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Show 10in the red-skins, whom they despise as inferior to the whites· but they will remain i~uependent guenillas-so they call themse'lves, while .they are no~hlllg else .than robbers-waging war against the Amenca~10S, that. IS~ pl~nuenng and muruering aH the travellers they meet, wt.thout dtstu:ctJOn, men, w.omen and children. Being clisgustcu wtth such a hfe, (although httherto those under my command have murdered neithet· women nor children, but only such men as would fight, ami no~ ~urrender their proper~y,) I have proposed to my followers an expedttton to El Dorado, Caltfornia, where we may hon~ stly get gold without bloodshc,J and plunder. About two-thirdsetghteen- of them have adhered to my plan, willin,,. to remain and to act under my direction; the ten others have declared that they need not go so far to acquire gold, which they can get with much less trouble on the Santa Fe route, and they will become-at least they expect so-leaders of Indian guerrillas or marauders. Mateo, the worst and most blood-thirsty of all my followers, has already become the leader of a band of about forty or fifty Camancllos, roaminu within a hundred miles around here. I apprehend that they rna; fmd you out, and plunder, or even kill you, with your husband and child; for a marauding Camancho is worse than the worst bandido M~jicano. Thus l have come hither, knowing your retreat, to acquaint you with the threatening dan~I,et·, of which nobody else could inform you. Hut now I regret most heartily that Valerio is absent, or else I would have invited you and him to accompany us in our expedition to California. In the mean time, until his return home, I will go .and fetch my company, with whom I will come hither and protect you from any attack of marauding Camanchos or .. Meji-canos.' "He took leave by kissing my hand respectfully, promising not to lose one haul' till his return to protect us with the as ·istance or his followers. You may now conceive my fright at seeing that Camancho, who is probably one of Mateo's marauding band." This communication caused us immediately to consider what was to be done. We could not leave Teresa alone with her child, and our own safety required a speedy return to our fort, which mif!;ht be attacked and taken with its small garrison before we could reach it. Yonka heroically and generously declared to remain with Tere~a, bnt Waanataa would either stay also, or have them and Alejo taken along with us to the fort; however, Teresa refused to leave her h<l? itation before the return of her husband. At length we agreed wtth each other in the follovv·ing plan: . Y onka, Waanataa, Sy I via and Adam should stay wtth T~re ·a and Alej·O until Valerio's return whethet· or not Munoz and hts compn~ nion. s ' should come· the othe' r seventeen men o f our company were to start the next m~rning forth~ fort, .and the.re wait ~or the arri v~l of their four remaining compantons, e1ther wtlh or Without ValeriO and his family. Balzano and Tivooati had safely reached the fort, an~ thenc.e .re-turned immediately, according to w~1at they had promtsed,. ndtn_g upwards the South Fork along the rtcks, where ~hey met wtth the |