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Show 138 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. ignorance and prejudice came near causing a great crime. As soon as this was explained I took the money and gave it back to the owner. No one had thought of tak-ing the money. All were bent on hanging the honest fellow. Soon there was a reverse of feeling; most of the soldiers in the crowd being Irish, they let their im-pulses run as far the other way, loading the Indian with shirts and blouses. Some gave him money, so that he went away feeling pretty well, but he remarked that the soldiers were kots- tu- shu- a ( big fools). I have often thought there were many like these sol-diers, " heap kots- tu- shu- a" in dealing with Indians. CHAPTER XXIII. Difficulty in Finding the Trail The Character of our Commanding Officer My Discharge as Guide A Proposition to Kill Stith Rejected by Moore and Myself Arrival at Santa Fe The Con-fidence of the Quartermaster in Me. ON ARRIVING at Grand river Stith's outfit was pre-pared and we were set across the river in a place entirely unknown to me. I did not even know whether the Dolores river was above or below me, and so told the officer. There was a point known as the bend of Dolores \ vhere I had been, but from where we were to that point the country was new to me. I had no definite idea of the distance but knew it must be several days' journey. This country, as the name of the river implies, was about the worst country I ever traveled through. While we were prospecting to see if we could get any sight of the river, I found a lone Indian. He had |