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battlefield where they could be safe. The Indians made about 40 charges, during each of <br />which the outnumbered trappers held their fire until the Indians were within 10 or 15 paces <br />of the breastworks that the trappers had hastily erected. Baker says that about 100 Indians <br />were killed in the 12-hour battle. Of the 23 trappers, 10 were killed, including Fraeb. The <br />trappers also lost 100 horses in the battle and came through with only 45 remaining. <br />Because of this terrific battle, the stream that marked the site near Slater, Colorado was <br />named Battle Creek. A nearby mountain was called Battle Mountain, and the mountain <br />where the squaws were sheltered was named Squaw Mountain (ibid.). <br />John Wesley Powell spent a fair amount of time in Ute country. He wintered on the <br />White River in 1868-1869, exploring the Green, White and Grand (Colorado) Rivers on <br />horseback prior to his river trip. There were Utes with him that winter, at an area later <br />known as Powell's Park. Powell does not mention being afraid of the Ute; in fact he seems <br />rather charmed by them, describing their dress, customs, hunting techniques, and as much of <br />their ethnology and linguistics as he was able to learn in a short time. He was particularly <br />enchanted by Ute mythology and sorcery: <br />Each little tribe has its Shaman, or medicine man, who is historian, priest, and <br />doctor. The lore of this Shaman is composed of mythic tales of ancient animals. <br />The Indians are very skillful actors, and they represent the parts of beasts or reptiles, <br />wearing masks and imitating the ancient zoic gods. In temples walled with gloom of <br />night and illumed by torch fires the people gather about their Shaman, who tells and <br />acts the stories of creation recorded in their traditional bible. When fever prostrates <br />one of the tribe the Shaman gathers the actors about the stricken man, and with weird <br />dancing, wild ululation, and ecstatic exhortation, the evil spirit is driven from the <br />body. Then they have their ceremonies to pray for forest fruits, for abundant game, <br />for successful hunting, and for prosperity in war (Powell 1961:65). <br />Not everyone felt quite as good about the Ute as Powell. Governor Pitkin described <br />the size of the reservation and the vast riches of the country in his message to the legislature <br />for 1879: “No portion of the state is better adapted for agriculture and grazing purposes than <br />many portions of this reservation” (Vickers 1881:34), although Hayden, Powell, Fremont, <br />and others had bemoaned the country's desolation. In commenting about Ute character, <br />Pitkin continues: “From some personal knowledge of the subject, I believe that one able- <br />bodied white settler would cultivate more land than a whole tribe of Utes” (ibid.:35). <br />W.B. Vickers, Pitkin's secretary, wrote an article entitled “Lo, The Poor Indian” <br />which became widely circulated and was published in several sources, including Vickers' <br />own History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado (1881). He paints a grim picture of <br />coexistence: <br />Though not particularly quarrelsome or dangerous, the Utes are extremely <br />disagreeable neighbors. Even if they would be content to live on their princely <br />reservation, it would not be so bad, but they have a disgusting habit of ranging all <br />over the state, stealing horses, killing off the game, and carelessly firing the forests <br />37