Manuelito
When our fathers lived they heard that the Americans were
coming across the great river westward. . . . We heard of the guns and powder
and lead—first flintlocks, then percussion caps, and now repeating rifles. We
first saw the Americans at Cottonwood Wash. We had wars with the Mexicans and
the Pueblos. We captured mules from
the Mexicans, and had many mules. The
Americans came to trade with us. When
the Americans first came we had a big dance, and they danced with our women. We
also traded.
--Manuelito of the Navahos