The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-06-13

At her coming clouds and shadows fed
and faces, careworn, anxious and sorrow
full, frightened into gladness She had
that wonderful magnetism which at
tracted all who saw her; even the ami
mails seemed glad at her coming; and
the wild denizens of the forests snd
prairie recognized in her instinctively q
friend, and were fearless of her approach
and familiarity. When she walked
beneath the oaks, the birds gathered
around her and filled the bran ches Of tie
trees with their sweet music. Even the
wild deer, as she sat upon the rocks or
on the trunks of fallen trees with her
book, and with q bright.colored Indian
shawl thrown around her shoulders,
ascinated by some strange influence, and
| compelled by curiosity, and made bold
by her gentleness, had been known to
approach and stoop their he ads TO her
shoulders, familiarity which no act of
hers had taught them to fear.
The Indians named her "Wauban," "
or The Early Dawn" from the re-
semblance of her complexion to the
tints of the early morning, and by all
| the white settlers and hunters she was
| known as "The Rose of Rock River"
from her suggesting the color of the
| Michigan or prairie rose, which then
! grew in wild luxuriance all over that
country.
J Time passed on, and the herds of Capt.
| Graham increased and dotted the wide
prsiries. One day in early October, some
| halt century or more ago, when large
| contract, which Capt. Graham had made
/ with the government of the United
! States, for the delivery of s large num-
| Der of beef cattle for the western military
posts, was to be fulfilled, his herd of cat
! tie roaming at large over the prairie
could nowhere be found. HOTsemen
were sent out and secured the country
| in every direction from Lake Winnehago
to Pilot Knob, but the animal could no
where be found. After many days spent
| in fruitless search, the young Chief We
no nah visited lockwood farm and
| learned of the misfortune. Young
| Graham casually said to the chief: If
/ you and your braves will find and drive
/ home our cattle. you shall have my SIS
| ter, Wauban, for your wife, your squaw."
| He said this in joke, and with no idea
! that We-no nah would understand him
as being in earnest. The Indian soon
departed, and within few days returned,
| in company with dozen warriors, driv-
| ing before them the lost herds. Young
/ Graham had forgotten his idle words,
and he, his father and the beautiful
J Wauban herself, warmly expressed their
| thanks and gratitude for the service. The
party of Indians, after partaking of the
| hospitality of lockwood" took their
( leave and were not seen for many days.
| But the words of young Graham had
| sunk deep into the heart of the chief !;
| from that time no week passed in which
| there was not found near the door lead
ing to her room, or beEeath the window
| of the "Rose of Rock River" every deli
cscy within the reach of an Indian hun
! ter; venison of the richest quality, birds
of every variety, the wild turkey, the
! grouse, the partridge and the quail, were
/ abundantIy offered. Occasionally We-
nO-nah would present himself, bring
/ ing game and birds of beau
| tiiuI plumage; and as the cold
| of winter approached and came, he
| brought furs, the skins of the buffalo snd
the bear; the squirrel, the gray fox and
| the beaver; all were Hberally offered
and kindly and gratefully received, all
unconscious OF their peculiar significance.
| This mode of Indian cOurtship continued
| during the winter, and when spring
| brought the early flowers, the young
chief, having seen that Wauban always
wore them and was very fond of them,
]
! beautiful and the most fragrant she con-
stantly found under her window or at
| her feet, the chief himself, with q
! 6elicacy characteristic of his race, rarely
being seen in person.
One evening early in June Wauban
| was awakened by hea2ing a song beneath
| her window in the Ottawa tongue, which
she had learned from her intercourse
with the Indians-a song, the refrain of
/ which might be rendered thus:
| Awake waubsn. beautiful girl of the woods;
| awake then, with the eyes of the fawn
Thy words are sweet as the song Of the woodland
Awake from thy bower my heart pants for thee.
The next morning, looking up from
| her sleep, she saw fastened to an arrow,
which hung in the ceiling, necklace
of moss agate, wrought in gold; the
arrow had been shot through her open
window, and had penetrated the wall
above her bed. The letters of her
name-W- b-a-n-had been worked
! into the necklace in gold, and be-
| tween each letter was beautiful moss
agate. The young chief had learned
| from the officers at Fort MRckinaW that
such offerings were not unusual among
| the English from the lover to the
| loved one. Hence. iourneying to the
|
cred the stones, selecting the most
| beautiful ness-sgates, and these, by
the aid of the officers, had been sent to
| New York, had been set in gold, with
! the letters OF her name interspersed.
and had now been offered to the young
maiden. A few days later the young
chief was seen approaching the home of
| the Grahams, mounted upon a black
! horse without white hair in its shining
! coat, and leading a pure white pony OF
| the Indian breed. The animals were
| perfect, and ornamented with every de-
| vice known to Indian taste and ingenuity.
| In place of the English saddle skins
| beautifully dressed and painted with
Indian hierOglyphics were thrown over
the backs of the spirited beasts. The
! young chief himself was decorated with
| all that, to an Indian fancy, could add TO
the dignity, grace and beauty Of his
person; q deeTskin hunting-shirt, orna-
| mented with emblems, telling the story
of his life, his exploits in hunting and
in war brilliant with paint. beads and
porcupins quills, covering his person;
he wore moccasins of deerskin, and from
! his head dropped the feathers Of the
! golden eagle; a necklace OF the claws of
| the bear snd the wild cat encircied his
neck, while his arms, consisting OF bow
and arrows, ride, tomahawk and hunting
knife, were in the most perfect condition
and cleaned brightly in the evening sun.
| No antique statue OF Greek or ROman
scuipture ever presented more perfect
and manly form. He was met, as he sp-
preached, by Captain Graham and his
son, whe received him with their usual
cordial welcome. Sprining to the
| ground and throwing his bride 20 one
| of the braves who attended him, he
! bowed with grace and dignity TO Captain
| Graham, and said: " We-nO>nah IS a
gIeat chief; he has come for his white
squaw; where Is Wauban, the Prairie
Rose?" Instantly young Graham re-
| membered his idle words. ssW the dilem