The Old Santa Fe Trail: The Story of a Great HighwayInman, Henry
History
The Old Santa Fe Trail: The Story of a Great Highway
Inman, Henry
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); New Mexico -- History; Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Only a short time after he had landed, he heard Indians again going
on shore on the same side of the stream as himself. A second time he
repeated his tactics, slipped out of his place of concealment, and stole
softly away. He pulled on vigorously until some time after midnight,
when he supposed he could with safety stop and snatch a little sleep.
He felt apprehensive that he was in a dangerous region, and his anxiety
kept him wide awake. It was very lucky that he did not close his eyes;
for as he was lying in the bottom of his canoe he heard for the third
time a canoe land as before. He was now perfectly satisfied that he was
dogged by the Kansans whom he had passed the preceding day, and in no
very good humour, therefore, he picked up his rifle, and walked up to
the bank where he had heard the Indians land. As he suspected, there
were the three savages. When they saw the captain, they immediately
renewed their expressions of friendship, and invited him to partake of
their hospitality. He stood aloof from them, and shook his head in
a rage, charging them with their villanous purposes. In the short,
sententious manner of the Indians, he said to them: "You now follow me
three times; if you follow me again, I kill you!" and wheeling around
abruptly, returned to his canoe. A third time the solitary trapper
pushed his little craft from the shore and set off down stream, to get
away from a region where to sleep would be hazardous. He plied his oars
the remainder of the night, and solaced himself with the thought that no
evil had befallen him, except the loss of a few hours' sleep.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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