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Show 500 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Foreseeing what was likely to result if more liquor was obtained, I visited every place in town where it was kept, and informed every seller that, if another drop was sold to the India,ns, I would hang the man that did it without a minute's delay; and I would have been as good as my word, for they were all :&iexicans, and I had felt no great liking for them since the awful tragedy nt Taos. "But the priest-" began one or two, in expostulation. But I cut them short. "I'll hang your priest just as soon as any of you," I said, "if he dares to interfere in the matter." I suppose they intended to urge that their priest had authorized them to sell liquors to the Indians. My interdict stopped them, for there was no more sold while I was there. The next day I saw Little Joe in one of the low saloons ; the stimulus of the liquor had left him, and he h~d what topers call the horrors. He begged me to let hnn have one dram more, but I refused. "Whisky," I said, "puts all kinds of nonsense into your head ; you get drunk, and then you are ripe for any mischief:" When he had become perfectly sober, he came to me, and agai~ asked if it were true that I intended taking those whites to California with me. I told him that it was perfectly true. " Well," said Joe, " if you attempt it we will kill your whole party, and you with them. You will never listen to us: your ears are stopped. We all love you, but we have told you many times that we hate the whit~s, and do not want you to lead them through our huntmg-grounds, and show them our paths ; but you • JAM.BS P. BECKWOUR'l'H. 501 will not listen to us. And now, if you undertake to pass through that canon, we will, without fail, kill you 3ll." "Well," I replied, "I shall certain! y go, so you had better get your warriors ready." vV e packed our animals, and I directed my men to travel slowly while I went through the canon. If I wished them to advance, I would climb up and show myself to them as a signal for them to rush through, and reach me as soon as possible. I then vvent on all alone, as I knew that, if I encountered Indians in the canon, they would not kill me by myself. I passed through without meeting any, and I signaled to the men to c01ne on ; they soon joined me, and we issued upon the open prairie. Here we discovered three hundred ~ A pach'3s, each man leading his war-horse. We numbered eighteen, two of whom were Mexicans. They did not offer to attack us, however, and we continued our route unmolested, although they kept on our trail for twenty miles. A little before dark we rested to take supper, starting again immediately after the meal was finished. We saw no more of the Apaches. The following afternoon a Utah came to us. I asked him where his village was. He did not know, he said, as he had been away some time. I was going out to shoot game at the time, and I took the Indian with me, lending him a gun belonging to one of my men. I had killed two or three wild turkeys, when my Indian, discovering deeT some distance off, went in pursuit. I returned to the camp, but the fellow had not arrived. When we started in the morning he had not shown himself. The second day after the disappearance of the Indian with my gun, I was some distance in advance of the party, when, on ascending a hill, I |
