Salt Lake City, Utah: General Board of Relief Society, July 1938
Fiction, Short Story
Bill came to help the Navajos fight a disease, but stayed with them afterward, learning their language, ceremonies, and religion, establishing himself as part of their community. One day he was reading passages from the New Testament to himself, greatly alarming the Navajos, who thought he had gone mad. When he had finished and they were reassured of his sanity, they invited him to join them for a medicine ceremony. After the ceremony, he told them of the mission and sacrifice of Christ. He never saw the Navajos as savages or inferior to himself; they were his equals. The story finishes with the sentence:
"More of the story of Hard-ridin' Bill, I do not know. He remains nameless to me, but this fragment is a tradition among the Navajos."
"During a recent visit of Ralph Hubbard to Brigham Young University where he was visiting with his friend and former associate, Karl Young, he related the following story to the student body. Mr. Hubbard, a son of Elbert Hubbard, is famous for his work with the American Indian and for his interpretation of their dances and ceremonials."