ELDORADO 57 



CHAPTER V. 



ANOTHKR vSTAGE. 



On the morning of July 7 we arose greatly refreshed 

 after our bath of the previous night in the clear waters 

 of the Big Sandy and a sound sleep in the cool, open 

 air. The country around was glowing and bright, and 

 all the mountain peaks were gleaming like silver. The 

 view was truly magnificent, and, indeed, we needed 

 something to repay us for the long, toilsome journe}- 

 of more than a thousand miles. 



We left camp at an early hour, and, after traveling a 

 short distance, we met a party of Arapahoe Indians 

 who informed us they belonged to a part}- who had 

 just come into the vallev from the mountains to the 

 eastward, where they had been hunting and gathering a 

 supply of food. We soon came in sight of their village, 

 which was built of crude and hastily constructed shacks, 

 composed largelv of green willows, which grew in 

 abundance along the margin of the stream. As we ap- 

 l)roached the village, suddenly a single horseman came 

 riding toward us at full speed, followed by another, 

 and another in ra])id succession. All came whooping 

 and charging down upon us arnied with bows and ar- 

 rows and a few guns and lances. Some of them were 

 .entirely naked, and others were partly dressed, with 



