https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/00ef6b6599ca0c21e37c8beefd4dfda0.pdf deef2b18cd9072d3894f58b050727645 PDF Text Text .., 'I 'I , , ' ' ' ) ) ) ) ) , ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ~ ) _) ) ) J J _J J _J .J ..J J J J J J J J J J JULIAN S. BAKER An Indian family riding in a wagon pulled by two houses came jolting over the last hill into the Pine River Valley. Almost ready for its second cutting, the hay in the meadows was brilliant green and restful to the eyes. This time of year the river was low and clear. Here and there the family could see the flashing movements of large feeding trout. To the south they could see the depot and a few other buildings in the young village of Ignacio. Up the valley to the right was their destination, several buildings of the Ute Agency and a few homes. Julian Baker was eight years old. He had no idea this trip would mean any more to him, than any other previous trips to visit a cousin who lived near the agency and to trade for supplies in Ignacio, but it was to be very different. The next morning after all business and visiting was done, Julian's father hitched the horses and loaded the supplies. As Julian approached the wagon, his father stopped him and said, "These are your relatives here. They will be a family to you. You won't need to feel that you are away from home." Through tearful eyes Julian beheld his mother in the wagon and began slowly to understand that he was expected to stay. Almost before he could begin to wonder why this was happening a bell began to ring. "Do you hear that", his father asked. "That'.s the school bell. Do you see those boys and girls going to that building? Your cousins will be a family to you." Julian watched the wagon roll slowly toward the river, then turned and walked more slowly toward the strange building across the field. Julian recalls the winter holidays were all new to him. Until school he knew nothing of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. On his first Halloween celebration he remembers a great bowl of a new food called popcorn and remembers even more clearly that he ate with delight and great gusto until he was ill. Soon enough the school became a familiar and comfortable place. Most years thereafter he rode the train to Ignacio in September. Julian was born July 17, 1892, on his father's farm in a canyon behind Allison. Since the county line runs right through their place, Julian says to this day he is not sure whether he was born in Archuleta or in La Plata County. One of his earliest recollections is a clear memory of men surveying the section lines near Allison. This was done in 1896 when Julian was four years old. This government survey he observed was one incident among others leading to an exciting yet sad rivalry which erupted a few years later near Julian's home. To tell that story we must go back further into the past. Long before the Spaniards and the French and the Americans came, the Utes enjoyed a home territory and hunting ground unsurpassed by that of any other tribe in North America. Though the territory of every other tribe had advantages and desirable characteristics, the home land of the Utes, occupying the great valleys and ranges of the backbone of the continent was unusual for its size and beauty. Few tribes ever possessed so large an area or enjoyed such richness and variety of terrain. The Utes made occasional raids onto the great plains east of Pikes Peak in search of buffalo or to harry their old enemies the Cheyennes and the Arapahos who in turn made occasional raids against the Utes in the mountain regions. Finally, the whites coming with their 11 �numbers and new weapons eventually began asserting their will over the land. Julian remembers the old men who told him of the time when the American Army came to the great plains and ordered the Utes to leave. "You will no longer eat Buffalo. You will eat deer," they said. "Go into the mountains. Migrate among them. When you have found the area you like best, stay there. " Each head of a household was told to stake an allotment. (160 acres for farming, 160 acres for grazing) Rather than marking the corners of the allotment, the Indians were told to plant a large post in the center of their chosen land and each year to clear and work a larger area around the post until all 160 acres were being used. Hundreds of farms were started by means of the allotment system, before the land was surveyed. When little Julian saw the surveyors at work, he didn't begin to guess the trouble it would soon cause down the canyon aways. A Ute farmer had a farm not far from Julian's home acquired by means of the allotment. After the land survey, he discovered another Ute had acquired nearby farmland according to the survey lines and that the surveyed land and the allotted land overlapped. Rather than attempt some sort of peaceful solution, the two farmers became very angry and proceeded to shoot at one another whenever they watered their horses in the creek each claimed. The feud ended when one of them killed the other. Julian was asked for any memories of Chipita and Ouray, but he said they died a few years before he was born. Julian and Ultima Baker (the former Ultima Watts, sister of Max Watts) were married at a farm house between Bayfield and Ignacio. They had one daughter, Mary, and eight sons: Walter, Randolph, Ullysses, John, Carl, Thomas, Christopher and Clem. Four of the sons survive, John, Carl, Chris and Clem. Julian has been a farmer and rancher full or part time most of his life. He was selected to be Tribal Judge from 1947-1956. Though this is essential and important work, the pressures and mental strain of decision-making were very strong and Julian recalls, "That's not the kind of job to make anyone the most friends." Another kind of work · Julian especially enjoyed and still enjoys in his shop is carpentry. He has done a lot of construction work including some of the building at Lake Capote. In the last few years Julian has invented several kinds of bead looms and an ingenious stock chute for separating sheep. Julian will be 82 this next July. His life has been long and varied and full. He and his people have survived many challenges and coped with many changes during his lifetime. All of us appreciate his example of tenacity, courage and hard work. We wish him many years of happiness and good health. by Shelby Smith - January 1974. 12 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Julian S. Baker Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-01 Subject The topic of the resource Baker, Julian S.; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Julian S. Baker based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the January, 1974 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baker, Julian S. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby