The tribes residing wholly or in part within the limits of Utah are the
North-western, Western, and Goship bands of Shoshones; the Weber, Yampa,
Elk Mountain, and Uintah bands of Utes; the Timpanagos, the San Pitches,
the Pah-Vents, the Piedes, and She-be-rechers,--all, with the exception
of the Shoshones, speaking the Ute language, and being native to the
country inhabited by them.
_North-western, Western, and Goship Shoshones._--These three bands of
Shoshones, numbering together about 3,000, have treaties made with the
government in 1863. No reservations were provided to be set apart for
them by the terms of said treaties, the only provision for their benefit
being the agreement on the part of the United States to furnish them
with articles, to a limited extent and for a limited term, suitable to
their wants as hunters or herdsmen. Having no reservations, but little
can be done for their advancement. They live in North-western Utah and
North-eastern Nevada, and are generally inclined to be industrious, many
of them gaining a livelihood by working for the white settlers, while
others cultivate small tracts of land on their own account.
The Weber Utes, numbering about 300, live in the vicinity of Salt Lake
City, and subsist by hunting, fishing, and begging. The Timpanagos,
numbering about 500, live south of Salt Lake City, and live by hunting
and fishing. The San Pitches, numbering about 300, live, with the
exception of some who have gone to the Uintah Valley reservation, in the
country south and east of the Timpanagos, and subsist by hunting and
fishing. The Pah-Vents number about 1,200, and occupy the territory
south of the Goships, cultivate small patches of ground, but live
principally by hunting and fishing. The Yampa Utes, Piedes, Pi-Utes, Elk
Mountain Utes, and She-be-rechers live in the eastern and southern parts
of the Territory. They number, as nearly as can be estimated, 5,200; do
not cultivate the soil, but subsist by hunting and fishing, and at times
by depredating in a small way upon the white settlers. They are warlike
and migratory in their habits, carrying on a petty warfare pretty much
all the time with the southern Indians. These bands of Utes have no
treaties with the United States: they receive no annuities, and but very
little assistance from the government.
The Uintah Utes, numbering 800, are now residing upon a reservation of
2,039,040 acres in Uintah Valley, in the north-eastern corner of the
Territory, set apart for the occupancy of the Indians in Utah by
executive order of Oct. 3, 1861, and by act of Congress of May 5, 1864.
This reservation comprises some of the best farming land in Utah, and is
of sufficient extent to maintain all the Indians in the Territory. Some
of the Indians located here show a disposition to engage in agriculture,
though most of them still prefer the chase to labor. No steps have yet
been taken to open a school on the reservation. The Uintah Utes have no
treaty with the United States; but an appropriation averaging about
$10,000 has been annually made for their civilization and improvement
since 1863.