Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1891-05-08

column when we were startled at a
shot that was fired almost In our faces.
Lieut. Curtiss cap was sent flying into
the air cut in two pieces.
"As sprang from my horse saw a
girl standing astride the body Of the
dead chief, armed with a Winchester
which she was in the act Of firing
again. / threw the rifle aside and
grappled the girl, who fought with
great fury, uttering strange cry
Finally she was bound and taken up by
one Of the men and carried TO the
rear. We were successful in rejoining
the main body, and in the great strug-
gle Of the lava beds | lost sight Of our
prisoner. After the conclusion of the
campaign l was sent to Fort Yuma,
where the concluding incident of my
story took place. The strange his
tory and still stranger end of the beau
tiful Cochita-for that was the name
she was known by--lends very rO-
mantle coloring to the desperate fight
she made over the remains Of the dead
chief at the battle at foot of the lava
beds.
"Cochita was not an Indian girl, but
was the child of a Spanish family of
Sinaloa, the northwestern State of
Mexico, She was exceptionally pretty,
of small but very trim and graceful
form, clear olive complexion, and
bright black eyes that had the soft
Andalusian loveliness in them.
When captured she was only about II
years old, and her native beauty was
but little diminished by her enforced
associations with the savage ApacheS.
She had been taken by the Indians
when a baby of 3, and all her family
had been killed. Her life was saved
by sQuaw of the chief, who took
fancy to her and kept her as her own
child.
"She was given the name of Cochita,
the diminuliye Of Cochise, the most
famous.of the Apache chieftainas She
was tutored in the ways of the savage
people, and, when taken by us, com
hined one wlldness of the antelope
with the fcrocity of a tiger cat. After
she was taken to Yuma the wife ofour
post surgeon took charge Of her. and
did everything to induce her to return
to civilization, but with Indifferent sue
cess. The girl was quiet enough. but
seemed to be = victim OF settled melan-
choly, She soon remembered enough
Spanish in which language her mist
ress was very proficient, to tell all she
could rccollect of her early life, but as
she was not more than three years cid
when taken from home, her mind re-
fused to recall the details to the
massacre and her abduction.
Enough was CLEANED to indicate
the truth of the story as l have given
it, and the additional fact that she
was in love with the chief, over whose
body she made such a desperate ight,
She never gave us any trouble, yet
never appeared at ease. She was given
the freedom of the post, and would
wander restlessly about, cycling the
men with startled and oftentimcs
wonderfully intent glance. She would
go to the bank of the Colorado and
sit for hours gazing toward the north
as il pining for her lost freedom but
making no effort regain ii.
''To the north of Fort Yuma the
hill grows more imposing until the
grand canyon of the Colorado is
reached and the regions Of eternal
snow are encountered. The fort is
situated on the banks Of the Colorado
almost at the mouth of the Gila
The banks are sufficiently high on the
west to prevent any overflow, while
away to the south they sink into the
valley that opens into the Gu'f Of Cal
ifornia. At Il short distance above the
fort these banks are some fifty fee
above the water, which boils in con
stant eddes below flowing with {
rapidity unknown in the rivers Of th'
East. Navigation is almost impossible
as the fall is some 5000 feet in 4O
, miles. The mountains to the nortl
are broken and irregular, and frequen
crags just out over the water Of tn,
river.
"One day about five month
after the advent Of the strang
combination of wildness ant
beauty, Cochita was missed from tn
fort, and with Others / was detailed L
find and bring her back. AS l hat
seen her frequently near the river,
becave possessed Of the idea that W
, would find her ensconced in some o
the small cayerns in the rocks at it
, edge l at once set out up the rive
bank keeping a sharp lookout for tn
girl, but at first failed to discover an
trace Of her.
} "When almost ready to give it u
: and report my lack Of success
= thought heard voice singing
e weird monotonous air Glancing i
r the direction whence the sound cam