When we got pretty near to them, I recognized in one of the Indians my old friend Yaiabi; but not feeling sure that he would be glad to see me, I told Johnson to have his “shooting-irons”[5] ready and I would go up to them and see what they would do. As soon as they saw me coming they jumped up and drew their bows. I began to talk to them in their language. Yaiabi did not recognize me at first, and demanded to know what I was doing there. I told him I wanted water. He said there was no water except a very little they had brought with them. They asked me if I was alone. I told them that another young man was with me, then I called to Johnson to come up.
[5] Revolvers or guns.
After Yaiabi found out who I was he felt better, for they were very uneasy at first. When I asked him how he came to be there, he said they had been out to a little lake to see some Parowan Indians that were camped there. I asked him what the Indians were doing there. He said they were waiting for some more of the Pocatello Indians to come, and as soon as they arrived they were going to burn all the stations and kill all of the riders and station keepers.
“Are you going with them?” I asked.
“No.”
“Why then have you been with those Indians?”
He said that the Parowan Indians had stolen his sister’s little boy two years before, and he went out to see if he could find the child.
“Did you find it?”
“No,” he said, “they have sold it to the white folks.”
“Do you know when the Indians they are looking for will be there?”