78 REPORTED LOSS OF OUR PARTY. 



borders of that State than any other Indians. They have no regard for 

 truth, will steal, and are wholly unworthy of the least confidence, and 

 their vicious propensities are only kept in check now from fear. 



Living, as they do, between the white settlements and the prairie 

 tribes, they are at the mercy of both ; they seem to be conscious of this 

 fact, and express a desire to be on terms of friendship with all their 

 neighbors. At my urgent request they presented us with several 

 bushels of green corn this evening, which was very acceptable, as we 

 had seen no vegetables for several months. 



The Wacos live about a mile above the Witchitas, in a village con- 

 structed precisely like the other. There are twenty lodges in this vil- 

 lage, and about two hundred souls. Their habits and customs are similar 

 to the Witchitas, with whom they frequently intermarry, and are upon 

 the best and most friendly terms. 



Both of these tribes subsist for a great portion of the year upon buf- 

 falo and deer, and wear the buffalo robes like the Comanches. They 

 also use the bow and arrow for killing game ; some of them, however, 

 are provided with rifles, and are good shots. They have a large stock 

 of horses and mules, many of which are the small Spanish breed with 

 the Mexican brand upon them, and have probably been obtained from 

 the prairie tribes ; while others are large, well-formed animals, and have 

 undoubtedly been stolen from the border white settlers. 



We learned from the Witchitas, much to our surprise, that a report 

 had been made to the commanding officer at Fort Arbuckle, by a Keechi 

 Indian, to the effect that our whole party had been overpowered and 

 massacred by the Comanches near the head of Red river. This inform- 

 ation must have originated with the Comanches or Kioways, as they 

 are the only tribes inhabiting the country about the sources of the 

 river ; neither the Keechies nor the Witchitas ever venture as far out 

 into the plains as we have been. 



The account given by tb^e Indian was so circumstantial and minute . 

 in every particular, showing a perfect knowledge of all our movements, 

 with our numbers and' equipment, that the information was evidently 

 communicated by persons who were near us at the time, and observing 

 our movements. This accounts for the fact of their avoiding us upon all 

 occasions, although we saw them several times, as has been observed, 

 and frequently passed their camps that had been abandoned but a short 

 time, yet they never came to us or communicated with us. They 

 probably regarded us as out upon a hostile expedition, going into their 

 country to chastise them for their depredations, and may have supposed 

 that the report of our having been massacred would deter other parties 

 from following us. 



