Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-03-09
KEROINE'S CAREER.

hERUINES CAREER.
Anna Meeker died at her boarding
house, i'll the northwestern part OF
the city, last Saturday morning. after
a very brief illness, OF pneumonia
The life thus ended was one OF tn,
most tragic, and yet most heroic
order. 1t was patiently lived, and it,
sharp termination, though sad enough
WAS Cne of It's most grateful points
| Every one remembers the tie out
break Il little more than two years
ago, i'll which Agent Meeher was
murdered. The girl who died last
Saturday was Agent Moeker's daugh
ter. For some time previous TO her
fathers appointment to office. tho
family had been in closely straight
ened circumstances Anna Lad been
employed i'll tent and awningnaker' 5
establishment ut Denver, where the
amount of labor she was obliged to
perform was unduly large i'll proper
ton to the amount of money she
received for performing it. When
her father took charge Of the agency,
she decided to so there with him
One of her friends, an elderly gentle
man, now living III Washington,
warned her against this step. repie-
sentinG the dangers and hardships
OF existence on that remote frontier,
among savages of cruel ana sirlI
character. Il will 90 all the same
she answered him. III mother can
stand it, l can, and she will want my
companionship, for she is old. and ii
will be very lonesome and very hard
for her out there and she went
The life was hard enough, but, by
her own accounts of it, they got OH
very well, and even happily, until
one day there came horror that
made their little corner of the noun
tains fearful forever in the memory
of tie whole country. On that bloody
morning Anna Meekcr saw her father
butchered and ner mother suffer far
worse than death before his dying
eyes. The whole story of what was
then done never has been and never
can be told. 1t comes back now.
brought up by this last result of it,
with pity and a terror in it none
the less vivid by reason Of the time
that has interviewed. Anna was
carried off by the Indians, and for
weeks, that must have been ages OF
despair, she was kept u captive among
them, subject to treatment brutal
beyond all thought, much less all
naming When at last she got away
her health. that never had been
sound, was hopelessly broken, and
burdened with infection from which
there could be no escape short of the
grave At first she was taken up by
some of those sentimentalists, who
are never lacking in attention to
new object where notoriety is in
volved, but when public interest
began to slacken, and no moro talk
was to be had out of Il connection
with her case, these people gradually
wore away and left her, all alone in
the world as she was, to fight for
herself as best she might. Somehow
she got to Washington, and there for
months, sick and starving. she strug
gled to find some means by which
she might maintain herself. 1t would
have been well enough with her had
not the ladies. who at first interested
themselves in her behalf, rich and
comfortable ladies, who should have
had humanity enough to consider the
question of her utter innocence and
helplessness, dropped her as soon as
they learned the nature 0f he
troubles she had known among her
captors. Then, after all manner of
disheartening difficulties, she found
minor place in one of the bureaus
of the Interior Department, which
she held until Mr.. Teller became
Secretary. To Mr.. Teller, who haG
known her father, and who knew her
story, she appealed, and in compass
sion for her hapless state he promoted
her to place in his own oili.e, which
she held during the brief remainder
of her days. Whoever has had occa
sion of late to pass through the small
room between the Office Of the Secre-
tary and that of the Assistant Secre-
tary may have noticed great screen
up near the window, from behind
which came the rattle of typewrit
ing machine. 1t was Miss Meeker
who operated this instrument. She
was skilled in its use, very accurate
and faithful. Few people, even of
those about the office, ever saw her.
and few of these knew her name or
history. She was at her work for
the last time the day after Christmas.
Wednesday she was too ill to leave
the room, and her end came rapidly
and with welcome Washington
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