The Sioux travelers, who had had plenty of experience with the opinions of government agents, no doubt reserved judgment about this warning, and they were pleasantly surprised to find the Mormons they met easy to get along with. They did not drink or fight or behave badly, and they provided the pilgrims with food and railroad passes. They had heard of the new Indian religion and treated it with respect. When pressed by an agent later for details about his trip, one of the travelers responded with a dig: “I thought it strange that the people should have been so good, so different from those
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