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Show FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. 315 CHAPTER XLVII. Deceit of my Interpreter Indians Apply for Baptism Some True-hearted Natives Receive the Ordinance Help Given on our Ditch by the Pimas and Maricopas The U. S. Agent Forbids my Interfering with the Indians. AS often as opportunity offered I talked to the Indians. As yet I had not found an interpreter that suited me ; several whom I had met the year before had not come to our camp yet, their homes being some dis-tance away. The interpreter I used, Geo. Roberts, was something of an adventurer, as the sequel will show. I was at work one day in a field, planting, after we had been settled for some six weeks, when my interpre-ter came to me and said there were several of the lead-ing men of the Salt river Pimas who wished me to come down to my camp, where they were, and baptize them. I told him I did not think the Indians understood enough to be baptized ; that I had not had time to teach them sufficiently. He said I had talked a great deal to him ; that he understood and believed all I said, and fully explained all my words to these capitancillos ( little cap-tains), who also believed and wished baptism. I did not feel satisfied. I have always been slow to baptize natives ; my policy has been to teach them first, so that they would fully realize what they were doing. I have endeavored more to get them out of their degrada-tion and savagery. When I met these Indians I asked them ( using the interpreter) what they desired. They said they wished to be baptized and be Mormons. I told the interpreter to say to them that I did not want them to be baptized until they fully understood what baptism was for. I |