White River Agency, Colorado.
August 11, 1879.
Sir: I send this day requisition for funds for the present quarter. The pay for herder should be increased to $720 a year with the rest [of the] employees, for the reason that the present herder is one of the best men I have, and to make this discrimination will naturally lead to his resignation, or at least to a transfer to some other place on the list when the wages of the one substituted must be reduced. The truth is, that the way we are obliged to manage the cattle business demands the services of the greater part of the force at least one day in the week; and once in three months every single man from two to three weeks, on the of counting and branding, &c. (etc.) calves. So that herding is a common pursuit among all the employees. This, of necessity, must be the case, since there is now nearly 1,800 head of cattle, the value of which exceeds that of all other property here, I should judge — that is about $25,000; in fact it will sell for at least this sum any day. It is thus seen that the objective point of all our efforts is upon the agency herd, and therefore it seems to me that to reduce the wages of the man having this business in charge is to do him great injustice.
I shall now extend this letter to considerable length, mainly upon collateral matters, and which are of great importance to your department, and to the government; but all is connected with the well-being of this herd, I might say with its preservation.
First, now, the season has been so dry that a great number of cattlemen are traveling all through this whole mountain country in search of winter range, for the ranges east of the mountains, holding a million and a half cattle, are almost bare, and it is too late for rains to restore then unless coming within 10 days.
The winter range on this reservation is fair, though greatly impaired by Indian fires and the great number of Indian horses, and it is looked upon with longing by all the cattlemen. Honest men will not encroach, but the dishonest ones will not hesitate.
I now inform you that the Morgan Brothers, having about 1,500 cattle, have built a corral on what I believe to be the reservation, but at any rate it is so near that their cattle are sure to range on our ground, and to mix with our cattle. The location they have selected is to the north-east, and not exceeding 25 miles from this agency. I saw two of the brothers on my way in, and they told me they had just finished their corral; and when I told them they were over the line, they said they guessed not, and they continued to dispute the point. With their cattle among ours we shall require a large additional force.
These Morgans have the worst kind of reputation among cattlemen, and they are freely charged with stealing cattle and burning our brands. Besides, they have five different brands, and one brand is a box, (two squares connected together), which burned over our brand ID, gives them the cattle, thus of which I have hitherto advised you. Further I learn that they associate much with the Indians, one being a good interpreter, and, in particular, they trade and race horses with them. They dress in buckskin, highly ornamented pants, vests, and shirts; they are strong, fearless, and unscrupulous, and yet they seem in their youth to have the best advantages.
Now, our late fall and winter range – and there is none other in this part of the reservation – is adjoining the line, and but a few miles from the Morgans. There is one mountain park of several thousand acres in that section, where I want to put our cattle till snow falls, and the two additional herders I have asked for, and which you have granted, I shall put in charge there these men must stay night and day, with a tent for shelter and sage-brush for fuel. I have sent over the range for these men, and told them their wages would be $600 per year, and their board $3.50 a week. This is not a bit more than they would get at home, and have a house to live in, and I am afraid that when they come, and find that imposed on; if dishonest, be tempted to make up the deficiency by affiliating with neighbors, at our expense. I should say that you cannot afford to make the wages of herders less than of others, and particularly for the reason that to be of any service they must be “good and true men”. The case is different from that at any other agency, because we are regularly in the cattle business of the country, and among the “Cattle kings”; its profits are exceedingly great, and is poor management, let me say, to discriminate against the employees who must be the custodians of what is almost as easily transferred as bank-notes.
I could say much more, but the above should be sufficient to inform you of the situation; and I shall consider that this letter is the performance of a duty that I owe to my place.
And yet there is another matter connected with this same, vix, the necessity of for military protection, and I invite your attention to it in another letter of this date, marked B.
Respectfully,
N. C. MEEKER
Indian Agent.
HON. E. A. HAYT
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Washington D.C..