The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-10-12

from its lofty front high up
among tho hoary peaks, flows brook
crystalline ia its purity and mclodious
IN its movements. carrying sweetness
and verdnre to tho thirsty vegetation
below.
Let me take you to tasis valley, called
by its people Gods country" and
show you some Of its beautieA And,
IN order tho better to view It, let me
conduct you to = lofty point Let US
ascend by way Of Santa Anita canyon,
through alternating sage and man.
zinita, to Wilson's peak. ten miles up.
the Sierra Madnes> to ono Of the finest,
natural 0fservatories in tho country, If
not IN the world.
This is the xcenA and there in tho
valley. at La Puente, is tho spot
whereon Awelt tho heroic woman Of
whose brave deed the following is .
record.
In yon Village como twenty years ago
lived Uncie Billy Madden, a genial
country merchant, and his good wife,
q lady from Arkansas, of whom he was
ever ready to relate some humorously
turned anecdote or speak word Of
praise-
They had seen someof the rough side
of life together and, as Unclo Billy was
won't to beast. that Arkansaw wom-
AD~of his uiways kept things moving
Alcng smoothly" She was born and
resred near the city of Little Rock and
came of a highly respectable family of
the middle class, of qnite ample means,
and was fairly educated and possessed
anany of the minor accomplishments.
The then young apd somewhat ad-,
vomtrrpns BEL Madden wandered rather
x;nhessiy ttrnngh the ststes, having
aeft fTis home IN Ohio with the half
formed intention of locating in some
new and unsettled portion Of the coun-
try. in beating about he found himself
in Little Rock, where he met his car
kansaw Woman" and married her
After quite an extended tour of the
west in search OF a Nicely place IN
which to build a home Uncle Billy"
and his bride brought up ia the San
Gsbrielvalley at La Puente.
After a-short residence in the valley
ts1e-new couple combined their efforts
and means instarting a little store for
general merchandise. Here they turned
their small stock of goods to gold, and.
renewing 1t constantly, went on gath
eriug in the coin and enlarging their
store until 1t came to be noised about
that Uncle Billy" (which name he had
acquired soon after his arrival in the
valley through his fondness for chill
In Arl- 81 I,,
were getting rich.
The bulk of their trade was with the
Mexicans, who were IN the valley,
among them being number of ugly
customers of the Chavez stripe who
used 10 sometimes render the surround
ing country. and particularly the ''Old
Mission" close by, anything but fit
habltatlon for peace-loving people.
They would FL up with ''owadiente,"
the native brandy, and bestriding their
brenchos'dash through the highways
in a:mauner highly threatening to the
personal safety of any who might be
coming their way, yelling meanwhile
like demons and whirling their lassos
about their heads until they whistled
= shrin accompaniment to the uproar
According to Uncle Billy that Arkan-
sawwoman of his often grew uneasy in
tine presence of these ruffians, and it
was her firm conviction that sooner or
later there would be trouble at La
Pueues- He would ri6icule her fears
and would try to persuade her out of
her notions" as he termed them. but,
though she appeared to be calm for the
time, she resolved within herself to be
ever on the alert for Mexican mischief
and her fears were not groundless
One day a black-muzzled Mexican
entered the store, and glancing annn,.
in a istless way inquired the prices of
various articles. He seemed to have
ample leisure. for. after making few
trifing purchases, he hung about for
several hours, exchanging al intervals
= few words in Spanish with the store
keeper, in which language the new
eomers had become quite proficient
During the stay Of the Mexican tia