12 WILD ri.OWKRS OF COLORADO. 



"Gum mc bit. Gum mc l)it." To gixc her the "bit" every time 

 she came was (|uite impossible, as it rej)resentecl a shilhng of our 

 money, but to the scjuaw it made httle (hfference whether she 

 recei\'e(l the bit or not, for she came just the same every mornin_t(. 

 A worse looking creature one could hardly imagine. An old 

 gray blanket, confined at the waist with a })iece of rope, composed 

 her dress ; on her feet she wore moccasins, with pieces of blanket 

 tied around her ankles for stockings. She was never seen with 

 any thing on her head, and her hair, oh ! that hair ! I can 

 not describe it. If some of our enthusiastic Eastern friends 

 could have seen her, what a contrast she would have made to the 

 lovely Indian maiden that has so enlisted their sym[)athy. Their 

 first impulse would be to look around for a bath-house, and their 

 first present a piece of soap with instructions how to use it ; but 

 if their advice as to cleanliness had been no better heeded than 

 mine was, it would have done but little good. 



With this particular s(|uaw I made up my mind to do some 

 missionary work. I taught her some words, such as "good," 

 "bad," "wash," "comb," and many others. Then I gave her a 

 piece of soap, rubbing it with my hands as if washing them. She 

 looked at me in astonishment and said "Yes, yes." I had some 

 hope for her. The next morning she came, and after the first 

 salutation of " Gum me bit," she showed me her hands. The 

 inside of them was covered with dry soap. I was discouraged, 

 but getting a basin of water I made her put her hands in and rub 

 them. She seemed to understand, and, laughing, said " Yock, 



