She then place her hand upon her breast and then held it up, to ask how many women there were, and I answered her by holding up three fingers, at which she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

Then pointing to a child by her side, four or five years old, and in the same way asked how many children, I answered by holding up four fingers, and she almost cried, opening her mouth in great surprise, and turned away.
I said to Rogers that she was a kind, well meaning woman, and that Mr.
French had no doubt told her something of our story.

Aside from her dark complexion her features reminded me of my mother, and at first sight of her I thought of the best woman on earth my own far off mother, who little knew the hardships we had endured.

We went to work again at the mill and after a while the woman came again and tried to talk and to teach us some words of her own language.

She place her finger on me and said _ombre_ and I took out my little book and wrote down _ombre_ as meaning man, and in the same way she taught me that _mujer_, was woman; _trigo_, wheat; _frijoles_, beans; _carne_, meat; _calazasa_, pumpkin; _caballo_, horse; _vaca_, cow; _muchacho_, boy, and several other words in this way.
I got hold of many words thus to study, so that if I ever came back I could talk a little and make myself understood as to some of the common objects and things of necessary use.