National Republican., 1883-01-01
ANNA NrrrKrn.
sad Ending OF n Young Life singu-
Iarly FlIied with nyisfortune.

lnrly bNled with Misfortune.
lima Mecker died at her boarding house,
tho northwest part of the city, last Satur-
, ,ymorning, aftera very brief illness, of pneu-
nonia The life thus ended was one of the
most tragic and yet most heroic order 1t
was patiently lived, and its sharp termination,
+h"Ggh sad enough, was one of its most CRATE.
points.
very one remembers the Ute outbreak
le more than two years ago, in which
.ent Meexer was murdered. The girl who
ed last Saturday was Agent MeelSer's
aughter. For some time previous TO her
lthers appointment to Office the family had
cen in closely Strengthened circumstances
Anna had been employed in tent and
iwning makers establishment at Dem
yer, where the amount of labor she was
Obliged TO perform was unduly large in pro-
portion to the amount of money she received
for performing it, When her father took
;harge of the agency she decided to go there
with him. One of her friends, an elderly
gentleman now living in Washington, advised
her against this step representing the dangers
Nd hardships of existence on that remote
'5ptier, among savages of n cruel and surly
.aracter,, 4" | will go, all the same" she an
wered hin. :" If mother can stand IL, can;
and she will wantmy companionship, for she Is
I'D and 1t will be very lonesome and very hard
for her out there" And she went. The life was
gard enough, but by her own accounts of 1t
they got on very well, and oven happily,
until one day there came horror that mndo
their little corner of the mountains fearful
forever in the memory of the whole country.
On that bloody morning Anna Mceker saw
ler father butchorcd and her mother suffer far
worse than death before his dying eyes. The
whole story of what was done then never has
been and never can be told. 1t comes back
now brought up by this last result of it, with
"a pity and terror i'm IL none the less vivid
nv reason of the time that has interviewed.
Anna was carried of by the Indians, and
for wcelSst, hat must have been ages of despair,
she was kept q captive among them, sub
.iected to treatment brutal beyond all
thought. much less all naming When at
last she got away her health, that never had
bccn sound, was hopcessly broken, and bur
dene& with infections from which there
could be no escape short of the grave. AT
first she was taken up by some of those senti-
mcntalists who are never lacking in attention
to new object where notoricty is involved
but when public interest began to slackcn
and no more talk was to be had out of n con-
nection with her case, these people gradually
wore away, and left her, all alone IN the world
MS she was to fight for herself rs best she
might Somehow she got to Washington
and here for months, sick and starving, she
struggled to find some means by which she
might MAINTAIN neIHcll. IL Woulu httNO pSVh
well enough with her had not the ladies who
at first interested themselves i'll her behalf
rich and comfortable ladies, who should have
had humanity enough to consider the question
of her utter innocence and helplcssness--drop
ped her as soon as they learned the nature o
the troubles she had known among hci
captors Then, after all manner of dis
heartcniug difficulties she found n minoi
place in one of the bureaus of Tho
Interior department, which she held unit
Mr.. Teller became secretary. To Mr.. Teller
who had known her father and who knew he
A story, she appealed and in compassion fo
= her hapless state, he promoted her to place
in his own office, which she held during thu
brief remainder of her days Whoever ha
had occasion of late to pass through the smal
room between the Office of the sccrc
tary and that of the assistant secretar!
may have noticed great screen set VI
near the window, from behind which cam
the rattle of n type-writing machine. 1t wa
Miss Meekcr who operated this instrument
She was skilled in its use, very accurate, yer.
rapid, aud very faithful. Few people, evei
of those about the office, ever saw her ant
few of these knew her name or history. Sh
was at hor work for the last time the day atte
Christmas. Wednesday she was too i'll {
havc her room, and her end came rapid
and not without welcome.