Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-07
BRAVE MARY LEE.
Five Days She Kept Hostile Indians at
Bay and Then Killed Herself.

Five Days She Kept Hostile Indians at
Ray and Then Killed Herself.
On the great plains of Kansas. seventy
miles due north of Sheridan, there is a
lonely grave on the crest of a sterile mound.
1t may be that no one could find the spot
today, for the storms of summer and win
ter wash great ravines in the earth and
level even the hilltops after a time. But
saw the grave twenty years ago.
This is the story: There were five or six
families Of emigrants journeying across
the lonely plains, when they were beset by
hostile Indians Mary Lee was a girl only
eighteen years old, and had been brought
up on the Iowa line. The family consisted
of father, mother, two sisters and a brother.
The attack was made very suddenly, and
Mary, who was riding her own horse, was
cut off from the band. When she realized
this she turned and rode away and was
pursued by seven Indians. This was at
about O'Clock in the morning. Her horse
carried her thirty-six miles before he be
came exhausted, and when he fell she
made her way to the crest of the mound
and there sCooped out a shallow rifle pit,
piled stones up around it and prepared to
die fighting
when her horse gave out. She had light
Winchester rifle, which was fully loaded
but 10 extra cartridges Her first shot
killed an Indian and her second crippled
another for life The other five dared not
charge her position. On the second day
she killed another Indian, and the other
four posted themselves in positions and
waited for hunger and thirst to conquer
t,ff ind l.,,- l..,- i
twenty of their band, but the girl was not
attacked. On this day an Indian, who
was creeping up to spy upon her, was shot
through the right lung, and the others con
tented themselves by Il dropping fire at
long range to harass her.
On the fourth day not shot was fired
The weather was terribly hot, and the sun
clared down on that mound until the grass
withered and shriveed and seemed about
to flame up. On the fifth day, an hour
after noon, the girl shot herself through
the head, and was dead before any one
reached her. afterward talked with one
of the warriors who was there, and he told
me that she had been almost roasted alive
by that fierce sun. She had neither food
nor drink, and was little better than a
skeleton. The Indians simply stood about
and looked down upon her. She had n
wealth of golden hair, but they did not
scalp her. She had rings on her fingers,
but they left them there. They did not
even take her rifle nor the saddle from her
dead horse.
White sauaw heap brave-fight hard
no scalpl"
This was her eulogy. Two or three years
later her scattered bones were collected
and buried by surveying party, and to-
day her dust mingles with the sterile soil
fifty miles from the nearest dwelling of
one of her race Bronzed and bearded In
dian fighters, reckless and desperate COW
boys, stern faced and taciturn pioneers
have whispered the name of Mary Lee
around the evening camp fire thousand
times since her death, but ever and always
with gentle tongue and a swelling of the
heart. She was not only woman, but she
died game.-M. Quad in New York World.