She tried to encourage father, and really believed his
weakness was only temporary.
Scarcely a day passed that I did not see some of the Sioux Indians who
were scattered through that portion of the State. In going to, and
coming from the agency, they would sometimes stop at our house.
Father was very quick in picking up languages, and he was able to
converse quite easily with the red men.
How I used to laugh to hear them talk in their odd language, which
sounded to me just as if they were grunting at each other.
But the visits used to please father and mother, and I was always glad
to see some of the rather ragged and not over-clean warriors stop at the
house.
I remember one hot day in June, when father was sitting under a tree in
front of the house, and I was inside helping mother, we heard the
peculiar noises which told us that father had an Indian visitor. We both
went to the door, and I passed outside to laugh at their queer talk.
Sure enough, an Indian was seated in the other chair, and he and father
were talking with great animation.
The Indian was of a stout build, and wore a straw hat with a broad, red
band around it; he had on a fine, black broad-cloth coat, but his
trousers were shabby and his shoes were pretty well worn.
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