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<br />used the river valleys for shelter. They summered in the high mountain <br />peaks stocked with abundant game, particularly elk, deer, and beaver. <br />When the weather turned cold they moved into the Yampa or White River <br />Valleys to saend the winter in comfort (Athearn, 1977). <br />The Ute tended to live in small family groups scattered over wide <br />areas. Nevertheless, they retained a certain cohesion in times of trouble <br />(Sprague, 1957). The Ute culture was changed by the introduction of the <br />horse, which became the symbol of wealth to the Ute. It had more signi- <br />ficance of value than a wife, children, or a dog (Ibid, p. 63). in the <br />1680s the geographic range of the Ute was considerably extended due to new <br />and more readily available food sources, and the tribe advanced in status <br />among the natives of the west (d'Azevedo, et al, 1964). By the time the <br />Europeans came into their land, the Ute's camps ranged from Pikes Peak, <br />• Colorado, on the east, to the Great Salt Lake on the west, and from Taos, <br />New Mexico, in the South, to the Green River Country, Wyoming, on the north. <br />The first known European visitors to the northwestern part of Colorado <br />in 1776 were the Spanish. Colorado was of little interest to them, however, <br />for the land showed poor agricultural promise and no precious metals were <br />found. The first true exploiters of the land were the fur trappers, who <br />came after 1800. <br />3.0 SURVEY METHODOLOGY <br />Survey methodology consisted of three major aspects: (a) File Search; <br />(b) Literature Seazch; and (c) Field Survey. <br />(a) File Search <br />File Search was conducted at the Office of the State Archaeologist in <br />Denver, Colorado. The seazch consisted of reviewing data to obtain archae- <br />ological and historical site inventory, and compiling lists of historic sites <br />recorded in the National Register, as well as the nominations of the pending <br />u <br />II.B-9 <br />