Clashes of Civilization Cowboys and Indians – Part 3: The End.
I’ve been fascinated these past several months over the letters written to Indian Affairs in Washington D.C. by Indian Agent Nathan A. Meeker. We still have a large Indian population in Southwest Colorado who survived the fighting. The result of reading Meeker’s letters leads me to be very sympathetic to the White River Ute Indians. The Civil War was ending, victorious for the North in 1865, and the 16th President of The United States Abraham Lincoln was attending “Our American Cousins,” on April 14, 1865, at Ford’s Theatre. Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln’s untimely death had an unplanned sullen impact on reformation of the South, but fortunately he had declared the “Emancipation Proclamation,” prior to his death, freeing the slaves. The Civil War was a violent clash of civilizations of major proportions resulting in saving the Union, but with the devastating death of 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers. Untold thousands more were wounded and crippled, with extreme suffering with scant medical facilities and medicines.
Many Union Army veterans spread westward with vigor, establishing forts in Indian country. Gold had been discovered in California and the “49ers” had rushed to Sutter’s Mill seeking fortunes with some returning to the (Colorado) Kansas Territory in search of gold. The major migration of Americans was very detrimental to the vast Indian tribes that had inhabited the West for centuries. The Indians fought a losing unpopular battle to stem the flood of immigrants westward. One of the most notorious battles was the death of Lt. George Armstrong Custer and his troops at the Battle of Little Big Horn on the Crow Reservation in S.W. Montana Territory on June 25-26, 1876.
Three years later the last war ended at Milk Creek, 17 miles Northeast of Nathan Meeker’s White River Indian Agency, September 29, resulting in the Ute Indians losing their lands.
At this time in history there were many gold camps spread out in Cripple Creek, Leadville, Black Hawk and Central City with 20,000 miners in Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties. Western Colorado was still the last frontier for the Ute Indians with the violent clash of civilizations between native Indians and pioneers seeking land for livestock and farming.
This past week we celebrated the founding of our nation on July 4, 1776, and Benjamin Franklin advised that the founding fathers had created a Republic, if we could keep it. That has been easier said than done, but his nation has survived many “clashes” that still continue to this day. This is a troubling time, and regardless of political party feuds, the American Flag is still waving proudly across most of America.
Millions of people want to come to America because of opportunity, freedom, and rule of law. Americans have rejected communism, socialism, kings and have had dynamic success with democracy and free enterprise, and capitalism based upon skill and hard work.
Civility should prevail among us, and we should heed the challenge issued by Benjamin Franklin 249 years ago. We can, and we will, meet the challenge for future Americans to enjoy the liberty that we celebrated July 4, 2025.
It’s up to each one of us to vote and be good American citizens for present and future generations.