Up to the present portion of my narrative, I have lived and kept company with Indians and a few white men who had conformed to their manners and customs.

I had seen nothing of civilized life, except during my short sojourn at Monterey, one of the last places in the world to give you a true knowledge of mankind.

I was as all Indians are, until they have been deceived and outraged, frank, confiding, and honest.

I knew that I could trust my Shoshones, and I thought that I could put confidence in those who were Christians and more civilized.

But the reader must recollect that I was but nineteen years of age, and had been brought up as a Shoshone.