The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-10-31

ap0n a blanket spread under some
great trees. aud her husband sat be-
Side her. 4 liifle half-breed boy who
had been playing at his mothers knee
came faaniag 10 her and she took him
ii hel. arms and kissed him. As she
Islid so The mother approached aud
stood lsa5king down upon theni, She
wore i htankcl and. with II secuted to
shield lel E,,e either In moleSty or
shyness But She made friendly
gestures and boy to whom she
beckonea interpreted What she said to
him.
She asks the white Squaw who loves
her little boy TO sleep in her tent to-
night. and 10 eat first OF her food in its
shelter
Margaret GIlham was delighted with
The Invitation.
Come. she said to her husband. '.it
will lie something 10 remember in the
fntnre.
They arose and followed the woman
10 the tent.
Within its shelter 4 feast was spread.
/ The viands were tempting and the
| ~reat ealibasheS were filled with \
! slelicatelv favored drink This the
woman. still yelling her face. pressed
| upon Charles Graham. He drank
rather Ia graiifv her than because he
| liked it. and soon drowsy feeling
stole over him, his hands dropped 10
his sides, aud he slumbered.
Hour after hour passed in Oblivion.
But nj last restfuiness began TO fall
upon him; strange visions passed
athwart his brain scenes Of his early
youth. faces forgotten for years. and
for the first time in his life he dreamed
of Bright-Eyes, the Indian girl who had
saved his life and loved him there IN
the old woodman's home among the
western forests.
She stood before him. smiling into
his face. He slipped shining ring on
her brown finger.
Before the snow falls l will come
back to marry you. he said.
Come soon; come soon. she an
swered for you are my ALL my life,
my soul. my everything.
With these words in his ears Charles
Graham awoke. and. sitting up. gazed
about him.
! The light of dawn was struggling
through an aperture of the tent. the
remnants of the feast lay before him.
. Beside him on the rug lay his wife
closely wrapped in n blanket.
How still she lay? He did not wisl
TO disturb her. but she was so motion
less that she alarmed him.
/ He put forth his hand-she did no
] stir He fiung back the blanket from
her face she lay before him. dead
: great wound in her bosom. her fac,
J gashed in many places. aud scalped
and tied by a thong to her neck wa.
ring with bright stone in it. and
piece of paper on which was written:
. so return it TO you. An Indian woman
cannot ma me- BRIGHTEY E6"
There were strong. desperate mel
among those emigrants. As the,
listened TO the hideous tale their com
| rade told. wrath took possession o
them They put no faith in the pro
testations of sorrow made by the In
dians. and they were many and vel
armed
Before nightfall there remained o
that peaceful little village nothing bu
heap of ashes. among which lay tn
bodies of its men, women, and child
rem The massacre was complete
Several emigrants were wounded. bu
only one killed outright was Charlie
Graham.
They found him gashed with wounds
!. lying beside the body of his murderet
wife. There they buried them. heap
ing the stones high above the grave
and left them sadly
II was day no man cared to re
member. But later. when the moor
was risen. there came to the spot al
Indian woman. with half-breed chile
in her arms. In her eyes were NJ
tears of pity or of sorrow. She stoppet
before the cairn of stones, and spurnet
II with baT- foot
so perish all betrayers,r she NUT
tered. and taking her boy upon he
shoulders. stalked away across tn
prairie. Family Story Paper.