Each tribe had definite boundaries and members of one could not encroach upon the lands of another without permission, else resentment might lead to war. Each clan or community within a tribe also had a definite area claimed as its own, the limits of which were settled by agreement or war, and were clearly understood. Anyone entering foreign territory to hunt or fish without permission was regarded as an illegal trespasser and it was proper to make war upon him and even to kill him. Frequently the whites got into difficulties by not observing these Indian laws and customs. When Indians of one group entered the territory of another, it was obligatory for them to go through a fixed ritual to obtain permission to do so. Once this ritual had been fulfilled the visitors were under tribal protection and any loss or injury must be made good by the tribe. Without such promise and protection, anything might happen. In recompense some sort of gift was usually expected. If, during times of peace, a tribesman injured or killed another, satisfaction had to be rendered to the family, friends or tribe of the victim. It was usually required on the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but occasionally other bargains were made. A slain man’s relatives ordinarily demanded the culprit or a relative, even though they sometimes had to be satisfied with a weakling, a cripple, or an aged person of little value to the tribe. The early settlers of Rockville discovered the weightiness of this Indian law. One day in February, 1869, Tom Flanigan and Sam Green were carrying express from Rockville to Pipe Springs, where they were met at dusk by two Indians. Flanigan, thinking in his excitement that something was amiss, shot one of them. The Indian was badly wounded and died a few days later in spite of all the care given him after he was taken back to Rockville. The Indians demanded that Flanigan surrender to be tortured and killed in satisfaction. This was of course refused. A crowd of Indians gathered and the situation was tense. The affair, however, was finally compromised by delivering to the Indians an ox. The Paiutes formed a sparse population spread out over a large territory. Depending mostly upon natural foods and but little upon cultivated crops, they were limited in numbers by the scanty resources of this semi-arid or desert region. Their weakness made them a prey to stronger marauding neighbors such as the Navajos. They were so poor they could seldom pay the tax levied by the chief of the Ute nation and usually gave children as slaves in lieu of other tribute. Failing this, they were in danger of having their women and children stolen.