The Importance of Reliable Quotations

If the quotation is genuine, it could just be an expression of temporary doubt. If Black Elk so freely confessed his insincerity to other people, why don't we have additional people reporting similar statements? Both of them come from the same person. We don't have confirmation from either John Nihart or Lucy looks twice because both of them were dead at the time, so we can't check with them. It all comes down to Hilda Nihart's word and dramatic, unverifiable quotations that are made only after the alleged witnesses of the quotations are safely dead are always suspicious.