Show Page 8-- Herald JoumalCache Sunday December 2 1990 The v t- ? 4" Ute war chief Wakara was known 7M k At M oT a tfvwparf Mriaa on As HIMtar Hflr A CmM die rather tawdry habit of trading his horses and slaves to die ranchers and then stealing their cattle and driving diem back to Utah for winter food By the late 1840a Walker wu the tidiest man in the Rocky Mountains No longer did he sport die garb of the traditional Ute brave No indeed A contemporary give' this description of him: "His dress is a full suit of die richest broadcloth brown cut in European fashion with a shining it and fine cambric shirt To foese he adds his own gaudy Indian trimmings and in dds contrives they say to look superbly when be rides at foe head of his troop whose richly caparisoned hones with fodr embroidered saddles and harnesses and tiwH aa four prance under their weight of gay metal ornaments” This wu Walker in 1847 when the first Mormon (Ml Walker was troubled That fall day of 1853 was warm and dear and the trail he was following from Utah to New Mexico was not yet roughed by autumn storms Bat die cattle he wu driving to Santa Fe and the few men with him were frequently die cause of a violent outburst Behind him he left hu wives his three brothers his people and a war His wu Wakara In die language of die Ute Indian of whom he wu war chief it meant gold The Americans he had known since boyhood had anglicised it to Walker and such he wu to be known to history In the fill of 1853 Walker wu about 45 years old He had been bom about 1808 in die capital of the Ute nation on the present day Spanish Fxk River in central Utah His father wu probably a chief of one of the many Ute bands During his youth in the Uintah Basin with his cousin Sowiette or in San Fete’s Valley with cousin San Fete Wakara gained die prowess with weapons and horses that were a Ute’s sure road to leadership Unlike some tribes Ute chieftainship wu not strictly hereditary It wu based on the personal loyalty that an individual could command And at this juncture in his life Wakara came into contact with thou men who would tip die balance in his favor die u semi-permane- mrmnfain !" nt Walker and Brigham Young were friends The chief even invited foe Mormons to settle in San Fete’s Valley Any objections San Fete may have had were not recorded Just why Walker consented to white expansion far Ute territory is an enigma His contacts with foe mountain men had been friendly Except for some angry California Walker had never known white enemies The settlers were certainly a source of supply whether thou suppliu were freely given or rimpty stun As foe eetden fanned Ute lands so Walker could form foe settlers Certainly the seatemente could be useful markets for stolen hone herds and slaves mm American trappers entered what is came first were men like Jim Those who Utah today Bridges Jim Beckworth Joseph Reddefbrd Walker and Pegleg Smith Wakara's attachment to these four wu dose But it wu die Fegleg Smith who wu his great friend During 1828 and 1829 Smith and his companions trapped beaver in die streams of southern Utah and then headed for Los Angeles to dispose of their catch On die way Smith is reputed to have discovered die gold mine that hu since drum generations of treasure seekers "The Lost Fegleg Mine” His yean in die mountains had not given Fegleg the kind of polish that would guarantee drawing roam success After putting 19 with a couple of weds of Smith’s finest efforts to wreck Los Angeles the Alcalde ordered him out of town Smith went and with him went 400 head of Southern California horses Bad in Utah Walker wu awed by the henL To him to most plains and mountain Indians the horse wu wealth and power For a leader to be a great chief his followers must be mounted For a man to be rich he must have boon for himself and for trade Walker his brothers Anopene Ammon and Tabtana and their followers tried rams an California during the next few years In 1835 they teamed with Fegleg and Jim In the mid-182- 0s one-legg-ed u as Walker Chief Walker (left and his brother Anopene Beckworth in a raid netting 600 hones In 1838 they drove nearly 5000 hones through Cajon Pass across foe Nevada desert and into San Fete’s Valley The next yen they made off with 6000 head virtually clearing foe range around San Bcmadmo As a sideline foe raids gave Walker aa added edge in anoldUtebusiiien — the slave trade with New Mexico The route to and from Califooia lay through foe territory of various weak Piute bands In addition to hones foe increasingly powerful chief came back to foe Utah valleys with a harvest of slaves — children bought or stolen from foe impoverished Pintos The California raids were made in foe spring In foe foil Walker either met New Mexican slave traden in Utah or took his own bones and davu across foe Colorado River to them The New Mexicans soon found that foe litter course wu not economically healthy for them Walker developed It wu fine fat theory bat in 1850 President Millard FUmore appointed Brigham Young governor cf Utah and Gov Young took a dm view of d every In 1852 foe arrested Fedro Leon and seven other New Modem slave traden in San Fete’s Valley The traden had come north to buy foam Walker The Indians were furious but Walker stalked off to southern Califonii to sulk and steal hones On his way back he captured a goodly number of Pinto slaves In May he nude arrangements to sell them to a Mr Bowman from Santa Fe When Gov Young refused to grant Bowman a license and issued a proclamation forbidding slxven to enter foe Territory flu firm were drawn Nut male the Ute band i—dy tor tattle Art noognteed Wrtart leadaisNp wu AJL SbnmondB la curator of USUI Mart Ubrwy AraNvu and 8psdrt CoMona at The IRS is cleaning out Willie Nelson’s property AUSTIN Texu (UPI) — While Internal Revenue Service agents dean out country singer Willie Nelson’s Fedemaks Country Chib and recording studio many of his employees and rood crew have scattered in search of jobs Tm not on foe road so I’m not doing any business” said Bo Franks 52 who and souvenirs sells Willie Nelson concerts “I’m waiting yon could say it ’Cause I know he’ll be back” The IRS seized Nelson’s Ansrin-are-a country dub and recording studio and properties in five other states Nov 9 bfrimiM foe entertainer wu unable to pay millions in back taxes moving van to prepare it for sale wifoin 30 days But longtime friends and employees of foe country singer-actsay foe IRS is closing more than a business Bobbi trying to reorganize Iris finances friends say Casey Monahan director of foe Texu Muric Office said foe closing of Nelson’s recording studio la a blow to Austin’s a music center "They’re taking our toys away” prestige it’s draw Willie’s studio “Sure a hu quipped Doug Holloway president of Fedeznales Film Co and Nelson’s busi-ne- u always been a draw” arid Monahan “He’s cat several No 1 hits there Its partner reputation speaks for itself” Nelson’s nine-hogotf course hu been Among foe items token by foe IRS ate been dunged on foe unreleased have locks foe dosed recordings in Nelson’s tape studio where Fedemaks Film recorded vault soundtracks and produced music shows movie set is “(They) contain a lot of priceless Willie and Nelson's western-towNelson performances’ said Stuart Suloff limits livan a former stnfoo engineer “If he is The property wu seized leu than two “It hurts us to lose foe set” said not ride to have access to put those out nwnrtt after the IRS placed $167 nrilUoa Hollway who had planned to film a that would be a real disappoLAneat” in bens an Nelson’s real estate holdings television movie and two western serin Mrn NeP' IRS agents Ate loading ritvpafoty or u le n Tssysssexwvmi - iq bei (SSSiSiSte-jcSS- i fide Paul ityi he plans to move to Nashville Term The IRS say it will sell Nelson’s property at auction wifoin 30 day “I look at him any ofoer case” said IRS agent Cynthia Vyvjala “It’s our responsibility to protect die American u taxpayer” Vyvjala declined to say whether she wu a Nelson fan “It’s not relevant We have a job to da” Small business owners fat foe area say foey have already been hurt by foe doring of foe studio and movie set “Our business hu dropped 50 per- cent” said Suzanne Taruovic owner of foe Y Store and Restaurant “They used to make all ttxxe movies up there and come down here for everything eat for rto |