270 MEXICAN PRISONERS. Rook II. 
" There," said he, " Caballos, mulas, muchachos, muchachas, 
— muchol — buenoT — (Horses, mules, boys, girls, — much! 
■ — good!) "Here, on the Arkansas, Nadal" — nothing. 
He had three boys with him, two of them his own children, 
the third stolen from Mexico. The last, however, was 
treated by him quite as his own children. We gave him 
some biscuit, which he distributed equally among the 
three boys. 
These people spoke Spanish with tolerable facility, and 
the interpreter of the Chief appeared to hold merely an 
office of etiquette. I heard groups of women and children 
conversing in Spanish. 
It is evident that, by naturalizing Mexican prisoners, 
the Indian race must become gradually effaced. Anglo- 
American desperadoes of the worst kind, robbers and 
murderers by profession, join these pillaging hordes, 
and gain great influence over them ; and if this system 
continues unchecked,- — whilst the race changes, but their 
occupation and mode of life remain the same,— the 
Indian tribes will gradually be transformed into robber 
hordes. It is a well-known fact that foreigners of European 
and semi-European extraction, when naturalized among 
the Indians of the wilderness, are the worst and most 
dangerous robbers. 
It is very erroneous to imagine that the Indians have a 
natural and instinctive hatred of the white race. A white 
man, otherwise qualified, who has a taste to be naturalized 
among the Indians, is always received by them with 
welcome, and may attain to high honours in the tribe. 
But what the Indian hates is civilization, as much in his 
own race as. among the whites. He makes no distinction 
of race in this respect, as is evident from the fact that 
there exists no less hostility between the settled and 
