When the wagon crashed, a closeup of the Indian's face showed him smiling. His character of course was a mystery all along, regarding his motivations and attitude towards the settler. Wasn't that little smile an indication of schadenfreude -- indicating that he took pleasure at the loss and suffering of this group of settlers?
I took the smile as the Native being amused over the amount of "stuff" the white man needed/wanted to carry on this journey. When the wagon crashed, he saw the humor in bringing things like grandfather clocks and tables and chairs into a dangerous place like the Great Basin.
"Give up a dollar for Jesus!" Esa Hawks
I took it to indicate his somewhat amused reaction to the futile efforts of the inexperienced pioneers. Maybe a bit of schadenfreude, too.
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