The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-08-06
A Sad Fate,

A Missouri paper tells the following
sad story A family consisting of a
man and wife and three children passed
through Sedalia, slowly vending their
way northward to their old home in
Rails county. Mr.. Ressler was we'll
to-do farmer who in an early day went
to the State of California, and by hard
work amassed what he considered
sufficiency for good start in farming
life. He returned home to Missouri,
married and settled down to regular
farming life. This spring, when emf
grafton commenced Texasward, the old
fever which had taken him to California
in 1851 began to rage, and although he
had a good home he grew restless and
concluded try his fortune in Texas. He
was looking for cheap lands, and passed
through Grayson county west into
Cook, and out into the western portion
of Montague county. This country,
though wild, and subject to frequent
incursions of the nomadic tribes of In
dians that infest the western border, is
rather rich, and full of game. Mr..
Ressler pitched his camp on little
stream, near good spring, some four
or five miles from any habitation, and
little dreamed of danger. On the fourth
day of their stay there, the oldest
daughter, young lady of seventeen,
went to the spring for bucket of water,
but, alas she never came back. One
scream, like that of the surprised
panther, was carried to the ear of the
mother, who was at the camp, the father
being out hunting. The mother rushed
to the rescue of her first born, only to
hear the receding footsteps of the
Comanches' ponies. Tile mother was
paralyzed with grief and tainted away
as soon as she realized the fate of her
daughter. The father returned in a
few hours and examined the locality of
the spring, and found that about fifteen
ponies had been hitched hard by, and
the Indians had evidently crept up to
the spring, and were lying in wait for
their victim. Mr.. r. cared for his wife,
and at once started for the next neigh
Dor, and the alarm was given that a
young lady had been stolen. The from
tier Texan is ever ready to jump into
his saddle at moments notice, and q
party of ten determined men were soon
on the trail of the red fends, which had
taken westerly direction. The su-
perior horses of the Texans rapidly
gained on the poor ponies of the In
dians, and after travelling all night on a
warm trail, came up with the Indians
the next morning, just as they had
come to halt, and a fight ensued, in
which the object of the chase lost her
life, and was scalped, all Of the Indians
getting away but three. One of the
three killed had, the CORY scalp of the
young girl attached to.his belt. They
had killed her just as soon as attacked.
The father was almost distracted and
absolutely frenzied with grief, and
when the chase was given up by the
others, he could hardly be kept back.
The young lady was buried where killed
in the western wilds of Texas, and the
family could no longer remain in the
country that had caused them so much
misery. The reporter asked what be-
came of the scalp. The tear-dimmed
eyes of the mother looked in the direc-
tion of substantial chest in the wagon,
and she said, "It is there" We asked
if they had any objection to showing it..
They said no, and the father unlocked
the chest and produced long lock of
dark hair, cut from the crown of the
head, with about an inch and half in
diameter of the scalp. When this was
produced the entire family gave way to
loud sobs, and we wondered why so
ghastly memento was kept, that would
ever keep fresh in their memory the
tragic end of their beloved daughter
and sister.