ing ridden about ten miles, we camped for the night. I
noticed, during the ride, a degree of forbearance toward each other
which I had never before observed in that race. When we
halted for the night the two boys were behind; they had been
frolicking with their horses, and, as the darkness came on, lost
the trail. It was a half-hour before they made their appearance,
and during this time the parents manifested the most
anxious solicitude for them. One of them was but three years
old, and was lashed to the horse he rode; the other only seven
years of age—young pilots in the wilderness at night. But
the elder, true to the sagacity of his race, had taken his course,
and struck the brook on which we were encamped within three
hundred yards of us. The pride of the parents at this feat,
and their ardent attachment to the children, were perceptible
in the pleasure with which they received them at their evenning
fire, and heard the relation of their childish adventures.
The weather was so pleasant that no tent was spread. The
willows were bent, and the buffalo-robes spread over them.
Underneath were laid other robes, on which my Indian host
seated himself, with his wife and children on one side and
myself on the other. A fire burnt brightly in front. Water
was brought, and the evening ablutions having been performed,
the wife presented a dish of meat to her husband and one to
myself. There was a pause. The woman seated herself
between her children. The Indian then bowed his head and
prayed to God. A wandering savage in Oregon, calling on
Jehovah in the name of Jesus Christ! After the prayer he
gave meat to his children and passed the dish to his wife.
While eating, the frequent repetition of the words Jehovah and
Jesus Christ, in the most reverential manner, led me to
suppose that they were conversing on religious topics, and thus
they passed an hour. Meanwhile the exceeding weariness of a
long day's travel admonished me to seek rest. I had slumbered
I know not how long, when a strain of music awoke me.
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A CENTURY OF DISHONOR.