Product Description

As a child, Val FitzPatrick often saw the displaced Utes ride by in the twilight, returning to their forbidden homelands for the traditional autumn hunt. Val’s family was one of the first to homestead Ute lands, and his account of the Northern Ute removal is told from the unique perspective of one who knew and respected these displaced people. “Red Twilight” also recalls the experiences of Val’s fellow pioneers in northwest Colorado in the late 1800s.

Included is a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors in the Battle of Milk Creek, as well as excerpts from the long-forgotten diary of Wils Rankin, early cowboy and nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburgh.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #910536 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
On January 4, 1886, in a log cabin at a silver mine near Georgetown, Colorado, a baby boy was born and christened Valentine Stewart Parnell FitzPatrick by his Irish/English parents. When young Val was eight months old, his family homesteaded in beautiful but lonely northwest Colorado. Craig, the nearest town to the FitzPatrick homestead, was still struggling with the concept of civilization. This last frontier served as a refuge for those who preferred the old ways.

In 1894, when Val was eight, the family temporarily moved from the homestead to a ranch that was near the postoffice for the tiny community of Lay, Colorado (originally called Lay Over, as it was the crossroads of the government road from Wyoming and the wagon road west towards Utah, and was a handy place to stop for the night). Val writes, “We were right in the mainstream of whatever traffic there might be in the region. Hardly a day passed but there came ranchers, cowpunchers, an occasional prospector or trapper, a few Indians, and now and then an outlaw. In this same year, 1894, the outlaw Teton Jackson died in a jail break in Idaho. Although Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch had not yet attracted much attention, they occasionally stopped for food and shelter.”

At the ripe old age of 13, Val got a job at the K Diamond Cattle Company, and at 14 he went to work for the prestigious Two-Bar Ranch, the goal of nearly every young man in the area. Thus began Val’s career as a cowpuncher. Val’s other careers over the years included geologist, civil engineer, and newspaperman. Twice he was made Grand Marshall of the Craig Ride ‘n Tie Days Rodeo, once at age 98, and again at age 100. Val died on July 3, 1988, at the age of 102.

Customer Reviews

A window into a yesteryear of the western frontier
Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians is a remarkable eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontier during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the homelands. This is an account more accurate and compelling that those of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.

The story as it REALLY happened. Fascinating!
This book is unique - it tells the story of the removal of the Ute Indians from a sympathetic viewpoint, and by one who was there. Val FitzPatrick was a settler in northwest Colorado when the Utes were displaced into Utah and forced from their ancestral homelands. The real story is different from what white history records.

Well written, great reading, and fascinating first-hand stories. If you like reading about the West and its history or American Indians, you can't go wrong here. The author was there and is a great writer. He personally knew the Utes. Winner of an award from the Utah Humanities Council and used in their diversity program. I also highly recommend FitzPatrick's other book, "The Arbuckle Cafe: Classic Cowboy Stories."

A remarkable eye-witness testament, highly recommend!
"Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians" is a remarkable eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontier during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the homelands. This is an account more accurate and compelling than those of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.