Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-07-09

you're little beasti Skip oHt of here
or I'll take stick TO youT"
Then arose a great howl from Tads
and he kept on bowling until an Apach,
woman came over the sands from tn,
wickiups and gathered him up in hel
arms. She was his mother. She eyed
me suspiciously. and walked away will
her highly demonstrative burden.
Z OF course regretted my hot Language
and wanted the little beggar back again
1t was so lonely there on the desert. The
wires walled so heartbrokenly, while the
sun beat down so fiercely in the daytime
and the coyotes yelled so dolefully al
night. How he had crept into my heart,
| TO be sure!
1t was several days before we were on
satisfactory terms again. Tads wanted
to be white man. He wanted to make
talk marks" on ''pupper" with feather
Il sometimes used a quill pen. be it re.
marked-and he wanted TO speak with
his finger. Well, did manage to teach
him q few letters from 4 railroad poster,
and he learned to drawl out 'T-a-d-s" in
droll way. With perseverance that
was really startling ! afterward took
him in an uncertain way through n page
or two of "Can you see the fat OK" and
so on, wherefore his heart was glad.
''l'll be wife mans, heap sure" he de-
clared in his bullfrog voice after he had
accomplished this wonderful feat.
Great distress rackcd Tad's soul on
the fatal day when the wickiups were
taken down and the tribe mounted its
mustangs to go over the hills. The
Apaches had to search all over the sta
tion to find Tads. At last they hauled
him forth from under my bunk, scream
ing like mad. Of no avail were his
screams, of no avail was his cry: me
yanter stay wild him! Me yanter be w'ite
mans"
Apache papas are unbending and
Apache mamnas are inexorable Away
they whisked Tads, leaving behind him
tenderfoot with u queer feeling in his
throat.
We'll, the boy has the instincts of
white man." said, for was proud of
what fancied had made of him, "and
he'll be Il shining light among those dew
illsh people of his. If we had few more
like him to put among them, the Apache
question would settle itself and we could
set our soldiers to hoeing corn"
Then took up the restless life of
city man, and big and busy railroad
office claimed good share of my atten-
ton for the next ten years. Yes, it was.
fully that long before again set foot
upon the desert, Our train stopped at
the old station. How the pepper tree
had grown, to be sure. In its shade sat
a cavalry sergeant with a half-dozen of
his men about him. and in their midst
were three Indian prisoners, who were
being taken to the fort to be shot.
They We're fierce looking fellows, those
three savages. There was one-the Young
was a perfect demon, the SOL
diers said
KILLED three women and two babies
down vt Mustang Wash last Tuesday"
said the sargeant to me; ''just after one
OF them had given him his breakfast
too. He's young enc, not more than
seventeen, should say, but he's the
worst red devil ever saw"
Gazing at the boy captive, q strange
feeling stole over me. The stolid face
was oddly familiar.
His name? Blessed if | know" said
the sergeant. What do you call your
self, ycung eae" he asked, giving him
not too de&icat9 poke v4Ha the tos of his
boot.
"Mc? Why. my names Tads!'' grunted
the boy.
"Talks pretty good English for wild
devil who has been over the Mexican
border SO long, doesn't he?" asked the
sergeant, turning to me-
But | said nothinS.-Frank Bailey
Millard in ArgonaUt