Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1890-04-24
MOTHER OF A CHIEF.
A Border Romance Narrated by
One Concerned In It.
Cynthia Ann, White Girl, Captured in
Childhood and Adopted by the CO.
manches-She Pined for the Saw
age Life She Led.

The agitation of the Indian land ques-
tion brings to mind the tragedy and ro-
nance connected with the well-known
Comanche chief, Quanah. His mother
was white woman, captured in her
young girlhood by the Comanches, and
taken from her home in Texas over into
New Mexico. Her family, one of the
most prominent of Texas, resided in
Anderson County.
lived in Eastern Texas at the time,
my parents home being near that of
Captain Parker. This is near what is
now Palestine, then composed of a few
cabins. 1t was away back in the.days
when Texas was arepublic-a few years
before she joined the sisterhood of
States.
| was wee bit of q barefooted
boy, attending my first school in the
pine woods. can still see, in my mem
ory, that old school-house and its sur.
roundings Some of the boys and girls
who attended that old school are now
men and women of prominence, known
everywhere. The old school-house was
made of pine logs with the bark on.
This bark served as home for the
scorpions, which made themselves free
and easy in livening up the
pupils, and the ''tsel, tsek.
tsek" of the sawyer worm work.
ing in those logs was the constant
music of the day. The great wide
chimney, made of cross sticks covered
with clay and moss, was not the least
picturesqueiof the surroundings. The
inevitable spring branch was just under
the hill, where we got water from the
spring and waded in the brook with our
little juvenile sweethearts, pastime for
which we inevitably received the good
old-style sthrashing. The desks were
simply rough pine boxes with the lids
sloping toward you, held on by strips of
leather for hinges, The seats were pine
slabs, hown smooth on the straight sur
face, holes bored in the under side and
pegs driven into them for legs, Each
bench extended the length of half the
room. The floor was what was called a
puncheon. This was made of pine slabs,
split and put together as closely as pos
sible, and pegged to the slcepers. Pick
Ing splinters out of the bare feet of the
rscholars, as the pupils we're called,
was regular business the puncheon
floors furnishing splinters every day
and every year. from generation to gen.
grafton Many tender little feminine
heart was captured while its owner,
playing the surgeon, was picking the
splinters out of the feet of some youth
full Romeo, who bravely kept back the
tears, when it was plain to the tender
hearted surgeon that he was suffering
mortal agony.
There was in this school very pretty
blue-eyed little maiden about my own
tender age. She was named Cynthia Ann,
daughter of Captain John Parker. Cap
tain Parker was quite "a big man. in
the neighborhood; lived in large
'plank' house with real glass windows
and green blinds. Favored, indeed, was
the boy who could win smile from ol
claim the favor of sweet little Cynthia
iuHs w ASH v uCI Va Ohe
Texas Congress-? So was the envy oI
all the boys, as Cynthia Ann and l be-
came fast friends, and, OF course, wa:
the cause of many fight In short
time we acknowledged, without blush
ing, that we were sweethearts, Cynthis
Ann and l. In fact she was not back
ward in letting it be known herself
This settled the dispute, but resulted il
more fights and some few lickings fo
me.
One dark night the Comanche Indians
then raiding in that part of Texas, wer'
announced in our neighborhood. Ever!
body took shelter in the block house
nearest his immediate abode. Captain
Parker's family took refuge in the grea
Foster block house, near where Pales
tine now is. The Indians attacked thi
and killed and scalped every one of thu
inmates, including all of Captain Par
ker's family except Cynthia Ann. The!
carried her into captivity away into thu
barren hills of New Mexico. As man.
men as could be spared from the neigh
borhood followed the Indians for severa
weeks. hoping to be able to retake Cyr
thia Ann, but they were unsuccessful
In 1861 Colonel L. Sui Ross, of w
chen Commander of the Texas Ran
afterwards distinguished as
cavalry General at the heat
Texas troops during the late
Is now Governor Of Texas, ga
TO an invading band of Conan
the Northwestern part of the st
utterly routed them. killing ar
tng many Of their warriors 4