had nothing to do. Maxwell fed them, gave them some work, gave the
squaws considerable work--they wove blankets with a skill that cannot be
surpassed by artists of today. Not only were these Indian women fine
weavers, but they worked unceasingly on fine buckskin (they tanned their
own hides), garments, beading them, embroidering them, working all kinds
of profiles such as the profile of an Indian chief or brave, animals of
all kinds were beaded or embroidered into the clothes they made for the
chiefs of their tribes. These suits were often sold to foreigners to
take east as a souvenir and they would sell them for the small sum of
$200 to $300. Those Indian women would braid fine bridle reins of white,
black and sorrel horse hair for their chiefs and for sale to the white
men. The Indian squaws were always busy but liked to see a horse race as
well as their superior--their chief. A squaw is an excellent mother.
While she cannot be classed as indulgent she certainly desires to train
her child to endure hardships if they are called upon to endure them.
She trains the little papoose to take to the cold water, not for the
cleansing qualities, but for the "hardiness" she thinks it gives him.

[Illustration]



CHAPTER XX.

General Carleton Received Orders from Mr. Moore to Send Soldiers' Pay
Envelopes to Him.

In March of 1865 I made my last trip across the renowned Santa Fe Trail
from Kansas City, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico.