Latour's admiration for the nomadic Navajos is strong. He recognizes the injustices committed against them by white men and Apaches alike. He considers Kit Carson misguided for his role in eradicating the Navajos. Carson had found the Navajo's hidden fields located in a red-sandstone canyon and destroyed their corn fields and orchards. The act so disheartened the Navajos that that ceased to fight, and most of them were captured and relocated. Eusabio arranged a meeting between Latour and Manuelito, a Navajo leader. Manuelito is unable to convince Latour to intercede between the Navajos and the U.S. government, because Latour believes that a Protestant country will not accept a Roman Catholic priest's recommendations. The government changed its decision five years later, and the Navajos were allowed to return to their sacred lands.
During his last days, Latour sleeps often and eats little. His cathedral is full of parishioners who pray for him. On his deathbed, he returns to the day he convinced Vaillant to travel to Paris with him. Latour dies, and all of Santa Fe's Catholics pray for him. His body is laid before the high altar of the cathedral he built.
