," he remarked. "Next to medicine I regard it as the
noblest profession known to our limited capabilities. Do you ever
think," he asked me, "that the medical profession is devoted to
relieving physical ills? To warding off death? The law, on the other
hand, takes care of your property rights. It is supposed to be the
guardian of the weak. How often, however, do we see its mission
perverted, and how often it becomes an oppressor of the unfortunate. How
many times do we see it aiding in the accumulation of those large
fortunes with which our modern civilization is fast becoming burdened
and brutalized."

While I had never contracted the filthy habit of smoking, I had in my
pocket several good cigars. I extended the case to my newfound friend.
He took one, thanked me, bit off the end, lit it and puffed away with
evident enjoyment. I took the liberty of asking him his business. "I am
a professor of belles lettres and philosophy in the Indian College on
the Klamath reservation. I am here on my vacation. I was born and reared
to early manhood in these mountains. They still have a charm for me.
While I love my books and my labors, there is a freedom in my life here
which appeals to me. Here I go back to natural life, and study again the
book of nature. Each day I take a lesson from the wild animals of the
forest, from the surging streams and twittering birds. Here I can better
realize how small is man in the general plan of creation."

He hesitated, and I took advantage of his silence and asked him about
the religion of his race. Whether the modern red man adhered to the
teachings of his tribe, or leaned toward the white man's God. Replying,
he delivered to me a discourse of considerable length, which, as near as
I can recollect it now, ran as follows:

A Red Agnostic.

"My people have been too busy these many years filling their stomachs to
pay much attention to saving their souls. We teach a religion that
inculcates good behavior, and promises as a reward for a well-spent life
an eternity of bliss in the happy hunting ground. Our future is depicted
by our priests as a materialistic future, where we follow the chase,
defeat our enemies and enjoy to our full those things which render us
happy in this world. Personally, I have long since discarded the
teachings of my people, and I am in a state of doubt which seriously
perplexes me. I have read much and widely on this subject. I find that
you white men have not one religion