to which he puts them -- that is, aside from riding --
is to run races. Horseracing, and gambling on it,
are the main pursuits for nine months in the year,
and the Ute who has no horse to run is nobody.
Last January a Ute named Johnson, friendly
to the agent, and wanting to be civilized,
requested us to break a pair of horses --
wanted a wagon, wanted more land, must have
a team to work with. So the men spent some time
breaking the horses, and he learning to drive;
and of course we kept the horses on hay and grain,
to put them in condition for the work.
Then I discovered Johnson had been racing
these horses in the afternoons, and clearly
his object had been to get them in good heart
so as to beat his brethren of the turf.
for the valleys of the Snake and the Bear Rivers;
now recent gold discoveries have brought in
a great many miners to an area
(the best hunting grounds in America)
the Indians wish to occupy. Though I have asked for soldiers
to clear those valleys of the Utes, no action
has been taken, nor have my requests received
the courtesy of a reply. In many parts
of the Bear River valley, clear to its head
in Egeria Park, they have burnt the country over;
they are slaughtering game only to get the skins.
I would hereby request you to arrest
all White River Utes bound north, and either hold them
or send them back to the Reservation. They
deserve a lesson.