In those days we knew little about lands that lay so far away.
My boy chums told me we were going to Pennsylvania to fight Indians.
This cheered me up.

Fighting Indians would be as much fun as going to Sunday-school.

A trip to America for such a purpose was a sensible move.
But when mother exploded the Indian theory and said we were going to work in a rolling mill, I decided that it was a foolish venture.
This shows how much my judgment was worth.

I thought it foolish to go to America merely to better our condition.

But I thought it a wise move to go there and kill Indians to better the living conditions of the Americans.