Special to the Herald Times
Department of the Interior
Office of Indian Affairs,
Jan. 7, 1879.
Sir: In reply to your letter of the 19th ultimo, asking authority to buy 2,000 paper sacks for use in making issues, you are informed that the sacks have been ordered shipped to you from New York.
Very respectfully,
E. A. HAYT
Commissioner
N.C. MEEKER,
Indian Agent, White River Agency, Colo.
White River
Agency, Colorado
Jan. 13, 1879
Sir: I have recently received, among other goods, four saddles, which are practically useless; first, because they are made of cheap and poor material; and, second, they are so illy constructed, that in our use they will be certain to ruin the horses’ backs—in short, though they are got up in California style, with a great many trappings, they are “frauds,” and only fit to be given to the Indians.
A herder’s saddle, such as is universally used in this pastoral country, and which is made nowhere east of Denver or Cheyenne, because there is no demand, is composed of the best material in every particular, and so constructed, as to the “tree” and padding, that the horse’s back is safe, and, besides, is in such a shape as not to torture the rider—points of the greatest importance in many critical occasions. Our men are not less than other herders, and yet at least once a week they are in the saddle all day long and in the active work of rounding the cattle, which of necessity are half wild; the horses are put to their best speed; frequently the ground is broken; and in such case the rider must be secure of his seat, or both horse and rider are liable to serious accident.
There are but three saddles on the property roll of this agency, a number wholly inadequate, with the 1,500 or 1,600 head of cattle scattered over a range of 30 miles, and I feel that I must ask, though reluctantly, for authority to purchase three California saddles in Denver, at a cost not to exceed $40 each, a total of $120.
Respectfully,
N. C. MEEKER
Indian Agent
HON. E.A. HAYT,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D.C.
