By: Virginia McConnell Simmons

Using government documents, archives and local histories, Simmons has painstakingly separated the often repeated and often incorrect hearsay from more accurate accounts of the Ute Indians. The story begins even before the coming of the white man, and then introduces the impact the Spaniards, trappers, and traders had on the various tribes as they explored and widened their horizons. The coming of the Mormons brought the beginning of a new course of collision which ultimately meant the creation of reservations. It is a sad story with an inevitable end.

The thousands of Saints that had been ousted from the midwest moved into what had been known as Indian land. These Saints brought thousands of new converts originating from England, Wales, and Scandinavia, as well as other countries. The newly created Utah Territory grew and changed, but did not always prosper. The Mormons were serious in their proselytizing. The United States Government was serious about controlling the Mormon leaders and the excesses that had developed in the territory, while at the same time protecting the emigrants from the natives.

Somehow, the Utes are with us today, a remnant of times past, survivors of an era that irreparably changed the lives of an ancient people. All attempts of complete extermination ultimately failed.