WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE?
The holiday recesses were spent by Chiquita in the great eastern cities,
where she attended theater, opera, and many social functions of greater
or lesser magnitude.
After Jack's wedding she came to rely upon his wife--who found the
Indian Senorita always included in the invitations sent the Sheppard
house--to smooth the difficult paths of etiquette and to instruct her in
the many formalities necessarily omitted in her college life, that were
imperative upon being presented in the whirl of fashionable circles. She
was welcomed by various clubs, literary folk, and at state
receptions--this grandly intellectual daughter of a savage chief.
The first great effort she made in behalf of her people was an attempt
to forestall the opening of the great expanse of land in the Indian
Territory to settlement by the white people. A venerable senator from
Massachusetts espoused her cause sufficiently to awaken a hope in her
inexperienced breast that the object could be accomplished. Another,
from a western state, gladly joined in the undertaking, while a
brilliant ex-secretary of state devoted his energies in her behalf.
At a memorable cabinet meeting the question was discussed, and in the
presence of that august body, and of the President himself, Chiquita
delivered her appeal, recounting step by step the claims under which the
prerogative of the Indian to the land in question should be forever
recognized:
"Mr. President, and gentlemen who constitute his advisers, you ask
whence come my people?
"For ages, as countless as the sands of the Big River, the fresh waters
of the great inland seas skirting the first lofty range of the Rocky
Mountains washed in torrents and torrents the salt deposited by the
great upheavals of the western continent, through the yawning canons
which were created by these torrents' own irresistible force, to the
bases of the great barrier where the sun disappears. The fresh waters'
encroaching left their alluvial deposits further and further toward the
setting sun in the same manner as the white settlers dispossessed the
noble red warrior and primeval possessor of the Western hemisphere. The
fresh waters divided and subdivided into smaller and smaller compasses.
In these grand forest-grown, grass-covered areas herds of wild horses,
buffalo, deer, elk and mountain sheep found subsistence. The fertile
valleys and meadows were thronged with villages of beaver, otter and
mink, whose dams were overgrown with the silvery-leafed aspen upon which
these busy families existed. The forests were fragrant with fir, cedar
and pine, among whose branches the birds of the wood built their nests.
"But before these were other possessors of this great mass of tangled
volcanic eruptions, at a time so remote that the mind becomes a mist, a
fog bank in its endeavor to locate the date, and then only as an age, it
being impossible to determine the century. The fossils of these
prehistoric creatures have been found in deposits over three thousand
feet in thickness, species until recently unknown to science. Here man
inhabited dwellings of unhewn stone cemented with mortar containing
volcanic ashes, at a period so long ago that the waters were supposed to
wash the face of the cliffs upon whose precipitous side these ancient
people lived, in evidence of which are the fossilized human bones.
"In this legacy is found the answer, 'Whence come my people?' And what
nation has ever disputed the title of land conveyed by the Indians? As
early as 1851, when Colorado was organized as a territory, a treaty was
made at Fort Laramie with several tribes of Indians, by which the latter
gave up all the lands east of the Rocky Mountains. West of the
continental divide were the great warlike tribes of Utes extending to
the Sierra Nevadas, 15,000 free-born American savages to whose necks the
galling yoke of civilization was to be adjusted.
"The Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Comanches and Kiowas, plains Indians, were
mild and tractable in comparison with the Utes. These latter were
fearless, indomitable warriors, who owned the forest, the river beds and
mountain crags by inheritance from Almighty God, and whose
disestablishment is written in letters of blood where the forest man was
the aggressor by retaliation. But the outrages of the new people, the
educated, civilized white man, must be forever unrecorded. Repudiation,
shameless duplicity, political and martial perfidy, local and national,
followed each other year after year until 1865, when the final treaties
effected the abandonment of Colorado by the plains Indians, who were
removed to the Indian Territory, where the government agreed to pay each
Indian $40 annually for forty years.
"My people, the White River Utes, had taken no part in the plains Indian
controversies with the white people, and, while the Utes' territory
bordered that of the Arapahoes and Cheyennes, the only courtesies were
the exchanging of scalps and horses whenever they met. The time arrived
when agents were appointed by the government to reside with each Indian
tribe. These agents were generally respected and settled many jealousies
which sprang up between the various bands of the tribe.
"Nevava, the great Ute chief of the White River tribes, had passed into
the Happy Hunting Grounds and his sons each claimed the inheritance of
ruler. There were many in the tribes who would gladly have accepted the
distinction, but Ouray was appointed chief over all, the lesser chiefs
being forced to content themselves with such following as their
individual qualities could command. This caused great jealousy and in
1875 many conspired against Ouray. The neglect of the government to pay
the annuities was charged against the big head chief, who was said to be
in collusion with certain white men in depriving the Utes of their
goods, and the question was ofttimes asked, 'How comes Ouray to be so
rich?'
"In 1879, the venerable N. C. Meeker was appointed to take charge, as
agent, of my people at White River. He undertook the task of educating
the Ute warriors to plow. Opposition met him at the start, for the soil
is no more Ute soil when once broken by the white man's plow.
"Aid from the war department was expected to force the warriors to till
the soil.
"Runners carried the news to the agency that a band of Utes who had set
out to hunt had ambushed the cavalry. The final outcome of this outbreak
cost us our home in Colorado, for soon after the relief of the cavalry
the White River agency was abandoned and my people removed to the Uintah
Reservation in Utah. It is too late now to undo the wrong which resulted
in the removal of the Utes from Colorado, but, gentlemen, the land given
over and set apart by your own government in the Indian Territory for
those tribes now occupying the domain should be held sacred. I appeal to
you to keep this land intact and forbid its being thrown into the hands
of speculating spoilers. The Indian is not able to cope with the cunning
of the white brother, and he is unable to endure the conditions by which
his white brother naturally adapts himself to the cultivation of the
soil, the marketing of produce and protection of estate."
The appeal was in vain. The political influence of cattle barons proved
too great, and the concourse of settlers swallowed the territory in
question. The result was very disheartening to Chiquita, but she bore up
and turned her attention to other duties, preparing for the final
establishment of her home for the aged and infirm Indians. This home she
decided to model after a plan of her own, unlike anything in any city,
possibly in the world. Persistent effort among the political leaders of
both great parties resulted in Congress setting apart, in western
Colorado, a large tract equal to one hundred miles square, to include a
portion of the land on the north side of the Grand River, where it cut
the Park or Gore range, taking in the old Ute trail, the camp in the
willows, the junction of Rock and Toponas Creeks and the high divide
along the edge of Egeria Park, where Jack froze his feet.
The tract of land became by law the National Hunting Ground of the
Blanket Indian, provision being made for the maintaining of the park,
policing, stocking with game and fish, as the same might be killed or
disappear. No white man was to be allowed to hunt or fish under any
circumstances within the domain, no squaw with white man husband and no
descendants of any but full-blooded Indians were to be allowed to take
up residence within its established lines. No cultivation of the soil
for domestic purposes, no harvesting of any crop whatsoever, no
institutions of learning, no mercantile establishments, no Indian agency
to obtain footing, no railroad, no stage line for tourists, no telegraph
or telephone poles and no vehicles of any kind were to be tolerated.
Tourists afoot or on horseback accompanied by an Indian guide, a
resident of the park, could travel and camp, the guide allowed to kill
game or catch fish for his party as food supply, but no game or fish to
be taken from the park. The one exception to all this was the immense
hospital and necessary minor buildings, an ambulance, vehicles and
paraphernalia for conveying disabled persons, supplies for the hospital,
and nurses to and from the nearest railway. All food products, supplies
and clothing were to be obtained outside of the park lines and all
annuities due the Indians were to be paid them at agencies established
without the park.
When the bill making these provisions came before the upper house for a
final vote, a tall, white-haired senator responded to his name and
arose. Pointing with outstretched hand to the gallery, where a group of
aged, wrinkled chiefs congregated about a fair Indian girl, he said, in
part:
"Tardy as this action of the great American people may seem, I think I
echo the sentiments of both friends and foes of this persecuted race
when I raise my voice in their behalf. The foes of the Indian are but
the natural result of broken faith, and while it may be good logic to
say one white man is worth more than all the Indians ever created, it
does not condone the trespass committed when the white man became the
usurper and confiscator of the very thing given voluntarily by his
fathers and forefathers. Follow the patient man of the forest as the
dogs of civilization barked at his heels, worrying him the same as the
doe becomes affrighted when she hears the deep bay of the hound upon her
track. Look at the primitive means of defense with which the noble red
man attempted to defend his domain against the onward march of
civilization. The pages of the record of this chamber, of the war
department, of the department of the interior are dripping with the
blood of this race, defrauded of their homes, their hunting grounds,
aye, gentlemen, even their burying grounds. 'Move on! Move on!' has been
the command since 1620, until this handful of a great and brave nation
are today but remnants of cowardly and degraded tribes, made so by the
damnable treachery of American white people and their civilized methods
of aggression. I consider it one of the greatest honors of my life to be
able to face that faithful, devoted Indian girl, Chiquita, and cast my
vote 'aye' in this weak and tardy attempt at remuneration."
Two tiny red spots burned in Chiquita's cheeks as the senator finished.
She smiled at the applause which greeted the venerable member and
prepared to listen to the rest of the voting. When the last name was
called, before the teller could announce the result, a cheer from the
galleries burst forth, every eye was directed toward Chiquita, and in
response to the wave of applause she arose and bowed her appreciation of
the action of that august body.
But the excitement proved too great a strain upon her temperament, and
she was carried to the hotel in a fainting condition. As she recovered
consciousness, she said to Hazel, "Chiquita will be one of the first to
leave the National Hunting Ground for the great Happy Hunting Ground
above." She realized that her vitality was weakened, that overwork and
exposure had made her vulnerable to insidious disease, whose progress
would be rapid now that the weakened spots had succumbed to its ravages.
But she would not give up the cherished hopes of seeing her one aim in
life accomplished, the forest-grown reservation where her people could
forever hunt and fish without further molestation or dividing up of the
land, and in its center wigwams, lodges, tepees and her great hospital
for the sick, helpless and aged when they would be unable to take care
of themselves.
Immediate preparations were made to carry out her cherished wish, which
had been so many years her aim. With Jack to aid her the purchases of
material were made. Contracts were entered into for the erection of the
buildings and equipment therefor. Nurses and attendants were engaged for
the hospitals, and for a year she watched the accumulating results which
her education and fortune were bringing about.
But the task of civilization was one which nature condemned in such a
short period. The overwork and confinement was more than she could
endure and she sought rest from the weary toil inflicted upon herself in
behalf of her people.
[Illustration: THE TEPEE ON THE GRAND RIVER.]
In a grove of tall fir trees, close to the placid waters of the Grand
River, Yamanatz erected his tepee, where in the soft, balmy air,
fragrant with balsam and cedar, Chiquita could rest and watch the clouds
as they made great shadow pictures on the mountain and stream. Like a
sentinel, a lone peak stood beyond the cleft in the great divide, whose
precipitous sides rose in towering splendor all clad in verdure green.
The river reflected on its mirror of millions of tiny drops of sparkling
water, the blue sky, the trees tinted red by the setting sun, the tepee
on the bank of the stream and the mountain tipped with its cap of
eternal snow. The camp fire sent a spiral of thin blue smoke toward the
azure dome, and by the lurid coals two Utes smoked in silence. Within
the sign-bedecked tepee, upon a couch of lion skins, lay Chiquita, clad
in hunting garb, her rifle and fishing rod beside her. Yamanatz,
Antelope, Jack, and the mother of Chiquita stood by, while the fairest
of the White River maidens told them of the great happiness which
awaited her in the Happy Hunting Ground of the Utes which lay just
beyond the sky.
"If my father and my mother were only there," said Chiquita, as she
pointed beyond the cleft above the river. "And, Jack," she continued,
"you must beg leave of absence from the heaven of the white man and
visit Chiquita in her happy home. You will find birds that sing and the
bounding deer and flowers that bloom. The warriors of many, many snows
are gathered there and you will see the Utes in all their grandeur, as
they were before the white man took their land."
"But what of your friends, Chiquita, those who taught you of the
religion of our people, of the only Christ who died to save mankind?"
asked Jack, as he recalled the years and years of Chiquita's life in
school, in college, in the hospital, the church and in the society of
the ablest women of the nineteenth century.
"Ah, Jack!" Chiquita waited a moment, then with her bright eyes
reflecting the love of the forest queen for her native haunts, customs
and the freedom of the woods, she continued, "The God who gave you the
Christ gave you also wisdom, and with that wisdom cruel weapons to drive
the weaker to destruction. The paleface has driven the red man to his
death. My people share not the needs nor desires which civilization
brings to the white brethren, nor the society demands which make our
paleface sister a slave to her calling. Jack, I have lived among my
white sisters, I have been one of them, been sought for, banqueted,
heralded and had tributes of honor thrust upon me. No school, no church,
no institution of science, no club, no society, no matter how select,
has been other than glad to have Chiquita honor them with her presence.
With wealth untold and accomplishments unattained before by any woman in
the world, Chiquita returns to her forest home for peace and
contentment. 'In my Father's house are many mansions.' Yes, Jack, and
the tepees of the great Indian nation stretch beyond the sky to welcome
Chiquita. See, Jack, father, mother, the braves in all their glorious
array are waiting for Chiquita! 'Our Father,' the Great Spirit of both
the red and white man, welcomes. It is in the peace of the Happy Hunting
Ground that we find rest. Adios, Jack. The great Yamanatz will soon
follow and it will not be long ere all my people are as the buffalo, and
the white man alone in the land that once was a paradise, but the
mockery of civilization turned it into a stench hole of iniquity and
market place of educated vampires, against which the child of the forest
of the same God had no"-- The voice failed to respond to the effort.
Chiquita was dead. And with her was buried that undying, unquenchable,
unsung love which consumed her heart.
A camp bird, in subdued autumn plumage of black and pearl gray, mewed
plaintively as the old warrior came forth from the tepee. The wrinkled
visaged chief beat his breast and muttered in Ute dialect the prayers of
a bereaved father for a dead daughter. The old "medicine" chief ceased
to bang the tom-tom and the jargon of the squaws was silenced. Jack
looked on with keen disappointment. For years he had watched and
sympathized with Chiquita in her ambition; and now at the last turn in
the great course of life, after tasting nearly every phase of civilized
honor, she had returned to the religion of her fathers and died with
utter contempt in her heart for the foibles and allurements of
civilization, civilized society and civilized government.
Transcribers notes:
Obvious typos and punctuation errors corrected.
Pg 31 and 266, Space after Emdashes, used as thought breaks, retained:
...Hemmingway"-- Jack...
...Hazel"-- A softer,...
...should she"-- He is not...
Pg 40, 41, & 49 - Corrected spelling of 'accumulated' from
'accummulated.'
Pg 165 Corrected spelling of 'Furthermore' from 'Futhermore.'
Pg 183 "Lazy L" symbol used in original instead of text. It is a serif
upper case "L" rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
Pg 212 Corrected 'form' to 'formed', para 1, line 4.
Pg 220 Added accent to 'protoges' (a bride and his two protoges)
Pg 240 Removed extra quote mark before Miss Asquith telegram signature.
Pg 265 Corrected spelling of 'Faithfully' from 'Faithfuly' she
performed...
Pg 267 Corrected spelling of 'performed' from 'perfomed' (Mechanically
she perfomed...)
Pg 301 Corrected spelling of 'burying' ('...even their burrying
grounds...')
Pg 305 Space retained after Emdash, used in lieu of a period at the
end of sentence: ...same God had no"-- The voice failed...
End of Project Gutenberg's Chiquita, an American Novel, by Merrill Tileston