The Clash of Milk Creek: Meeker Slaughter and the Ute War of 1879

The Clash of Milk Creek: Meeker Slaughter and the Ute War of 1879 Nathan Meeker arrived at the White River Agency in May 1878 with orders to turn hunters into farmers. The Ute had held 16 million acres under the Treaty of 1868, a boundary both sides understood. Then prospectors found silver 60 miles inside the treaty line, and the Brunot Agreement stripped 4 million acres in 1873. By 1878 game was scarce, rations were short, and Meeker decided the Ute's horse pasture needed to be wheat fields. In April 1879 his hired men plowed 40 acres of grazing land the bands had used for generations. The Ute owned over 800 horses. Meeker fenced the old racing grounds, withheld rations from families who refused to plant, and wired for troops when a sub-chief shoved him in September. Major Thornburgh crossed Milk Creek with 153 cavalry on September 29. The Ute opened fire from the ridges, killed Thornburgh in the first volley, and pinned the column for 6 days. Forty miles south, warriors burned the agency and killed 11 men. Meeker died with a log chain around his neck and a barrel stave through his mouth. Three women and two children were taken into the mountains. Chief Ouray negotiated their release after 23 days, but Josephine Meeker's testimony named Chief Douglas as her captor. Colorado demanded removal. Congress passed the bill in June 1880. By September, 3,000 White River and Uncompahgre Ute were marched to Utah's alkali flats, and the treaty that promised them the right to stay was dead.