Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1889-08-23

heard him exclaim, In what for him were
most unusual tones; Here, q. H. chats
what he always called mel, look and see
II these scratches are not ~letters.' /
looked and made out. as you have, the
word NOMAH. Yes, yes, said the cap
tain, that's what l thought. The first
part Of the name has been eifaced by
time, but the name in full was Multno-
nah. When I was a boy / remember
she was the most beautiful maiden
among the Klickitats-and they were
warriors in those days
"'Why, captain, said l. this Is quite
a romance; tell me about it.
"'There isn't much TO tell, except that
thirty years ago Harry Sprague and my
self were just Of age. and the Klickitats
were a powerful tribe of Indians, and
during the salmon season they came
In great numbers to the Cascades to fish
and gather berries. Harry and I were
on the steamboats, running to the Cas-
cades, and Multnomah was a beautiful
Indian girl. / always thought that she
must have been a descendant of some
adventurous fur trader, for her features
were Of Caucasian type, and her COM
plexion was not moro dusky than that of
a Spanish beauty. Harry fell in love
with her and she with him-those things
often happened I'm the early days, you
know-and all would have been well but
for the Indian war which broke out
about that time, and the tribe to which
Nultnomah belonged left the river to go
upon the warpath. A little while be-
fore the tribe disappeared Harry had
taken one Of Multnomah's bracelets and
scratched on it with his knife her name.
Shortly after this the blockhOuse at the
cascades wa attacked, but the Indians
were repulsed, and that night we cap
tured a young Indian boy lurking around
the settlement who knew Harry and con-
hded to him that Multnomah wished to
meet him the next night at the Lost
lake. 1t must have been very important
business that would have induced the
Indian girl to visit the dreaded lake; but
we feared a plot and tried to dissuade
Harry from going. He went, and when
he returned, q day later, it was only to
die of innumerable arrow wounds.
Before he died he told me that he had
reached the lake just at dawn. He was
ct the point Of stepping from the under
brush when he caught sight of Multno-
NAH standing on q log projecting over
the water. Her long hair fell over her
shoulders In disordel. and a bright red
blanket chung In graceful folds about her
slender figure. She was gazing intently
on the lake. Harry was just about to
speak her name when an arrow whizzed
through the air strnight to tho heart of
the dusky maiden. Backward she fell
into the lake and sank beneath the sur
face. At the same time Harry received
q mortal wound. He never told us how
he got back to tho river, and we buried
him In the woods he loved so well. The
indians always claimed Multnomah was
seized by IN evil spirit which lives in the
lake in the form of a monster fish and
devOured. At any rate her body wal
never found; but this was her bracelet
Strange that 1t should have been recov
cred after so many years
And that" said the gentleman, as hC
reached for a fresh cigar, ''is why l saiC
there was a remarkable story connecteS
with that bit of jewclry Alta Califor
MIA