| OCR Text |
Show 498 AU'l'OBIOGRAPHY OF the orders were which I had with me. , Sometimes: I would tell them that the great chief at Washington was going to send on a great host' of warriors to rub them all out. 'rhey would laugh heartily at the supposition, for they conceived that all the.American forces combined would hardly be· a circumstance before them. I promised to apprise them when the white warriors were to advance against them, which promise they confidently relied upon. I had to say something to keep on good terms with them, and answer their inquiries to satisfy them, and then proceed with my business. The war between the great white chief and the great Mexican chief interested the Indians but little, though their conviction was that the Mexican chief would be victorious. Their sympathy was with the latter, from motives of self-interest. They were now able to go at any time and drive home all the horses, cattle, and sheep that they wanted, together with Mexican children enough to take care of them. If the white chief conquered, they supposed he would carry all the·horses, cattle, and sheep home with him, and thus leave none for them. The Camanches and Apaches have a great number of Mexicans, of both sexes, among them, who seldom manifest much desire to return home. The women say that the Indians treat them better than they are treated at home. I never met but one exception to this rule, and that was a young Mexican woman captive among the Camanches. She told me that her father was wealthy, and would give me five thousand dollars if~ could procure her restoration. I bough~ her of the chtef, and conveyed her to my fort, whence I sent information to her father to acquaint him where he could find his daughter. In a few days her father and her • JAMES P. BECKWOURTH. 499 husband came to her. She refused to have any thing to say to her husband, for she said he was a coward. When the Indians attacked the village, he mounted his horse and fled, leaving her to their mercy. Her father proffered me the promised sum, but I only accepted one thousand dollars, which returned me a very gobd profit on the cost of the goods I had given to the Indians for her ransom. The woman returned home with her father, her valorous husband fbllowing them. Shortly after this I returned to Santa Fe. CHAPTER XXXV. Departure for CalifDrnia.- Meeting with the. Apaches.- Host~le Threats.-Trouble with the. Utahs.-Most ternble Tragedy.-Socle-ty in Calif~rnia.-Adventures with Grizzly Bears. · THE last dispatches I bore from Fort Leavenworth were addressed to California, and I had undertaken to ~arry them through. At Santa Fe I rested a week, and then, taking an escort of fifteen men, I started on my errand. On our arrival at the village of Abbeger, we found a large party of Apaches, who were in the midst of a drunken carousal. We encamped inside the corral, that being as safe a place as we could select. Little Joe, an Apache Chief, inquired of me what I was going to do with these whites. . . , . '' 1 am going to take them to Cahfm·n1a, I told h1m. '' No," said he, '' you shall never take them nearer to California than they are now." " Well, I shall try, " said I. He held some farther conversation with me of a denunciatory character, and then left me to return to the liquor-shop . |
