An Indian War Averted

An Indian War Averted By C. L. Christensen Here is the narrative of an historical event that happened to the pioneers of San Juan county at a time when the records of that county contained the names of only 185 legal voters, mostly women. The particular occurrence of which I desire to record the facts had its official beginning on December 3, 1894. On that date Hon. H. G. Green, now a banker of Moab, Utah, accompanied by Jack Silvey, went to Salt Lake City and reported to Gov- ernor Caleb W. West that the entire tribe of Ute Indians in Colorado, numbering a total of about 1100 men, women and children, had invaded San Juan county, Utah, and that they were extremely im- pudent. The Utes claimed Uncle Sam had sent them, and would soon give every white settler a sack of money in return for which they were to walk out of the country, leaving houses and lands, furni- ture, bedding, stoves, sheep, cattle, horses, in short, everything, behind. With this in their minds, the Indians went from house to house and forced some of the more timid white women to provide meals from the best they had in the larder. This continued until many settlers had noth- ing left for their children to eat. The settlers were alarmed at the invasion, and with cause. Those acquainted with my position may ask: "What were you doing as Indian interpreter and peace maker?" The an- swer is: I was feeding the Indians to the limit of my ability, and trying to make them understand it was all a mistake; that some mischievous and unreliable persons had caused the misunderstanding. But they insisted that their source of informa- tion was reliable. I told them Uncle Sam did not do business this way; that he had said nothing about the matter to our chiefs in Salt Lake City or in San Juan county. On receiving the information brought by Mr. Green and Mr. Silvey, Governor West telegraphed to government officials at Washington. On January 5, 1895, a number of well- known men assembled in Monticello. county seat of San Juan. Among them were Governor West of Utah; Col. Tat- lock, of the Governor's staff; Col. Henry V. Lawton, representing the United States government and in command of the West- ern Division of the United States army at that time; Dave Day, Ute Indian agent, and his interpreter, Mr. Smith, the latter a good, competent official. Of course, some of the most important members of the assembly, under the circumstances, were Chiefs Ignacio, Mariano and Binow, who were on hand to represent the In- dian cause. These three chiefs of the aborigines were of the old style, slow of speech, but very emphatic. Their word was law; they had fought for it and were willing to fight again. Governor West, having a full under- standing of the threatening aspect of the situation, had brought with him a few chests of rifles and plenty of ammunition to Moab. In that place he had made ar- rangements for fifty volunteers to come to the aid of the San Juan settlers if needed. In answer to his request fifty men and more came to the front and volunteered to accompany Sheriff W. Bliss of Grand county, all eager to help their neighbors in San Juan county. Hon. Robert J. Thomson, of Monticello, vol- unteered to go to Moab for the rifles. After he had reached Poverty Flat, on his return to Monticello, he was overtaken by five men. Grand county officials had decided it was not safe for him to travel alone, hence they provided him with an escort. The party reached Cane Springs at 4 a. m., suffering badly from the severely cold weather. When they later arrived at Hatch Wash they met Sheriff Butt of San Juan and his men, who had come to escort the rifles through the fight-

AN INDIAN WAR AVERTED 111 ing line of the Indians, as they supposed it to be, for when the wagon and the men came to Church Rock, in Dry valley, they encountered many Indians who seemed very nervous, it appearing to them that help for the San Juan county settlers was coming from somewhere. Of course, the Indians were unaware of the guns in the party; otherwise they certainly would have tried to disarm the whites. However, at length the men with the guns and am- munition safely arrived at Monticello after the trouble had been settled. As herein stated, the expedition from Moab went out in extremely cold weather, and Mr. Thomson was nearly frozen to death. Col. Lawton. Governor West and Dave Day had a long preliminary talk to try to find out who was responsible for the invasion of the Utes. Suspicion pointed to the Indian Agent, but definite responsi- bility at this time was not fixed on any person. The discussion became acrimonious, and finally Governor West said if Uncle Sam would not move the invaders he would muster the territorial militia and put them out himself. This speech put additional "pep" into about thirty cowboys, some of whom had been drinking freely. The rider9 were all well armed and declared themselves ready "right now" to exter- minate all the chiefs of the Utes and their escorts. Governor West found that his speech had aroused a dangerous spirit among the cowboys, some of whom had been party to the killing of seventeen In- dian men, women and children whose re- mains were buried in a common grave near Upper Dove Creek, Colorado. The gover- nor threatened to place the cowboys under arrest if they did not tone down. He re- minded them that they might kill a few Indians, and then flee to some other state for safety. But what would then be- come of the women and children of Monticello who would be left to the mercy of the numerous Indians? The settlers were scattered all over San Juan county, located in the places that suited them best. The more conservative of these wild, but peculiarly good-hearted fellows, fell in line with the governor after the white chiefs came to an agreement how the removal of the invaders should be managed. The Indians were still ignorant of the official intention to move them back into Colorado. Governor West was de- termined they must go, and at once, while Colonel Lawton and Agent Day were quite indifferent about the hurry-up part of the procedure. So all the chiefs, both white and red, were notified to meet at once in the little log cabin used as church and school house. It was soon filled with an anxious assembly, Governor West pre- jdding. The Indians were informed that the meeting was for the purpose of devis- ing means of removing them to Colorado; that it had been decided they were in- vaders, and had no rights of domicile in_San Juan county. Instantly there was a bedlam of voices, all the Indians talking at the same time, when the announcement was interpreted to them. The confusion lasted for some time, the Indians accusing Dave Day of having a forked tongue and declaring that his interpreter, Mr. Smith, would not defend their rights although they said he was a good man. To my surprise and consternation the Indians picked on me to be their interpreter. Fig- uratively speaking, the Indians led me up by the ear, or nearly carried me, and President F.„ A. Hammond assured them that I was reliable and had been selected by the leaders of the Church as an inter- preter and peace maker because of the good work I had accomplished. This satisfied the governor and also Col. Law- ton, for the latter saw the earnestness de- picted on the faces of the Indians. When I began speaking my first state- ment was regarding the mistaken informa- tion given to the Indians, and this was followed by the explanation that they must go back to Colorado. In spite of their actions, I made it plain that they must go. Then came their speech — al- ways the same: The land of their fore- fathers where they lived and died had been taken from them by the whites; their deer, elk and antelope had been killed. They nearly foamed at the mouth when engaged

778 IMPROVEMENT ERA in speaking on these subjects. The in- terpreter has one distinct advantage — he need not tell all that is said on either side, and thus he can become a peace maker and useful arbiter with the help of his heavenly Father. In the hundreds of cases where I have settled difficulties between red and white peoples the Lord has blessed me with judgment to say just enough to make peace, and this is my testimony after fifty years as a peace maker. If an in- terpreter tells all the nasty things an In- dian says (for he always accuses the white man of introducing immorality, whisky and many other dishonest and wicked traits), he adds fuel to the flames. And if the interpreter lets loose all that is said about the Indians, what might not hap- pen! The Indian thinks you are assail- ing him, just as he is assailing you, and the white man says many things that are not true. About four o'clock in the afternoon, Col. Lawton received a dispatch from Washington stating that the Utes must leave San Juan county at once. The mes- sage added that it was not the policy of the department to permit Indians to leave the reservation in Colorado to roam into Utah. Immediately the air was filled with exclamations of "Liar, Traitor, Split-tongue" and many other Indian expletives. But Col. Lawton, a man of experience and one who had much pa- tience with Indians, took the situation in hand as the representative and arbiter of the government. He was equal to the occasion. I interpreted the message from Washington to the Indians. Ignacio held up his right hand and extended his fingers, to represent telegraph poles and said: "Mebbe so wire talk from heaven; mebbe so from hell." He went on to say that no message, whether sent from Wash- ington or sent by Indians, ever reached its destination truthfully. The intent of the Great Father at Washington was al- ways misunderstood. This message was dead and had gone into the ground. Why make so much fuss over it? Col. Lawton said to me: "Ask them if they will go back to their reservation in Colorado." They answered emphatically, in the strongest terms they knew: "Katch pi- quie." (We won't go.) At this stage, President F. A. Hammond became somewhat nervous and gave the Indians some good advice. He told them to go in peace and not to resent and dis- obey the command of the Great Father in Washington, and that we all had to obey the laws of our country. Ignacio told him to sit down and called him an ugly name. Then he said: "We were both in Washington; I sat in the pres- ident's chair (Grover Cleveland was then prcsdient) ; you never sat in that chair; you are not fit to take part in this im- portant move." Chief Ignacio did sit in President Cleveland's chair when the pres- ident arose to greet and shake hands with the chiefs and delegations of Indians from San Juan county and Colorado when they visited Washington. Ignacio slipped around to the chief magistrate's chair, and is said to be the only individual who ever occupied the chair of the president of the United States other than the president himself during an official conference. Hence his braggadocio speech. Our pow-wow came to an end for the day and Col. Lawton sent couriers sum- moning troops to come and move the In- dians. This was not a pleasant ending; it had all the prospects of a war and the shedding of blood, and those present keen- ly sensed the danger. Agent Day tried to pacify the Indians by buying a couple of beeves and about seven tons of hay from Mons Peterson. An Indian who has a favorable prospect for a good "fill" usually tones down a good deal. I joined them and they seemed glad to have me in the camp by their big bonfire, which was much needed at the time of the year, so near to the cold alti- tudes of the Blue mountains. However, they told me I was a failure because I had not convinced Uncle Sam that they ought to own San Juan county. When I got my chance to reply (for the In- dians always play fair and give their op- ponents a chance to talk) you should have seen the maps I made on the ground.

AN INDIAN WAR AVERTED 779 I built up a mound of dirt to represent the numbers of whites and the strength of the government; my thumb nail rep- resented all the Indians in America. As Ignacio had been to Washington and had seen a large number of people he could not refrain from saying I was right, and when I informed them that colored troops were coming, they wilted, for they have an extreme dread of colored troops. It was now daylight. We had talked all night and Ignacio said: "Go find 'Black Eye' Lawton and tell him we will go; ask for four days to move in, for we are numerous and heavily laden." I know of no happier experience in my life. I found Col. Lawton, awoke him, and told him the good news, and in detail informed him how I had accomplished it. The officer was overjoyed and at once sent another courier to countermand the order commanding troops to march to San Juan county. He allowed the four days requested to move back into Colorado. Col. Lawton then turned the removal of the Indians over to Agent Day. Col. Lawton said to me: "You have, no doubt, been the means of preventing bloodshed, and when I get to Washington I will see to it that you shall never want for bread as long as you live." Had not Col. Lawton met death, the fate of many a soldier in the Philippines during the insurrection, he, no doubt, would have carried out his promise. Gen. Hugh L. Scott told me that the department took great interest in my communications recommending building of schools on the Indian reservations, so that Indian parents were not compelled to send their children hundreds of miles away, many of them never to return. To be partially responsi- ble for the many beautiful schools now so successfully conducted on the reserva- tions was a source of joy to me. I now must finish my story. Col. Law- ton returned to his station, Governor West and Col. Tatlock went back to Salt Lake City. They submitted their respective reports, each as he saw and understood the affair, and I am now doing the same. Agent Day went off home with his In- dians. He was owner and editor of a newspaper named The Solid Muldoon, published in Durango, Colorado, and the writer of this story will say that he was no coward. He said anything he wanted to about anybody — high or low — and he could cut vulgarity so close and yet not use it that he kept his readers- laughing constantly. He could, and did, call men ugly names, and yet not quite say what the name really implied. He was a very lik- able man, a great story-teller, and an un- usually gifted entertainer. The department let Agent Day down easily for some cause and appointed his interpreter, Mr. Smith, to succeed him as agent. Later Day and Col. Tatlock en- gaged in an unusual correspondence. Tat- lock accused Day of being the cause of the whole miserable deal Utah was being subjected to, and this accusation was be- lieved by many. The correspondence was published in The Solid Muldoon and re- printed in many other papers on account of the humor contained in it. But our troubles were still unsettled Johnny Binow, a young Indian, about 23 years of age, son of old Chief Binow, was entirely dissatisfied with the cowardice (as the young fellow termed it) of his father and the other chiefs for entering into the arrangements for the removal of the Utes to Colorado. This "chief ap- parent" would rather fight. He had shown his fighting spirit several times. On one occasion he shot at Joe Christensen in Monticello because Christensen dis- mounted the Indian from a stolen horse He shot close, too. He hardly dared to shoot to kill in the middle of the town. Another delegation had gone to Salt Lake City to report that this desperado had not and would not go out as the other Utes had done. Of course, he was not alone; there were about thirty-five others in his gang, which had located on Montezuma creek, where good winter range was avail- able. This winter range was used by the settlers of San Juan county. Johnny Binow was the owner of many horses and his stock monopolized the range. In an- swer to the S. O. S. call, Governor West sent down Captain John Q. Cannon and George W. Gibbs. Hon. A. W. Ivins

'80 IMPROVEMENT ERA came soon afterward. This episode hung fire a long time. These last named representatives of Governor West found that young Binow had shot at Sheriff Willard Butt and his herder, George Per- kins, who rightly belonged in this part of San Juan county and had his stock on the Montezuma creek winter range. I do not know what was said by Binow or by Sheriff Butt on that occasion, but am sure the officer would stand by his rights and the rights of his people. Hence Binow's shot was a warning as well as a sign of Indian indignation. Binow is still in evi- dence and ha9 annoyed us many times since. He is usually the instigator of all our troubles with the Piutes, these Indians having annoyed the pioneers ever since f.Joab. Utah they first settled in San Juan county. Sheriff Butt has gone to his reward. A braver man never lived. Outlaws shot at him many times, but he never ran from danger or showed the white feather, and the "bad" men admired him for his pluck and respected him highly. The experience Binow had with the sheriff humiliated the Indian more than any other experience of his life. He dared not retaliate because his people were few in number. Nearly all men find a time in their lives when it is best to turn the other cheek, and none more so than the lonely pioneer who builds his log cabin in an Indian country. But the outlaw red man also finds at times that he has a master. The Unchanging Christ in a Changing World By Elder Ralph P. Smith, Canadian Mission The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says of Jesus Christ that he is "the same yesterday and today, yea and forever." The idea of the "unchanging" may be good or bad, according to the point of view. There is an unchangeableness that spells stagnation, that striving after same- ness that so often has laid the dead hand of the past upon men and movements, and so thwarted progress. But there is an unchanging quality that is the op- posite of the fickle or the changeable: the stable, steadying element which provides the power and determines the di- rection for life and growth. And the assertion in the utterance referred to is that in a world of change, with variable ele- ments, some natural and necessary, some incidental and menacing. Jesus Christ is the constant factor in a vital process of development. Sometimes with slow, steady tread, na- tion after nation takes its place in the procession of advance: sometimes with be- wildering suddenness, as in wars and revolutions, centers and spheres of influ- ence are changed and interchanged. Every such change brings some new system of religion or philosophy of life into promi- nence, to focus the attention of mankind upon some new problem that cries to heaven for solution. But out of the Babel of voices comes Christ's own declaration for oneness of truth and his call for the proclamation of truth, and the mission- ary impulse and enterprise do but make his voice articulate, and proclaim his un- changing lordship over all the world. There are unavoidable changes in hu- man life; changes about which there can be no reasonable complaint, and yet demand- ing a principle of adaptation in religion that shall fit the message to the varying mood and hour and place. Such are the natural variations of age: "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their en- trances; And one man in his time plays many parts." — Shakespeare.