priva-
tions ; the other was to make up such a brief and
argument for our side of the case, when the threat
ened time came, as would convince the authorities
that we were in earnest.
Early in the spring I left the mountains with a few Indians, partly warriors, partly women, and partly children, and made my way through the woods to the vicinity of Yreka, and there pitched camp in open view of town.
The women and children were taken along, in order to give to our camp the appearance of an ordi nary party of vagrant, half-civilized Indians, which is always found moping about the border ; and the camp was made in sight of the settlements, because it was unsafe to attempt concealment.
Any party of Indians found hidden away in the woods and hills too near the settlements, no matter how peaceful and well-disposed are its members, is at once suspected of some secret attempt to right their wrongs, and some fine morning they wake up to the tune of a volley of shot poured in from the four sides of their camp.
The plan was to buy arms and ammunition myself in small quantities, as I could, here and there, and now and then, without exciting suspicion ; and also to se.id out the Indians to trade, and pick up as best they could the desired supplies, until we had pro cured as much as we could well carry in a hasty return to the mountains.
The enterprise was hazardous in the extreme. All
