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but I presume courage was oozing from the finger ends of the officer and as the Indians were in his

power he wished to be relieved of such a commodity.

An Indian very seldom allows an injury that is done him to go unrevenged and it matters not who the victim may be so long as he belongs to the same nation or was? the one who has perpetrated the wrong. I unfortunately I? happened to be the first American that passed them since the Insult was given so they decided to retaliate on me. I had travelled about twenty miles from their village when they commenced to pursue me, I was encamped at the time that they came to me by one, two + threes till fully twenty of them had arrived. I thought they were friendly at first not having heard about the outrage that had been done them so I wished to treat them with kindness I therefore invited them to sit down and smoke + talk with me which they did and they then commenced whispering among themselves and I understood them to say that while I was smoking and not in my guard they could easily kill me with a knife and as for the Mexicans with me they could slaughter them as easily as a lot of buffalo. These remarks naturally alarmed me for I had but fifteen men, two americans + thirteen Mexicans and I had a poor opinion of the bravery of the latter in case I should be attacked. So I informed the Indians that I did not know why they wished my scalp, that I had done them no injury + wanted to treat them kindly, that they had come to me as friends + that I now discovered they wished to kill me that they must leave my camp at once, that should they refuse to go ? be shot immediately and if they attempted to return that I would fire on them, they departed and joined the rest of their tribe who were in plain sight on the hills. I then ordered my men to hitch up and commence our march. We moved on, the drivers carrying their rifles in one hand