trading posts. Wetherill's activities at Chaco Canyon aroused the ire of professional archaeologists. In 1901, Edgar Lee Hewett, President of New Mexico Highlands University accused the Hydes and Wetherill of being "professional pot hunters...vandalizing the ruins of the Chaco." The Governor of New Mexico territory and the Santa Fe Archaeological Society joined in the denunciation. Federal investigations in 1901 and 1902 cleared the Hydes and Wetherill of the charges, but Wetherhill was pushed out of his position with the Hyde Exploring Expedition. Responding to his archaeological critics, Wetherill filed a claim under the Homestead Act asserting ownership of 160 acres of land, including many of the ruins at Chaco Canyon. The claim was initially disallowed but in 1907 was approved, minus the major ruins. Wetherill accumulated a large number of livestock, which caused friction with the Navajos as his livestock was competing with theirs for the sparse pasturage near Chaco Canyon. He was also criticized by the superintendent of the Navajo Reservation who apparently saw Wetherill as a competitor for influence among the Navajos. In 1905 Richard, his brother Win, and his wife Marietta built an exhibition at the St. Louis World's Fair, bringing 16 Navajos with them. In 1907 Richard relinquished his claim on the ruins in Chaco Canyon, contingent on its becoming a National Park. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Chaco Canyon National Monument on March 11, 1907. Death In 1910, Wetherill was still living in Chaco Canyon, homesteading and operating a trading post at Pueblo Bonito. On June 10, he was shot and killed by a young Navajo, . Depending on the source, Wetherill was either murdered in cold blood by the Navajo or, alternatively, the murderer was influenced by the local Indian Agent against the Wetherills due to political disputes over the use of Chaco Canyon. The agent, Samuel F. Statcher, wanted to dam the canyon for water, fence both ends for grazing and build an Indian School (a forced "Americanizing" of the natives) among the ruins. Biye', charged with the murder, served several years in prison, but was released in 1914 due to poor health. Often described as a wealthy or prosperous man, Wetherill's only asset at the time of his death was ranch property worth five thousand dollars. He was owed more than eleven thousand dollars by Navajos, Hispanics, and Anglos. Little of the money owed Wetherill was ever collected by his widow who lived