OCR Text |
Show 328 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. told my wife that the Maricopas had decided to kill me ; that the witches were killing their children and that I would not allow them to kill the witches. So the only way to protect the lives of their children would be to kill me, as I was a friend of the witches. When I came home my wife told me of this threat. She seemed a little concerned for my welfare, but her faith was always with mine ; so we decided that it would be best for me to go at once and put a stop to this feeling. I got on my horse and went alone some three miles to their camp. Most of the Indians were gathered together. As I approached none spoke ; all were sullen. This confirmed to me the truth of the squaw's report, as the Indians generally met me in a friendly manner. I went directly to the subject ; told them what I had heard, saying to them that I had no fears of their killing me and that there was no use for them to entertain any such feeling towards me, for I was their friend and teach-ing them the truth, and that God would protect me. I again talked to them a long time and finally seemed to gain some influence. The Pimas had also been guilty of the same prac-tice. When I heard of this I took a good interpreter and went to their camp, which was across the river among the old settlers not of our colonizers. I had to labor long and hard before getting any sat-isfactory results. The old chief acknowledged that they had killed one witch and had almost killed another, who had recovered, and that they were then doctoring him to cure him, so that all hands could turn out and " kill him better." I asked how they knew these men were witches. The answer was that the " doctor" had pointed them out. |