https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/85a6aeb51fd1f19ce567e4bb28dc7f91.pdf 3994ca571b3e9da48988cb2e4579275c PDF Text Text -. 'l t t , , J , i 'l l ' ) ) ) ) ) °) ) ) } ) ) ) J ) J ) _) J HARRY RICHARDS While Peter Snow Richards (better known as Pieah Richards) and his wife Emma were living on a ranch north of Buckskin Charlie's place, north of Ignacio, a son was born to them. It was October 17, 1886. Little Harry was a strong, healthy boy. At that time most of the Utes could still hunt with bows and arrows and as Harry grew up he was taught to make his own weapons and to hunt the old way. In those days there were very few Mexicans and Anglos in the area. A few agency people and one or two store owners and their families were here. Otherwise tribal members had the land to themselves. As a child and a young man Harry led a life most American children would envy today. He fished and hunted. He learned the crafts and traditions of his people, participating in the dances and feasts. He helped his father and grandfather and played boyhood games all the while untroubled by the shadow of school. All good things seem to have a way of ending. In 1899 when Harry was 13 his grandfather put an end to the free and easy life. One half mile north of the agency was a mission school taught by the blacksmith's daughter. Harry was sent to class. The best thing he remembers about school that year was the two week Christmas vacation. He had no idea what plans his grandfather had for him for the following school year. "One day a man I'd never seen before showed up at our place. My grandfather told me I was going with him to the Ft. Lewis School to learn English. I didn't know anything about it until they told me to get into the wagon. There wasn't any chance to run away o-r anything." Harry went to school two years at Ft. Lewis. He learned English, got acquainted with the latest farming techniques and a few other subjects. "That was enough school for me," Harry states. At the age of 18, Harry decided it was time to earn some money of his own. His first job was with the agency. It was hard work, often with a pick and shovel, but a person couldn't be choosy. Jobs weren't too plentiful. To the best of his memory, Harry earned $1.25 per day. That doesn't sound like much but $.25 would buy a lot of groceries in 1905. By then Harry was living on Spring Creek and rode a horse to work every day. It was a fairly long ride and tiresome, especially when there was farm work to do at home afterward. _) ..J _) .J J .J .J J When asked how he met his wife, Harry smiled and said, "It was different then. If you wanted to marry a girl, you would go ask her father. He might say 'no' or he might say 'yes'. If he said 'yes' he would call his daughter out and you would take her home with you and you were married." Sometimes the girl's mother or grandmother would object to the match. When this happened, the grandmother might put the couple to the smoke test. This consisted of putting the couple in a tepee, building a smoky fire inside the tepee and sealing up the tent flaps. As the tepee filled with smoke, eyes watered and breathing became difficult. If the boy broke out for fresh air before the time allotted by the grandmother, she ran him off and he couldn't come back. If he endured the smoke ...) J J J J 13 9 �until the grandmother was satisfied, she would open the tepee and the couple was free to marry. Harry married Mary Tobias. Unfortunately, Mary died about 3 years later and there were no children, Afterwards Harry moved to Taos and married a tribal member there. A daughter was born. Harry likes the Taos people very much and still goes occasionally to visit his daughter and her children. After about three years in Taos, he moved back to the Pine River Valley. Personal travel was very slow when Harry was young. A trip to the Uinta Reservation in Utah required 15 days with a horse and buggy. For this reason, when trips were made, people stayed a while. Time for another one probably wouldn't come for some while. Harry's brother Bob was appointed Tribal judge and held that post for several years. Whenever Bob was needed to hear a case, the tribal police would have to ride a horse out to Spring Creek to bring him in, After a while this became so inconvenient that the tribe suggested that Bob and Harry take an assignment of land nearer to town. The new assigned land is about 2 miles east of town and Harry has lived there ever since. About 13 years ago, Bob and Harry were given an unusual opportunity. They were offered the ctiance to adopt a baby boy. Most men in their 60's would not be interested in giving their lives to the care of a child. Many would not feel competent, but Bob and Harry did. They raised little Ross from an infant, loved him and gave him good care. The County Wettare Department questioned the suitability of this arrangement several times, but could find no fault with the care Bob and Harry were giving the baby. Bob died in 1972. Harry and Ross still live on the farm. When Harry is not gardening, he is involved in craft work for which he and all his people should be proud. Harry makes bows, arrows, spears, drums, and feathered ornaments for use on ceremonial occasions. His work is very beautiful and valuable. Not many people skilled in these crafts remain. Harry is looking forward to his 89th birthday this fall. That's getting pretty old, but Harry doesn1 act it. He still works his garden and gets around very well. We wish him many more peaceful, happy and productive years. Shelby Smith. July 1974 � 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 Harry Richards Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1974-07 Subject The topic of the resource Richards, Harry; Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Biography of Harry Richards based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the July, 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 Richards, Harry 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