CHAPTER XIII.

INDIAN DIFFICULTIES IN NEW MEXICO.

INDIAN OUTBREAK AT THE CIMARRON AGENCY-ON THE WAR PATHI-TROOPS ORDERED AGAINST
THEM PEACEFUL OVERTURES RESULT IN A COUNCIL-CAUSES OF THE OUTBREAK
CONDITION OF THE INDIANS-IN COUNCIL-THE THREATENED WAR AVOIDED-SUC-
CESSFUL EFFORTS TO BETTER CONDITION OF THE INDIANS-CHARACTER OF
THE COUNTRY-INTERESTING RUINS-SANTA FÉ-PIKE'S PEAK-
HELEN HUNT JACKSON AND HER LAST RESTING PLACE.

N December, 1875, an outbreak by the Muache Utes and Jicarilla Apaches occurred at the Indian agency at Cimarron, New Mexico. The Indians commenced hostilities by firing into the agency and driving the white people away. The agent fled for his life. The Indians then left their reservations and went into the mountains to the west. This demonstration occasioned great consternation in the vicinity and throughout all that territory, especially among the scattered settlements. Troops were ordered to move into the territory from the south and north and concentrate at Cimarron, and I was ordered to proceed immediately by rail and stage from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to that point, to take command of the troops and proceed to quell the rebellion. I went by rail as far as the terminus of the road at Pueblo, Colorado, thence by stage over the Raton Mountains to Cimarron, New Mexico.

Before commencing an active campaign, especially at that season of the year, I desired to obtain the fullest information concerning the causes of the disturbance. To that end I sent out by a runner, a half-breed Mexican Indian, a message to the principal chief of the hostiles informing him that I was there with troops to maintain order and suppress actual violence, and, if necessary, to make a campaign against the tribes that had begun the hostilities, but that before taking any action I desired to hear his side of the case. He replied that if I would give him protection under a flag of truce to come in and state his case and then return again to the mountains, he would come in and meet me. I sent back word to him to assure him of protection both coming and going, and a guarantee of his safe return.

In the course of a few days he arrived. In the council that followed I informed him of the condition of affairs; of the reports which had been received by the government, and of the instructions which the government had given to the military authorities. He in turn informed me that he did not desire war, neither did his people, but that they were compelled to resort to hostilities or die by slow starvation; that under the terms of the treaty they were granted certain provisions and a certain amount of clothing and annuities, which agreement had not been complied with. He said that the beef furnished by the contractor was such that it was impossible for his people to use it for food; that old, worn-out oxen, that had been used in hauling freight over the plains and mountains until they were

utterly useless for such purposes, were issued to his people for beef, when in fact, they were simply skin, bones, hides, hoofs and horns and could not be utilized for food, the life-giving properties having been all exhausted. In place of flour, which was granted by the terms of the treaty, his people had been furnished with what is known as "shorts," which is simply the husk obtained from the wheat when it passes through the flouring mill, and which is of very little or no value as food; in fact it was impossible to make bread of it.

Later on, when I visited their camp, I was given specimens of this socalled "beef" and "flour" and the facts confirmed the statements of the chief. I assured him that as far as I was concerned it was not my desire to make war upon him or his people, but that he must bring his tribe back to

the place where they had formerly camped, and put them under the authorities; and in turn, as I assured him, I would see that the terms of the treaty were rigidly complied with; I would place an officer in charge of the agency, and would see that the contractors furnished beef and flour in accordance with the terms of the treaty and their contracts. He assured me that under those circumstances he would bring his people in within five days, and passed out, up the valley and the mountain-side, under the flag of truce.

I waited those five days patiently, yet confidently, and at the end of the stipulated time, I saw on the eastern mountain-side his people slowly winding down the trail, coming in the direction of the agency. This, to me, was most gratifying, and in due time they all came in and occupied their former camps.

Visiting these camps I found the Indians very poor, and among what little stores they had, they showed the supplies that had been given to them as food, and I found the statements made to me by the chief to be only too fully corroborated. I placed an officer in charge, and required the contractors to furnish good beef under their contracts, for which they were receiving ample compensation from the government. I also directed that all the terms of the treaty should be carried out, as well as all other obligations of the government to these people. This peaceful ending of what threatened to be a serious Indian war was most gratifying to me, and I returned to Fort Leavenworth after an absence of twenty-five days. It is much better, if possible, to avoid an Indian war, and much easier than to end one after hostilities have once been fully entered upon.

During the council I had with the principal chief he stated to me as a reason why his people did not support themselves, especially as they had done so formerly when game was abundant and they could freely roam over the country, that since they had been required to remain in one place they found it impossible. "You see," he said, "that even these Mexicans have to work hard to support themselves, although they have for generations been accustomed to living in that way. They know how to build houses, canals and ditches and irrigate their lands. They know what time to plough, what seeds to plant in the ground, how to cultivate and harvest their crops, and what use to make of them. All this we, being Indians, do not know, and it takes time to learn." He said to me further, "I wish you would take my son and educate him in the ways of the white men."

This was the second request I had received within a few months from a chief to take his son and educate him in the ways of the white men, and it

impressed upon my mind the advisability, justice and humanity of the establishment by the government of industrial schools to give an opportunity to these people to send their children where they could be taught habits of industry, and could be given such other information as would enable them to support themselves when they become of suitable age; and accordingly, in making my report of this affair, I said:

"I would earnestly recommend that, as far as possible, all children be gathered into schools, and as the work of reformation will consume years of time, several of the abandoned military posts on the frontier should be used as Normal Schools, and the thousands of bright active children (especially boys) be placed there under suitable teachers, and educated and taught habits of industry and skilled labor. They would then be wholly under proper influences, and would soon abandon many of their savage

customs and the vices learned along the remote frontier settlements, and the beneficial influences of these people upon the tribes, when they were returned, would be incalculable."

The transformation that has taken place in that country of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado has been wonderful. The coal fields of Trinidad, along the Purgatoire and other affluents of the Arkansas, rival those of Pennsylvania. The pleasant valleys and the health-giving properties of the climate have become known the world over. Large cities have grown up, such as Pueblo, Trinidad and Denver.

The last named is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and is equally conspicuous for its wealth and enterprise. When I first visited the place in 1869, before the railroads had reached there, it was but a village of scattered houses, with only a few hundred people. Now its population exceeds one hundred and ten thousand. Its streets are wide and regularly laid out, and its houses are of modern and beautiful construction. Its streets, public buildings, water supply, hotel accommodations, local transit, etc., are probably unsurpassed by those of any city of its size in the world.

Not many years ago that country was the favorite ground of the hunters and trappers who belonged to the American Fur Company. They used to hunt through the valleys and cañons and over the mountains, where they found vast quantities of game. The streams are abundantly supplied with fish for their wants, and in winter they gathered into some sheltered hamlet like Trinidad or Pueblo, or a spot like that where Denver now stands, to remain during the cold weather. In this rendezvous they amused themselves by comparing notes of the results of their