increased.

Such were my studies with the good fathers: the other portion of my
education was wholly Indian. I was put under the charge of a celebrated
old warrior of the tribe, and from him I learned the use of the bow, the
tomahawk, and the rifle, to throw the lasso, to manage the wildest
horse, to break in the untamed colt; and occasionally I was permitted to
accompany them in their hunting and fishing excursions.

Thus for more than three years did I continue to acquire knowledge of
various kinds, while the colony gradually extended its fields, and there
appeared to be every chance of gradually reclaiming the wild Shoshones
to a more civilised state of existence.

But "l'homme propose et Dieu dispose." Another heavy blow fell upon the
Prince, which eventually proved the ruin of all his hopes. After the
loss of the vessel, we had but eight white men in the colony, besides
the missionaries and ourselves; and the Prince, retaining only my
father's old servant, determined upon sending the remainder to purchase
the cattle which we had been so anxious to obtain.

They departed on this mission, but never returned. In all probability,
they were murdered by the Apaches Indians, although it is not impossible
that, tired of our simple and monotonous life, they deserted us to
establish themselves in the distant cities of Mexico.

This second catastrophe weighed heavy upon the mind of the good old
Prince. All his hopes were dashed to the ground--the illusions of the
latter part of his life were destroyed for ever. His proudest
expectations had been to redeem his savage friends from their wild life,
and this could only be effected by commerce and agriculture.

The farms round the settlement had for now nearly four years been tilled
by the squaws and young Indians, under the direction of the white men,
and although the occupation was by no means congenial to their nature,
the Prince had every anticipation that, with time and example, the
Shoshones would perceive the advantages, and be induced to till the land
for themselves.

Before our arrival, the winter was always a season of great privation to
that portion of the Indians who could not repair to the hunting grounds,
while now, Indian corn, potatoes, and other vegetables were in plenty,
at least for those who dwelt near to the settlement. But now that we
had lost all our white cultivators and mechanics, we soon found that the
Indians avoided the labour.

All our