I Should Never Have Surrendered. I Should

Late One Afternoon When Returning From Town We Were Met By A Few Women And Children Who Told Us That Mexican Troops From Some Other Town Had Attacked Our Camp, Killed All The Warriors Of The Guard, Captured All Our Ponies, Secured Our Arms, Destroyed Our Supplies, And Killed Many Of Our Women And Children.. When All Were Counted, I Found That My Aged Mother, My Young Wife, And My Three Small Children Were Among The Slain.

I Was Warmed By The Sun, Rocked By The Winds And Sheltered By The Trees As Other Indian Babes. I Was Living Peaceably When People Began To Speak Bad Of Me. Now I Can Eat Well, Sleep Well And Be Glad. I Can Go Everywhere With A Good Feeling.

When A Child My Mother Taught Me The Legends Of Our People; Taught Me Of The Sun And Sky, The Moon And Stars, The Clouds And Storms. She Also Taught Me To Kneel And Pray To Usen For Strength, Health, Wisdom, And Protection. We Never Prayed Against Any Person, But If We Had Aught Against Any Individual We Ourselves Took Vengeance. We Were Taught That Usen Does Not Care For The Petty Quarrels Of Men.

While Living I Want To Live Well.

I Cannot Think That We Are Useless Or God Would Not Have Created Us. There Is One God Looking Down On Us All. We Are All The Children Of One God. The Sun, The Darkness, The Winds Are All Listening To What We Have To Say.