Page:Life among the Apaches.djvu/78

 During the foregoing talk I learned the important fact, that coolness and quiet determination will almost always overawe and subdue an Indian, provided the right is on your side. But however much he may yield, one may make sure that he will seize the first favorable opportunity to "get even." Should such an opportunity never occur, it becomes his cherished object to wreak his vengeance on the next comer, entirely regardless of his antecedents. For this reason the utmost caution is always necessary; because, although one may feel wholly guiltless of act or intention against the savages, he is held strictly responsible by them for the acts and intentions of his predecessors.