Adventure, June 1911 — page 96: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

282 slipped down a small side ravine and came out beside a large wickyup, where a squaw was skinning a turtle. When she saw us she dropped the turtle, squalled and lit out like a streak. The whole village now took to the brush, leaving us alone with the huts. We called loudly to them in Spanish, say- ing “ Amigo, amigo!” but with no further result than to accelerate their speed. We now examined the huts. The wickyup of, the “turtle-lady” had two large water- ollas, three*earthen cooking-pots, a metate for grinding corn or seeds and a couple of fish-spears. In one corner we found a gourd partly full of pumpkin-seed, a piece of broken mirror and a joint of reed. Shaking the joint of reed, we found that it rattled inside, and further examination disclosed the fact that it contained about an ounce of _placer-gold. We now started to look for the water- hole, and found it some half-mile down the canyon. The Indians had dug a hole in the sands of the arroyo, where, at the depth of some four feet, they had found passable drinking water. Then we went back to the wickyup of the “‘turtle-lady,” and left some tobacco on her stone metfaie, as a-free gift. WE RETURNED to the boat, and there, at sundown, an old Indian hailed us from the bluffs. On our making him friendly overtures, he came down to see us. He spoke fairly good Spanish and seemed very intelligent. We gave him a good supper, and while he got on the outside of this, we talked. He said his name was Tomas, and that the name of his people was ‘‘Simangitos.’’ This tribe, he said, was very poor and very few in num- ber. He said that they lived on grass seeds, picayunes, fish, turtles and an occasional deer. ‘They had no corn, because the coun- try was too dry to plant corn. He said that they washed a limited amount of placer- gold out of the sands of the dry-washes. At long intervals one or more of them took this gold across on the other side (Pacific) and traded it to Mexicans for flour and cloth. ‘““Have any white men ever come here before?” I asked. ‘““Two parties have come,” said he. ‘The first to come were two white men who came in a boat like yours. These brought a ma- chine [dry-washer] and took out much gold. They were good men and cured our sick, but they themselves got sick and died. When Adventure they were dead we hid their machine in a cave and told no one, for we were afraid that the Mexican police would think that we had killed them. We loved them and did not kill them.” “Of what did they die?” I asked. “‘Of the bubble-sickness,”’ he replied. Seeing that I did not comprehend, Charlie told me that the Indians called smallpox the ““bubble-sickness,” from the pustules that broke out on the patient. “The others,” said Tomas, “came in a very large boat that smoked much. These were rough and bad men. They were ten in number. Seven of these were Mexicans, who stole our food and attacked our women. We ran away into the hills, and in the night our young men slipped back and slew‘four of them. The others then made a great smoke on their boat and went away.” “Dat was Captain Polhemus an’. his outfit,” put in Charlie. ‘TI remember dat time. Dey come in steam tug, an’ Polhe- mus he bring seven Mexican from Yuma.” I gave Tomas a pound of tobacco, ‘one of coffee, two of sugarand ten of flour. ‘‘ Here,”’ said I, ‘are some gifts; take these fiome and come again early to-morrow.”’ The old man took his gifts and silent disappeared in the night. Presently we heard the subdued gabble of voices from the cliff. Tomas had not come alone, but, like a prudent general, had hidden his forces for reprisal in case Of bad faith. Nov. 28—About six this morning Tomas was back with a sack of roots that he claimed were very good eating. Six young men came with him. These had good faces and were lithe, quick, straight fellows. Their deportment was the epitome of grave modesty. They sat on the sand in silence, speaking only when spoken to, and evincing no curiosity. I made a great pot of coffee, and then served them a huge meal of coffee, bread and jerked jewfish. When they were as full as they could hold, every face beamed with good feeling. ‘Charlie,’ said I, ‘I believe we can trust these people.” ““Yaas,” said Charlie, “if you don’t do "em no bad t’ing, trust ’em.” ‘The Indians now had a great confab in their own tongue. When they were done, Tomas said, “‘The two good white men who died here were our brothers. They cured many of us from the bubble-sickness. Their medicine was so strong that we have never eomicbooks (C@