all the other young people.

Our life also had a religious side. We had no churches, no religious
organizations, no sabbath day, no holidays, and yet we worshiped.
Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble to sing and pray; sometimes a
smaller number, perhaps only two or three. The songs had a few words,
but were not formal. The singer would occasionally put in such words as
he wished instead of the usual tone sound. Sometimes we prayed in
silence; sometimes each one prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person
prayed for all of us. At other times one would rise and speak to us of
our duties[8] to each other and to Usen. Our services were short.

When disease or pestilence abounded we were assembled and questioned by
our leaders to ascertain what evil we had done, and how Usen could be
satisfied. Sometimes sacrifice was deemed necessary. Sometimes the
offending one was punished.

If an Apache had allowed his aged parents to suffer for food or shelter,
if he had neglected or abused the sick, if he had profaned our religion,
or had been unfaithful, he might be banished from the tribe.

The Apaches had no prisons as white men have. Instead of sending their
criminals into prison they sent them out of their tribe. These
faithless, cruel, lazy, or cowardly members of the tribe were excluded
in such a manner that they could not join any other tribe. Neither could
they have any protection from our unwritten tribal laws. Frequently
these outlaw Indians banded together and committed depredations which
were charged against the regular tribe. However, the life of an outlaw
Indian was a hard lot, and their bands never became very large; besides,
these bands frequently provoked the wrath of the tribe and secured their
own destruction.

[Illustration: THE CONQUERED WEAPON]

When I was about eight or ten years old I began to follow the chase,
and to me this was never work.

Out on the prairies, which ran up to our mountain homes, wandered herds
of deer, antelope, elk, and buffalo, to be slaughtered when we needed
them.

Usually we hunted buffalo on horseback, killing them with arrows and
spears. Their skins were used to make tepees and bedding; their flesh,
to eat.

It required more skill to hunt the deer than any other animal. We never
tried to approach a deer except against the wind. Frequently we would
spend hours in stealing upon grazing deer. If they were in the open we
would crawl long distances on the ground, keeping a weed