position to the severalty policy may be apprehended from the “civilized tribes” in the Indian Territory, for the reasons above stated, than from those just emerging from a savage condition. But, I have no doubt, that also will yield in the course of time, as the peculiarities of their situation become clearer to their minds. It is only to be hoped that the change of sentiment may come soon, before the pressure of advancing enterprise has forced a conflict, and while the necessary transformation can be effected in peace and good order.
It must be kept in mind that the settlement of the Indians in severalty is one of those things for which the Indians and the Government are not always permitted to choose their own time. The necessity of immediate action may now and then present itself suddenly. Take the case of the Utes. Living in a country where game was still comparatively abundant down to a recent time, they were less inclined than other “wild” tribes to recognize the necessity of a change in their mode of life. But the pressure of mining enterprise in the direction of the Ute reservation was great. The impatience of the people of Colorado at the occupation by Indians of the western part of the State gave reason for the apprehension of irritations and collisions, and this state of things was aggravated by the occurrence of some disturbances at the agency. Under these circumstances, the Interior Department thought it advisable, in the autumn of 1879, to dispatch a suitable man as special agent to the Ute country, with instructions to allay the troubles existing at the agency, and to inquire whether steps could be taken to effect the settlement of the Utes in severalty, with any chance of success. While this measure was in preparation, the whole aspect of affairs suddenly changed. Fights and massacres occurred on the Ute reservation, which are still fresh in our memory. The people of Colorado
