Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-07-19
An Arizona Romance.

| Chlrlcahua ApacheS made 1t their strong
 hold, and for many years the trip through Apache Pass was dreaded alike by stage
 drivers and passengers. There were out
 riders, of course, and every stage was es-
 corted by strong guard, but i'll spite of
 this they were frequently attacked in the defiles of the pass, and many were the brave men who lost their lives in attempt ing to go over this dangerous trail.
 Murders became so frequent that Unit l ed States post was established at the
 summit of the pass where there was an
 open space large enough for the erection
 of adobe barracks for the men and cor
 rals for the horses. There was also an
 abundance of water, and the place was
 fitted in every way for a military station.
 Just back of the post ran deep ravine
 some hundred yards in width and several hundred feet deep, while on the other
 side of the raVine rose an almost perpen-
 dicular cliff fully one thousand feet high.
 Several troops of dragoons were sta
 tiOned at the post and they managed to afford some protection to the travellers
 overland. However their position was
 dangerous one and if any soldier ventured outside of the camp alone, the chances
 were that his dead body would be found l by his comrades next day The cruel
 Apaches did not like the presence of the
 soldiers and tried to harrass them in
 every way There was no kind of devilish
 trick which they did not resort to in their
 efforts to annoy them.
 Just over in the Sulphur Springs Val 1 ley, some ten miles from Apache Pass, a
 sturdy pioneer by the name of Nash had
 erected a neat little adobe of three rooms,
 and he with two sons and one daughter,
 a bright girl, eighteen years of age, had
 started a ranch His cattle were frequen-
 tly dfiven off by Indians, but they had never ventured near ranch, for an Indian
 has great fear of an adobe house on ac- count of the thick walls, behind which
 one man can defend himself against a score. Old Nash had been on the iron
 tier for years and had no personal fear
 of Indians or anything else, and he
 brought up his children to follow in his
 footsteps From babyhood their lives
 had been spent amid scenes of blood and
 they had been inured to hardships, priva-
 tions and ghastly sights. The Indians
 were constantly breaking out, and life
 was at no time safe, so that every one
 became accustomed to bearing and using l guns. Even during the brief intervals of
 peace there were constant reminders, of
 terrible deeds which had already been
 committed for around every water hole
 were mounds and crosses to tell of those
 who had been murdered by Apaches, and
 along every trail there were dead mems
 bones. It Is not surprising then, that,
 raised among such surroundings, Helen
 Nash should have been fearless, daring
 girl, and that she was frequently left
 alone at the ranch while her father and
 brothers were away on the range. The
 girl was well formed, pretty blonde, and
 was a favorite among the officers of,the
 post in the pass, who frequently rode out
 with an escort to see her. She was al
 ways entertaining and her father was
 hospitable, so the Nash ranch was known
 far and wide. Helen had fallen in love
 with young officer at the post, and they
 were to have been married at an early
 date. but her sweet dreams of life were
 destined never to be realized, for she met
 with tragic fate before the eyes of her
 lover one bright summer day, when no
 one dreamed that danger was near.
 On the day referred to the men ate their
 breakfast and rode out on the range as
 usual, leaving Helen attending to her
 household duties. They did not return
 until noon, when terrible sight awaited , them. The door of the house was open and on the inside every article had been smashed and the fragments were scattered l about the floors of the rooms Every utensil and piece of bedding or clothing
 had been carried of, and in fact the : house had been stripped of everything
 It was plain to see that Indians had visit } ed the place and the distracted father
 and brothers searched in every direction expecting to come upon Helen's dead body. They found no traces of her, but ] l1 Il, l. not tamely submitted to her fate, but had } made a fight for her life. There were
 several pools of blood near the doorway , and the marks on the ground showed
 that at least one body had fallen, and
 had been picked up and removed. After
 consultation the men decided that Helen
 had been carried of, and they determined to ride in all haste to the post in Apache Pass and notify the troops so that they could go in pursuit. Hurriedly mount t ing, they started on run for the post and never slackened speed until the place
 was reached. The news was communi
 cated to the officer in charge, and mo
 ment afterwards the troops were prepar
 ing to take the trail. The men had near
 y finished saddling up when suddenly an exclamation from one of the troopers caused all eyes to turn towards the cliffi which overhung the post. There, 1T plain sight, were twenty or thirty Indians
 dancing around on the brink of the precipice, and their yells of derisio1 could be heard as distinctly through the pass as though they had been only few hundred feet away. They were too fal above the soldiers to fear any danger, anC
 to reach the spot where they stood it wa: : necessary to make a long detour an6 l., Fl oe ol l would take at least half a day. While ) every one watched with astonishment tht . haIf-naked saYages dancing and brandish - ing their arms, two other Indians appear
 ed upon the cliff dragging a woman be - tween them. At this sight such death ? like silence came over the troops tha Q they could almost hear each othe > breathe, and brave men who had ove e and over again faced death without finch r ing, trembled like aspens and covered C their eyes. Every one present knew wh,
 the girl was, and 1t was too plain to b [ done. A moment later the women wa g raised in the arms of the two Indians 0 swung backward and forwards once O D twice. and then hurled head-long ove t the cliff One despairing shriek rang ou s as the body shot downward and disap E peared in the abyss below. The wal II was echoed rom rOck to rock. ana an > swered only by the wild yell of the de mons on the chiff.
 'f For a moment the troops stood paralyz + ed, but soon a stern, ringing comman y came to mount, and every man spran T into the saddle A few men were sent t s find the body of the girl, while all tn > others set off in gallop down the trai e bent on overtaking the fends who ha e committed the crime. All the day an a night they rode, and before mornin n they discovered camp fires on the prairi l, ahead They halted and reconnoiterine u found that 1t was in reality the Apach ,, camp, for the savages had expected n II such hasty pursuit, and had leisurel n gone into camp. The troops did not UT le saddle, but quietly waited forssthessdawn C g day, and just as the first gray streak $ began to appear they dashed into tn It camp. A sharp quick fight followed le No quarter was given or asked. It was sT fight to the death, and before the su q rose the entire band of thirty odd Indian a were wiped out. The attack had been s II unexpected that none of the troops wer 2 killed, although many were wounded T. No time was lost in burying the dea !