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Show 290 WESTERN WILDS. whence his Indian name. " The Spaniard;" that he had driven tcarn, to Denver, and been on the railroad from there to Cheyenne, and con-sequently knew all about the Americans and their ways. The chief then struck in : it was three days to the Mormoney lioganda, the first one where we would cross the river; his horse could go it in two, but mine could not, for his feet would not stand the stones ; his horse was better than my horse, and he could travel better than I ; there was sand all the way to Mormoney, no more springs, and only water- holes in the rock. In answer to my questions about the country, he drew a rude map in the sand with a sharp stick, and pointed out that it was nearly a day north for my horse to the big water, and two days south to the little water; that four days west they came together so ( joining his fingers in the form of a V), and that three days north- west of that place was a great Mormoney casa, and that they were people like me, with plenty to eat and many horses. This was the last Navajo settlement I visited, though they range down to the junction of the two Coloradoes ; and in the evening they made our camp merry with their lively conversation. Those who see the Indian only on the border know nothing of his real character; for it is only the lowest and meanest of the race that hang about the white settlements. And their consciousness of oddity in appearance makes them feel and look meaner. These belonged to a portion of the tribe numbering a thousand or more who do not agree to the treaty, or recognize the Agency party. They are quite friendly with the whites, but have made one raid into Utah since the peace; and at John D. Lee's I learned that the chestnut stallion, wrhich so excited my admiration, had been stolen from him. Two hundred years of war with the Spaniards was surely enough to confuse a people's moral perceptions, and cause them to consider " levying tribute" on the whites as a perfectly legitimate operation. As we gather up in the evening ready to start early, I find my Navajo whip and knife sheath among the curiosities I had purchased missing. I had not supposed that John knew any English, but when I pointed out the loss, his face grew dark and he muttered: " Damn Navajo, shteal mooch," and darted for a boy some fifty yards uway, whom he dragged into camp. A violent discussion ensued till the boy, with John's grip tightening on him, pointed to the cliff and muttered " Espafiol." " Damn Espailol, shteal," said the guide, and ran up the cliff, where I heard another violent altercation, Navajo words mingling amusingly with English and Spanish oaths, and in a few minutes John returned waving the whip and sheath in triumph. |