Utah Centennial County History Series - Grand County 1996

Increased occupation of the region led inevitably to increased friction with the Native Americans who still claimed the land as their own. In August 1880 two of the sons of A. G. Wilson, Joe and Ervin, were attacked near the head of Pack Creek in the La Sals by Indians angered by a dispute over horses they had had earlier with other ranchers in the area. One of the boys, Joe Wilson, was shot in the face and foot and left for dead; his brother escaped and went for help. In the meantime, Joe had been found by friendly Indians who helped him home, where he recovered, though he thereafter walked with a limp and was blind in one eye.

Indians were commonly grouped into "good" and "bad," or "renegade," categories; troubles and conflicts were of course always ascribed to the "bad" roving bands of renegades and outcasts of various tribes. While some of this labeling may be partially correct, it unfortunately also reveals that the white settlers made little attempt to actually know who their Indian neighbors were or to concern themselves with the situation and welfare of the Native Americans.

The general attitude and desire seemed to be to place all Indians on