstand ing it has a mean elevation of perhaps

six thousand feet above the sea , the valley h as the form

of a basin , being entirely encircled by the U intah Mou n

r tains . The atmosphere is so wonde fully clear that th is lofty mou ntain wall may be plainly seen entirely across 1 20 H S SERVICE ON T E INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

fro m one end or one side of the valley to the other . Co ming d own the valley on the road fro m Salt Lake

— ' — City the Agency o fﬁ ce o nly o n e story high can be ﬁ seen a distance of forty miles . Fro m the of ce door I

have seen covered wagons a d istance of twelve m iles , and with a spyglass I have seen horses u p at the snow G line on Mou nt ilbert , wh ich I was told was ﬁfteen

miles . M ou nt Gilbert is the highest peak i n Utah , and

- i n is perpetually snow capped . It sits d irectly the rear , V and in plain iew , of the Agen cy

The Agency is located at White Rocks post ofﬁce , A near Uintah R iver . The bu ildings consist of gency

o fﬁce and wareho use , cou ncil ho use , saw and grist mill , ’ ﬁ blacksm ith shop , wood shop , barn , doctor s of ce , A ’ ’ schoolhouse , gent s dwelling , several em ployes dwell

’ ings , and two traders stores and dwellin gs . These bu ild ings all front on a plaza abo u t seventy - ﬁv e yards wide

and a h und red and ﬁfty yards long . The elevation of the place is said to be six thousand six hundred feet above sea leve ‘ and rains are almost as infrequent there

as at O uray .

1 22 A SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

we i n equ ip ments . I n the afternoon began makin g an v e n t o r yof the property , and were occu pied at that work

most of the time d uring the next ten days .

Very little had been seen of the White Rivers S ince

i n my arrival , and by the ti me we had completed the v en t o rythey had ceased their visits to the o fﬁce almost

S entirely , and were reported to be pend ing nearly all

’ S owa wi ck s their time in co uncil at Chief camp , wh ich A was situ ated only a little over a m ile from the gency , bu t in a secl uded place o n the opposite S id e of White

Rocks Creek .

e These signs , and increasing ind ications of restl ssness and d iscontent among so me of the young bucks of the

U intah band , were beginning to be regarded by the

n wa s employes and myself as o m i ous of d anger , and I in the act of send ing for the White R iver chiefs to come

’ A in and explain their meanin g when Big To m , ntero ,

T o k a wa n a h v o l u n and two or three other U intah c iefs , t a r ilyappeared at the o fﬁce and gave me that informa

tion themselves .

I n the f ew p revious interviews that I had had with these Ui nt a hs I had listened to them with patience and I sym pathy , as I always tried to do with all ndians , and I now had the satisfaction of seeing them d isposed to talk with me in u nreserved conﬁdence . B ig To m ’ s speech embraced all that was said by

1 24 C H R S SERVI E ON T E INDIAN ESERVATION .

the m all , and was interpreted to me in substance as follows :

B ig To m hears a heap of bad talk . He comes to

n ask you what it m eans . White men co me a mo g u s and tell us that soldiers are com in g pretty soon to make

E n trouble . very day for more than one moo white men

have been telling this to o ur youn g men on the bord er , and now they are co ming a mong ou r cam ps and tellin g

it to ou r ch iefs , and even to o ur squaws and pap pooses , We U intah chiefs have paid no attention to this

talk . We knew that no wrong had been done by any

of ou r band , and we have had brave hearts . We have felt no fear that ou r Great Fa t her would su ffer h is sol

d iers to hurt any of us ; we are his children . We have al ways walked in the road that he and our little fathers

A a s we ( gents ) have pointed ou t to u s , as well could .

B ut we ask hi m to reme mber that it is a new road to us .

There are many th ings which we do not know how to

do like ou r white brother . I t will take us a lon g time

we to learn . B ut have always lived at peace with ou r

palefaced neighbors . Go into our wickiups and yo u

will ﬁnd no white scalps . There is no blood on ou r

hands . We love peace . I t makes ou r hearts glad to see o ur squaws and pappooses laugh and play and S leep ” sound . B ut so metimes our young men listen to bad talk

1 26 R H DI A R R A S SE VICE ON T E IN N ESE V TION .

and pappooses are running to the mou ntains , and the

warriors are getting ready to ﬁght . M aybe so ﬁgh t

’ - - to day , maybe so to morrow . D on t know .

M ou r I t is m ighty bad . any of you ng men are breaking away fro m u s and going over to the Un co m

a h res p g and White Rivers to help them ﬁght . M aybe so so me of the m love Unco mpahgre and White River

- s quaws . Maybe so so me of them j ust hot headed and

foolish . B ut they ask us why Washington sold iers are co ming to kill o ur chiefs and take us all away o ff so m e

where and give o ur Reservation to the white man . We

n o t w - o cannot answer . We do kno . They g . We cannot stop them .

O ur chief , Tabbe , is a very old man . H e is weak , and blind and falls down j ust like a little pappoose .

— ood B u t Tabbe is a good man g man . H e has always

’ s kept his you ng men in the Great Father road , and

m a n N G lived in peace with the wh ite . ow the reat

' — — Father sends his soldiers to kill T a bbe g ood man ol d man—and d rive all his people fro m their homes away

’ o ff T a bb e s somewhere , they know not where . heart

S ni ht . heap ick . Last g Big To m see him , Tabbe

‘ ’ Tabbe say , you go and ask him , the A gent , what s

’ m cO m e a k the atter . We to s you abou t it . m It is ighty bad , m ighty bad . We want peace . B ut we cannot stand still and let the soldiers come and A A 1 27 EXPERIENCES OF SPECI L INDIAN AGENT .

kill u s . Life is sweet to u s as it is to our white brother .

We love o u r squaws and pappooses , and they wou ld

rather d ie tha n be taken away fro m this valley . We l have lived here all ou r ives . All the dead of ou r tribe

for generations and generations are buried here . We

love the very earth u nder ou r feet , the air we breathe ,

the su n that shines on us , the plains , the mountains ,

this beautiful valley , and the clear ru nning waters . We

n h know no other country . We could ever love any ot er

as well .

B ut our squaws and pappooses are heap scared .

They catch hold of u s and tremble , and at night they

are afraid to go to sleep . They j ust all the time cry

and look for it the sold iers . O ur hearts are heap sick .

Two suns have co me and gone since we closed ou r eyes in sleep . ’ ? This is Big To m s talk . What yo u say I ask you now ?

I hope it is needles s for me to say that I was deeply

S touched . I had heard nearly all the em ployes peak of

wa s Big To m as a good Ind ian . He the conﬁdential friend and personal representative of the blind and

who decrepit old chief , Tabbe , was held in h igh respect

' by the employes b ec a u se o f his peaceable d isposition towards the whites du ring the many years that he had

e b en the active and advisory leader of his band . I had 1 28 O N T HE SERVICE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . no doubt of the sincerity of his w ish to avert trouble for

S peace sake alone . Moreover , h is peech had conﬁrmed my suspicions that the Indians were being instigated t o

an outbreak by white men , and although he d id not

know their names , or where they l ived , his language left no roo m for doubt in my m ind as to their general

identity , or their motives . E H urried back fro m vanston to tell their friends ,

the Ind ians , that troops were com ing to kill and i mpriso n

o ff their ch iefs , and take all the rest away somewhere

e m a n and giv their Reservation to the white . O ught to sack both A gencies and meet the troops in the can

yons and ﬁght them . What d id those statements imply ? What better clue to the plot could be desired than they contained ?

I p itied B ig To m and his people sincerely , but the str o n gest e motion I felt was hot indignation at the heartlessness of the sche me by which it was now clear to m e that they were abou t to be d eluded to their own

destruction , for the circumstance m ust not be overlooked that it not only involved the lives and fort unes of the

Indians , but it also placed the lives of all the people at A both gencies , includ ing my own , in jeopardy And with my rising ind ignation all my sensations of fear gave way to an ea ger nesS to expose the plot to the

whole tribe , and a strong feeling of conﬁdence in my

1 3 0 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

I determined to do it with energy and boldness . I con gratulated hi m and his colleagues earnestly u pon their

O good sense and bedience in com ing to talk with me ,

t he instead of doing as White River chiefs were doing . I told them also that I desired to have a cou ncil with all the Ui n t a hs and White Rivers at the Agency at 8

’ o clock next morning , to tell them the truth abou t what

S they had heard , and how them how they were abou t

to be led into an awful mistake , and asked them if they

’ would all go im med iately to S owa wi c k s cam p and tell

hi m I wanted him and his people to come , and bring

back word to me whether they would or not . I also asked them to send a ru nner through to S a p on ero that night to ask hi m and his people to meet m e at O uray

for a council on the day after the morrow . Instead of

r e hesitatin g , they seemed glad to comply with my

’ S o wa wi ck s quests , and departed at once for camp . I m med iately after the Meeker M assacre the D epart ment had cau sed forty Springﬁeld riﬂes and ten thous and cartridges to be sent to the A gency for use in e m ér

e i gen y . They had never been unboxed . I d istr buted m them a mong the e ployes , and made all other necessary

preparations for defense . There were abou t twenty t h A guns and forty p istols at e gency besides these .

I selected a lo g house that had a stream of water u n

der it , to use as a sort of fort , and caused some heavy X P R o r P CI AL D G 1 3 1 E E IENCES A S E IN IAN A ENT .

S slabs , big spikes and a led ge hammer to be p ut in , with

which to close the doors and windows . I also had

some provisions pu t in , and some p icks , spades , shovels

wa s and axes . My idea that by ﬁring other b uildings

wa s the Ind ians m ight ru n us o ut , and in that case it

my plan to get out o n the level grou nd , where they

would have no cover for approach , and throw u p a little

A n d fort . thinking of j ust su ch an emergency as this , I had onlya day or two before caused fou r saw logs to

be casually drop ped almost in a square , right where I

thought the fort ou ght to be . With another log all

arou nd on top of these to protect ou r heads , with notches

we cut in the botto m for port holes , wo uld have a good

wa s fort withou t any digging , except for water , which

obtainable anywhere there at a d epth of ﬁve or six feet . Shortly after dark Big To m and his crowd returned

to tell me that the White Rivers were all ready to ﬁght , bu t had prom ised to hold u p and come and hear what

I had to say . I detailed two of the employes to stand watch in the

I I n ﬁrst part of the night , and two n the latter p art . d ians rode about the A gency all n ight long with their

’ ponies feet mu fﬂed so that they made no more n oise

than kittens would have don e , and we afterwards learned

that they had been doin g that every night for a week ,

b o and also slipp ing a out the h uses on foot . 1 3 2 O N H R SERVICE T E INDIAN ESERVATIONS .

E V CHAPT R X I . — A COUNCIL WITH T HE INDIANS T HE PLOT UNFOLDED — — T HE EFFECT H E N RY J I M STARTS T O OURAY T O

S A PO N ERO TELL .

T 8 o ’ clock next morning the Indians came in to

the co uncil . The Uintah chiefs looked even more careworn and

t he n anxious than they d id eveni g before . M any of

their youn g men came w ith the White R ivers , were

heavily armed , and looked black and sullen . A mong the White Rivers pistols could be seen p ro t r u d in E g fro m the folds of nearly every blanket . very

belt was full of cartrid ges , and a Winchester riﬂe was

S o wa wick slun g to every saddle . , the principal chief , had two large revolvers buckled o n o utside of his

blanket . They left all their ponies stand ing in a bunch , and quite a large nu mber of b ucks remained with them — and did not come in to the cou ncil house at all a most

u nusual circu mstance .

. I had cautioned the employes to stay within easy

1 3 4 R H E E S SE VICE ON T E INDIAN R S RVATION .

Believing that it would also have a subdu ing eff ect

on the I nd ians to know how D av is and I were armed , I p icked a chance and slipped the two pistols o ut of my pockets and tu cked them u nder my belt in front of those

in the scabbards , where they could be seen , and yet not

appear to be p urposely d isplayed . When all got qu iet I rapped the co uncil to order and spoke as follows “ Ui n t a hs I s en t I speak to the and White Rivers .

word to yo u that I had some important news to tell you . It will save yo u a great deal of trouble if yo u listen to

who it . Som e bad wh ite men live here close aro und

you r Reservation want to take it fro m yo u . They are trying to g et yo u into a ﬁght with Washington so that

they can then co me in and take you r country . That is

what I want to tell yo u about . I am glad to see that B ig Tom and the rest of the

U intah chiefs have com e in u narmed and friendly , and appear to want to listen like sensible men That is the wa who yfor men to do want to do right . B ut I notice that all the White Rivers have guns

S o wa wic k and pistols , and look m ad and u gly himself has two pistols buckled arou nd h i m , and his face is as ” black as m id night . Wash ington has sent m e among a great many d if f er en t tribes , b ut I never thought it necessary to carry O F 1 3 5 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT . weapons u ntil I saw the Wh ite Rivers ride u p here th is

morning j ust like a war party . Then I told all the white people to stay close by their gu ns outside ; and when I saw that S o wa wi ck had left ﬁfty of h is you n g men to w guard his ponies , and was co ming in here ith those — two pistols buckled around him when I s a w all that I —I say armed myself with these four pistols , two for my

a n d right hand two for my left hand .

I f you will listen to me your country will n o t be

t o taken from you . Washington does not want take it .

o u B ut these bad white men are tryin g to get it . If y

want me to tell yo u all abou t it I will do it . You ou ght

t to know it . B ut the White Rivers loo k as if hey had

come to ﬁght , and not to listen . I f their ears are closed

against the truth I will not talk . I f they have co me to

n o w we ﬁght , I want the m to begin while are all in here

together , because D avis and I are ready , and so are the white people outside .

All this was p ure blu ff , of cou rse ; especially the ref

erence to two pistols for each hand , for I had never ﬁred m a pistol with yleft hand in my life , and was a poor i shot with my r ght hand .

My purpose was to S how the Ui n t a hs that the White

' Rivers were blind and reckless ; that their decision to

ﬁght wa s without excuse and against the best interests of all the tribe ; that it m ight result in losing their co u n 1 3 6 A A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS . try instead of sav in g it ; that their pretended wh ite friends were instigatin g the m to their own destruction ; to force the White Rivers themselves to acknowled ge all f th is and o fer so me atonement for it . It was my aim to allude to these things in su ch way as to make the desire

wa s of both bands to hear more irresistible , because I satisﬁed that the White Rivers had co me to denou nce

and threaten as well as to listen , and to listen only with i ncred ulous ears .

A n d t I am satisﬁed that it was ou r salva ion . It was evident that S o wa wi ck had anticipated nothi n g of the

kind , and was d isconcerted . H e arose and started to

explain and make excuses . B ut it was my intention to su ffer no one to speak u ntil I had prepared the ground

and sown all the seed that I wanted to sow . I told h im

to wait ; to listen to me , and when I got through I

would listen to h im . Then I continu ed as follows

S o wa wi c k a n d I speak to Big Tom , to to all their

people . Listen to what I say . You have a good coun — -i n try the loveliest valley Utah . Beautiful running waters—cold and good in the hot su m mer time fro m the m elting snows in the mou ntains ; rich grass in the v a l leys for your ponies ; deer and elk in the mountains for meat and bu ckskin ; mountains all aro und to shelter yo u ” fro m cold w inds in the w inter . k Washington nows that yo u love this cou ntry , and

1 3 8 H S SERVICE ON T E INDIAN RESERVATION .

A you r eyes with talk , and get yo u to sack the gencies

or ﬁght the soldiers , or do some other great wrong , that would cause Washington to take yo u r co untry away fro m you and d rive you o ff so mewhere else as pu nish

ment . Then these men being right here on the line they could co me in and take this beautiful valley of you rs before the whi t e m en who live a lo n g way off

could get here . Yo u think these men are you r friends .

n I have no doubt they are in a great many thi gs . B u t

they covet your Reservation . Yo u can see as well as I

th at all other valleys in Utah are full of white people .

c a n They need more land that they cultivate . Your large and beautiful valley would furnish homes for thou s

ands of the m . They want it badly , and if you rush

blindly into war with Washington they may get it . I ” d o not know . B ut the chiefs ou gh t to think abou t all these things

before they ﬁght . They will lose everything and gain

nothing . If yo u go o n the warpath Washington will send enough sold iers here to drive yo u out of this v a l ? ley . Then where will the Utes go What will become ? of their s quaws and pappooses Look to the north , to

the south , to the east to the west , look everywhere ,

and you see white men .

r S uppose you go to the mo untains . The soldie s will swarm after yo u and catch yo u there . Geronimo 1 3 9 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

— — e Apache chief yo u know him . Wh re is Geronimo n w ? o He went on the warpath . Too many sold iers

came . Geronimo ﬂed to the mou ntains . The sold iers E followed . verywhere Geronimo went the sold iers were — — — before him beh ind h im all arou nd h im heap of S O I

d iers . The other d ay they caught h im . They have S carried h i m to t . Augustine , Florida , away down by bi the g water , Atlantic Ocean . Apaches no more see G b ' him , eronimo . May e so mosquitoes eat him u p ,

m aybe so alligators catch him , maybe so Wash ington ’ k ” drop a p ile driver o n him . D on t now . “ The time m ay have been in the past when yo u could t hold yo ur own on the warpa h , but it now leads to

- swift and sure d estruction . To take it to day is to seal

the doo m of all your squaws and pappooses . Follow the Washington road and you will hold your cou ntry ” and enjoy peace and hap piness . N ow go back to you r ho mes , bring you r s quaws

and pappooses back fro m the mo untains , carry you r

guns and p istols only when yo u go to kill game , and stop bein g foolish . If any of those white men co me o n

n the Reservation again , bri g them to me and I will pu t the m in the guard house . Go about yo ur own b usiness

like sensible men , do no harm to anybody , and if any

thing goes wrong with you , or yo u hear any bad talk ,

n come and tell me about it . When I eed help to keep ” o t m a nd T m k d wn rouble , co e hel p m e . his is ytal . 4 1 0 SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

It was worth an adm ission fee to see the expressions o n their faces and hear their grunts when the interpreter

explained what I said about the mos quitoes , alligators

’ and pile driver , in connection with Geronimo s fate .

And alto gether the e ffect of the S peech was extraordinary

quite beyond my expectations . Big To m and Henry J i m—the latter an Uncompahgre — ch ief who happened to be present were in raptures and

eager to speak ; but to carry ou t my plan to the end , I

S owa wi c k told the m to let speak ﬁrst .

S owa wi ck co m l etial was p yu pset . H e arose with pal

a bl e wa s p embarrassment . It ev id ent that he d id not

ho w know to begin , or what to say . H e spoke slowly ,

n and at ﬁrst reﬂected lon g between se tences . H e said I t is tru e that my people have been very much ex

cited and alarmed , b ut you ought not to j ud ge us

harshly . In you r m ind pu t you rself in o u r places . Men who m we su pposed were ou r friends told us that

o u r the soldiers were co ming to kill ch iefs , and drive o ur people away off somewhere and give our co u ntry to

we the white m an , and believed it . We could not see N what else the sold iers were com ing for . ow you tell

f we us di ferently and are glad to hear it . Your talk is

a nd good , we feel secure . We would have told yo u . about all this bad talk , bu t those white men told us not

o o e t d th a t . They said that yo u and the soldiers wer

1 42 S SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATION .

O u r ton take country away fro m u s . That is bad .

Ui n t a hs White Rivers m ust not do that . will tell yo u

abou t that , and help you stop it .

Henry J im shook my hand w ith great earnestness , and said H enry J im has heard you r talk . He is glad . It is

ood S a on er o g talk . Me go now quick to tell p . Sapo nero heap scared . All Uncompahgre yo ung men heap

’ Me scared . All crazy . Want to ﬁght . see em last

- — - n ight . Maybe so ﬁght to day m aybe so to morrow .

S a o n e r o - M e go qu ick and tell p to day yo u come . To

morrow , su n little bit high , you hold it a cou ncil at

O S a o n er o on— — A uray . M e tell p hold wait hear gen t — d A ll oo . talk g talk . right M e go now . My pony

— - good pony run fast . To morrow , d aylight , m e see yo u at O uray . Good bye .

H e strode rap idly o ut of the house , followed by ﬁve

or six young U ncompahgre bucks . Fro m a window I — saw them m ou nt and start for O uray in a lope a gait wh ich I had no idea wou ld be broken a S ingle time on — — the jo u rney u p hill or down excep t in ford ing the

streams .

’ It was then 1 2 o clock and I annou nced that I would go to O u ray in the afternoon to bold a cou ncil with the .

Uncompahgres . The chiefs al l said they were glad of t im et e e b hat , and hoped Henry J would g th r efore any XP E S A 1 43 E ERI NCES OF A PECI L INDIAN AGENT .

S owa wi ck thing bad had taken place . shook hands

S with me , and pledged me his word that no harm hould

be done by the Indians in my absence . The council

adjourned in perfect good h u mor , and every white per son a t the A gency experienced a feeli n g of happy

d eliverance , for the tim e bein g at least , fro m im minent

peril . 1 44 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

E V C HAPT R X I I . — — T HE TRIP T O OURAY INTENSE EXCITEMENT T HE INDIANS INTENDED T O ATTACK A T DAYLIGHT — T HE TROOPS HEARD FROM OBJ ECTION S T O T HE ” —T HE B UFFALO SOLDIERS TROOPS ARRIVE .

E r CARRI D M r . D avis with me to O u ay . We mad e

the trip in a buggy , well armed , and w ith a team of

sad dle horses . I ndian looko uts were posted o n all the h igh points

along the road , and m any of the m intercepted us to

who we we ascertain were , and where were going .

wa s It an hou r after dark when we arrived at O uray .

Indian runners had apprised the employes of our c o m

ing , and they were glad to see u s . They had been

mo mentarily expecting an attack all day . They had

all their horses saddled and bridled , and were stand ing watch by tu rns to guard against surprise .

’ S a o n er o Co l o r ow p and had sent-to the trader s store at daylight that morning and bought every box of

ev Cr matches , every foot of rope , ybridle , saddle , cinch b k k and saddle blanket , every p iece of dressed uc s in ,

1 46 H E SERVICE ON T E INDIAN RES RVATIONS .

H e also said that the Uncom pah gres were highly

pleased with h is report of the U intah council , and as sured me that if I would m ake the same explanations to them th at I had made to the Ui n t a hs and White

t heii‘ R ivers , it would allay fears concernin g the sold iers , and remove m u ch of their dissatisfactio n regarding other m atters .

A n d so it proved . The cou ncil was long and ted i

o us , b ut entirely harmonious , and the result qu ite as

it satisfactory as was at U intah . We adjourned with — the public pro mise fro m S a p o n er o given with the sanction of the entire co u ncil—that if my rep resenta

S tions proved true , we hould have the sup port instead h of the ostility of the Unco mpahgres , and that in any event if anything went wrong he would come and tell

M cKewen me or about it .

’ At 1 2 o clock I started on the return trip to Uin

tah . About half way we met ﬁve I ndians co ming fro m

Uintah as fast as their po nies could carry them . As

they drew near and signalled to us to stop , we saw that they had been rid ing hard and were greatly excited .

It gave m e a very painful sho ck . I was afraid some

new trouble had occurred at U intah .

The leader was an old head man named Sou r , who m D avis and I both knew to be one of the best disposed

I ndians o n the Reservation . B ut he was now terribly 1 47 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

excited . H e d id not wait to get nearer than a h u n dred yards to begin shou ting : “ B f ! f ! u falo sold iers B u falo soldiers Corn ing . May

S O - s a w be to morrow . Indians them at B u rnt Fort

’ wa ! yesterday , coming this y. D on t let them come We can ’ t stand it ! It ’ s bad—very bad !

When he got u p to us he continued to talk rap idly ,

both orally and by signs . He gave D av is no time to e interpret , and perhaps said as m u ch in ﬁve m inut s with h is mouth and hands together as could have been

interpreted literally in half an hour . As soon as D avis could break in he gave me the substance of it as fol lows Yo u did not tell us that ‘bu ffalo sold iers ’ were com

we ing , and d id not agree for them to come . We d id

not think abou t them at all . O ur agreement ap plies

only to wh ite soldiers . That is all right . We told yo u

a ll they might co me , and they may . B u t the I ndians want yo u to come back qu ick and meet the ‘b u ffalo

’ soldiers at the line and send them back . We can not

stand for the m to co me on ou r Reservation . I t is too bad ! ” wh I told D av is to ask h im . ythe Ind ians objected “ to the colored troops , or bu ffalo soldiers , as he called

them . By this time he was too impatient and excited

o t o wait n the interpreter . Leaping fro m his pony and 1 48 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

rushing up to me as I sat in the bu ggy , he rubbed his hand briskly over my black coat sleeve and then over h is face and exclaimed with great vehe mence in broken E nglish “ A l l ov er bl a ck ! A l l ov er bl a eb bu a l o s ol d i er s ! , j f

I nj u n lz ea p n o l i/ee Then rubbing his head all over with a jerk of h is

: hand , he almost screamed

Wool lyb ea d ! Wool lyb ea d ! A l l s a m e a s buff a l o !

Wna t ou ca l l bi m bl a e/e wbi te m a n ? N ! y , IGGER N IG GE R It took me an hour to get him calmed down and m reconciled . I had not thought of colored troops y

self , and was not aware that the Ind ians d isliked the m

any more than they d id wh ite soldiers .

Finally , u pon the assurance that all the sold ier ch iefs

were white men , and the pled ge of my word for the “ ” good cond uct of the b u ffaloes , Sour agreed that they

m ight co me , and gave me his word that he would h urry back and satisfyall the Indians .

’ A t the Agency I found that Sour s excitement had l m been shared in by the entire tribe . I was a so infor ed that the Utes had a strange and irreconcilable antipathy f to negroes . Up to that time they had never su fered one to live on their Reservation . Several had dropped in among the m fro m time to time in the past , bu t only to soon disap pear and never be heard of again .

1 50 E A SERVIC ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

E V C HAPT R X I I I . — A FRESH ALARM AT UINTAH A VISIT TO THE SOL ” — DIER CAMP A TERRIBLE NIGHT RIDE —THE END O UR OF TROUBLES .

’ B OUT 9 o clock the second night after the arrival “ f of the bu faloes , an u nusual co mmotion was

’ heard over in S o wa wick s village and amon g the scat A tering ca mps near the gency .

Lou d shoutin g cou ld be plainly heard , and an em pl oye who u nderstood the language said runners were rid ing at full S peed th rough the camps giving the alarm

that soldiers were co ming , and su m monin g the Ind ians

’ S o wa wi ck s to a cou ncil at camp imm ed iately . I was satisﬁed that a new excitement had broken

o ut , b ut as o ur preparations for defense were as co m

l et e we we p as could m ake the m , there was nothing could d o b ut await develop ments .

We had not long to wait . I n less than half an hou r I heard a great clatter of unshod hoofs approach

n u i g at full speed . They dashed p to my yard gat e P E F A S P L G 1 51 EX ERIENC S O ECIA INDIAN A ENT .

M oc ca s i n ed and stopped . feet cam e runnin g on the

walk to the porch . There was a rush against my roo m

door , and half a dozen Ind ians com menced pound in g on it and shouti n g : ! A ! ! Agent , soldiers gent soldiers Co ming now

M aybe so bi t/f a l o sold iers !

Opening the door , I asked the m what was the

matter . There were six or seven of them , all White

Rivers , I thou ght , though Charlie Mack , the interpreter ,

w wa s was the only one who m I kne by name . He a

’ - S o wa wick s full blood White River , and lived in village . T hey were so excited that they could hardly talk . When Charlie M ack became steady enou gh to talk with

wa s any coherency at all , it as follows

Sold iers ! Pony soldiers ! M aybe so bi t/f a l o sol

’ ’ ’ n o w d iers . Co min . Inj u ns see e m at Antero s little

S owa wi ck b it ago . Inj uns ru n fast and tell . M aybe

’ - n n so co min to catch Inj uns to ight . D unno , I j u ns

th ink so . All de Inj uns heap scared . S quaws and

’ r u n n in n ow pappooses all to mountains . All d e I n

- —r z kt n ow— u r t u i ck S owa wick j u ns ﬁght to night g p yq .

a s k u i ck? send us to yo u what you say , q

’ wa s A This a stunner . ntero s camp was ﬁve m iles

D u Ches n e down the road towards Camp , and I could not understand myself why soldiers shou ld be riding

about on the Reservation , and especially com ing to 1 52 E H S RVICE ON T E INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

A wards the gency in the nighttime , without notice to

me . I could not believe it tru e , and questioned Charlie

M ack again . H e said — — t ’ Yes since d ark li tle bit ago . Inj uns see em

’ — wa big band com in this y.

I was still incred ulo us , thou gh Indians seldo m make

m istakes in matters of that kind . And true or false ,

wa s u i ck it evident that something had to be done q .

I could think of bu t one thin g , and acted on it at once .

Speaking with decisiveness and energy , I said

Go back and tell S owa wi c k to send some of his

ch iefs to go with me to see where the soldiers are going ,

and what they are after . I know they are not co m ing

to catch the Indians . Mayb e they are com in g to see

’ I d o n t me . M aybe they are looking for lost horses .

know . We will go and ﬁnd out . Som e of you go and

S owa wi ck tell Big To m to co me too . Tell to keep

we t . the Ind ians qu ie u ntil get back . Go now , qu ick

They ran out to their ponies , sp rang to their backs and sped away as if they expected the “ bu ffalo sol

d iers to catch the hind most . A I ordered ou t the two best horses at the gency ,

and sent for Frank Boan , a brave you ng fellow origin

ally fro m Illinois or M issou ri , I d o not recollect which . I told hi m that the Ind ians wo uld expect m e to ride at

the front , b ut that he m ust ride at the rear , and in no

O N T HE 1 54 SERVICE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

et ﬁrst hail and g an answer in Ind ian , and then gallop

in to ascertain who we were and where we were goin g . Several arose from the sagebrush right at the s ide of

the road , where they were squatted as lookou ts for the

sold iers . They all looked wild and excited . They had heard of the troops and were hu nti n g for the m

the mselves , thou gh not one of them had seen a soldier , A ’ or knew anything abou t ntero s band .

" I kept the I nd ians talking to each other u p and

down the line in their own langu age , to avoid bein g

m istaken for cavalry and ﬁred on . A fter passing Antero ’ s camp the Ind ians rode ex a S er a t i n l we n p g yslow , and as neared the Post they h u g back so much that I feared they wou ld break away and

wa s u not go u p at all . I t evident that they were neasy and susp icious of entrap ment .

The moo n wa s j ust fairly above the mesa to the east as we came in sight of the wh ite tents in the valley

There was perfect silence i n the camp , b ut we could see a the sentinels walking their beats , pparently wid e awake

A wa s and v igilant . d im light burning in the guard

tent o n the corner that we were ap proaching , and a few men sitting near it .

The Indians were in single ﬁle , and had dropped

t a back perhaps ten steps apar , making qu ite long line .

The low moon cast our shadows out over the plain , XP R C S F P I G T 1 55 E E IEN E O A S ECIAL IND AN A EN .

making us , as the sentinels said , look like a regiment of phanto ms .

The sand being deep , ou r approach was noiseless , and we were within S ixty yards before the gua r ds d is

u s covered . Suddenly the men at the tent spran g to

’ their feet and we heard the click - click of half a doze n e riﬂ s , and saw their bright barrels gleaming straight at “ T o : ! u s . the qu ick , energetic co m mand Halt Who ? goes there I made pro mpt answer , and told Charlie

M ack to interpret everythin g to the Indians . The Ser geant asked me to wait where we were until he cou ld

f we wake the co mmand ing o ﬁcer . While he was gone rode a f ew steps to one side and hitched ou r horses to

th e cottonwood trees on the bank of the river . In a few minutes the Sergeant returned with word fro m th e f co m mand ing o ﬁcer to com e to his tent , which was sit u a t ed in the center of the camp . At the guard tent a ﬁle of sold iers with guns closed

u p on each side of u s , w ith the Sergeant in front , to f ’ escort us to th e co mmandin g o ﬁcer s quarters . As k the sold iers appeared on both sides of us , I looked bac

at the I ndians , who were followin g me in single ﬁle ,

with Boan still at the rear . They were the most solem n

- and worst hoodooed looking h u man beings I ever saw . I doubt if any of them had much hope of ever gettin g

o ut of the camp alive . Fortunately , the sold iers were 1 56 C TH S S SERVI E ON E INDIAN RE ERVATION .

f white . If they had been b u faloes , I am sure the Indians would have stampeded in sp ite of all we could

have done .

General Crook had that day started back to O maha ,

- leaving Captain J . W . D u ncan , of the Twenty First t H Infantry , in emporary com mand . e and Lieutenants

John S . Parke and H . L . Bailey and several other d ofﬁcers had jerke on their uniforms and swords , and

were tumbling things around to make roo m for u s . I

introduced all the Indians to Captain D uncan by name , and explained the cause of ou r v isit at that inconvenient and u nusual hou r . Captain D u ncan assu red the Indians that a m istake had been m ade ; that all of his men had answered to

wa s roll call at sunset , and he su re none of the m had

S A t left cam p ince . my request he also gave them substantially the same explanations and assurances that

I had given at U intah and O uray , and fro m being the worst frightened they soon beca me the best pleased

I ndians I ever saw . They talked a few minu tes among

themselves , and then Charlie M ack told us that they had conclu ded that “ m aybe some Inj u n heap scared

ho s es and see so me cowboys or so me g , like white m an , ” and think they soldiers .

As soon as we had passed the guard tent going out ,

- B the Ind ians said good bye to me and oan , mounted

158 R C TH I D R R A S SE VI E ON E N IAN ESE V TION .

E CHAPT R XIX . — T HE SIOUX VISIT T HE UTES A BI G D O G FEAST THREE HUNDRED INDIAN S DANCING A T O N E TIME

A N O F F EA T H EXTRAORDINARY DISPLAY PAINT ,

ERS A N D SLEIGH B ELLS .

S the excitement and wa r talk subsided the Ind ians w resu med their regular pastimes , hich consist

largely of horse racing , d ancing and card playing . The three bands own u pwards of twelve thousand

ponies , many of the m bein g really ﬁne horses . Straight

t he u stretches of wagon road serve as race tracks , us al

ﬁv e d istance being abo ut h undred yards . Being fond

of b unch races , they will enter as many ponies as can

ﬁnd room on the track , or with in twenty yards of it , and for any amount fro m a p istol cartrid ge to the largest bunch of ponies on the Reservation . — At cards they are wonderfully expert more so , I “ whit e m en have heard competent , say , than the heathen

is Chinee . One of their principal games is what

known in that region as Mex ican monte , and the other 15 9 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

is poker , thou gh cowboys used to tell me that even th e latter is so thoroughly Indianized as to be a perfect

hoodoo to a wh ite man .

wher They have no regular places for playin g , b ut ever two o r three are gathered togeth er there a blanket

and a deck of cards may be seen also . The blanket is — spread on the gro und i h the shade if one happens to

n — be convenient , if not , then in the blazi g su n and th e a ga me begins , and generally to be continued for m ny

hours .

on e The wo men also gamble with another , and some

times win and lose large stakes . A very thrifty Ind ian

living near the Agency had two good tents , several

valu able robes and blankets , an abundance of wearing apparel and other ho usehold goods su itable to their

O n e mode of life . day d uring his absence h is squaw

' gambled o ff both tents a n d ev ery s o lit a ry thin g they

contained , excep t herself and two pappooses . When h e returned at night he found her happily sojournin g

with a neighbor , the tents and all their contents havin g

been pro mptly removed by the winner . The incident

resulted in no domestic d istu rbance , however . The h usband expressed so me contempt for h is wife ’ s skill

and j ud gment , b ut no disapproval of her habit of play

ing and betting .

Unlike white men , Ind ians rarely ever have trouble 1 60 O N T HE S SERVICE INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

with one another over their games . They will gamble at cards and run horse races every day for months with

a o ut even quarrel . I do not recollect to have ever heard of but t wo or three altercations resulting fro m

racin g or card playing .

For a ball roo m they sometimes have a tepee , so me

a t he times b ush wickiup , and sometimes o pen prairie .

A full orchestra is com posed of a bass dru m , at least

- o i n st r u two tom toms , and three or fou r of a w oden

- ment the name of wh ich I never heard . The to m to m is a small dru m mad e by stretchi n g we t rawhid e over

the top of a cam p kettle , or other thing of that shape . The wooden instru ment is made o f hard wood in th e C form of a hair rocker , with notches on the inverted ed ge . The m usician rubs the notches with a cobble f stone , and the e fect is eno u gh to make a wh ite man — dance with frenzy . The dru ms are placed on the

ground , and as many I ndians as can get in reach pou nd

b e o n them leisurely , but with u nvaryin g stroke , from

: Ki - i ginning to end , while a chorus of s quaws sing y , ” k o - o k i - i k o - o k i - i k o - o - k o A y , y , y , y , y . full orches

tra however , is not indispensable to a su ccessful Ute ”

germ an . Frequently only one instrument is used . The d ifferent tribes are also fond of v isiting each A other in large nu mbers , and gents frequently ﬁnd it

Cr m is s io n s o inexpedient to refuse the m p to do , even if they can see no beneﬁt to be derived from it .

A 1 62 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

p ipes , made of the D akota red pipestone , and large

quantities of moccasins , tobacco pou ches and other tri nkets mad e of buckskin and orna mented with bead s

and porcu pine qu ills , which they said they had brought

to swap to the Utes for ponies and b uckskin . “ a u Being satisﬁed that their excursion , whether t ho r iz ed wa s n or not , only for pleasure and the excha ge

of gifts with the U tes , and seeing also that it would be i mpossible for them to recru it their ponies for the return

trip under a week , I consented for the m to remain that t long , bu t told them that hey would have to look to th e

Utes themselves for beef and ﬂou r . With many gru nts

o ff expressive of deep satisfaction , they h urried to see the

t wo Ute chiefs , wh o came in an hour or later and asked fo r an advance issue of six beeves and other supplies for “ who . their visitors , they said were heap h un g ry , Three or fou r days later the Ute chiefs ca me to th e o fﬁce again and gave m e a formal and very pressi n g

invitation to a big dog feast , which they said they were

’ goin g to give the O g a l a ll a s at S o wa wi c k s cam p the A next day . Lieutenant John S . Parke , of the rmy , A happening to be at the gency , I introd u ced them to

him , and they invited him also . U pon what we u nder stood to be an assu rance that we would not be expected to partake of th e feast u nless it wa s entirely agreeable

to us , we both pro mised to go . P F L 1 63 EX ERIENCES O A SPECIA INDIAN AGENT .

’ A t 9 o clock next morning Parke and I moun ted o u r

horses and rode across the creek to the cam p . All of

Ui n t a hs d the and White R ivers , several h undre of the

—a t Uncompah gres , and the four hu ndred S io ux least

a l l— two thousand in h ad already assembled , and were

nearly ready to begin the feast . They were all in ex c ell en t hu mor , and seemed to be enjoying the occasion

’ abou t a s whit e people usually enjoy a Fourth of J u ly

barbecue . N ear the center of the camp a round spot perhap s one hundred feet in d i a meter had been scraped o ff as

smooth as a brickyard , to serve the double p urpose of

n ball room and banquet hall . It seemed that the I d ians

had been waiting for Parke and myself , and we were given seats of honor with the chiefs on a carpet of bla n kets and robes S pread on a li t tle knoll at the edge

of the ring .

The tom - to ms were im mediately sou nded to call the

dancers fro m their wickiups , where they had been mak “ S ing their toilets , of wh ich paint , feathers and leigh

bells were the most conspicuous articles . There were — at least three hundred of them all men , some of the w o men singing , b ut none d ancing . — Ind ians use the bright colored paints green , blue , — red , yellow and wh ite to enhance their beauty , and t he o u n y g b ucks , or dudes , as the white boys call them , 1 64 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

spread it on th ick when they go cou rtin g , or into the

wa s dance . And as this an extraord inary occasion , they had used their bru shes with extraord inarily lavish

a h nds . One had the whole of one eye painted a bright

yellow , and the other a brilliant green . H is forehead i was a blue ﬁeld w th a white star in the center . O ne

S ide of his face was ornamented with green and yellow

stripes , and the other with red , white and blue stars .

H e is described in detail , however , only to give the

ho w wa s reader an idea of they all looked , for h is face

not painted more fantastically than scores of others , and

no two were alike .

E ach d ancer wore fro m two to seven bands of S leigh

—a t he bells band o f large ones arou nd waist , and

smaller ones arou nd the ankles , knees and arms . Think of three hund red men dancing with from two to seven bands of sleigh bells of various sizes buckled arou nd the m so as to j ingle with every m otion of the body ! Such a sound is as animating to an Ind ian cam p as the M arine B and ’ s “ Star Spangled Banner ” or D ixie is

to an assemblage of white people .

The d ancers seemed to go through certain ﬁgures , the time required to dance a set being abou t twenty

A t S o wa wic k m inutes . the end of the ﬁrst one stepped

' into the center of the ring and made what seemed fro m h is gestures and mod ulations of voice to be a speech of

1 66 S H AT S ERVICE ON T E INDIAN RESERV ION .

be a sort of grace or invocation , and extended the d ish

S owa wi ck S o wa wi c k to . , taking ou t a piece of the i meat with h is ﬁngers , and hold ing it u p before h s face ,

said a few words in a reverent or ceremonious manner ,

dropped the morsel into his mo uth , chewed a time or f two , swallowed with some d i ﬁculty , batted his eyes , and then looked arou nd with an expression of c o u n t e

“ ’ nance which seemed to say : That s the wa yto do it ; ” follow my example . All the chiefs and dancers

grunted enthusiastic applause . The same ceremony was repeated with the Sioux

m e ! chief , and then Wash turned to Parke and I had a been joking each other consider bly , but thinking that we had been excused in advance by the chiefs , we d id a not expect any serious embarr ssmen t . The chiefs all

gathered around , however , and made us u nderstand by

k En l is h sig ns and a few words of bro en g , that as we were their friends they would be d eeply grieved if we

‘ d id not partake of the f ea st wit h them !

I had recognized Charlie Mack among the dancers , and seeing h im sitting not far away lau ghing at us , I called to h im to come and help us out of o ur d ilem ma .

The rascal wa s making no concealment O f his enjoyme n t

a n of o ur embarrassment , d instead of co ming to o u r assistance he said N o ; me one of de d ancers . M e have to stay here O F N 1 67 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGE T .

’ now . You j is eat it some dog ; d at s all d ey want .

S owa wick I s ec k he tell de Sioux yo u his friend . p it if good . M aybe me eat lots of it . Yo u tase ; m ay

’ i t 0 Y a ller be yo u like . Fattest kind dog . dog .

is t id d O ne ear cut off . Me see h im y y.

I bro ugh t him to terms , however , with a threat to

strike h is na me fro m the issue roll of the tribe , and after he had S poken a few words to the I nd ians he said :

“ ’ ’ D at s all right . I tell e m yo u no like it dog ; dat

’ wh ite m an d unno what s good nohow .

The ch iefs grunted their satisfaction with h is ex p l a

nation , and resu ming their seats they were served j ust

S owa wi c k as and Red Clou d had been , each receiving 0 he m hearty applause as swallowed h is orsel . Two other med ici ne m en entered the ring and assisted

Wash to ad minister to the dancers .

When the ceremonies at the ri n g were ended the crowd scattered ou t in grou p s arou nd the ﬁres in all parts of the camp and the feast o n fresh beef and dog

meat became general . 1 68 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

A E CH PT R XX . — A LITTLE SAVAGE I N SCHOOL HAVO C A N D CONSTER — NATIO N AMONG T HE LADIES A TENDERFOOT O N A

— A N D A T BICYCL—E ROPING BRANDING BEEF CATTLE OURAY ASTONISHING FEATS O F T HE CHAMPION

O F ROPER UTAH .

A N N E E E wa s I SS F I A . W KS , of Florid a , su perintendent of the Reservation school at

Uintah . M rs . Clara Granger , of Salt Lake City , was

m atron , and M rs . Annie R . M organ , of Kentucky , was

seamstress . They were most excellent lad ies , and ad l m ir a b yadapted to their respective places . The Uncompahgres could not be ind u ced to send l any of their ch ildren to schoo , b ut by great energy and perseverance M iss Weeks had gathered in nearly thirty

Ui nt a hs very nice little and White R ivers , and sh e was

qu ite prou d of them . I was m uch inclined to help her , and u rged th e Ind ians to bring in as m any children as

she could acco m modate . O ne day an I nd ian who m the employes had given

the nam e of John D u ncan , brou ght me his little boy

1 70 TH R SERVICE ON E INDIAN RESE VATION S .

little hyena . M iss Weeks is an obese lady and of

S m ature years , and she was now too excited and hort of

— S he breath to talk absolutely speechless . I n fact was

almost in a swoon , and looked as if a hyena had been

her H wa s toying w ith sure enou gh . er dress torn , her

- face badly scratched , and two third s of her hair m issin g .

I n another part of the room Mrs . Granger stood tryin g

to stanch a strong ﬂow of blood fro m her nose . She seemed to be even more hopelessly wrecked than M iss “ Weeks . Her dress was , as she expressed it , j ust r u i n ed S he , the few short tufts of hair that had left “ fro m a beau tiful su it looked j ust shocking , her face

k S and nec howed several u gly ﬁngernail scratches , one

ear was b itten almost o ff , and her nose was swollen to

rid iculous size , and bleedin g profusely . Cro uched on top of a high wood - box in one corner of the roo m wa s

’ E a n im a l I M aster u gene D uncan , the worst scared little

S k ever saw . As soon as M iss Weeks could pea she shouted Take that little wildcat away fro m here ! Take him away! ” “ “ I s a id O h , I should hate to do that , ; he seems

‘ ’ s o cute . Why , he j ust seems to have you and M rs .

i n ecs ta ci es ” Granger . That made the m both so mad that they had to sit k ” t down and ta e a good cry . When they had was A 1 71 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDI N AGENT .

their faces , swept the hair and other debris fro m the

ﬂoor , and got in a good hu mor , they gave me the par t i cu l a r s i of the combat , which , they sa d , came up qu ite

u nexpectedly to them . When J oh n left the boy with

them they petted him awhile , gave h im nice things to

eat , and tried to get him to talk to them , which of course

he could not do , not bein g able to speak or understand E k a word of nglish . Finally M iss Wee s tu rned her attention to something else in another part of the house ,

and Mrs . Granger started to take h im to the storeroo m

to exchan ge his buckskin for a su it of clothes . When

S he stooped to take h is hand , the little fellow spran g u p

n on her sho ulders and went to scratchin g , biti g an d

p ulling hair like a real wildcat . Of cou rse , when M iss Weeks heard the screaming she rushed heroically to the

rescue of Mrs . Granger . In trying to pull the boy loose

she bent M rs . Granger over on a table . The little

o ff Indian j u mped on the table kicked M rs . Gran ger

’ on the nose , leaped u p o n M iss Weeks shoulders and

co m menced to plu ck her head . She stru ggled and

S he screamed tremendously at ﬁrst , b ut in a little wh ile dropped o n her hand s and knees and com menced to p ray . When she sank entirely to the ﬂoor the little

o ff fellow j u mped , ran to the far corner of the roo m and

- box . climbed u p on the wood . The lad ies said he d id — — not utter a w ord did not even whim per d uring the 1 72 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS . m elee , and did not look at all mad , bu t j ust seemed to

be scared almost to death .

A t my request John stayed with h im u ntil next d ay ,

by wh ich time he had become reconciled and gentle , and in ten d ays h e was a pet of the su perintendent and

matron , and regarded by all as one of the brightest and

most a miable child ren in the school . Soon after this episode I spent nearly two weeks at

O uray , receiving beef cattle . The contract required the year ’ s su pply to be furnished at one delivery about the

M cA n d r ews ﬁrst of October . M r . , the chief herder ,

was a very careful man , and required every animal to be

' t hor o u hl b r a n d ed thrown , so that it could be g y .

This afforded me O pportu nity to witness so me very f ﬁne work with the lasso , and many excellent eats of

wa s horsemanship . M r . Gidney , one of the herders , S the cham pion roper of several tates and Territories , having taken the premiu m and medal at the D enver E xposition the year before .

To th row the cattle the herders wo uld all mount - their

- trained cow ponies and ride into the corral . One o f them would rope a steer by the horn s and take a hitch

o n a snubbing post , which was ﬁrmly set in the ground

0 s t dr t in the center of the corral . The others would him to running and then one of the m would catch h im by G the hind legs . The latter throw generally fell to id

1 4 A 7 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

r whole neighborhood . The O uray boys worked ve y

u n hard , an d branded considerably over a h dred a d ay

A bout this time a yo ung fellow fro m N ew York came

along on a trip across the continent on a bicycle , on a race against the time made by another b icyclist some years before . The road across the Reservation was not one of the S m ain traveled roads from D enver to alt Lake City .

O n the contrary it was in so me places merely a trail . B u t having ascertained so mehow that it was nearer than

the other ro utes , he had recklessly plun ged into it .

wa s S The Reservatio n not hown on his map , however ,

’ and he said he d id not know there was an I n dian in the N U nited States outsid e of the Indian Territory . obody

had though t to tell h im abou t the Utes , all supposing

A n that he knew where they were . The gency bei g “ m arked on his map as White Rocks , he supposed it d was an or inary ranch or village , and was m aking for it

as a stopp ing place for the night .

O n the road he wa s traveling there wa s not a house to be seen—not even a permanent Ind ian camp—between A the line of the Reservation and the gency , a d istance

of forty m iles . B ut a m ile and a half fro m the Agency

’ the I nd ians had j ust the d a y b efo r e completed a large

b ush wickiup in the form of a horseshoe , with the open

t f ewee m heel o the road , and only a f t fro it . X 1 75 E PERIENCES O F A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

This wickiu p being simply a wall of green willow

S ix b ushes or seven feet high closely wattled together ,

it looked at a casual glance just like a willow thicket ,

wa s and the bicycle man thought it . B u t there were

two hundred Utes inside , and at least one hundred and

ﬁfty of the m dancing .

A s the sun was fast d isap pearin g behind the mo u n

S tains , the traveler was strain ing h is eyes for a ight of

White Rocks , fearing that if darkness overtook him o n the plain h e m ight lose the road and be devo ured by

l wed coyotes . Hearing a noise he u p to listen .

Recogniz ing it as h u man voices , he thought there must be

u a settlement behind the cl mp of willows , and pushed on .

S l o wm g u p as he cau ght a glimpse of the people

inside , he had co me to a full stop in front of the w ickiu p

before he saw that they were Indians . The Indians

e s eing him at the same instant , they came rushin g ou t and crowded around him so closely that he could not

move . H e had never seen an Ind ian , and they had

never even heard of a b icycle . And there they were face to face ! The Indians were S imply amazed ; the

- white man was absolutely terror stricken . H e sat co m pl et ely paralyzed with fright until one of the Indians E asked h im a question in nglish . That brought h im “ back to consciousness su fﬁciently to say : White Rocks — White Rocks . 1 76 A SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

wa s Seein g that he scared nearly to death , the Indians

wa stood o ut of h is yand told hi m to go on . Althou gh

wa s he d id not have to be told a second time , he too

weak and nervous to go fast ; and , to make the case

worse for him , thirty or forty of the Ind ians j u m ped on

their ponies and followed close behind him , partly to

ho w see he got along o n the wheel , and partly to see if

he stopped at White Rocks . When the man arrived at the Agency he was almost

delirious . Doctor Williams ad ministered sedatives to

h im , b ut he tossed restlessly on his cou ch all night , and for several hou rs any unusual noise would startle him so that a n em ploye had to stay in the roo m with hi m to

o ff keep him fro m j u m ping u p and running . Abou t sunrise next morning ﬁfteen or twenty of the f ch iefs of both bands appeared at the o ﬁce for a council .

I t wa s ev ident fro m their appearances that they had

been u p all night . They said they had come to ask m e to make the man with the iron pony go right on .

Of co urse I knew that he intended to go anyhow , bu t to satisfy my cu riosity I asked them why they d id not

want him to stop . They replied

we Because never saw a pony like that before , and

we will not ru n ou r ponies against it . It is not like ou r

we w ponies , and do not kno how fast it can ru n . It

has no feet , no mouth , no get breath , maybe so no get

1 8 R TH R O 7 SE VICE ON E INDIAN ESERVATI NS .

E C HAPT R XXI . — A TRIP T o SALT LAKE CITY O N THE ROOF OF A

’ S QUATTER S DUGOUT THROUGH DEEP AND

- — NARROW CANYO N S WONDERFUL ECHOES UTAH

S — LAKE , J ORDAN RIVER AND GREAT ALT LAKE SALT

— T o LAKE CITY RETURN THE AGENCY .

N the latter part of O ctober I was requ ired to make

S a lt . L a k e a trip to City , to hu rry u p the delivery of the annual su pplies at Uintah and O uray before the

roads became blockaded with snow , the small creeks being already frozen over .

M c K ewen we D ecid ing to take M r . with me , agreed to meet at Fort D u Chesn e and start to the railroad fro m H that place . e came u p to the Post in the afternoon

’ l s t 2 of O ctober 3 , and I arranged to start at o clock in the morning and get there for breakfast .

m wa s k M r . He msworth , the far er , to ta e me . Callin g

-I : 0 a h me at 3 , as d irected he made the unwelco me n o u n cem en t S that it was nowing to beat creation , and suggested that we take a S pan of nimble - footed O F 1 79 EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

mules , instead of horses , as they could travel in the ﬁ snow with less d if culty , to which I assented .

’ 2 O We started at clock . The snow was then th ree

n or four inches deep , and still falli g beautifully . A m ile A from the gency the road crosses a creek , one of the i A ma n branches of the little Uintah River . dense thicket of willows and grease wood extends entirely across the botto m on both sid es of the road . Until we

n came to the botto m the m ules , m ule like , kept tryi g to

qu it the road and turn back , bu t when we got in between the walls of the bush we felt no further danger of losi n g

o ur way .

n The creek had low , sloping ba ks , and I remembered

afterward s that the road ran d iagonally across it .

When we had been d riv ing long enough , as I thou ght , to be entirely across the bottom I remarked to Hems worth that we seemed to be a long tim e getting to the a creek . Being of an exceed ingly s ngu ine temperament , he whipped u p the team and replied :

’ ’ N We ll o ; we ve hardly got that far yet . come to

’ it pretty soon . These blamed mules don t like to take w the sno .

I knew , however , that we were traveling at the rate

of ﬁve or six m iles an hou r , and I could also tell that we were making a great many abrup t turns th at I had

i t m in u t e n ever n oticed n he road . Fifte en or twenty S 1 8 0 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . later I happened to think or notice that the bu ggy had

ceased to jolt against the cobblestones , and that the road seemed to be as smooth and soft as a carpeted

I wa s t ﬂoor . sure we had raveled at least ﬁve or six

m iles , and told M r . Hemsworth so . H e still thou ght

we wo uld come to the creek in a little while , and gave

n the m ules several vigorous cuts with the wh ip , push i g

them into a brisk trot .

Striking a m atch and hold in g it to my watch , I

S howed M r . H emsworth that we had been traveling an

e wa s i m hou r and tw nty m inutes . H e excitable and

p ulsive as well as sangu ine . Throwing h is whole weight

back on the reins , he exclaimed “ ! a e ! Whoa Well , great c sar Where do you sup

’ pose these dog - gone mules is takin us ? J u mping o ut of the bu ggy and feeling around in th e

’ we Hem swor t h s snow w ith ou r hands , d iscovered , to M r .

a m a z e mc n t u nspeakable , that we were travelin g in the

C hannel of the creek on the ice . The willow and grease wood bushes were bent over by the snow u ntil there was

j ust roo m enou gh to drive in the center of th e channel . O ne of u s lifting the hind wheels of the buggy around

while the other turned the team , we started back to ﬁnd

wa s the road . M r . H emsworth greatly exercised to N know whether we had gone up stream or down . either

of u s could tell , and , of course , without knowing that ,

1 8 2 A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS .

we we over the road before , bu t had been informed that

’ could get acco m modations for the night at Brock s ,

whose place we would ﬁnd in the canyon , on the bank N of M innie M au d Creek . obody had thought to tel l u S a we wh t sort of a place it was , and of cou rse both

’ wa s 1 0 expected to see a house . I t o clock at night

k S we when we arrived at the cree . eeing no house ,

hallooed , but received no answer , except the wonderful

echo , which alone seemed lou d enou gh to wake the

S we sleep ing for m iles around . Tu rning to one ide drove u p on a low blu ff overlooking a little valley in a

bend of the creek . Stop ping at the very brink of the

blu ff we h allooed again . Q u ick as a ﬂash a man darted

’ right ou t fro m beneath o ur horses feet . Running out

abou t ﬁfteen steps in front , he whirled around , threw u p

: h is hands wildly , and fairly shrieked “ What in the th u nderation you doin ’ u p there on top

’ ’ ? S o my house Git down fro m there qu ick , or I ll hoot your dog - go n ed heads o ff !

—o r M r B It was Brock . rock , as we were very par — t i c u l a r to call him whose house wa s merely a d ug

o ut , the back end being level with the surface , and the f front ﬂush with the face of the blu f . The d irt roof was

- su pported by a layer of cottonwood poles . We had driven o ut on the roof at the rear end and stopped within h t h t e e . a foot of front ed ge , im mediately over door F A P A AGE 1 8 3 EXPERIENCES O S ECI L INDIAN NT .

k w When Broc got through saying th ings to u s , h ich

wa s it took hi m some time to d o , he told us that he asleep in a chair by his little S heet - iron stove when he wa s n s uddenly awakened by our halloo , and heari g the

roof poles cracking , and a great shower of clods falling

wa s on hi m at the sam e instant , he thou ght the roof

falling in . Of course he was badly frightened , and he said that when he got o utside and saw ou r hor ses out lined against th e sky they looked as tall as gira ffes a n d

as big as elephants .

When I ventu red to exp ress my O pinion of a wh ite man who would live alone in a hole in the grou nd

there in that lonely canyon , M r . Brock ad mitted that

wa s he doing it for revenue and not for pleasu re . Being

b e the only settler on the road , and situ ated m idway

A D u Ches n e tween the railroad and the two gencies , Fort

c o n s id and the town of Ashley , he had a monopoly of era bl e t ra ﬂi c . He kep t all sorts of forage and su pplies , and no traveler or freighter could very well pass in

S either d irection withou t pending so me money with him .

Between D u Ches n e R iver and Price there are nearly

thirty miles of canyons , and in many places they are so

narrow and crooked , and their walls so high and steep , that everywhere the road seems to be abutting squarely h against a vertical wall only a few yards a ead .

In s uch places there are wonderful echoes . A loud 1 8 4 O N SERVICE TH E INDIAN RESERVATIONS . halloo will reverberate fro m cliff to cliff and come back to the listener in a great wave of echoes fro m a hundred f d i ferent directions , and when they have almost d ied

away in the d istance , they gather volu me and co me

back a gain , to be followed that time by an awful still

ness and silence .

Fro m P rice we had a d elightful daylight ru n to Salt

a rr i v I n Lake City , g there abou t the m id dle of the after

a V noon . At Provo th e traveler gets fair iew of Utah

Lake , a large fresh water lake situated nearly ﬁve thou

sand feet above the sea . Fro m the north end of Utah Lake the railroad follows the meanderings of the Jordan

River of the Mormons to Salt Lake City . The Jordan

o ff River has a swift current , and draws the waters of

’ o n l o u t l et ' Utah Lake , of which it is the y , and pou rs — the m into the Great Salt Lake . These two lakes one “ ” — fresh and the other salt , or dead and their connect ing river are re markable co unterparts of the Sea of Gal

ilee . , the D ead Sea , and the Jordan R iver of the H oly

Land . The G reat Salt Lake is one hundred miles long by

sixty m iles wide , and has an average depth of forty feet . Its surface is four thousand fo ur hundred feet above the

sea , and it has no known outlet . Three fresh water b rivers , the Jord an , the We er , the Bear , and several s maller strea ms fed by S prings and melting snows in the

1 8 6 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

feet wide . The walls are one hundred feet high , nine .

feet thick at the botto m and six feet at the top . There

are th ree towers at each end over two hundred feet high .

The M ormons have been forty years build ing it , layin g

1 8 the corner stone in 53 , and ded icatin g it the presen t

1 8 year , 93 .

The Tabernacle is ch ieﬂy remarkable perhaps on a c

o i co unt its peculiar shape , the roof being oval , or in

’ n the form of a turtle s back . The M ormo s claim that this is the largest roof in the world without central sup

port . I t contains a million shingles , besides a large

S pace at the apex covered with m etal . This Taber n a el e , like the Temple , was bu ilt by Mormon architects , the prophets clai ming that the plans of both bu ild ings

were revealed to them in v isions .

E - The ndowment House is a one story adobe cottage .

It is situated in one corner of the Temple Block , and u ntil the completion of the great Tem ple all the secret endowment rites of the church were performed within

its walls . I was told that no Gentile had ever seen

inside of it . f The Tithing O ﬁce , where the tithes or church taxes a are collected , is situ ated j ust cross the street fro m the

Te mple Block . 0

M c Kewen S M r . and I pent three days in delightful

- recreation and sight seeing in the city . The visit would X or P A L I I G T 1 8 7 E PERIENCES A S ECI ND AN A EN .

have been enjoyable to me at any time , b ut it was all the more so to us both on this occasion because of o ur

long sojourn amon g the Utes on the D ry Tortu gas , as

M c Kewen M r . called the Uncompah gre Reservation .

We were absent ten days , b u t u pon ou r return to the

Agency we fou nd the Ind ians qu iet , and everything

moving along smoothly . 1 88 E H E A SERVIC ON T E INDIAN R SERV TIONS .

E CHAPT R XXI I . — RELIEVED A T UINTAH A N D OURAY DEPART F O R T HE — INDIAN TERRITORY SPEND T WO DAY S I N ! ION ” — FRATERNI! ING WITH T HE SAINTS THROUGH T HE GRAND CANYON A N D ROYAL GORGE O F T HE ARKAN

S A S —A ! ! A T S —A B LI ARD DODGE CITY , KAN AS DEER

I N T HE —T O N HUNT TERRITORY OSAGE AGE CY .

S soon as the d isturbances at Uintah and O uray were abated the Department com menced to look B around for a perm anent A gent . ut the Indians had beco me so notorious that it wa s hard to ﬁnd a su itable

who man wo uld accept the place . D uring the fall it wa s f declined by fou r d i ferent men .

The ﬁfth appointee , Colonel Timothy A . Byrnes , of N ew Jersey , had the nerve to accept , and wanted an ﬁ of ce too bad to decline . H e arrived in the latter part

of December , co ming in fro m Green River , Wyo min g ,

on top of seven sacks of Christmas mail , o n the wab

S bling little m ail led . Being relieved by Colonel Byrnes on the ﬁrst of Jan

uary , I immediately departed for M uscogee , in the

R A R E RA N D CA N YO N O F T HE A R KA N S A S . O Y L G O G , G F A 1 91 EXPERIENCES O A SPECIAL INDIAN GENT . throu gh the Royal Gorge and Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River

The Grand Canyon is seventeen m iles long , and the

Royal Gorge is so narrow , and the solid rock walls so

h igh and steep , that a brid ge of peculiar design had to be bu ilt throu gh it over the channel of the river for the

’ railroad track . I t is called the D evil s Brid ge , and is

said to be the only one of the kind in the world . It is suspended fro m iron girders set in the walls of the gorge

in the form of rafters .

A t wa s D odge City , in Western Kansas , ou r train cau ght in a blizzard—one of the worst ever known o n

the plains , and the ﬁrst bad one I ever saw .

A tender foot once asked a distingu ished United “ wa s States Senator fro m Kansas what a blizzard . A

r e lid blizzard , sir , p the Senator , is a cold wind , N wh ich , risin g at the orth Pole , moves south or south

N e by so utheast , throu gh M anitoba , the Dakotas and

braska , increasing its velocity and intensifying its w frigid ity , u ntil it reaches Kansas , when it ill penetrate

- a three foot brick wall , all the blankets that one fam ily

can get together , the thickest and most abu ndant cloth

ing , p ierce right throu gh you r ﬂesh , and die away

wh istling Yankee D oodle throu gh your marrow bones .

Colonel Pat D onan , in describing the suddenness w ith wh ich blizzards usually make their appearance in th e 1 92 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVA TIONS .

° “ country , once narrated the following incident One

morning toward the middle of January my old friend ,

who v J ud ge Willis Sam uel , li ed down on Salt River , a

stream of which you have probably heard , started to

’ haul a heavy log to H ickman s sawmill , about two m iles

wa s fro m his house . It was so warm that he in his

shirt sleeves , and only threw h is coat u p o n the wagon

because h e knew the changeableness of the climate . As his oxen jo gged along he passed a small pond near a

crab apple thicket . The crab apple trees were budd ing ,

wa s and the pond literally swarming with frogs , all with

O n their heads poked u p and mouths wide pen , si ging

like mu d larks a j oyou s anthem to spring . By the time he reached the mill the wind had wh ipped arou nd to

the northwest , and it bega n to sleet and snow . Before he co uld get the log o ff his wagon it was bitterly cold

and a blizzard raging . H e jerked on his coat , borrowed

a blanket , and started his oxen home at a swingin g trot .

In a few m inutes he reached the pond he had passed ,

and there were all the poor little frogs , w ith their head s

i ce O sticking throu gh the and their mouths still pen . The pond had frozen over so suddenly that the ice had cau ght them round their throats and choked the m to

h S death before they could p u ll .t ei r heads u nder or h ut

wa s their mouths . I t a sad sight . Of course l am not expected to vouch for anything

1 94 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

z This bliz ard kept u s snowed in four days , and was prono unced by the Dodge City and Topeka papers

the severest one ever known in the history of the State .

My business at M uscogee wa s to investigate another

sale of land s by so me of the Shawnee I nd ians , thou gh

’ I n not of B lack Bob s band . the cou rse of th is investi

a t io n V A g I had to v isit in ita and the Sac and Fox gency ,

in the I nd ian Territory , Chetopa and Oswego , Kansas , and Kansas City , M issou ri . E nroute to Sac and Fox I had to lay over a day at

Red Fork , for want of transportation . Two old plains

who i I n v I t ed men were getting ready to go hunt ng , me

to acco mpany them . I was afterwards informed that

they mistook me for a tenderfoot drum mer , or com m er ci a l pilgri m , as they expressed it , and expected to

have so me fun at my expense . They were exceed ingly

kind , however , and fu rnished me a good mount and gu n .

Rid ing ou t in a northwesterly course we S kirted the brakes of the Arkansas River u p in the direction of the

ﬁv e mouth of the Cimarron River . There was inches

wa s of snow on the ground , j ust as there at the time of

my trip to Sac and Fox a year before . I n some of the

wa s ravines it twenty feet deep , and badly cru sted . This made it d ifﬁ cult and so m ewhat dangerous to ride

whei e f through the brakes , blu fs and ravines were nu merous . P F CI L I D I G 195 EX ERIENCES O A S PE A N AN A ENT .

Three or four miles out one of my companions got a

S long hot at a deer with a Winchester riﬂe . Findin g T he blood , we set ou t on the trail blood soon ceased ,

and , our chase falling in w ith others , tracks became

nu merous . Agreeing to meet in the afternoon at a cer tain high point which my co mpanions pointed ou t to

we me , separated , each taking a d ifferent trail .

My deer led me across a creek , and d id not seem to a be going anywhere in particular . In fact he rather p p ea r ed to be j ust experimenting to see how crooked a w trail he co uld make through the sno . Finally I trailed

him into the mouth of a shallow canyon . Plannin g to

o ff head h im , I galloped alon g the ridge a few h undre d

yards towards the head of the canyon . Then , in ord er

to descend and approach with less noise , I d ismounted f so me d istance back fro m the blu f , tied my horse there , and started down on foot . The brow of the blu ff had been swept bare of snow by k the winds . Fro m the brin there ap peared to be a smooth slope to the broad botto m twenty - ﬁv e feet S below . tartin g down th is declivity , at the very ﬁrst

step I failed to ﬁnd footin g . Instead of bein g a n

f - ﬁv e incline , it was a perpend icular blu f twenty feet

S i high . The snow had mply blown over it and banked

t he u p fro m the botto m to top . Breaking through the crust , I fell headlong to the bottom , striking on so me 1 96 T R AT S SERVICE ON HE INDIAN RESE V ION .

m e rou gh u ndergrowth and rocks , which stunned to

insensibility . My clothes were badly torn , and my m face bru ised and lacerated . Of cou rse y fall was somewhat obstructed by the density of the snow ; other

wise I certainly would have been killed outright .

u wa s When I regained conscio sness I al most frozen ,

wa m snow having fou nd its yd own y collar , and u p my

S f “ leeves , by the hand ul . My hat and gu n were both m t he issing . Feeling abou t in snow , I at length found

the gun , and then aband oning my hat , I tied a hand kerchief arou nd my head and groped my way ou t of

the d rift . This required exertions wh ich so exhausted my strength that I thought I should succu mb before I

could stru ggle ou t . H aving no idea of the right

d irection I did not go straight o ut . As I meandered , the d istance was at least ﬁfty yards .

Stopping to take a survey of myself , I was amazed

at my wrecked cond ition . I could hardly have been worse battered u p by a leap fro m the mythical “ j u m p ing o ff place wh ich is su p posed to be the end of all reckless careers .

Limp ing alon g down t he canyon to a place where

wa s r u the wall less precipitous , I d agged myself p to the horse . My appearance was so changed that he not only failed to recognize me , but actually became fright

he ened as I drew near . Rearing and plunging ,

1 98 T H D A R R AT S SERVICE ON E IN I N ESE V ION .

o ut of range , having separated and ﬂown in various

directions . O ne very large gobbler apparently too

heavy to ﬂy far , alighted in a tree j ust beyond range .

S o ff eeing me riding towards him , he p itched across a

s mall creek . When he was sixty yards fro m me , and

perhaps forty feet above the earth , I ﬁred , and he fell

heavily in the snow . D ismounting , I lifted hi m u p o against the sid e of the h rse and tied him to the saddle .

Attempting to re mo unt from the grou nd , I found

myself too sore and stiff to accomplish that feat . Lead ing my horse and trudging some two hundred yards through the snow , I came to the trunk of a fallen

tree , fro m which I re mou nted .

Bein g now utterly worn o u t it wa s still my wish to k t retu rn to Red For wi hout further trouble or delay .

Of course I would shoot game if it got in my way . N evertheless , I hoped that nothing would obtrude itself

u pon m e . B ut , as before , I had gone less than a quarter of a m ile when my attention was arrested by a com motion in a clu mp of green briers on the bank of a . H a wa s s mall creek . alting to scertain the cause , I — surprised to see that it was a deer a beautiful young

bu ck . He was daintily browsing on the leaves of an

evergreen vine . Descrying me as I came to a halt , he

k A S bou nded out of the thic et . he dashed away I gave him one barrel at a d istance of perhaps eighty A 1 99 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL IN DI N AGENT .

yards . Leaping high in the air , he came down on his

back in the snow . Bounding to his feet again as quick f as a ﬂash , he sped uriously on eighty or ninety yards ,

and then fell dead . Tying h i m to the horn of the sad

- dle w ith my p icket rope , I dragged him throu gh the

snow to the bank of a sm all ravine near by . Then lead ing my horse down into the ravine to a level w ith

the bank , I rolled the deer across his back behind the

- saddle and tied it there with the saddle strings .

Remou nting with ease fro m the bank of the ravine ,

and riding slowly on down the margin of a small creek , I had proceeded not more than half a m ile when a k a tu r ey ﬂew fro m a tree a hu nd red y rds in front , co ming d irectly over me , and back in the d irection

fro m wh ich I had j ust come . Tu rning in my saddle , I got the gu n u p when the turkey Wa s about thirty feet fro m the ground and perhaps ﬁfty yards directly in my rear . At the report of the gu n he dropped in the snow

S n j ust like a chunk , with both wings pread at full le gth . This shot was also answered by a cheerful halloo

who fro m my friends , happened to be j ust across a bend

in the creek im med iately in front of m e . I t was then

wa s clear that it fro m them that the turkey had ﬂown .

A s they came across I wa s m uch amu s ed at th e amazement with " which they beheld the remarkable changes that had been wrought in my person and cloth

S ing ince our separation less than fou r hours before . 200 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

’ e H ello , p ilgri m ; wh at you doin with that hank r

’ cher on you r head ? Whu r s your hat at ? one of

’ them asked . Then as he d rew nearer and got a better V iew of me , he exclaimed H oly smoke ! Been in a b ’ ar ﬁght ? ’ ! ” Sorry you sed b ar ﬁght his co mrade remarked .

’ L c o ks more like he d been blowed u p with d in n im it e ! ? Say , p ilgrim ; how d id yo u git killed , anyhow And what in the na me of D avey Crockett and To m Wal ker ” tore the m clothes o ffen yo u so s ca n l es s bad ?

’ That s allu s the way wit h a blamed tenderfoot ; he allus thinks he can go anywhere and do anything any

’ body else can , and if you let hi m git out o sight , he

’ ” either kills his fool self or lets s o m et hi n ketch him ; the ﬁrst speaker went on to say in a tone that was

deli ghtfully hearty and cheerfu l in its mock derision .

Having heard my account of the accident , they d is mou nted and tied the turkey to my saddle to cou n ter

b alance the big gobbler I had previously killed . They

also congratulated me upon m v su ccess , and one of the m insisted that I should wear his hat back to Red

Fork .

Their success had been greater than m ine . They k had two deer , three tu r eys , and ﬁve m allard d ucks ,

which , together with m ine , was the largest amount of game I had seen killed in one d ay since my early boy

’ hood , when Arkansas was the h u nts man s paradise .

202 A A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

E CHAPT R XXII I .

PLACED I N CHARGE O F T HE OSAGE A N D KA WAGENCIES — — T HE RICHEST PEOPLE I N T HE WORLD CHIEFS

D O G A N D N ECKA KA PA UN A —T HE BLACK EMPLOYES .

N S PECT O R E A N N S E . D . B I T R had been at

Osage several days when I arrived there , and had

already made a pretty thorou gh investigation . On the

th f 9 of March he suspended the Agent fro m o ﬁce , on

the grou nd o f incom petency and irregular condu ct , and

placed me in charge of the Agency .

Osage Agency is situated S ixty - ﬁv e m iles southeast V of Arkansas City , and thirty m iles south of Cedar ale ,

Kansas , in that part of the Indian Territory that has

since been formed into O klahoma Territory . There are only one thou sand ﬁve hu ndred and sixty of the

t Osages , bu t hey are said to be the richest tribe or

nation of people in the world , in proportion to nu mbers .

Their Reservation , wh ich they bou ght fro m the Chero h kees and paid for with t eir own money , contains on e million four h u nd red and seventy tho usand one hundred A 203 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECI L INDIAN AGENT .

- and n inety six acres , wh ich is nine h und red and forty l two acres for each person . The United States a so holds in trust for them u nder treaty stipulations , C in actual ash , which is also theirs

absolutely . The annu al interest on this vast su m is Of this interest is paid to them in qu arterly

0 payments of $4 per capita , that being as m u ch as the

Govern ment considers that they need . The resid ue above with the exception of a f ew thousand dollars used to defray the expenses of t he Agency a n d

‘ t he the Reservation schools , accu mulates in Un ited

n ow States treasury . This accu mulated interest amou nts

to more than a million dollars . B ut the Government

pays no interest on it , and it is subject to d istribution to

i I n n the tribe at any t me the discretio n of the Departme t . Thus we see that the per capita share of each Ind ian in the com mon property of the tribe is nine hu ndred

- an d and forty two acres of land in money .

ﬁv e This gives to each fam ily of persons , and that is

s u the average Ind ian fam ily , fou r thousand even h ndred

S and ten acres , or u pwards of seven quare m iles of land , N and in money . o civilized people on the

ﬁ

eit her l a nd globe have so large a per capita of or money ,

and no other tribe of Indians have as m uch money ,

m o thou gh a few of the have m re land , 204 A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS .

It may be said that th e Osages o wn this land and

own money in co mmon , and that ind ividually they not

t he n or an acre of one a dollar of the other . I n the

abstract that is true . B ut each individ ual is allowed to

a ll take and occu py the land he can make use of , and each m ein b er of the tribe d raws an ind ivid ual income

fro m the money . As before stated , a part of the interest h is paid to them every t ree months , the per capita of

0 1 6 0 these qu arterly payments being $4 , or $ per

n annu m , the annu al incom e of a fam ily of ﬁve bei g

8 0 0 $ , with a surplus accu mu lating in the treasury

besides .

e This is far better , of cou rs , than if each individ ual or head of a fam ily had possession or control of h is

particular share , for in that case the riches of many ,

like those of many white people , would soon take wings and ﬂy away never to return .

And , in add ition to this co m mon property , many of W “ the Osages are ealthy in their ind ividu al rights , in

im r o v ed fa r m s t horses , cattle , p _ , and other proper y .

The Kaw Ind ians are also u nder the j urisdiction of

t the Agent at Osage . They are very poor in heir ind i

t he vidual rights , bu t in common property y also are

o ne - rich . There are only hundred and n inety six of

Res er v a fio n them , and their contains one hundred

- w thousand one h u ndred and thirty seven acres , hich is

206 S SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN RE ERVATIONS .

n ﬁve h undred and ten acres per capita , or two thousa d

ﬁ v e hund red and ﬁfty acres , or four square m iles , for

each family of ﬁve persons . They also have

in the United States treasury , though a portion of the interest o n t ha t fund is used to defray the expenses of

i S - the r Reservation school and ub Agency . B oth of these tribes live upon their own reso urces , the Govern ment makin g no issues of rations or clothin g

' eit her o f M k to them . ost of them wear blan ets , paint

and feathers , and live in tents , bu t they are among the most tractable and easily governed I nd ians in the United

States . The Kaws still cling to their ancien t tribal organiza

tion , b ut the Osages have a code of written laws , a

legislative cou ncil and cou rts , and elect their ch ief , f k assistant ch ief , councilmen , j udges , sherif s , cler s and treasu rers every two years by vote of all the male mem

- bers of the tribe over the age of twenty one years .

Black D og , a stalwart and sagacious Ind ian , the son

-t o f an old ime chief , had been chief d uring the preced ing

u term , b ut at the election held a few months previo s to my arrival he wa s defeated by an old fellow named

N ecka k a a u n a p . N otwithstand ing Black D og ’ s defeat for the o fﬁce of Bi ch ief , he was still the acknowled ged leader of the g

H - d ills , a large band of full bloo s living on the Arkansas

R m s o iver so e thirty mile fr m the Agency . A A A 207 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECI L INDI N GENT .

’ N ecka k a a u na wa s p not only a plebeian , but h is political opponents charged in th e ca nvass for chief that — he had no ancestry to speak o f that he wa s in fact a

scrub . Of course h is partisans denounced that as a

campaign lie , and it may have been . They not only

ad mitted , bu t in their excess of democracy they were

rather inclined to boast , that his parents were poor ; b u t those who required proof that they were also respectable were left very m u ch in doubt ; B u t u nder their rep ublican form of govern ment the old co m moner

‘ r arose to the surface , trium phed ove the royal house of

wa s Black Dog , and became ch ief of the tribe . He a

good Ind ian , however , and made a very good ch ief , his greatest d isqualiﬁcation for the position probably being his nonprogressiveness . A d Osage gency is a considerable village . I n ad itio n l ’ to the various Agency buildings , four arge traders

stores are located there . D wellings are furnished by the Government for all of the Agency em ployes who

e have fam ilies , and all of the traders and s veral of their clerks have comfortable private dwellings and keep their

- - - fa milies there . A nu mber o f well to d o half breeds also live in the village . w m I had no fault to ﬁnd ith any of the e ployes , ex

cept the two clerks . They were both notoriously

t inco mpetent and u ntrustworthy . I im mediately e 208 A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS . q u ds t ed the D epartment to send me two capable clerks h in t eir places . M r . James L . Gibso n was promptly

k a nd wa s sent in the place of the assistant cler , I well

i w wa s a nd a m pleased ith him . He well qualiﬁed , hon

- est , intelligent , well bred you ng gentleman .

M r . W . D . Wisdo m , another young gentleman of high character and superior qualiﬁcations , was sent to m e

f hdA enc for a month , to help m e get the a fairs of t s g y B o ut of the chaotic state in which I found them . ut the D epartment probably considered that r efor nou gh

A for for one gency , at the end of the month Wis

A a n d u ir ed do m was ordered to Ponca gency , I was

, - k wa s to keep the little sawed off chief cler . I t ident to my mind that h is relatives had procured th is port

ant place for h im as an asylu m fro m ru m , and also

because he was utterly worthless , incapable of making

S i a living , and a source of oc al e mbarrassment at ho me . H av ing what the politicians and intriguers call a “ pull ”

a in Wash ington , they had probably procu red his p

pointment , and held hi m in the place in spite of th e

r e re protests of fast su cceeding failing Agents , u pon p s en t a t io ns made like the darky reco m mended the

’ possu m d og

’ ’ ri I ain eber seed dat d au g tree no possu ms , he

’ ’ bou n said , bu t den I know he ter be a good possu m

’ ’ ’ ’ dau g , cause he ain no count fu r nuthin else .

21 0 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

Agency clerks , and prohibited the Agents fro m select

t ing them , u nder the alleged doc rine that they m ight choose persons with who m they could collude to p er p e

trate fraud . As all sensible men may imagine , the resu lt was that nearly every politician with a “ pull ” ” “ wa s enabled to u nload a lam e du ck on some

helpless Agent , often to his ruin , and always to the

inj ury and d iscred it c f the service . E D r . J . . D odson , of Texas , was physician ; Perry

Pri mm , of Tennessee , general mechanic , and Andres N elson , of Iowa , superintendent of stock . They were

well su ited to their respective places , and performed their d uties faithful ly and intelligently throu ghou t my term .

wa s M r . Charles Fagan , of Ind iana , superintendent his N of the Reservation sch ool , and wife , M rs . ettie

i M c Ca r t h W Fagan , M ss M a mie y, of ashington , D . C O f and M iss Kate M iller , Illinois , teachers . M r . Fagan wa s a very capable and su ccessful superintendent , and the teachers were well qualiﬁed for their places .

' C - M r . J . . Keenan , of Ind iana , was Sub Agent and

H wa s su perintendent of the school at Kaw . e an

excellent m an for the place , and managed the affairs of that interesting little Agency so carefully and well that a they gave me no tro uble wh tever .

My p redecessor was the Agent who had su ffered the F A A 21 1 EXPERIENCES O SPECIAL INDI N AGENT .

Ind ians to cam p aro und h is house , to make a good

i mpression on them , as d escribed in a previou s chapter ;

havin g proved entirely too weak for the place , as I had

feared he would . H is predecessor had also failed

through incom petency , and , as the reader may imagine ,

wa s everything badly demoralized . The Reservation

k a m had become a green pasture for whis y peddlers , g blers a nd e a n hors thieves , asylu m for fugitives fro m G E j ustice , and a arden of den for loafers . These

classes were al most as nu merou s as the Indians , and while the latter were not the least inclined to turbulency

and insubordination , they were fast being demoralized and corrupted to absol ute worthlessness and depravity The Indian police had beco me so badly demoralized

t that they could not be depended on for any hing . Two

n days before I was placed in charge , the Agent se t ten

of the m ou t to arrest two wh isky peddlers . B u t instead

of sub mitting to arrest , the peddlers obtained a parley

with the police , made the entire squ ad dead d ru nk ,

d isarmed the m and stampeded their ponies . I reorganized the force from the best material in the

tribe , bu t having no conﬁdence even in them for the

work then in hand , and being determ ined to rid the

a ll Reservation of lawless characters , I reported the situation to the D epartment , and asked for a troop of cavalry . 21 2 A SERVICE ON TH E INDI N RESERVATIONS .

E V C HAPT R XXI . — A NOTABLE A N D ROMANTIC INDIAN WEDDING T WO — HANDSOME YOUNG SQUAWS A T ONCE T HE PECULIAR — POLYGAMOUS CUSTOM O F T HE O SAGES DANCING

A N D A —HO W HORSE R CING THEY MAKE THEIR BETS .

LA CK D O G and his entire band of B ig H ill

Indians were en c a mp ed o n the west S ide of B ird

Creek , about a m ile fro m the Agency . They j ust

see med to be out for a frolic , and were trad in g at the

a stores , feasting , dancing , horse racing , and having wh t

they considered a good time generally .

’ S wa s trike Axe s band encam ped near the race track , A wh ich was situated a m ile north of the Agency . bou t

’ 9 o clock every morning Black D og and h is band

a wo uld come by on their way to the r ces . All the ” race horse men and many others being o n horse

back , and all the women , child ren and old men being

in covered hacks , wagons and bu ggies , they constituted l an irregular but exceed ing y p ictu resqu e procession . b Many of their race horses are of American lood ,

214 A A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

At other times the stakeholder takes a light pole o n his shoulder and goes throu gh the ca m p calli n g for

bets . The bettors hang their various stakes on the

t wo pole , and I have often seen it loaded u ntil it took

to carry it .

t The bettors on the winning horse take all the s akes , bu t how they d ivide them between them selves I never

wa could u nderstand . They have some y of doing it ,

u however , which is well nderstood and entirely satis

fdr factory , I never heard of a quarrel growing out of a

race d uring my stay at th e Agency . E arly in M ay the most notable wedd ing ever known a mon g the Osages occu rred at an encampment a m ile and a half north of the Agency . I had heard of elaborate p reparations being made for

this wedd ing ever since my arrival , and one day in the

N ec k a k a a u n a latter part of April p , Strike Axe , and

t m en perhaps a dozen o her head , called on m e at the ﬁ of ce and invited me to attend it . Strike Axe had

who beco me a great friend of my wife , was with me at

t ha t I that place , and he exacted a promise from me

would take her also . H e said he had always under “ stood that wh ite squ aws , like their Indian sisters ,

were fond of wedd ings , and as this was to be the

' grandest event of the kind in the history of the tribe , w he wanted my squa to see it . X A A A A 21 5 E PERIENCES OF SPECI L INDI N GENT .

O f course the whites expected that it would be an

exceed ingly novel wedd ing in all respects , but the thing most r e m a r ka bl e ° a n d interesting to them was that tlz e

’ r oom wa s to m a r r two s u a ws a t on ce g y q . Althou gh

t au horized by an old cu sto m , su ch wedd ings are not

t he frequent in tribe , and the circu mstances with which the Ind ians themselves were most d elighted on this occasion were t he great and u nusual formalities of the l ceremonies , and the gorgeousness and prodiga ity of the feast and celebration .

’ 2 At o clock in the afternoon of the designated day ,

’ I d r o v e out in a bu ggy with my wife to Strike Axe s cam p . Two small creeks come together in the form of

’ V S wa s a . trike Axe s band , which for this occasio n m swelled to the nu mber of fou r hu ndred , was enca ped

N ec k a ka a u n a o n one of these creeks , and p , with a band

S ix t wo of hu nd red , was encam ped on the other , the

encamp ments being about a quarter of a m ile apart , with a beautiful valley , perfectly level and covered with luxuriant grass , extend ing entirely across fro m one to the other . The father of the brides was a sub - chief or head man

’ A a n d in Strike xe s band , the father of the groo m was

’ N ec ka ka a u n a s one of p u nder chiefs . The large tents occup ied by the families of Strike A x e a nd the father

of the brides faced each other , and were situated in the center of the encamp ment . 21 6 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

For this occasio n Strike Axe had ind uced me to loan him a large United States ﬂag that belonged to the

Agency , and the first thing to arrest our attention was this flag floating bottom ed ge u p fro m the t op of a o wonderfully cro ked , u npeeled hackberry pole abou t

S twenty feet high , propped u p in the small pace between

his tent and that of the father of the brides .

v Cr All the tents were crowded y close together , bu t Strike Axe made way for u s to drive u p near this ﬂag

we pole . H ere noticed a s quaw holding two beautiful k ponies that loo ed exactly alike . O n their backs were

ﬂ a t -t O ed great , soft , p p pads , made of beautiful , high

priced blankets , and almost all the rest of their bod ies w were covered ith beaded trappings , ribbons and sleigh bells . I n a few m inutes squ aws came and rolled u p the front

wall of the tent occu pied by the girls . They were seated on a great carpet of bu ffalo robes and beautiful b l a nkE-t s S of various colors and izes . My wife and I both recognized them as t wo girls who had been at o ur

we house two or three times , and who m had spoken of as making the nearest approach to real beauty of any

- n o w full bloods we had ever seen . They looked really

t hei r ' c os t u m es pretty , being by far the most beautiful

of the kind that I have ever seen . They seemed to be

about eighteen years old .

21 8 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

walk right th rough the grass . Pulling out some twenty

steps to one side , I drove alon g abou t even with Strike

Axe . When the other crowd came o u t fro m their ca m p we saw that som e of the m were mo u nted and d riving a bunch of pon ies . We also noticed eight squaws running

ahead with two large blankets in their hands . They

we were all coming m uch faster than were travelin g .

B ut that was proper . They were coming to meet the k brides , and custo m and gallantry ali e requ ired them to

S i n co me w ith p rit and gladness . To have gone mopi gly would have been “ bad form —bad Osage form—very bad ; wher eas it wa s becomin g to the brides to advance demurely

m et When the eight squ aws u s , they spread the

blankets on the grass , and then locking their hands

o ff together , they lifted the girls of the ponies and sat

each of them down in the center of a blanket . This ,

like the mounting , was very skillfully and beau tifully done .

’ While this was going on the bridegroo m s father wa s

’ delivering the b unch of ponies to the brides father . There were twenty of them and they were in payment

The for the girls . old man send ing his herders hurry

t t he ing back to his cam p wi h ponies , the squaws gathered u p the blankets by the four corners and started X R C F A P CI L I DI AG 219 E PE IEN ES O S E A N AN ENT .

’ —l o n a ru n with them to the bridegroom s tent it being a case of S imultaneo us payment and delivery of the goods . The girls sat u pright with their feet drawn u p u nder

we them , b ut of course the blankets sagged down , and could j ust see their heads as the squaws trotted alon g

through the grass with them .

’ The bridegroom s tent was also a very large one , and

’ N ec k a ka a u n a s set facing p , in the ﬁrst row of tents on

’ the side fronting Strike Axe s camp , the walls bein g

a d rolled u p about six feet high all arou nd . Several joining tents were also stretched s o as to serve as a wn

ings , and all were carpeted with bu ffalo robes and

blankets . The bridegroo m being seated alone on a great

mat of blankets in his own tent , the squaws carried the

two girls in w itho ut stopping , and sat one down on

each side of him . They all looked abou t as confused and helpless as yo ung wh ite people usually do in the

act of marriage , and if either of them uttered a word we

failed to hear it .

The girls at once took o ff their jewelry , hats , and

some of their outer garments , and , withou t rising , and

with remarkable grace and dexterity , p ut on others

which the bridegroo m , also without rising , handed to

them . This was symbolical of their renunciation of all

dependence upon their father for raiment , and of the 220 S R TH R T E VICE ON E INDIAN RESE VA IONS . bridegroo m ’ s vow to supply their necessities in that respect . Squaws then brought in a double - wid th of o ilcloth

abo ut thirty feet long , and spread it on the blankets and

robes im mediately in front of the brides and groom . O ther squaws placed plates and other dishes arou nd the

ed ges , and brou ght in various articles of cooked food

in large pans and bowls .

The brides and groom were given j ust one plate , one

o f - wa s cu p , and one small d ish of each article food . I t

’ n ow wa s nearly 4 o clock , and when all ready the feast

began , the chiefs of both bands , and members of th e families of the high contracting parties sitting down to

the oilcloth , and the rest of the two bands d ivid ing u p into small groups u nder the various tents and awnings throughou t the cam p .

The brides and groo m ate fro m the same d ishes , he taking the ﬁrst m outhful fro m each d ish and then hand ing it ﬁrst to the girl at h is right hand and then to the

one at h is left hand . He took the ﬁrst sup of coffee ,

and then handed the cu p to each of the girls in turn .

They ate but little , b ut whatever it was it constitu ted a

part of the ceremony , and when the feast ended the

wa s marriage complete . I t is proper to say here that the Government d is countenances polygamy among the Ind ians , and Agents

222 I C TH I D I A R R ATI S SERV E ON E N N ESE V ON .

H E V C APT R XX . — A PICTURESQUE COU N TRY WHISKY PEDDLERS A N D — O KLAHOMA BOOMERS A VISIT FROM T HE KAW S ORIGIN O F T HE NAMES O F T HE STATES O F ARKANSAS

A N D KANSAS .

E a H Osage Reservation is p icturesque country . V The u plands are high and rolling , and the alleys

broad and fertile . B uilding stone is abu nd ant , and

there are inn u merable streams frin ged with timber .

M any of the strea ms are of living water , and swarm

with ﬁsh , the bass being particularly nu merous . D ur

ing the spring I fou nd time to go ﬁshing occasionally , though in add ition to the usu al d uties of Agent I had to devote a great deal of time to wh isky peddlers and

Oklaho ma boo mers .

And the Agent who has to d eal with those two classes of trespassers needs an u nusual amount of reere

ation . They were both very troubleso me on the Osage

a d Reservation , but with the i of the Indians I held my hand with them quite successfully . It was my rule at A A 223 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN GENT . all the Agencies I wa s ever in charge of to have the

Ind ians do the most of th at kind of work themselves .

My ﬁrst experience in that line at Osage wa s quite

amusing . The Indians wanted to have a big dance and

feast . I withheld my consent u ntil the ch iefs pro mised me that if any wh isky peddlers cam e abou t they would

arrest them and turn the m over to me .

’ Abou t 4 o clock in the afternoon of the ﬁrst day of the dance four head men came galloping u p to my yard gate and called to me in broken E nglish ! ! Whisky pedd lers Two Ind ians ketch him . Tie

N ecka ka a u na him . You come and see h im , now . p ” and Strike Axe say so .

t he Going w ith them , they carried me through center

of the camp , which was situated in a valley a mile and

n a half from the Agency , and as I passed alo g every

Indian in sight gave me an u nusually friendly greetin g . O n the bank of t he little creek about a qu arter of a

m ile above the cam p , and near the ed ge of a dense i i thicket , we fou nd all the chiefs and head men s itt ng n w a circle arou nd the two h isky peddlers , who were

t stre ched out on their backs , and so securely bound with

ropes that they could move neither hand nor foot . There m u st have been ﬁfty feet of rope wo u nd and tied

arou nd each of them , and they could j ust barely move

s cim en s their heads . They were excellent pg of the i r 224 THE SERVICE ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

— - class resolute , desperate and tou gh and their capture had only served to make the m stubborn and

sp iteful . The Ind ians were greatly elated over their ach ieve k ment , and the chiefs and head men too extreme d elight

’ “ s in showing me the peddlers outﬁt , which con isted

S of a bu ggy and pan of pon ies , two Winchester riﬂes ,

t wo ﬁv e fou r pistols , and half a bushel of cartridges ;

S ix - gallon kegs and one gallon j u gs , all full of a very m bad quality of whisky , except one of the kegs , fro

wh ich they had been selling , and wh ich was only abou t half full . With th is o ut ﬁt they had established themselves

t h i in e th cket about noon , and i mmediately commenced

- a cautious but lively b usiness . Six one gallon j u gs had

0 gone for six ponies worth $4 apiece , and half the con tents of one of the kegs had been retailed o ut a t $ 1 0

r per qua t . All my readers may not u nderstand why Ind ians will

a p ysu ch exorb itant prices . It is because the sale of

intoxicating liquor to them , or the introd uction of it

into their cou ntry , is p unishable u nder the laws of the United States by heavy ﬁne and imprisonment in the

n o t penitentiary , for which reason white men will take

the risk of selling to the m without o utlaw proﬁts . When I asked these peddlers some questions con

226 A A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

f too . Then they carried me around to di ferent places and showed me seven others who m they had d isposed

of in the same way . It was the intoxication of those Ind ians that gave the chiefs notice of the presence of

the peddlers .

B ut the morning su n rose on an em pty guardhouse . During the night confederates of the prisoners cu t down

the heavy door and liberated them . Upon learnin g

r e that , I destroyed the whisky and conﬁscated the “ m a i nd er of the outﬁt to the captors . Prior to this circu mstance I had two or three times fou nd it necessary to lead the police in person against

these ou tlaws , bu t afterwards whenever I heard of

whisky peddlers or invad ing boo mers , all I had to do wa s h to let the ch iefs know t at I wanted them . By that means I had p retty effectually cleared the Reserva tion of su ch characters before the troop of cavalry arrived . So me of the boomer outﬁts of that d ay were almost as hard and dangero us to deal with as the whisky ped d l ers who . Boomers are people invade Ind ian cou ntry and try to take p ossession of it before it is O pened by

law for white settlement . M any of them have wagon

r oo t beds almost as large as box cars , with , stove and

S a n d leeping berths , actually live on wheels . They

o t o generally g in crowds of fro m two ten families , P C F A P C L G 227 EX ERIEN ES O S E IA INDIAN A ENT . and so metimes have considerable herds of horses and

A t cattle . that time hu ndreds of them were trying to invade the cou ntry then known as Oklaho ma throu gh

the Osage and Ponca Reservations , which lay between

that country and Kansas . I and Agent Osborne , of

Ponca , had orders to guard all the roads on o ur Reser

ion s v a t . , and turn these boomers back

One morning wh ile Osborne wa s at breakfast word was brou ght to him that a large crowd were comin g

down the road righ t through his Agency . H e rushed

ou t to his yard gate to turn them back , as he was

A S ordered to do . they cam e u p he asked one of the m

where they were going . The boomer jerked a double

barreled shot gun o ut of a wagon , cocked both barrels

’ : in Osborne s face , gritted his teeth , and exclaimed

O a k- l a y- kom ey! f 0 a k- l a y Osborne had the rep utation of bein g the bravest

wa Agent and the greatest g in the service . At this

instant his sense of the rid iculou s overcam e him . Bow

ing with excessive politeness to the boomer , he said in

- - co n ﬁd en t ia l : a half co mical , half tone d My ear friend , that is a magniﬁcent country down

there , and I am one of its authorized immigration

agents . This is a d irect road to it . D rive right ahead , ! ” and if anybody attempts to stop you , j ust send for me The next day he overtook them with a band of In 228 A A SERVICE ON TH E INDI N RESERV TIONS . — dians and brou ght them all back he and the shot gun

man , whose name also happened to be Osborne , claim

ing , in the most rid iculou s mock affection , to be

co usins . One day at Osage I had to call ou t’ the entire police force and several volunteer Ind ians to turn back a party

composed of nine men and seven wo men . The women had guns in their hands and for a time looked even

more desperate and d angerous than the men ; but ,

women like , they weakened and called for quarter when “ they saw their men folks in d anger .

About the ﬁrst of J u ne M r . Keenan reported that the “ — — Kaws had their crops nicely laid by ﬁn is hed an d

n a wanted permissio to visit the Os ges . I granted their

request , and when they arrived all the chiefs and head

f a nk men called o n me at the o ﬁce to th me , and to say

that they would stay seven days .

There is a Govern ment ice house at Osage , and in the winter the A gency and school employes combine and ﬁll it with ice for their own u se du ring the su mmer . Four days after the arrival of the Kaws the chiefs and head men returned to the ofﬁ ce looking so sad and dejected that I was afraid they had met with some great

calam ity . They said they were very m uch tro ubled , I and wanted to talk with me . told them that it grieved . me to see them in d istress , and that if I could do any

23 0 O N TH R A S SERVICE E INDIAN RESE V TION .

’ m f r i en d s longer . B ut last night y pappoose died '

S ix squaw pappoose , snows old . My friend is a good

-‘ — man . This is h im here pointing to a head man at his

side . H e d oes not want to bury his pappoose here in

the Osage country . H e wants to take it back and bury

it in our own country . Bu t th e weather is very warm , and he cannot keep his pappoose th ree days in the

camp . I t would keep that long in your ice house , and he wants to p u t it in there u ntil he d ances three more ! days , and then he will take it home and bury it That

we A is what have co me to ask o u r good , kind gent to let him do !

Instead of recoverin g fro m the im mediate S hock of

this grueso me request , it grew on m e until ﬁnally I had to forego the use of ice water entirely for nearly t wo

years . For a long time I could not take a drink of it without seeing Washunga and his friend and the dead pappoose at the botto m of the glass . Of course I made the Indian take his pappoose ho me

lect u r e I and b ury it that day , and gave him the best

could o n the better instincts of hu manity , b ut I had not

S the heart to peak harshly to h im . H e moved me to p ity and not to anger . I could not forget that he was

only a benighted savage , really well disposed , and

z e u tterly incapable of reali ing th brutality of his cond uct . It was fro m this tribe that the State of Kansas derived A 23 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDI N AGENT .

its name . It was originally spelled , and the I ndians

who themselves still pronounce it , Konza . Catlin ,

1 8 0 who visited the tribe in 3 , and is u niversally recog n iz ed authority on I nd ian nomenclature , spelled it that wa y, both in his book and on h is maps . Kaw and

Kansas are both corru ptions of the name , and the latter ,

I think , an extre mely harsh one . And worst of all , to so und the terminal 5 is to make it the plural of th e

S K o n z a s name . Catlin pells it , singular , Konza ; plural , . This name also forms a part of the name of the State

of Arkansas , which is correctly pronou nced as if spelled

5 Arkansaw , the terminal letter being silent . The early French explorers called the Arkansas River the River

the A r c a r e of , on account of the wh ich it describes in

its sweep fro m its source to its mo uth . The lower part of the Great S moky H ill R iver was known in that

K o n z a s region as the River of the , and the early settlers

o n the Lower Arkansas got the two rivers confused . They thought the Great Smoky H ill was known by

that name all the way to its mo uth , and that the Up per

wa s K o n z a s Arkansas the R iver of the . This was a natural m istake in that d ay of limited geographical

knowledge , because the two rivers at one point in Kan

t o sas approach very near each other , and the Konz a s roamed the valleys of both alike .

S o o in the c u rse of time , either by design or form ula 23 2 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

tive process of pronunciation , the two names of what was sup posed to be the same river—Arc and Konza were blended into the one beautiful name—Arkansas the Kansas orthography of the latter in the plural nu m

ber , and the soft , Ind ian pronunciation of it in the

singular nu mber , being adopted . Indeed , when you

- hyphenate these two names , Arc Konza , or pronounce

A r e z them together , and Kon a , yo u perceive that they

blend themselves .

A 23 5 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDI N AGENT .

The ﬁrst four of these Agencies are situated in a A group on the south sid e of the rkansas R iver , and

i mmediately west of the Osage Reservation . The three

- latter are Sub Agencies of Ponca , whose A gent at that E time was M ajor . C . Osborne , of Tennessee .

Major Osborne was a good Agent , and having two

of the very best clerks in the service , Mr . W . D . Wis

who do m , had been with m e a month at Osage , and N M r . H . L . Douglass , of ashville , Tennessee , of cou rse all the a ffairs of his Agency were in excellent order . Major Osborne was especially prou d of the Tonkawas — the Ind ians o f th e Oakland Agen cy and the Pawnees ;

and he certainly had cause to be , for at that time both

tribes were showing encouraging signs of improvement ,

M c Ken z i e especially in practical farm ing . M r . M . L .

as clerk was in im med iate charge of Pawnee Agency , and doubtless was entitled to m u ch of the cred it for the progress of that tribe

The Tonkawas u sed to be can ibals , and at o ne time n’ the tribe was large and powerful . B u t their n u mbers

had been greatly decimated in wars with other tribes ,

1 8 6 2 and ﬁnally , in , the Comanches suddenly fell u pon h l them one d ay and massacred t em all , except one s ma l f band wh ich happened to be absent on a bu f alo hu nt .

' b u t s ix t - The su rvivors now nu mber yeight persons .

I was occup ied ten days in the inspection of those 23 6 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS

Agencies , and then proceeded fro m Pawnee to Sac and

Fox , where I had an extremely mean and troublesome

Chicago dru m mer to deal with . He had abandoned h is N k wife and ch ildren at Glens Falls , ew York , and ta en

h who wa s u p with a alf breed w idow of advanced age ,

th e owner of property , and entitled to tribal rights , k which I thin he coveted more than he d id her . The

Agent promptly expelled him fro m the Reservation ,

b ut being a talented pen man , he im med iately opened u p an a mazingly volu m inous and breezy correspondence

with the Department . As a letter writer the A gent wa s no match for h im at all . In fact in that line , as in

various others , he was really an artist of astonish ing

N wa s ability . otwithstand in g he a ﬂagrant intruder , a fo menter of d isturbance a nd d iscord among both

u whites and Indians , and altogether nd eservin g of any o ﬂi c i a l f ind ulgence , he soon argued , blu fed or hoodooed the D epartment into issu ing a peremptory order to the

’ Agent to allow him tp retu rn to the widow s u ntil a Special Agent could get around there to investigate the case ; and when I arrived he wa s j ust abou t to take A possession of the gen cy and expel the Agent . O f

cou rse my report was adverse to h im , and vind icatory

of the Agent .

Fro m Sac and Fox I returned by wa yof Pawnee and

O wa toe to Ponca , and proceeded thence by y of Okla

23 8 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

S S ho ma tation , on the anta Fe Railroad , to the Cheyenne

and Arapahoe Agency . That being before the opening of Oklahoma to white

settlement , where the C ity of Oklahoma now stands there was nothing but a small railroad station hou se , a

water tank , and a miserable stage station . I stopped a week at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe

Agency , and then went on down to the Kiowa , Coman

2 6 th che and Wichita Agency , arriving there on the of

August .

Charges of dishonesty , drunkenness , and various

other acts of m iscond u ct , had been preferred against the

Agent , and I had orders to make a careful investigation . I soon had ab undant ocular proof of the second allega

wa s tion . My arrival about the m iddle of a S u nday f afternoon , and before night ﬁve d i ferent employes came abou t the boardin g house so drun k they could hardly

walk . Having heard of my arrival every one drunk f man like , m ade rid iculous e forts to play sober , and seemed extremely desirous of making my acquaintance “ and assuring me that the A g ent was the best man that A ever was , and that all the affairs of h is gency were A in perfect order . Callin g on the gent at his residence

after su pper , I fo und him in the same cond ition as the

em ployes . 0

It took me two months and a half to com plete t he XP A A 23 9 E ERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN GENT .

o 8 investigation , my report bein g sub mitted n the th of

O ctober . My ﬁndings were that the Agent had been hab itually in a state of intoxication ; that he had con verted public funds to his own use ; that he had pre sented false accou nts and forged vou chers against t he

Government ; that he had m isapplied p ublic property ; that he had been in collusion with the beef contractor to swindle in the weights and quality of beef ; that he had leased a portion of h is Reservation to cattlemen for grazing purposes contrary alike to the w ishes Of the

Indians and the instru ctions of the D epartment ; that he h ad converted to h is own u se large su ms of money paid to him by cattle men for grazing lands on the Reserva tion ; that he had su ffered habitual drunkenness among h is employes ; that he was often unnecessarily absent fro m h is Agency without leave ; and that h is habits f C were so irregular , and h is o ﬁcial ourse so capricious and tyrannical , that he worried and d issatisﬁed the

Indians and provoked them to resentment and m utiny . As soon as my report was received in Washington the Agent wa s removed fro m ofﬁ ce and I wa s ordered

i t h to take charge of the Agency , which I d id on the 9 of O ctober

This is o ne of the largest and most i mportant Agen

cies in the United States , and in many respects , I

think , the most interesting of all . I t e mbraces two 240 N A A SERVICE ON THE I DI N RESERV TIONS .

separate Reservations , and nine different tribes , the pop ulation bein g as follows : One thousand six hu n

- d red and twenty fou r Comanches , one tho usand one

ﬁft - h u nd red and yone Kiowas , three h undred and

- fi v e - fiv e twenty Apaches , five hundred and forty Cad

- ﬁ v e does , one hundred and seventy Wich itas , one hun

- ﬁv e dred and ﬁfty Tehu acanas , ninety D elawares ,

- ﬁv e Wa coes - S ix Keechis— thirty , and sixty four thousand

S - one hu ndred and ixty six in all . These Indians speak f nine di ferent languages or distinct d ialects , and have as f many di ferent d istinguish in g tribal characteristics . A WThe gency is situ ated o n the south bank of the ashita River , which separates the two Reservations . — The name of the post o ﬂi ce is Anadarko the beautiful A n ame of a tribe that once also belonged to the gency ,

n o w b u t is extinct .

Ca d do es The Wich itas , , Tehuacanas , Delawares , Wa coes and K eechis all live on the Wichita Reserva tion , which lies on the north side of the Washita , and contains abou t seven h undred and ﬁfty thousand acres .

-o f The Wichitas are the original occu pants this country , and they have always been friendly towards the wh ites . I t is their boast that they have never raised a hostile w hand against a white man , and that they have al ays b G een loyal and obed ient to the overnment .

M Ca dd oes ost of the , Delawares , Tehu acanas and Wa coes lo have g houses , but a great many of them

242 H A R A S SERVICE ON T E INDI N RESE V TION .

dwell in tents . The Wichitas also have som e log

houses , bu t a large majority of them still inhabit their famous grass lodges—lodges wh ich are in form and

stru cture peculiar to the Wichitas , and altogether u nlike S the lodges of any other Indians in the United tates .

Of these a fﬁliated bands th e Ca dd o es are the most

ad vanced in enlightenment and civ ilization . They are

- capable of self su pport , and all the wo men , and most of

z the men , wear civili ed dress . They , and also all the

f own other a ﬁliated I nd ians , farms individually , or in T com m unities , and prod u ce some good crops . hey

also own a great many horses , cattle , ho gs , wagons and other property .

l “ T he wild s tribe of the Agency are the Co manches ,

1 8 6 Kiowas and Apaches . As late as 7 these three tribes were the terrors of the plains and frontier settle

N a f ments fro m ebrask to the Gulf of Mexico , and ro m

the Arkansas River to the Pecos and the Rio Grande .

own They now reside peaceably on their Reservation , and many of them , especially of the Comanches , are making encouraging progress towards self -support in civilized p ursu its .

Their Reservation contains nearly three m illion acres ,

- ﬁv e being about sixty m iles square , and it is one of the richest and most beautiful cou ntries that I have ever seen . I t is situ ated in the so uthwest corner of Okla

m . ho a , adjoining Texas A A 243 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDI N AGENT .

E V C HAPT R XX I I .

F — W DESCRIPTION O F A N ISSUE O BEEF CATTLE H—O RATIONS A RE ISSUED FROM T HE WAREHOUSE A

BI G HEAP HOSS RACE .

EG UL A R bi - weekly issues of rations are m a de at Anadarko to all the I ndians o n both Reserva

tions , the aggregate qu antities of the principal articles issued d uring the year that I was in charge being three

a n d million ﬁve hu nd red tho usand pou nds of beef , six

hundred thousand pou nds of ﬂou r .

For b i- weekly issues the Agent is ﬁrst required to

’ d ivide the year s su pply of each article into twenty - six

equal parts , wh ich gives him one part for each issu e in the year . One part is then d ivided by the whole nu m n ber of I dians on the Reservation , and that gives the ration of each Ind ian at each issu e . O nce a year an actu al cou nt of all the Indians is

made , and the census roll of each band corrected by

subtracting the deaths and add ing the births . This is a p iece of work that requ ires great care and watchful 244 A A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

ness , for many of these once gu ileless children of the prairies are now civilized to the degree that they are

not too truthful to deny d eaths , nor too honest to pass their pa ppooses arou nd to be exhibited for enrollment

by different fam ilies . Upon the co mpletion of the census a ticket is made

o ut for each head of a family , showing his name , the

name of his band , his nu mber o n the census roll , the

nu mber of persons in his fam ily , the total nu mber of

rations th at they are entitled to receive at each issue ,

and the d ates of the issues . As the squ aws draw all

the rations except the beef , these tickets are tu rned over

to them , and they carry them in little rawhide cases

which they make themselves for the purpose . Before the hour arrives for the issue the supplies are ﬁrst weighed in bu lk and then trucked to the cou nters

and opened , so as to be convenient for weighin g and

a d measu ring by the family ration . The squaws are m it t ed in line at one door , and pass out at another . The issu e clerk is stationed w ith the interpreter near

the entrance . When a squ aw presents her ticket to h im

he p unches ou t the date and calls the nu mber of rations . S he hand s her sacks across the counter , and one em

l o e p y gives her ﬂour , another su gar and salt , another

a n o t her s oa beans and rice , and , p and bakin g powder .

I n this way issu es can be mad e with accuracy to sev

246 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

eral hundred in a day . The Indian police are requ ired k to preserve order and eep the wo men fro m crowd ing .

A n u mber of ch iefs also always attend , to see that the

’ S issue is fairly m ade , and to ign the Agent s vou chers . For issu ing the beef cattle the Agent divides the “ ” Indians into beef bands of twenty -ﬁv e and ﬁfty per ” b a nd sons , and appoints a beef chief for each . At

k - ﬁv e e Anadar o the bands of twenty get one be f , and

two those of ﬁfty get , at each issue .

E c ow- ntering the corral on their trained ponies , the herd ers ru n the cattle on the scales in bunches of fro m

e two to ten head , and a clerk w ighs them . Fro m the

n scales they are tu rned into a arrow chute , which opens

on the prairie o utside of the corral . There they are

- given fresh hair brands with the Govern ment irons , so

that the Indians may have no trouble in sellin g the h ides .

All the Indians are present , most of the men and m boys being armed and ou nted , to participate in the

slaughter . The cattle bein g where all can see them , the issue clerk with the interpreter calls ou t the names

t he of the chiefs , and points o ut cattle apportioned to them , respectively .

O The gate is then thrown pen , and the cattle , smart

n ing fro m the brandi g irons , make a mad dash for the

t e prairie . As they clear h chute , fro m two to ten mounted Ind i a ns fall in behind each one and open ﬁre XP A P A 247 E ERIENCES OF S ECI L INDIAN AGENT .

o n it , so me with revolvers and so me with Winchester

riﬂes . I t usu ally takes three hou rs to complete the issue the average tu rn - out being one per minute—and fro m the beginning to the end painted and feathered Ind ians and infuriated long- horned Texas steers are runn ing I n

every d irection for a mile arou nd . The marksmanship — of the Indians is surprisingly bad a h average of ﬁve

S hots to the animal , or a thousand in all , being required

to co mplete the slau ghter , the n u mber of cattle being

two h u ndred . They are struck in every part of the

body fro m the hoofs to the horns . The squaws being near at hand with the wagons and

hacks , as soon as an animal falls they gather around it

S with their knives and begin kinning and dividing .

The men assist so me in this work , thou gh the wo men

t he do most of it . Fires are also made and very soon

k u coo ing and eating is going on thro ghou t the cam ps . The beef is cu t into thin slices o r strips and hung in

the su n and over the ﬁres to dry . By the next day it

is well cured , and then most of the Ind ians load u p their pack - ponies and wagons and return to their per

manent camps .

At the third issue after I took charge the I n d ians

gave me an extremely painful scare , causing me to think for about one m inute that ﬁve m inutes would probably

250 R A SERVICE ON TH E INDIAN ESERV TIONS . prehension was most troubleso me in the reﬂection that as I was only temporarily in charge I co uld have ignored

the nu isance j ust as well as not .

’ About 3 o clock in the afternoon of the third issue day , M r . J . W . Carson , the chief of the Agency police , reported that an u nusu ally large crowd of Co manches ,

Ca d d o es Kiowas , and Apaches had assembled at each

end of the track and were running races , as he expressed

it , to beat the devil .

I told him to order them to stop it , and if they d id

not obey , to arrest the transgressors and bring them to f the o ﬁce . He departed without a word , but the ex pression on h is face was about su ch as m ight have been expected if he had been ord ered to stand on th e rail road track and knock the lightning express o ff with a

club . Althou gh the order could j ust as well have been m o itted , it was a proper one , and since it had been p ublished its enforcement was absolutely necessary to the maintenance of my authority as A gent ; and while

I d id not tell M r . Carson so , it was my intention for l him to make the attem pt , and if he failed , to te egraph

r wa s to Fort Sill for t oops . I f the rule u nj ust , I could f afterward s revoke it with good e fect , but at that stage of the proceed ings I could recede from it withou t . not loss of respect . X PE A P AL I AG 251 E RIENCES OF S ECI NDIAN ENT .

In a short while Carson galloped back with the report that the Ind ians claimed to have u nderstood that the

- order wa s not to take effect u ntil the next issue day .

They said the reason so many had assembled wa s that they u nderstood it to be the last day on the old track ,

and all wanted to ru n a sort of farewell race . Carson

said the traders had also m isu nderstood the day , and had donated twenty dollars wort h of provisions to be

d istributed as prizes o n fou r b unch races . He reported also that the chiefs were entirely reasonable and wo uld desist at once if I insisted on it , b u t in view of the m is

understanding , and especially as that was a better track t than the new o ne , they hoped I would a least su ffer

them to ru n the fou r prize races there .

O f course , u nder the circu mstances , th is request could

not be denied , a nd as those four races were to be rather

extraord inary , as well as the last on the old track , I concluded to go u p fro m the o fﬁce to the Agent ’ s house h ’ . T e and witness the m myself Agent s dwellin g , a

- k two story bric cottage , is situated a h undred yards

back fro m the track , near m idway its length , and co m mands an u nobstru cted V iew of it fro m one end to the other . I was the sole occupant of the ho use at the

time , and going o u t on the upper porch , I sat down

alone .

i I n in There were eight pon es the ﬁrst race , seven the

second , and , I thou ght , thirteen in the third .

254 R I H I R A I S SE V CE ON T E IND AN RESE V T ON .

Quanah Parker was a very co mmand ing ﬁgure . When

he seemed to get all the lines formed to h is satisfaction ,

he rode to the center of the street , faced the crowd , n took off his hat , spoke a few words , and the galloped

to one sid e . Wheelin g there and facing the crowd

S ix - o ff again , he d rew his shooter and ﬁred it in the air . Then came my panic ! The p istol was the signal to — go , and the whole crowd went went like a hu r ricane—every one yelling and quirting his pony as if ff his life depend ed on the e ort . The tho ught seized me that they had concluded not

to sub mit to the order , and were com ing to d ispose of

m e right then and there . With the qu ickly formed de termination to get at least one shot at the m as they

came over the yard fence , I ran into my roo m and

j erked u p a Winchester riﬂe . But as I got back to the porch the whole crowd was sweeping u p the track like

b u t a cyclone , not one looking to the right or the left , all still yelling and qu irting their ponies with u nd i

minished energy . J ust then I saw Carson co me loping around fro m

behind the great clo ud of d ust . D ismo unting at the

gate , he laughed and asked me if it was not the biggest

horse race I ever saw . To my inquiry as to what it

meant , he said that ﬁfteen ponies were to have been

entered in the last race , b ut when the time came all A A A T 255 EXPERIENCES OF SPECI L INDI N AGEN .

wanted to be in it , and not eno ugh of the m wou ld sub mit to being ruled out to bring th e n u mber down even

as low as ﬁfty . Finally Quanah Parker proposed that k as it was the last race on the old trac , they give back

a ll the prize , and all ru n through and get the fu n they

could out of it . I n ﬁfteen or twenty m inutes the entire crowd came

riding back on their way to the new track , all lau ghing ,

talking and teasing one another . As they passed i mmed iately in front of the house every one saluted me

in some friendly manner , and several of them said a ! k Heap big hoss r ce Go to it now , the new trac .

Cut it off , the old track . All right . Yo u say so .

Carson failed to notice that I had been in a panic , or wa s too respectful and polite to appear to have noticed

it , and it was a long ti me before I told the joke on

myself . 256 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

A E V C H PT R XX II I .

T HE — T HE —CYN COMANCHES QUANAH , NOTED CHIEF

A N N T HE A — THIA PARKER , WHITE C PTIVE THRILLING NARRATIVES BY GENERAL ALFO RD A N D GOVERNOR

ROSS .

E wa s R D IT conceded to the Co manches , and

t mainly to Q uanah , the chief of th at ribe , for the cheerful obedience of the Indians to the order relating

- to horse racing at Anadarko .

A S - a rule the most obedient , self reliant and trust worthy Ind ians o f the present day are those th at were in the days of the wa r - trail the bravest and most i n

do mitable warriors . This is notably true of the

Co manches . B efore their subj u gation they surpassed

all the plains Indians in enterprise and darin g , being the scourge of all the frontier settlements fro m the A r

1 8 6 kansas to the Rio Grande . B ut since 7 they have lived peaceably on their Reservatio n and been u n co m

l a in in l p g y submissive to the authority of the Agent . M uch cred it for the present good character of this

258 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

1 1 t h DALLAS , TEXAS , J u ne . S I R—I t h M Y D EAR have you r favor of the 9 inst . , ’ requestin g a Co py of Governor Ross letter to m e in a A n n regard to the rec ptu re of Cynthia Parker . The docu ment wa s writ t en to give m e d ata fro m wh ich to write a historical sketch of this m ost im portant part of

Texas history . I hope to have the article ready for the “ ” J uly number of The Round Table , a literaryperiod C ical p ublished in th is ity . When published I will take pleasure in m ailing you a copy . S incerely you rs , G EO O . F . ALF RD .

In d ue time I also received the p rom ised C opy of

’ I k e Rou n d T a bl e A containing General lford s article , “ E arly Life in the Lone Star Republic , fro m wh ich I extract the following graphic accou nts relating to “ The White Co manche

Amongst n u merou s illustrat ions of heroism wh ich illumine the pages of Texas h istory perhaps n one sh ines t he k with a brighter halo than captu re o f Fort Par er . 1 8 In 3 3 a small colony form ed in Illinois , moved to t he then Mexican province of Texas , and settled in a N beautiful and fertile region on the avasota River , e about two miles fro m the present City of Gro sbeck , the t county seat of Limestone Cou n y . The colony consisted - h of n ine families , in all thirty fou r persons , of w ich E lder J ohn Parker was the patriarchal head . They wa s erected a blockhouse , which known as Fort a Parker , for protection gainst the assaults of hostile

I ndians . This structure was made of solid logs , closely o knit together and hewn d wn so as to m ake a com pact , perfect square , withou t open in g of any kind u ntil it P F P D 259 EX ERIENCES O A S ECIAL IN IAN AGENT .

reached a height of ten or twelve feet , where the structure widened on each side , forming a projectio n i mpossible to climb . The lower story , reached only by wa s an interior ladder , u sed as a place of storage for wa s provisions . The upper story divided into two large roo ms with portholes for the use of guns , which roo ms were used as living roo ms and reached only by a ladder fro m the outside which was p ulled u p at night , after the occu pants had ascended making a safe fortification against any reasonable force u nless assailed by fire . These hardy sons of toil tilled their adjacent fields by day , always taking their arms w ith them , and retired s to the fort at night . Success crowned their labor and they were prosperou s and happy . O n the morning of 1 8 1 8 6 M ay , 3 , the men , u nconscious of impend ing danger , left as usual for their fields , a mile d istant . Scarcely had they left the inclosure when the fort wa s attacked by abo ut seven hundred Co manches and who a n d Kiowas , were waiting in ambush . A gallant most resolute defense was made , many savages bein g “ sent by swift bullets to their happy h unting gro unds , wa s b ut it impossible to stem the terrible assault , and

Fort Parker fell . Then began the carnival of death . E lder John Parker , Silas M . P arker , Ben F . Parker ,

Sam M . Frost and Robert Frost were killed and scalped

- in the presence of their horror stricken fam ilies . M rs . e Joh n Park r , Granny Parker and Mrs . D uty were dan er o u s l g ywo unded and left for dead , and the following : were carried into a captivity worse than death Mrs .

- Rachel Plum mer , J a mes Pratt Plu mmer , her two year E A n n old son , Mrs . lizabeth Kello gg , Cynth ia Parker , S ix nine years old , and her little brother John , aged , both child ren of Silas M . Parker .

The remainder of the party made their escape , and after incred ible su ffering , being forced even to the dire 260 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATI ONS .

t heif necessity of eating skunks to save lives , they reached Fort Houston , now the residence of H on . Joh n t H . Reagan , abou t hree m iles from the present C ity of A Palestine , in nderson County , where they obtained prompt su ccor , and a relief party bu ried their dead . We will now attempt briefly to follow the fortunes of the poor captives . The first night after the massacre O the savages camped on an pen prairie , near a water hole , staked their horses , pitched their camp and threw ou t their videttes . They then brou ght ou t their prison ers , strip ped the m and tied their hands beh ind the m and their feet together with rawh id e thongs , so close and tight as to cu t their flesh . Then throwing them u pon their faces , the braves gathered around the m w ith O f r the yet bloody , dripp ing scalps their marty ed kin - n d red , and began their usual war dance , alter ately n m dancing , scream i g , yelling , sta ping u pon their help

' less victims and beating th eir n aked bodies with bows a n d arrows u ntil the flowin g blood almost stra n gled them . These orgies continued at intervals th rou gh the terrible night , wh ich seem ed to have no end , these frail wo men s u ffering and com pelled to listen to the cries of f o r t u n . their tender little childre M rs . Kellogg , more nate than the others , soon fell into the hands of the who n Keech i Ind ians , , six mo ths later , sold her to the who c N t D elawares , arried her to acogdoches , where his n writer then lived , a small ch ild with h is pare ts . Here 1 0 she was ransomed for $ 5 by General Sam Houston , who - promptly restored her to her kindred . M rs . R achel Plu m mer rem ained a captive for eighteen months , su fferin g u ntold agonies and indignities , when she wa s finally ranso med by a Santa Fe trader named who Wm . Donahue , soo n after escorted her to Inde end en ce h her p , M issouri , fro m w en ce she finally made 1 1 8 8 H way back to Texas , arriving February 9 , 3 . er

62 R TH D A S 2 SE VICE ON E IN IAN RESERV TION . b ut the ﬁ er cen ess of h is cou ntenance warned hi m of the P a ha u k a danger of further mentioning the subject . , t S it however , permitted her rel uctan ly to at the root of a tree , and while the presence of the white men was doubtless a hap py event to the poor , stricken captive , who in her doleful captivity had end ured everything b u t s lre r e us ed to s ea k on e w or d A S S he death , f p . sat there , m using , perhaps , of d istant relatives and friends , and her bereavement at the beginning and prog ress of her d istress , they employed every persuasive art to evoke fro m her some expression of her feelings . They told her l a m a t es her of her relatives and p y , and asked what b u t message of love she would send them , she had been wa s co mmanded to silence , and with no hope o f release f afraid to appear sad or dejected , and by a stoical e fort controlled her e motions , lest the terrors of her captivity should be increased . B ut the anxiety of her mind was S betrayed by the qu iver of her lips , howin g that she was not insensible to the co mmon feelings of hu manity . As the years rolled by Cynthia A n n developed the charms of captivating wo manhood , and the heart of more than one d usky warrior was p ierced by the Ulys sean d arts of her lau ghing eyes and the ripple of her silvery voice , and laid at her feet the trophies of the chase . Among the n u mber who m her budd ing charms wa s P et a n o co n a b rought to her shrine , a redoubtable

wa r ' c hi ef Co manche , in prowess and renown the peer “ ” who of the famous Big Foot , fell in a desperate

- - hand to hand co mbat with the famou s Ind ian ﬁghter ,

Captain Shapley P . Ross , o f Waco , the illustrio us father d i of the still more stinguished son , General Su l Ross , now the Governor of Texas . It is a remarkable and ’ happy coincidence that the son , em ulating the father s contagio us deeds of valor and prowess , afterwards , in u t single combat , in the valley of the Pease , forever p to 263 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

Pet a n o c o n a A n n rest the brave and knightly . Cynthia , stranger now to every word of her mother tongue , save n only her childhood ame , beca me the brid e of the P e t a n o c o na brown warrior , , bore him three children , and loved him with a ﬁerce passion and wifely devotion evinced by the fact that ﬁfteen years after her captu re a n party of hu nters , includ i g friends of her family , visited the Comanche encampme n t on the u pper Canadian A n n River , and recognizing Cynth ia throu gh the mediu m ' n i n d u c e her of her ame , endeavored to to return to her n d kind red a the abode of civilization . She shook her head in a sorrowful negative , and , po inting to her little S naked barbarians porting at her feet , and the great , d lazy chief sleeping in the sha e near by , the locks of a : score of fresh scalps dangling at h is belt , replied I m t a m happily wedded , I love y husband and my li tle m ” ones , who are h is too , and I cannot forsake the .

A n n P et a n o c on a The recapture of Cynthia P arker ,

e c a n and the thrilling events wh ich preced d it , be best told in the g raphic langu age of the hero who a ecom

lis hed p it , and I therefore ap pend his modest letter

E A S A I 8 t h XECUTIVE —OFFICE , U TIN , pril . M Y D EAR GENERAL I n response to you r request I O f herewith inclose you my recollections , after a lapse t thirty years , of the even s to which yo u refer . 1 8 8 E V I n 5 M ajor arl an Dorn , with the Second A Cavalry , U . S . . , one co mpany of infantry to guard - ﬁ v e his depot of su pplies , and one h undred and thirty friendly Ind ians u nder my comm and , made a successful campaign against the Co manches , and by a series of well directed blows inﬂicted terrible punishment u pon 1 1 8 8 them . On the morn ing of O ctober , 5 , we came in sight of a large Indian v illage on the waters of 26 4 A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS .

Washita River , near what is now known as Fort Sill , in the Indian Territory . They were not apprehensive of an attack and most of the m were still asleep . M ajor Van D orn d irected me at the head of my Ind ians to o ff charge down the line of their lod ges or tents , cu t wa s their horses and run them back on the hill . This Van qu ickly acco mplished . Dorn then charged the village , striking it at the u pper end , as it stretched along - ﬁv e a boggy branch . After placing about thirty of my

Indians as a guard around the Com anche horses , so me four h und red in nu mber , I charged with the balance of my Indian force into the lower end of the village . The wa s f ew morning very foggy , and after a minu tes of firing the s moke and fog became so dense that objects at b u t a short d istance co uld be d istingu ished only with f great d i ficu lty . The Comanches fou ght with great d esperation , as all they possessed was in imminent peril . Shortly after the engagement became general I d iscovered a nu mber of Co manches running down t he branch , about one h und red and fifty yards from the A village , and concluded they were retreatin g . bout V this ti me I was joined by Lieutenant an Camp , of the A U . S . . , and a regular sold ier by the name of Alex ander . With those and one Cadd o Ind ian I ran to intercept them , thus beco ming separated fro m the bal ance of my force . I soon d iscovered that the fugitives were women and ch ildren . J ust then , however , another posse of the m came along , and as they passed I d is covered in their m idst a little wh ite girl and made the wa s Caddo Indian seize her as she was passing . She about eight years of age and became badly frightened and d ifficult to mana g e when S he fo und herself detained by u s . I then discovered , mu ch to my dismay , th at - fi v e about twenty Com anche warriors , u nder cover of the smoke , had cu t o ff my s mall party of four fro m

266 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

V D o r a killed and several wounded , includ ing Major an V and myself . My recollection is that Lieutenant an

Cam p was a protege of Hon . Thad . Stevens , of Penn sylvania , and had but recently come fro m West Point . wa s f H e a gallant and chivalrou s o ficer , and thou gh at m times in deadly peril yself , and entirely bereft of all hope of escape , I shall never forget the emotions of horror that seized m e when I saw the I ndian warrior , stand ing not five feet away , send his arrow clear to the n f N feather into the heart of that oble young o ficer . o trace of the parentage or kindred of the little girl c a p tive could ever be found , and I adopted , reared and ed u cated her , giving her the name of Lizzie Ross , the former bein g in honor of M iss Lizzie Tinsley , the yo un g lady to who m I was then en gaged to be married , and who S 1 8 6 1 has been my wife ince M ay , . Lizzie Ross , w the captive girl , gre into a handso me young woman , r and ma ried happily , bu t d ied a few years since in Los A ngeles , California . I lay u pon the battle field for five w days unable to be moved , hen a litter was constructed and I was carried on the backs of my faithful Ca d d o es Ra d z i m i n s ki A s n inety miles to Fort . soon as able , I returned to my Al ma M ater , Wesleyan University ,

Florence , Alabama , where I ﬁnished my ed ucation , 1 8 returning to Texas in 59 . At the period of which I write I was on vacation . For som e time after the battle of the Washita the Co manches were less troublesome to the people of the 1 8 1 8 6 0 Texas frontier , b ut in 59 and the cond ition of wa s the frontier a gain truly deplorable . The lou d and clamorou s demands of the settlers ind u ced the State

Government to send ou t a regiment u nder Colonel M .

T . J ohnson for public defense . The exped ition , thou gh a great expense to the State , failed to accomplish any H a thing . aving j ust grad u ted and returned to my O F A 267 EXPERIENCES SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

home at Waco , I was co m m issioned as Captain by

Governor Sam Ho uston , and d irected to organize a S co mpany of ixty men , with orders to repair to Fort

Belknap , in Young Cou nty , receive from Colonel J oh n wa s son all Govern ment property , as his regiment d is f banded , and o fer the frontier su ch protectio n as was possible from so s mall a force . The necessity for n v igoro us measures soon became so pressi g , however , that I determ ined to attemp t to curb the insolence of those implacable hered itary enemies of Texas who were greatly e mboldened by the s mall force left to confront them , and to acco mplish this by following the m into their fastnesses and carrying the war into their own ho mes . I was compelled after establishing a post to leave twenty of my men to guard the Government prop e r t y, and give so me show of protectio n to the frightened settlers , and as I could take b ut forty of my men I N E requested Captain . G . vans , in co mmand of the

U . S . troops at Fort Cooper , to send me a detachment of the Second U . S . Cavalry . We had been intimately V 1 8 8 connected in the an Dorn cam paign in 5 , d urin g which I was the recip ient of m uch kindness fro m him while I wa s su ffering fro m the severe wound received in the battle of the Washita . H e pro mptly sent me a Ser a n d - geant twenty well mou nted men , thus increasing S wa s my force to ixty . My force still further au gmented by some seventy volunteer citizens u nder the brave ol d frontiersman , Captain J ack Cureton , of Bosqu e County . 1 8 1 8 6 0 On D ecember , , while march ing u p Pease River I had suspicions that I nd ians were in the vicinity by r ea sc n of the great nu mber of bu ff a lo which came c o m running toward u s fro m the north , and while my mand moved in the low ground I visited neighborin g high points to make d iscoveries . O n o ne of these sand hills I found fo ur fresh pony tracks , and being satisﬁed 268 A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS . that Ind ian videttes had j ust gone I galloped forward abou t a m ile to a still higher point , and riding to the m top , to my inexpressible surprise , found yself within two hund red yards of a large Comanche village , located m o n a s all stream wind in g around the base of a h ill . wa s I t a most hap py circu mstance that a cold , p iercing fr o m wind the north was blowing , bearing with it clouds

of d ust , and my presence was thus u nobserved , and the S surprise complete . By ignalling my men as I stood concealed they reached m e w ithout being d iscovered by the Indians , who were b usy p acking u p , preparatory to a move . By the tim e my men reached m e the Ind ians o ff had mounted and moved north across the level plain . d et a t c hm en t My co m mand , including the of the Second

Cavalry , had o utmarched and become separated fro m the citizen com mand of seventy , wh ich left me abou t sixty men . I n making d isposition for the attack the Sergeant and h is twenty men were sent at a gallo p beh ind a chain of sand hills to encompass them and c u t O ff their retreat , while with my forty men I charged . The attack was so s ud den that a large number were killed before they could p repare for d efense . They fled precip itately , right into the arm s of the Sergeant and his met twenty men . H ere they with a warm reception , and findin g themselves co mpletely encompassed , every one fled his o wn wa y and was hotly p u rsued and hard pressed . The chief , a w arrior of great repute , named P et a no co na , with an Ind ian girl abou t fifteen years of age mounted on his horse behind him , and Cynth ia A n n Parker , his squaw , with a girl child abo ut two o years old in her arms and m u nted on a fleet pony , fled Kellihe ir together . Lieutenant To m and I p ursued K ellihe ir them , and , after running about a mile , ran u p A ’ by the side of Cynthia nn s horse , and su pposing her to be a man wa s i n the a Ct of shooting her when she

270 A S SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TION .

with his lance , which he still held in his left hand . I could only look u pon h im with p ity and ad miration , for d eplorable as was his situation , with no possible chance of escape , his army utterly destroyed , his wife and child wa s captive in his sight , he u ndaunted by the fate that awaited h im ; and as he preferred death to life , I d irected the Mexican to end his misery by a charge of bu ckshot from the gu n which he carried , and the brave who savage , had been so long the scourge and terror of the Texas frontier , passed into the land of shadows and rested with his fathers . Taking u p h is accoutrements , which I subsequently delivered to General Sam Ho n s o f ton , as Governor Texas and Co m mander in Chief of A her soldiery , to be deposited in the State rchives at A w ustin , we rod e back to the captive woman , hose l identity was then unknown , and found Lieutenant Ke li heir , who was guard ing her and her child , bitterly reproaching himself for having ru n his pet horse so hard “ ” after an old squaw . She was very d irty and far fro m attractive , in her scanty garments as well as her person , but as soon as I looked her in the face , I said

Why , To m , this is a wh ite woman ; Ind ians do not have blu e eyes . On o ur way to the captu red Ind ian village where ou r men were assembling with the S poils of battle and a large cavalcade of Ind ian ponies wh ich we had captured , I d iscovered an Indian boy about nine E years old , secreted in the tall grass . xpecting to be c r killed , h e began to y, but I made him mount behind m e and carried him along , taking him to my home at

Waco , where he became an obedient member of my family . When in after years I tried to ind uce hi m to M e return to h is people he refused to go , and d ied in

Lennan Co unty abou t fou r years ago .

When camped for the night , Cynthia Ann , o ur then k n un nown captive , kept cryi g , and thinking it was 27 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

caused by fear of death at ou r hands , I had the Mexican we tell her , in the Co manche lan guage , that recognized her as one of o u r own people and would not harm her . She replied that two of her sons in add ition to the infant dau ghter were with her when the ﬁght began , and she was d istressed by the fear that they had been killed .

I t so happened , however , that both escaped , and one of them—Q uanah—is now the chief of the Co manche tribe , and the beautiful City of Q uanah , now the cou nty seat of Hardeman Co u nty , is named in his honor . The a o other son d ied so me years g on the plains . Throu gh my Mexican interpreter I then asked her to give me the history of her life with t he Ind ians and the circu m stances attend ing her capture by them , which she pro mptly d id in a very intelligent manner , and as the facts detailed by her corresponded with the massacre at ’ 1 8 6 Parker s Fort in 3 , I was im pressed with the belief S he that was Cynthia Ann Parker . Returning to my post , I sent her and her child to the ladies at Cam p t he Cooper , where she could receive attention her sex and situation demanded , and at the same time I d is a patched messenger to Colonel Isaac Parker , her u ncle , near Weatherford , Parker Co unty , na med as his memo rial , for he was for many years a distingu ished Senator in the Congress of the Rep ublic and in the Legislature S of the tate after annexation . When Colonel Parker ca me to m y post I sent the messenger with h i m to

Camp Cooper in the capacity of interpreter , and her ’ identity wa s soon d iscovered to Colonel Parker s entire n - satisfaction . She had bee a captive j ust twenty fou r years and seven months and was in her thirty - fourth year when recovered . The fru its of this important victory can never be com u t ed p in dollars and cents . The great Co manche Con federacy was forever broken , the blow was decisive , 272 O N T HE A SERVICE INDIAN RESERV TIONS . their illustrio us chief slept with h is fathers and with him were most of his dou ghty warriors ; many captives were taken , four hu nd red and ﬁfty horses , their camp e quipage , accu mulated winter su pplies , and so forth . If I could spare time fro m my ofﬁcial d uties and had patience I could furnish yo u with many thrilling inci dents , never p ublished , relating to the early exploits , trials and su fferings of the early pioneers . My father was appointed Ind ian Agent in 1 8 56 ; he had an excel lent memory and treasured these u ntil in later life I listened by the hour to their recital . I remain , my i i d ear General , S ncerely your fr end , L . S . ROSS .

B u t little of th is sad ep isode remains to be told . Cynthia A n n and her infant barbarian were taken to

Austin , the cap ital of the State ; the i mmortal Sa m wa s wa s H ouston Governor , the Secession Convention wa s in session . She taken to the magniﬁcent State house where this au gust body was holdin g grave dis c u s s i o n as to the policy of withdrawing fro m the Unio n .

Comprehend ing not one word of her mother ton gue , wa s she concluded it a council of mighty ch iefs , assem bled for the trial of her life , and in great alarm tried to

k . ma e her escape Her brother , Colonel D an Parker , ’ who ff resided near Parker s Blu , in Anderson Co u nty, was a member of the Legislatu re fro m that county , and who a colleague of this writer , then represented the E leventh Senatorial D istrict . Colonel Parker took h is u nhappy sister to h is comfortable ho me , and essayed by the kind o fﬁces of tenderness and a ffection to restore her to t he co mforts and enjoyments of civiliz ed life to which S he had so long been a stranger . But as thorough a n Indian in m a n ner and looks as if she had been native born she sou ght every opportunity to escape and rejoin her d usky co mpanions , and had to be constantly and closely watched .

274 A A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

A n n Pr el o c k — palefaced mother , Cynth—ia , or as she was called by the Ind ians he had a thousand questions r to ask about her personal ap pearance , size , shape , fo m , et c height , weight , color of hair and eyes , . H e gave “ ” me a cord ial invitation to visit hi m at his tepee , or W igwam , near Fort Sill , profusely pro mising all the ” s u a ws ﬁsh , gam e , ponies and q I desired . A 275 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN GENT .

E CHAPT R XXIX . — How QUANA H BECAME CHIEF HIS COURTSHIP O F YELLOW B EAR ’ S DAUGHTER—THE LOVERS ELOPE —“ THE RENDE! VOUS ON TH E CONCHO RIVER STEAL — ING HORSES ALL O VER TEXAS PURSUED AND — ’ OVERTAKEN YELLOW BEAR S B LOW O UT IN

O F RT WORTH .

EN ERA L A LFO RD ’ S statement that Q uanah is

the hereditary chief is incorrect . H e is the son

of a ch ief , it is true ; but sons of Ind ian chiefs do not succeed to chieftaincies by the d ivine right of inherit

ance , but by force of courage , character and ability .

’ Besides , I have Q uanah s own accou nt of how he be

came chief , and the story is far more romantic , as it is

also less tragic , than the painfully thrilling stories of the

- n a captu re and recapture of his ill fated mother . H e r rated it to me on two o r three d ifferent occasions when

I happened to be in cam p with him on the prairies , and h I never lost interest in the rehearsal . Although e

E r r e speaks nglish only b okenly , and is modest and

o tiring in disp sition , he is an exceed in gly entertaining 276 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS . conversationalist on top ics within the range of his knowl

ed ge , his descriptive powers being really extraordinary ,

n considering the meager ess of his vocabulary . M u ch of the charm is i ll the S i mplicity and d irectness of h is

style , and the aptness of his illustrations fro m nature .

M H BO Y A CO A N C E .

By the death of h is father a n d the recaptu re of h is mother Q uanah was left an orphan at an age which

could not have been more than twelve years . The

same disaster that reduced him to orphanage , also made

hi m a pau per . Althou gh the son of a d eceased chief ,

now having no parents , no ho me and no fortune , he

beca me , not the ruler of h is tribe , but a waif of the

278 A SERVICE ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS .

Wolf , the Jonathan and D av id of the tribe , walked down the branch a short d istance and ga thered a large

hand ful of wild mint . Holding it to my nose , White ” s a i d Wolf Q uanah , qu anah . You take it . I “ ” : ? said Sweet smell . Is that qu anah They replied — Yes ; quanah heap good smell . Then plucking a b u nch of wild ﬂowers they inhaled their fragrance to

S how me what they meant , and then handing them to “ : — — — m e , said Qu anah quanah heap quanah good ” smell . Q uanah ’ s best friend and most constant playm ate in

’ We ck ea h h is orphanage was , Chief Yellow Bear s

’ d aughter . They rode her father s ponies to the water

holes , played th rou gh the cam ps together , and were

inseparable . He shot antelope and other ga me for her

amu sement , and she learned to bead h is moccasins and

- ornament h is bow qu iver .

The years went by and Quanah and Weck ea h were

no longer pappooses . They were in the very bloo m of m young anhood and wo manhood , and each in form and

featu re without ﬂaw or blemish . B u t they d id not know that they loved one another .

There were other young m en in the village , however ,

and one day one of them , gaud ily painted and bedecked

’ with beads and small m irrors , came near Yellow Bear s

tepee , b lowing his reed ﬂu tes . Three days later he A 279 EXPERIENCE S OF SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

t wo came again , and nearer than before . Only days

passed u ntil he came the third time . Spread ing h is

’ blanket on the grass in front of Yellow Bear s tepee ,

and seating himself o n it , he looked straight at the doorway and played softly all the love songs O f the

Wec k ea h t he tribe . showed not her face to wooer . Her heart was throbbin g violently with a sensation that had never thrilled her before ; b ut it was not responsive to the notes of the ﬂutes .

N n ow or had Quanah been u nobservant , and there were strange and violen t pulsations throu gh h is ve ins

also . I t was the ﬁrst time he had ever seen the arts of

Weck ea h the lover attempted to be e mployed on .

a ﬂ a m e Instantly his very sou l was with love for her .

There was j ust one hot , ecstatic , overpowerin g ﬂush of

love , and then there came into h is leaping heart the

chillin g , agonizing thou ght that this wooing might be

’ Weckea h s by favor or encou ragement . Then a very tempest of contending emotions raged in his breast .

’ When the su n s rays began to slant to the east , there came to Yellow Bear ’ s tepee a rich old chief by the

Ec ki t o a cu who name of p , had been when a young man the rival of P et a n o co n a for the heart and hand of the “ beautiful White Comanche , Cynthia Ann Parker .

Eck it o a c u p and Yellow Bear sat down together on bu f falo robes u nder the brush w ickiup in front of the tepee . 280 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

n They smoked their pipes leisurely , and talked a lo g

time , not in whispers , bu t very slow and in low tones .

H WECKEA H QUA N A A N D .

When Q uanah and Weck ea h met that evening it wa s

n with feelings never experie ced before by either of them .

28 2 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

u them , which he was ambitio s and hopeful enou gh to

believe he could som e day do . D rivin g these ponies with th e haste of an anxious

’ m et lover to Yellow Bear s tepee , Q uanah there old

Eck it o a c u who p , greeted h i m with a tau nting chuckle

of exultation and a loo k of w icked revenge . H is spies

’ having informed h im of the action of Q uanah s friend s ,

he had raised his bid to twenty ponies . This being an f exceptionally liberal o fer , Yellow B ear had prom ptly

accepted it , and now the jealou s and u nforgiving old savage wa s exulting in h is trium ph over the poor bu t

knightly rival of his arrogant and despised son , and gloating in his revenge upon the valiant and rising son

of h is own late su ccessfu l and hated rival .

E nterin g the tepee Q uanah fou n d Weck ea h prostrated

’ her at mother s feet in deepest d istress . I n two sleeps

T a n n a p would brin g the twenty pon ies and clai m h is

Weck ea h wa s wa s prize . heartbroken and Quanah

desperate . H e h urried back for another consultation

with h is friends , but not to ask for more ponies . I t was to Sub mit a n ew and startling proposition to them —to tell them of a new thou ght that had come to him a new resolution that h ad taken possession of his very

soul . Thou gh he himself did not s uspect it , the star of a new chief was abou t to rise above the horizon .

The new scheme pro misi n g S poils and adventure as XP R P AL D G 28 3 E E IENCES OF A S ECI IN IAN A ENT .

’ well as triu mph over a hated rival , Q uanah s zealous you n g friends agreed to it with an enth usiasm wh ich they co uld hardly avoid S howing in their faces and actions . The unhappy lovers stole another brief twilight meet

’ ’ i n We c k ea h s ing the shadows of Yellow Bear s tepee . qu ick eyes noted with increased ad miration and c o n ﬁ dence that the past two days had marked a great change

na in Q ua h . He was now no longer a boy . H e seemed

to have grown taller , was more serio us and thoughtful , and S poke with an evid ent courage and consciousness

of strength which gave her great hope and comfort .

hO e H e told her their only p was in ﬂight , and , as she knew , according to the inexorable law of the tribe that meant certain d eath to him and at least the delivery of

T a n n a herself to p , and possibly death to herself also , if

they should be overtaken .

Weck ea h , instead of being d eterred by the hazard s of

an attem pt at elopement , was eager to go , for in that

step she could see the possibility of a life of happiness ,

and escape fro m a fate which , in her detestation of

T a n n a a s p , she regarded even worse than death . m w J ust at oondown the next night , hich fro m the

’ 1 1 description given me I su ppose was about o clock ,

Q uanah and one of h is friends met Weck ea h at the door of her fat her ’ s tepee and carried her to the ed ge of the 28 4 TH E SERVICE ON E INDIAN RES RVATIONS .

- camp , where their horses and twenty one other young

men were waiting .

And now began the most remarkable elopement , and ,

in some respects at least , the most remarkable ride w ever known on the plains , amon g either hites or

Ind ians .

Q u anah took the lead w ith Weck ea h next behind

- h i m , and the twenty o ne young men following in single

- ﬁle . For seven hours they d id not break a lope excep t

to water their ponies in crossing streams . At daylight

they stopped to graze their ponies and . m ake a repast

f We c k ea h on d ried bu falo meat . H ere saw with p ride and increasing conﬁdence th’ at many of those twenty t wo tall , sinewy young men carried guns , and all of l them revolvers , shie ds , bows , and qu ivers full of arrows , and were mo unted and equ ipped througho ut as a select wa r party .

Stopp ing only a few hours , they changed their

d es i course , separated , and came together again at a g n a t ed place at sunset . There they stopped again u ntil u moondown , and then res m ing their journey , traveled

together all night .

They were now in Texas , and dared not travel any

more in d aylight . When night came on they changed

their cou rse again , sep arated into couples , and traveled

wa C that y several nights , om ing together at a place

286 R TH D R R T SE VICE ON E IN IAN ESE VA IONS .

their rendezvo us and , as Q uanah expressed it , went

’ ” to stealin hosses .

It has been said , indeed I believe it has been u niver

n s u b u sally co ceded that the Co manches , before their j g a t ion were the ﬁnest horse thieves the world ever

saw . Whether this has been conceded or not , I am su re no one who knew them then will d eny that it was “ a well d eserved compl iment . And I do ubt not that

Q uanah and his bridal party , or bridle party , which ever

it may seem most appropriate to call it , contributed gen er o u s l yto the weaving of that wreath for the tribal brow .

’ Ec kit oa cu p s band bein g u tterly u nable to follow the

i n trail , the fugitives re mained u nd iscovered that region

’ a n d more than a year , , in Q uanah s own candid and “ comp rehensive language , j ust stole hosses all over

i n Texas . I n a few months they had a large herd ,

clud in g many valuable American horses and mules . B ut it was not long u ntil the yo ung men began to “ f sigh for th e girls they had le t beh ind them , and to k venture bac , a few at a time , to see them , and always with laudations of their ch ief and glowing accounts of “ the magnitude and proﬁts of their business . They invariably returned with their sweethearts , and many

’ other Indians , of both sexes , also . With Quanah s

encou ragement their v isits became frequent , and at the b end of a year his band nu m ered several hundred . A 28 7 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

B ut through these visits old Eckit oa c u p ha d heard of

wa s wa r the fugitive , and now comin g with a large

Wec k ea h Wec k ea h p arty to p unish him and take .

CO MA N CHE G IR L S A N D P A P E PO O S .

again became badly frightened . She would get behind

’ T a n n a s Quanah from the direction of p approach , clasp

ri u her arms around hi m a d beg him not to give her p . 28 8 SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

B u t her entreaties were wholly u nnecessary . Quanah , of his own accord , was ready to d ie rather than su ffer

her to be taken fro m h im .

’ Eckit o a c u n a p found Q u a ah s b nd posted for battle . He was astou nded at their n u mbers and became so alarmed for h is o wn safety that he wa s glad to agree to

f m t an o fer of com pro ise , rather han risk the hazard of battle . Fou r ch iefs were sent fro m each side to meet half wa y between the two bands and arra n ge the co m

p ro mise . After a great d eal of smoking and haggling

’ Ec k it o a c u s p men proposed to accept nineteen horses ,

’ the p ick of Q uanah s herd , in full satisfaction of all d e m mands . Q uanah pro ptly approved th e agreement with the cheerful and signiﬁcant observatio n that he knew a ranch wh ere he could get nineteen others j ust as

i n r good a few hou s .

This gave Q uanah the right to retu rn to the tribe , and as the Texans had h im pretty well “ located in “ that rend ezvou s and were beco mi n g qu ite im pudent

wa s and inhosp itable to him , and as h is band now too

large t o be longer concealed anywhere in the State , he

o Ec kit oa c u followed cl se after p . Continuing in the

Territory to receive accessions fro m the other bands ,

’ Ec kit o a c u s a c k n owl including p , he soon became the

o f - n edged chief the tribe , and as a war chief before bei g overpowered and con quered he had achieved great

S S . QUA N AH I N C IVI LI ! E D D RE P P E 291 EX ERIENCES OF A S ECIAL INDIAN AG NT . which of his he would choose to retain if that were

’ Wec k ea h done . Without a mo ment s hesitation he said .

’ Weck ea h s Yellow Bear , father , became an ardent

1 8 8 friend and ad mirer of Q uanah , and lived u ntil 7 , when he got what the Texans considered a m ighty

e good joke on himself . H e and Q uanah got to fe ling “ rich and civilized , put o n their white m an clothes , and went down to Fort Worth to have a big “ blow ” “ ou t with a herd of cattle barons who were graz

c ing attle on their Reservation . They put u p at the “ c hu c k a wa lead ing y tepee of the town , the Pick

- u wick , and co ming in fro m a rou nd p of the city with

their white friends at a late hour of the night , they

d ragged themselves wearily u p to their roo m , and

bl owed ou t tlz e a s g . When d iscovered next morning Yellow Bear ’ s spirit had been blown away to the bound

less p rairies of the Great Spirit above , never to return , “ and Q uanah was cro uched on his all - fours at a wi n

o n dow , u nconscious , his own soul j ust abo ut t wi g its

ﬂight to the same mysterious realms . 292 H A SERVICE ON T E INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

H E C APT R XXX . — FOU R TH OUSAND INDIANS A SOCIAL CALL FROM T HE — — CHIEFS A N ECLIPSE O F T HE MOON PANDEMONIUM — — SUPERSTITIONS A N D RELIGIOUS TH EORIES BURIAL — E CUSTOMS HUMOROUS ANECDOT S .

N 2 1 8 8 8 the night of J uly 3 , , there was a total A ll eclipse of the moon . the I ndians on the

Reservation were encamped at the Agency , receiving a payment from cattlemen who have a large portion of

their lands leased for grazin g p urposes . E arly in the evening I received a social call at my

ho use fro m a party of ch iefs composed of Q uanah , Wild

Ho rse , Black Horse and Cheevers , Comanches ; Lone

Wolf , Cat , B ig Tree , Big Bow , Stu mbling Bear and

T o ha u s en , Kiowas ; Wh ite M an and Tohau , Apaches ,

A chit t a wa x and Teh uacana J im and , Wichitas

They were accompanied by M r . Tho mas F . Wood

ard , an exceptionally intelligent and tru thful interpreter , and I had an u nusually interesting conversation with

’ them on general top ics , much of it being of a reminiscent

294 E R A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN R SE V TIONS .

character . It was j ust at the time of the capture at N ! E Auckland , ew ealand , of M axwell , the nglishman who had mu rdered his co mpanion , Preller , in St . Lou is ,

how and ﬂed to Australia . I told the Indians a tele

or graph message , wire paper , as they would say , had been sent entirely around the earth to notify the ﬁ of cers at Au ckland to intercept him . They manifested

some interest in the story , b ut not the least amazement , either because they were incapable of comprehend ing

the magnitude of the ach ievement , or because Indians

do not regard anything as impossible to a white man . Wishing to see if I could astonish them I asked them

if they knew the shape of the earth . They looked at l one another and hesitated to answer . Final y Q uanah said in a cautious sort of way that he had been told that ” wa s it sorter ro und . To that old Black H orse retorted in a tone of very positive incred ulity

’ ’ Y - e- s ; I ve heard that too ; but I ve ridden over as

’ l a t m uch o f it as any other m an , and it s every bit f , k j ust like th is part here . Loo ou t over the prairie here

’ ’ and yo u can see for you rselves that it s ﬂat ; and it s j ust the same all the way to Washington City and

’ ’ t Mexico . I ve been to both places . That s j us a lie

that so me wh ite man has started to fool somebody , bu t

anybody ou ght to have more sense than to believe it .

I thought of the good old deacon who was expelled A 295 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT . fro m church for telling his brethren that he had seen

ice in the su m mer time , and concluded that I would not try any further to astonish Black Horse co n cerning the shape of the earth . “ Believing , however , that I co uld paralyze him on

the eclipse , I asked them if they knew that the moon “ ” would go to sleep th at night . They all said no . I told them th at in about two ho u rs fro m that tim e it k wo uld do so . Old Blac Horse straightened u p and w wanted to know how I kne .

“ ’ l c O h , I rep ied , it s no tri k at all for white people to tell beforehand when such things are going to hap

’ t pen . Yo u don t know but what hey have so methin g

to do with bringing them abou t .

’ N a c H e shook his head and said , o ; there s no

’ counting for a wh ite m an . H e s liable to do anything .

The inform ation made the m all uneasy , and in a few

wa s m in utes they asked me if it really true , and on

being assured that it was , they said they wo uld return

to camp and announce it to all the Ind ians , for not one W of the m knew it was going to happen . M r . oodard laughingly remarked that I wou ld hear pandemoniu m

break loose when it d id happen , too . After their departure everythin g was u nusually still a n d S silent in the cam ps u ntil the eclipse began to how ,

’ r and then M r . Woodard s rema k was very soon veriﬁed .

298 O N SERVICE TH E INDIAN RESERVATIONS .

t bereaved bands , bo h men and wo men , crying at the

top of their voices . The women cu t o ff their hair ,

daubed mud on their heads , and gashed their faces , arms and breasts with knives in the most horrible man

ner . J ust as the eclipse became total , and when the

ﬁrst outburst of lamentation had begu n to subside , Wild H ’ orse s other daughter d ied . Then the scene became

absolutely indescribable , and I believe even beyond the

power of imagination . The whole cam p was in a ter rible frenzy of grief and consternation . The crying of Ind ians is entirely d ifferent fro m the

A t sobbing and weeping of wh ite people . dul Ind ians

of both sexes bawl like children . I have seen old m en

crying loud enough to be heard half a m ile . To hear

even one is d istressin g , and the wail of the entire camp ,

S both men and wo men , is imply awful .

’ It was 3 o clock in the morning before there was any N sleep for either wh ites or Ind ians . ext morning the N I ndians all looked haggard and dejected . oticing that all of their belts were em pty of cartridges I asked “ : N them if they had any left . They replied o more S ’ cartridges . hoot em all away . Got none now .

There were near fo ur thousand Ind ians in the camps .

At least one thou sand two hundred were men and boys , and each of them had eithe r; a pistol or a Winchester

I c a l c u l a t ed riﬂe , and h und reds of them had both . that A A A N 299 EXPERIENCES OF SPECI L INDIAN GE T .

they m ust have had an average of ten cartrid ges apiece .

M ost of t he em ployes p ut the average at twenty . At

ten , the nu mber of shots ﬁred was twelve thousand ; at

- twenty , it was twenty four thousand . These noises were mad e to frighten the Great Bad

Spirit and make it turn the moon loose . The Indians have a religious theory or belief that there are two — — Great Sp irits a good one and a bad one a nd that they are constantly stru ggling with one another for con

t e trol of th e destinies of the I nd ian . When h y see a

S hadow com ing over the moon they think it is being

S p ut ou t , or p ut to leep , by th e Great Bad Sp irit , and they make loud noises for the double p urpose of fright en in en co u r g the Bad Sp irit away , and arousing and aging the Good Spirit .

They h ave a great many superstitions . One of them is that the B ad Spirit is manifesting his wrath whenever

n t o anything is stru ck by lightni g , and if it happens be

a p iece of their property they abandon it forever . Late one evening the A gency o fﬁce was struck and

almost d emolished . The news spread rapidly , and scores of Ind ians came d uring the n ext three days to

look at it . They all rode entirely arou nd , stoppin g at

S each ide and end to take a good look , b ut not one

ventured in , or even dismou nted from h is pony .

Abo u t the fourth day an old Ind ian who lived on the

2 E A 3 0 SERVIC ON THE INDI N RESERVATIONS .

I k deposited in sitting postu res , and walled n with roc s . Those bu ried in trees are secu rely fas t ened and encased

e on scaffolds ti d to the branches . The Poncas and som e other tribes bu ry on sca ffolds bu ilt six or eight

feet hi gh on forked stakes d riven in the ground . The a i r n l on the plains bei g extreme y dry , it is not u nusu al

to see bod ies thus bu ried pretty thoroughly mu m miﬁed . M any of the Indian ’ s personal effects are either buried

his with h im or deposited o n grave , and h is relatives ,

instead of planting ﬂowers , bring cooked food for a

n given n u mber of days and leave it in pa s and bowls , for the departed t o subsist u pon until he co m pletes t he “ ” n j ou rney to the happy hu nti g grounds . Sometimes

all of his ponies are killed at the grave , but that custom

u A is grad ually being broken p by the gents . Trunks ,

a nd things of that sort , however , are frequently seen p iled on the graves . I ndians sometimes also make very funny m istakes in e trying to adopt the cu stoms of the wh ite p ople . Som e years ago some cattlemen leased a large portion of t he

Co manche Reservation for grazin g purposes . Taba

wa s nanaka , ch ief of one of the band s , opposed to it ,

m i a n d b ut th e aj or ty overruled h im he had to subm it .

H e had no conﬁdence in the cattlemen , however , and d id not hesitate to charge that they would move their fences and take in more land every time the Ind ians b k O turned their ac s . A 3 03 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

To satisfy him o n that point so mebody su ggested A that he could get the gent to swear them . H e went A to see the gent and got h is pro mise to do it . When the day came the cattlemen were all on hand with their

n surveyors , and over a thousa d Indians were also

present to witness the ru nning of the line , so that if the

S takes were ever moved they wo uld know it . B u t the

Agent failed to appear , and the Indians were very m uch u pset .

Finally one of the cattlemen , to avoid delay , in quired of the chiefs W hy T a b a n a n a k a could not swear them

h imself , j ust as well as a white chief . Of course the

I nd ians saw no reason why he could not , and after some

S d iscussion , it was agreed that he hould do it . The

I n stake for th e starting point was d riven , and all the

d ians , fully a thousand of them , stood breathless and “ T a b a n a n a k a wo ha w on tiptoe to see swear the ch iefs , “ wo ha w as they called the cattlemen . The chiefs removed their hats and held up their right hands and

T a b a n a n a k a swore them by the Great Sp irit above their heads and the mother ear t h beneath their feet that they wo uld nev e r pull u p or destroy that stake or move their

fence away from it , and told them very pointedly that if they ever d id they would certainly “ hear so mething

dro p m ighty qu ick . The cattlemen crowded aro u nd him and com plimented him extravagantly o n the s kill 3 04 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

and ability which he d isplayed in the proceeding , bu t they had failed to notice that the oath only applied to

that particular stake . Two hundred yards u p the line the surveyors set

another small stake , and all hands were going right on

T a b a n a n a ka when commanded them to halt . They

T a b a n a n a k a k asked what was the matter . loo ed su r

’ k t o prised and said Here s another sta e . Swear “ : it . The cattlemen lau ghed and said Why , yo u ” swore us at the other o ne . Once is enou gh . That

’ conﬁrmed T a b a n a n a k a s susp icions that they would

: have to be sworn and watched , too , and he replied

* Yes and yo u m ust swear to all of them , or stop th e

survey . Of course no cattleman who wants Indian grass and knows h is bus iness is going to stand back on

a little swearin g . So they all j u mped to their places ,

j erked their hats off , raised both hands high enough to “ have satisﬁed a stage robber , and swore they would ” n u t her never monkey with that stob no more , , as one m of the expressed it .

- ﬁv e This line was abou t seventy m iles lon g . A big

post was set every mile , and s mall stakes between .

T a b a n a n a k a n would not liste to the cattlemen at all , b ut the surveyors ﬁnally convinced him that it would be su fﬁcient to swear them at th e mile posts . That was

o the best com promise they c uld make with him , and

3 07 EXPERIEN CES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

d red of that tribe and a few Kiowas and Apaches . H av in g a good in t erpreter and plenty of smoking

wa s tobacco and cigarette paper with me , it no trouble

u to get the chiefs aro nd my cam p ﬁre every even in g .

Seein g t ha t I enjoyed their rem iniscences and jokes

on one another , they told old Black Horse that he must “ m a n tell me abou t his capture of the black white . The old fellow had never taken any part in o ur conver s a t io n s wa s , and I desirous of hearing h im relate an

s anecdote , because next to Q uanah he had perhap had the most eventful career of any Indian on the Reserva

wa s e tion . For many years he a t rror to the frontier

settlements of Texas , but he now has the respect and

n who conﬁde ce of every white m an knows him , and is

really one of the very best Ind ians on the Reservation .

is m H e an u gly old fellow , however , of very slight for ,

n h lame fro m nu merous wou ds received on the warpat ,

- very dark , and battered and scarred almost ou t of shape .

a s H e demurred at ﬁrst , but ﬁnally related the story follows A — long time ago maybe so th irty snows , maybe —I so forty , I dunno went with a large war party on a

raid into Mexico . We went far enou gh so uth to see

h undreds of monkeys and parrots . We thou ght the i monkeys were a k nd of people , and captured two of

them one day . That night we whip ped them nearly to 3 08 A SERVICE ON TH E INDI N RESERVATIONS .

death trying to make them talk , but they wo uld not - say a word , j ust cry , and ﬁnally we turned them loose ,

more p uzzled than ever to know what they were .

O n the return trip we came back th rough Texas .

a O ne d ay I was scouting o ff to one side lone , and met

a man riding through the mezquite timber . H e started

r un to and my ﬁrst thou ght was to kill him , but j ust as I was about to send an arrow he looked back over h is shou lder and I saw that his s kin wa s as black as a crow

n and that he h ad great big white eyes . I had ever

seen or heard of that kind of a man , and seein g that he wa s u narmed I determined to catch h im and take him

to cam p alive , so that all the Indians could see h im . I galloped around in front of hi m with my bow and a rrow

H O ff drawn , and he was heap scared . e fell of his m ule pony and sit down on h is knees a nd hold his hands u p high and heap cry and say :

“ ’ ! P l ea s e Please , M assa Inj un , don t kill poor nigger ,

’ ! Bi - i - i ! P l ea s e M assa Injun , don t kill poor nigger y y ,

’ ! Bi - i - Massa Inj un , don t kill poor nigger y yi l A lthou gh at that time Black Horse d id not know a

E c a n word of nglish and speak bu t few even now , the ’ neg ro s crying and begging m ade su ch an impression

on h i m that , with his co m mon Ind ian gift of m imicry , h e can imitate it in a wonderfully natu ral manner to ' “ he s a id ' k this day . Continu ing , The blac white m an

3 10 O N T HE A A SERVICE INDI N RESERV TIONS .

E CHAPT R XXXI . — ORDERED T o WASHIN GTO N DETAINED THERE T WO — — MONTH S RETURN T o T HE A GENCY THE INDIAN S STARVING—CHIEF CAT ’ S PROPO SED LETTER TO — — WASHINGTON RELIEVED AT A N A D A RKo T o VARI — O US AGENCIES I N CHARGE OF TH E INDIAN SCHOOL

S S AT GENOA , NEBRA KA , AS ACTING UPERINTENDENT — APPOINTED IN S PECTOR TERMINATION OF M Y ” A s EXPERIENCES SPECIAL AGENT .

N the ﬁrst of D ecember I was ordered to Washing ton to represent the Ind ian O fﬁce in an appeal wh ich the deposed A gent at A nadarko had mad e for

t reinsta ement . The Secretary of the I nterior and the

P resident taking their own time in the case , I was de t a in ed there two months , and had about seven weeks of

u ninterrupted sightseeing . I visited the Cap itol occasionally and was sometimes

greatly interested in the proceedings of Congress . The

Su preme Cou rt was also a great attraction for me , and

I r a r elyever passed the door of the chamber without ‘ goin g in to take a loo k a t t he learned old gentlemen i n 3 1 1 EXPERIENCES OF A SPECIAL INDIAN AGENT .

black gowns , and hear them expound the law fro m the

bench . To me there was always a charm in their oral — del ivery of the O p inions not fou nd in the print their

manner being so digniﬁed and decoro us , and yet so simple and unaffected ; their faces beaming with the

light of intelligence , honesty and virtue , and their decisions so clear and so replete with plain and u nbe

I wa s clouded j ustice . present when M r . J ustice Lamar k h too his seat , and also when Chief J ustice Waite anded

O down his last p inion . I spent considerable time strolling through the various great department buildings of the Government — f the Patent O fice , the Treasury B uild in g , the Post f O fice Department , and the magnificent new bu ilding of S N ’ the War , tate and avy D epartments . Corcoran s

A r t S N Gallery , the mithsonian Institution , the ational N M useum , and the Wash ington avy Yard also pos

sessed many attractions for me . I also made visits to V Arlington and Mount ernon . Arlington is the old

E S f ho me of Robert . Lee , and is ituated on a blu f on

V t i n S i the irginia side of the Po omac River , ght of

Washington . It now belongs to the Govern ment , having been conﬁscated and converted into a national

A wa r cemetery d uring the war . fter the the Su prem e

Court held the conﬁscation to have been unlawful , and awarded the Lee heirs certain co mpensation for the 3 1 2 H A A SERVICE ON T E INDI N RESERV TIONS .

property . The old mansion is carefully preserved in

its original condition and appearance , and all visitors w V are treated ith courtesy . Mount ernon is situated

on a bluff overlookin g the Potom ac , seventeen m iles

- d a below Washington , and is said to look to yal most

’ exactly as it d id in Washington s lifetime . It is now owned and preserved to the p ublic by the Lad ies ’ V Mount ernon Association , and is the mecca of all

patriotic visitors to the national capital . D urin g my absence the A gency beef and ﬂou r con

tractors had both failed , and when I got back to Anadarko on the ﬁrst of February many of the Ind ians

were actually starving . The employes had been keep ing them paciﬁed several days with assurances of my

early return . A delegation of Kiowa ch iefs met me at the o fﬁ ce and seemed greatly disappointed at my failure

to bring the beef and ﬂou r with me . B ut not having

heard a word fro m either of the contractors , of course I could not even give the famishing Indians any satis t factory information , and they re urned to cam p to meet t he who l e tribe in council and d ecide what to do . In that cou ncil it was agreed th at it wa s useless to write a letter

to Washington . They would have to get a white man

to write it for them , and he m ight say what they told — . him to , or he might not they would never know

’ And whether he d id or not it would not move Washing

3 1 4 A SERVICE ON THE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

ton . They had tried that plan before , and always l withou t success . The on y way to attract the notice of

Wash ington was to kill somebody . Whenever they did

that he would stop to listen , and send somebody qu ick

to see what was the matter . I t wou ld be time lost to

write a letter . They m ust kill somebody , and be quick

about it , too , for their wo men and children were crying

who S ? for someth ing to eat . B ut hould be the victim m Cat , a good friend of ine , argued that question in substance as follows l H ere are To m Woodard , B ill Shir ey , Fred Schlegel ,

N es t ell J im Carson , Joe Becker , George M adera , J ack , R — M . aj or Campbell , George ose and D r Graves all

been here long time . M aybe so Wash ington forgot all

' t hem — m a b o u t all sa e as forgot abou t Inj un . Inj un kill

one of the m , m aybe so Washington never hear abou t

’ n that . Inj u n kill all of em , maybe so Washi gton not

’ ’ — a s k m uch care no i t what s the matter . H eap o

’ 0 trouble , too , to kill lots white men like that . Wh ite

man heap big fool . Maybe so git mad and heap shoot

and kill it some Inj uns . Cat no like it , that . B ut

Wash ington see Agent , j ust little bit ago . M aybe so e A Washington no forg t about A gent . Inj un kill gent , maybe so Washington hear abo ut that p urty quick and

‘ ’ an d ? send it a wire paper say , what s the matter now ? Inj un hungry All right . I send it so mething to eat XP F P C D I A A G 3 1 5 E ERIENCES O A S E IAL IN N ENT .

’ ’ wa purty qu ick . That s the best y. Kill Agent .

That not much hard work , and Washington com e quick

’ ” to ask it what s the matter .

’ wa s Cat s argu ment prevailed , and it agreed that he

Ko m a lt a P ola n t S and , and Little Robe hould come to the ofﬁce early next morning and ask m e every two or three hours through the d ay if I had heard anything

fro m the beef and ﬂour . If I d id not give the m some deﬁnite and satisfactory information by the m iddle of

d ea t h wi the afternoon they were then to stab me to . t h

knives . Agreeably to th is program me they appeared A 8 ’ k at the gency about o clock . Ta ing no notice of f several chairs in the o ﬁce , they seated themselves on

the ﬂoor around the stove , made a lot of cigarettes ,

a n d took a comfortable smoke , then witho ut the least manifestation of u nusual concern asked me if I had

heard anythin g of the beef and ﬂou r . The negative answer which they received produced no more p er c ep t i ble effect on them than it would have done on wooden

’ men . B ut about 9 o clock , and wh ile they were still f lolling abou t the o ﬁce , an I nd ian arrived in a lope with

’ t he news that the contractor s m en had camped w ith a herd of beef cattle twelve miles down t he river the night

t wo before , and would be in sight of the Agency in

hou rs . This news produced a perfect j ubilee . Cat shook hands with me with many demonstratio ns of joy 3 1 6 T A SERVICE ON HE INDIAN RESERV TIONS .

and affection , entirely u nsuspecting that some of the

Kiowas who O pposed that method of attracting Wash

’ i n t o n s co ns e g attention , perhaps throu gh fear of the

Y D E A R L D F RI E N D T M O , CA .

u en ces q , and a d isposition to court favo r with the

e a Agent , had come d irect fro m the cou ncil and mad full disclosure to me .

3 18 R TH D R S SE VICE ON E IN IAN ESERVATION . — sons resident on the Reservation employes , m issiona ries , traders , and citizens by marriage with Ind ians . Of the A gency and school em ployes

D r . W . W . Graves , physician ; J . K . A P Campbell , clerk ; G . . Hale and

W . B . White , storekeepers ; J . W .

Carson , general foreman and ch ief of

police ; Webb Hendrix and George

D . Madera , farmers ; Lyon B ing E ha m , W . C . Graves and d Parish ,

R A ; . , D R . G VES , , w . w herd ers Thomas F Woodard m il ler and general utility man ; Fred Schlegel , blacksmith ; A J . . Becker , carpenter , Wm . Shirley , interpreter , N ! : N and . . H urd , issue clerk at Fort Sill Lewis . A H Hornbeck , su perintendent ; M iss Mollie . iggins ,

matron ; Mrs . Letitia Hornbeck and M iss Katie B .

: Hoshall , teachers of the Kiowa school J . W . Haddon , V superintendent ; M iss Belle Fletcher and M iss H attie .

Weir , matrons ; M rs . Fannie C . White and M iss Lou ise

Wallace , teachers of the Wichita school , and George w W . Rose , school carpenter , were al ays obed ient and f faithful , and generally e ﬁcient , in the performance of

A n d their d uties . as members of the Indian police force who * n ev er d isobeyed an order or shirked a d uty I still re me mber Captain Arco , Lieutenant Kohta , and

Ko et a Wa u k na ko d ok e privates p , Yellow Fish , , Kokoon ,

S A c hit t a wa x Cha ddl ek a u n k atanta , and g y. A A N 3 1 9 EXPERIENCES OF SPECIAL INDIAN GE T .

From Anadarko I proceeded by way of D arlington

and Oklaho ma Station to Ard more , in the Chickasaw N ation , where I had to investigate a d isp ute over a coal f mine . Five di ferent co mpanies had been incorporated

u nder the Chickasaw laws , and each had laid ou t an

r e extensive claim covering the mine in question . I

ported in favor of the Bod ine Coal Company , whose f ! o ﬁcers were J . B . Bodine and Sam uel uckerman . Upon completing that d uty I returned to the Cheyenne

A wa s and rapahoe Agency , where I occup ied several days investigating charges of m iscond u ct against the

A a gent and one of the tr ders . From Cheyenne and

A a rapahoe I proceeded to Ponc , Pawnee , Otoe and

Oakland , to make another general inspectio n of that A A gency . gent Osborne had been having considerable

b e trouble at O toe , b ut since my last v isit had secu red

—M r — a new clerk for that place . J . P . Woolsey w ith

wa s who wa s whom he greatly pleased , and handling all of the a ffairs of that troublesome little Sub - Agency with

marked success . My next stop was at M uscogee , where

I sojourned a week with Colonel Owen , of the Union

A VVi S d o m gency , and Colonel D . M . , his very excellent

chief clerk . From M uscogee I continued on by way of V A A inita to the Q uapaw gency . bou t a week after my arrival at that place I received an order by tele N k grap h to proceed im med iately to Genoa , ebras a . I 2 A 3 0 SERVICE ON THE INDI AN RESERV TIONS .

departed o n the next train by way of Springﬁeld , M is

souri , Kansas City and O maha . I n the latter city I

bought a morn ing paper , and almost the ﬁrst ite m to attract my eye wa s an annou ncement fro m Wash ington of my appointmen t by the President to be an Ind ian

wa s t he Inspecto r . I not aware of any vacancy in I n s ec t o r s hi s wa s p p at the ti me , and th e news a great su r

prise to me .

Geno a is a small town o n th e Union Paciﬁc Railroad a hu nd red and th ir ty m iles u p the Platte R iver fro m A O maha . large I nd ian school , known as G rant Insti

e tu te , is located there . The Su perint nden t had been m removed , and u pon y arrival there I fo und written orders assigning m e as Special A gent to t he charge of A the school as cting Su perintendent . That was the

2 t h s of J anuary , and I remained there in charge of the

1 2 th school u ntil the of March , when I qu aliﬁed and

entered u pon d uty as a n Inspector , and thereby termi n a t ed A my experiences as a Special gent .

3 22 APPENDIX .

a 1 2 0 clerk and physician , e ch , 9 employes , $

8 0 0 8 l to $ ; su perintendent of school , schoo

8 0 8 0 e mployes , $4 to $ 4 .

S a n Ca r l os A en c — g y Ind ians , Agent ,

clerk , physician , engineer and sawyer , each ,

6 0 0 0 7 em ployes , $ 7 to $9 ; su perintendent of school ,

1 1 0 0 0 0 n 5 school em ployes , $ to $9 ; physicia

- A 1 2 0 Fort Apache Sub gency , 4 employes , $ 4

0 to $ 54 .

I n d u s t r i a l S clz ool s —A t oe : n . Ph nix Superinte dent ,

8 0 clerk , farmer , $ 4 . O n M oqu i

: S Reservation uperintendent , physician ,

1 0 1 2 0 8 0 A t employes , $ to $ 4 . Fort M o

: j ave S uperintendent , clerk and physician

1 2 1 2 0 8 0 (one person ) , e mployes , $ to $ 4 .

O CALIF RNIA .

Hoo a Va l l e A en c — 2 2 p y g y. Ind ians , 4 ;

1 0 0 0 6 A 1 2 0 20 physician , $ , ; gency employes , $ to $ 7 ;

2 1 2 teacher , $7 per month ; assistant , $ .

I lI i s s i on a n d T u l e Ri v er A en c — g y Indians ,

0 0 2 Agent , physician , clerk , $9 ; farmers , $ 7 5 per month ; su perintend ent of school , 6 8 2 1 . teachers , $ 7 per month ; , $ 3

Rou n d a l l e A en c — 6 0 8 V . y g y I ndians , ; clerk and

8 1 0 0 t o physician , each , Agency employes , $

0 0 8 0 o $ 9 ; teacher , $ per m nth . A PPEN T uX 3 23 : .

I n d u st r i a l S ckool s —A t : : . Fort Yum a Superintendent

1 0 m 6 0 ? and physician , each , e ployes , $3 to

A : 6 0 0 i 2 0 t . $ 7 . Greenville Teacher , $ At Perr s

Su perintendent ,

COLORADO .

“ S ou tker n Ute A en c — 8 1 0 0 g y I nd ians , 9 7 ; Agent , $ , 4

6 1 2 0 clerk , physician , employes , $

0 0 to $9 .

I n d u str i a l S ckool —A t : a -r . Grand J u nctio n Su peri

0 0 0 tendent , 9 em p loyes , $4 5 to $9 .

O IDAH .

F or t Ha l l A en c — g y Indians , Agent ,

1 1 6 clerk , physician , 4 e mployes , $

8 0 per month to $ 4 per year .

L em/i i A en c - g y Indians , 557 ; Agent , phy s i c i a n 2 0 0 0 s u e r in , 4 e mployes , $ 7 to $9 ; p

8 0 0 1 2 0 t o tendent of school , $ ; 5 school employes , $

2 0 $7 . — N ez P er ce A en c g y Ind ians , Agent ,

6 6 0 clerk , physician , employes , $ 3

2 0 6 0 0 2 0 to $7 ; school teacher , ; industrial teacher , $7 ;

8 0 6 0 0 4 school employes , $4 to $ .

I n d u s t r i a l S ck ool s —A t : . Fort Hall Superintendent ,

1 1 2 0 . t o physician , 9 employes , $ 3“ 24 A PPENDIX .

: 1 At Fort Lapwai Superintendent , 5 e 1 2 0 0 0 mployes , $ to $9 .

INDIAN TERRITORY .

u a a w A en c — A Q p g y. I nd ians , gent , c n 8 0 lerk and physicia , each , 5 employes , $4

6 0 0 to $ ; su perintendent of school , teacher ,

8 8 6 0 0 school employes , $4 per m onth to $

2 2 1 8 0 fo 6 0 0 per year ; , $ $ .

Un i on A en c — g y Ind ians (ﬁve civilized tribes ) ,

Agent , clerk , assistant ,

0 0 $ 9 .

KN N A .

a n d F ox A n c — 8 0 S c a e . g y Indians , 3 ; Agent ,

. 2 6 0 0 employes , each , $ .

KANSAS

P otta wa tomi e a n d G r ea t N em a ka A en c — g y Ind ians ,

Agent , clerk , physician ,

1 1 0 0 2 0 2 , 4 employes , $ 3 to $ 7 ; s 2 0 1 0 1 0 uperintendents of schools , $ 7 each ; , $7 5 ; s 0 0 8 0 chool e mployes , $3 to $4 .

I n d u s t r i a l S ckool — . Haskell I nstitute, at Lawrence ' S u perintendent , assistant , clerk , physician , a n d principal teacher , each , 55 employes ,

1 2 0 0 0 to $9 .

MICHIGAN .

M a cki n a c A en c — g y Ind ia ns , Agent ,

3‘ 26 APPENDIX . rt o 0 0 1 $9 ; superintendent of school , 4 school e 1 2 0 0 0 mployes , $ to $9 .

T on u e Ri v er A en c — 1 0 0 g g y Ind ians , 79 5 Agent , $ 5 ;

h s i c i a n 1 0 1 2 0 0 gp y , employes , $ to $90 .

A NEBRASK .

O ma li a a n d Wi n n eba o A en c — g g y Ind ians , rA en t g , clerk , physician , 9 e 1 8 0 0 0 mployes , $ to $9 ; superintendent of school ,

0 0 0 0 6 0 0 1 0 $ 9 ; 7 teachers , $ 5 to $ ; other school em

l o es 2 0 2 0 . .p y , $4 to $7 — S a n tee A en c s l n d ia n s g y , Agen t , i h s ic ia n 1 1 0 p y , clerk , 9 e m ployes , $ 5 t o 2 0 6 0 $7 ; school teacher , $ per month .

S ki i n Cl er ks — : S . 1 2 0 0 pp g R ushville hipp ing clerk , , ;

6 0 0 V : assistant , $ . alentine Shipping clerk , a 6 0 0 ssistant , $ .

I n d u s t r i a l S ckool — : . Grant Institute , Genoa S uper i n t e n d e n t , clerk , physician ,

1 3 teachers , matrons , ind ustrial teachers and other em

l es 1 2 0 0 0 o . ,p y , $ to $9

NEVADA .

N ev a d a A en c — A g y Indians , gent ,

! c 8 0 lerk and physician , each ; 5 employes , $4 t o 8 0 2 2 r $ 4 ; teachers , $7 per month ; assistant teache

. 8 h and matron , $4 per mont each . A 3 27 PPENDIX .

Wes ter n S lz os lz on e A en c — A g y I nd ians , gent ,

0 0 I em l o es physician , clerk , $9 ; 9 p y ,

6 0 2 0 2 0 . $ 3 to $7 ; superintendent of school , $7

d u t i a l S ckool —A t : I n s r . Carson Superintend ent ,

r 1 2 0 0 0 cle k , 9 employes , $ to $9 .

N EW MEXICO .

c l er o A en c - M es a . g y Ind ians , Agent , c l 2 0 erk , physician , 5 employes , $ 4 t o 2 0 p 0 0 $7 ; su erintendent of school , $9 ; 3 employes ,

8 0 2 0 $ 4 to $7 .

N a v a o A en c — j g y Ind ians , Agent , c 1 2 0 0 I 1 2 0 lerk , physician , $ ; 4 employes , $ t o 0 0 e 1 0 $9 ; sup rintendent of school , e m

l o es 1 2 0 0 0 p y , $ to $9 .

P u ebl o A en c — g y. Ind ians ,

8 1 2 0 physician , clerk , em ployes , $ t o 0 0 8 0 $ 9 ; 3 teachers , $ per m onth .

I n d u s t r i a l S ckool s —A t : . Albu querque Superintend e nt , 3 5 teachers , clerk , physician , matron , e et c 8 ngineer , watch man , tailor , farmers , . , $4 per m 6 0 0 A t : onth to $ per year . D awes Institute Su per i n t en d en t 1 6 0 , clerk , 5 employes , $3 t o 6 0 $9 . N EW YORK .

N ew Yor k A en c — A g y Ind ians , gent , 3 28 APPENDIX .

NORTH CAROLINA .

' t ker okee A en c — Ea s er n C . A g y Ind ians , gent ,

8 0 0 $ ; superintendent of school ,

NO RTH DAKOTA .

’ ’ D i l s L a ke A en c - ev . A g y Indians , gent ,

’ 1 2 clerk and physician , each ; e m

l o es 1 8 0 0 0 2 p y , $ to $9 ; superintendent of school , $7 per month .

F or t Ber tk ol d A en c — A g y Indians , gent ,

1 clerk and physician , each ; 7 e m

l o es 1 8 0 0 0 p y , $ to $9 .

S ta n d i n Rock A en c — A g g y Indians , gent , k k cler and physician , each ; issue cler ,

1 2 0 0 0 n 57 employes , $ to $9 ; su perintende t

1 1 6 0 8 0 1 2 of school , teachers , $ 3 to $ 4 ;

2 1 6 8 0 other school em ployes , $ to $4 .

I n d u s t r i a l S ckool s —A t : S u er in . Fort Stevenson p

1 0 1 2 0 6 0 0 A t: tendent , employes , $ to $ .

: Fort Totten Superintendent , clerk ,

1 2 0 8 0 5 employes , $ 4 to $ 4 .

OKLAHOMA .

S a c a n d F ox A en c — g y Indians , Agent ,

clerk , two physicians , each ;

0 0 2 0 5 employes , $ 3 to $7 ; superintendent o f school ,

1 6 0 0 1 l 0 0 0 0 . , $ ; 3 schoo employes , $3 to $7

3 3 0 APPENDIX .

2 8 Agent , clerk and physician , each ;

1 8 0 0 0 2 e m ployes , $ to $9 ; su perintendents of schools ,

2 2 0 6 6 0 0 2 each ; teachers , $7 each ; , $ each ;

6 0 0 1 0 0 0 matrons , $ each ; other school employes , $3

2 0 to $7 . O OREG N .

d n d e A en c — 1 0 G r a n Ro . 1 0 0 0 g y Indians , 5 ; Agent , $ , ;

0 0 1 2 0 physician , clerk , $9 ; 7 employes , $ to

8 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 $ 7 ; superintendent of school , $9 ; teacher , $ ;

6 0 8 0 3 school employes , $ 3 to $4 .

K l a m a tli A en c — 2 A g y Indians , 97 ; gent ,

1 2 0 clerk and physician , each ; 7 employes , $

8 0 0 1 to $ ; su perintendent of school , ,

6 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 3 teachers , $ each ; , $7 each ; other school

6 0 0 6 0 . e mployes , $3 to $

i l etz A en c — 6 1 2 S . g y Ind ians , ; Agent , clerk ,

0 0 8 0 8 0 0 $9 ; physician , 5 em ployes , $4 to $ ;

0 0 su perintendent of school , $9 ; 9 school employes ,

2 0 $ 2 40 to $ 7 .

Um a ti l l a A en c — 8 A g y Indians , 94 ; gent ,

0 0 0 0 clerk , $9 ; physician , 4 employes , $ 3 to

8 0 0 $ ; superintendent o f school , 3 teachers ,

0 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 $ 6 each ; 4 other school employes , $4 to $

Wa r m S r i n s A en c — 8 p g g y I nd ians , 59 ; Agent ,

C 8 0 0 0 0 lerk , $ ; physician , $9 ; 4 employes ,

0 0 2 0 1 $ 5 to $7 ; su perintendent of school , , 3 3 1 APPENDIX .

0 0 6 0 0 2 0 1 0 $ 9 ; 4 teachers , $ to $7 ; other school e m

l es 1 2 0 6 0 0 o . p y , $ to $

I n d u s t r i a l clz ool s —A t : S . Chemawa Clerk and su per

i n t e n d en t 1 , physician , 7 employes ,

1 2 0 0 0 A t : $ to $9 . Salem S uperintend ent ,

I PENNSYLVAN A .

T r a i n i n S clz ool —A t : A g . Carlisle verage attendance o f 6 0 A r f Ind ian p u pils , 5 ; superintendent , an my o ﬁcer ; ﬁ a rst assist nt superintendent , assistant su per i n t en d e n t , physician , and principal teacher , e ach ; clerk , m usic teacher , d isciplinarian , and matron ,

0 1 2 0 2 0 each ; 5 other employes , $ to $7 .

SOUTH DAKOTA .

Clz e en n e Ri v er A en c — A y g y. Ind ians , gent ,

2 8 clerk and physician , each ; e m

lo es 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 p y , $ to $9 ; su perintendent of school , $9 ;

6 1 2 0 6 0 0 school employes , $ to $ ; 5 teachers day s 6 0 1 6 chools , $ per month ; , $3 .

P i n e Ri d e A en c — A g g y Indians , gent , c 2 8 0 lerk and physician , each ; 5 e mployes , $4 t o 0 0 $9 ; superintendent of school , assistant ,

1 0 0 2 0 4 employes , $ 3 to $7 .

Ros ebu d A en c — A g y Indians , gent , c h 6 0 0 lerk and p ysician , each ; 3 employes , $3 t o 0 0 1 6 2 $9 ; 7 teachers of day schools , $3 to $7 per m onth . 3 3 2 APPENDIX .

Ya n fcten A en c — g y I ndians , Agent ,

n 2 1 2 0 clerk and physicia , each ; 7 em ployes , $

0 0 1 8 l to $9 ; superintendent of school , schoo

1 2 0 6 0 0 employes , $ to $ .

S i s s eton A en c — n g y Indians , Age t ,

6 1 8 0 clerk and physician , each ; employes , $

2 0 1 2 l to $ 7 ; superintendent of school , schoo

1 0 2 0 employes , $ 5 to $7 .

Cr ow Cr eek a n d L ower Br i d e A en c — g y I ndians ,

A 2 2 gent , clerks and physicians ,

0 1 8 0 0 0 s u er i n each ; 4 em ployes , $ to $9 ; p

2 0 tendent of school , 5 teachers , $ 4 to

1 2 0 0 0 9 other school employes , $ to $ 5 .

I n d u s tr i a l 5 5 120 0 1 : . At P ierre Superintendent ,

1 1 1 0 0 0 employes , $ 5 to $9 .

UTAH .

Ui n ta /i a n d O u r a A en c — y g y Ind ians , Agen t ,

2 2 1 clerks and physicians , each ; 7

2 0 employes , $ 4 to superintendent of school ,

2 2 0 8 0 h o teachers , $7 to $ 4 ; 4 ot er sch ol em

l o es 0 0 2 0 p y , $4 to $7 .

O WA S HINGT N .

Col v i l l e A en c — t g y I ndians , Agen ,

1 0 clerk and 3 physicians , each ; employes ,

2 0 0 0 o i h 6 $ 4 to $9 ; superintendent sc ool , s 0 0 2 0 chool employes , $ 5 to $7 .

3 3 4 APPENDIX .

L a P oi n te A en c — g y Ind ians , Agent ,

6 0 0 clerk , physician , employes , $7

0 0 to $9 ; superintend ent of schools a t Tomah ,

0 t o 6 0 9 teachers of day schools , $4 $ per month .

WYOMING .

S /z os/z on e A en c — g y Indians , Agent ,

clerk and physician , each ; engineer ,

1 1 2 0 8 0 0 3 e mployes , $ to $ ; su perintendent of Reser

1 0 » vation , su perintendent of school ,

1 8 0 8 0 0 school employes , $ to $ .

I n d i a n s n ot u n d er a n A en t —I n 1 i n g Arizona , 9 4 ;

8 2 6 0 0 i n California , in Florida , 9 ; in Idaho , ;

1 0 8 0 0 2 0 ; , ; , 9 ; , M aine , 4 in O regon in Texas in Utah

0 3 9 ; in Wisconsin ,

I n s ector s a n d S eci a l A en ts — p p g . Five Inspectors ,

and actu al expenses ; ﬁve Special Agents ,

v all tra eling expenses , and $ 3 per d ay for per sonal expenses . O APP INTMENTS .

O eer s a n d Enz l o es — A a r e ﬁ p y . The Inspectors and gents

ap pointed by the President , and required to give bond . The Civil S ervice Law now applies to the Agency phy s i c ia n s , and also to the superintendents , assistant su per i n t en d en t s t he , physicians , teachers and matrons of all

f o r ° a o in t m en t o schools , and applications p p to those p 3 3 5 APPENDIX .

“ s it io ns should be addressed to The U . S . Civil Service

Co mmission , Washington , D . C . The Co m mission

should be ﬁrst written to for blanks and instructions . A m The gency clerks , assistant clerks , warehouse en ,

overseers , farmers , m illers , mechanics , blacksm iths , t herders , stable men , teams ers , and laborers ; and also

all subordinate employes of the Reservatio n schools ,

such as assistant m atrons , sea mstresses , cooks , laun

dresses , farmers , d isciplinarians , and laborers , are now

appointed by the Agents , and applications for those

r ec o m m en d a places should be addressed , with proper “ h . t e tions , to The U S . Indian Agent , at particular Agency where service is desired The subord inate

e mployes of the industrial and training schools are a p

pointed by the superintendents .

The s uperintendents o i Reservatio n schools are u nder

the control and supervision of the Agents . B u t the superintendents of the ind ustrial and train ing school s

are u nder the d irect supervision and control of the In dian D epartmen t at Washington—not subject to any

A n — ge t and are required to give bond .

S INDIAN TRADER .

Merchants are licensed by the I nd ian O fﬁce at Wash i n gt on to trade with the I ndians at the various A gen cies . Applications have to be made d irect to t he 3 3 6 APPENDIX .

o f f C o mmissioner Ind ian A fairs , accompanied by proper

reco mmendations as to moral character , integrity , etc .

The licenses have to be renewed ann ually , bu t no fee is c harged , the applicant only being requ ired to give bond i n the su m of (on blanks furnished by the t D epartment ) , conditioned hat he will observe the laws t g overning trade with Indians . The nu mber of raders a t each A gency is l imited in proportion to the n u mber a n d inco me of the Ind ians , and many of the traderships a r e a very valuable . I t is a great advantage to any p

li c a n t p , either fo r appointment o r for license to trade , t o have the assistance at Washington of a Senator o r M e mber o f Congress , thou gh many applicants succeed

w ithout the help of either .