Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-27


| wife had been pretty. hard-working and affec-
| tomato. His children were healthy and hand
some. The last poor little toddler was born
after its father had, all in a day, become the
| repulslVe wreck we saw. But to the
most interesting feature in the story was the
| fact, related in an absurdly matter-of-course
| way by the driver, that to marry Mrs Robin
| son was the hearts desire of every eligible man
| throughout large neighborhood. She was
| cruel enough 70 refuse to contract another
ailance while her lord continued to breathe.
Considering her comparative refinement / was
| sumclenuy shocked that she could even be
approached on such a subject but the driver
toid US that she was distinctly promised to a
| helBhboring ranchman named Brown when she
| should actually be set free by complete death
| The driver evidently considered her coyness a
mistake, and explained to me that anv one of
her suffers would have been quite willing to &C
cept the care of his predecessor. Also that wo-
men were scarce hereabout and men at a dis
| count But Penelope was firm. She talked
OF her husbands affection in his presence with
| bland brutality. her remarks pune tuated by his
| cries, and made some excuse for refusing the
| hospitality of Mrs. hobinson's spare chamber,
| ana shiyered under the stars all night, out of
| nearing OF the master of the house. l was
| forced to establishment and prevarication the
next morning to soothe the in ured feelings OF
| our hostess.
| AT THE WILLOWS.
| Inc second day of travel did not improve my
temper, SO that when We reached The Willows,
our next stopping place, was not prepared to
| be polite over anything less than the best ac-
| commodations and the most enthusiastic well
| come Any outrageous vision which may
| have called up of The Willows was dispelled
when L saw the usual long. one-story adobe
house, not Swallowed by solitary NANCY cotton
| wood Here. too, me presence OF gentle
| woman was bespoken by a horde of children,
too numerous to be attributed to one mother,
and much less clean than the offspring of the
| fascinating Mrs Robinson. The lady of The
willows was large, rosy. robust and ineffably
dirty. She was standing in the doorway with q
| baby on her arm as we drew up, and invited me
| into her house with a hearty welcome. She
considered my arrival peculiarly fortunate from
social standpoint. as she had. she said. an
other lady visitor, and she introduced me at
| once to Mrs. Jones, who had come with six
children to spend week. They were cousins.
Hospitality was pressed upon me in the form
| of something known as coffee and soda biscuit
/ of an awful yellow.
1t being the end of the month all the herders
| and COW boys in the neighborhood had Just re-
ceived their pay and were on their way to
Prescott to spend it in riotous living. The
commodations of The Willows had been
| stretched to the utmost to entertain these
'translents' and 1t was a very gay season. But
| IN my favor they calamity vacated the room
| they had expected to occupy before our de-
scent 1t was a huge, barn-like place. built OF
oNOOc, WIN DOdTu against the
walls. One small window dimly lighted it by
day, but by night it was gloriously Illuminated
from a fireplace Of even more magnificent pro-
portions than Mrs. Robinsons.
FED THE BISCUITS TO MULE.
The lady of The Willows was considerate
enough to allow me to withdraw to our own
quarters before the evening meal in that mis-
ceIlaneous apartment of hers. But while we
were preparing to picnic out of our lunch
basket she brought a contribution to our sup
per OF dozen new-laid eggs and pan of soda
biscuit of so jaundiced a complexion that with
the polltest intentions and the best possible
Questions, we could not make up our minds to
attack them. She fingered urging us to eat
them while they were hot, but her duties
hnally called her away, and, fearing that they
would have a discouraging effect even on the
IRE, we took them out and fed them 10 one of
the ambulance mules. have been touched with
remorse every time a mule has looked me in
the face since. The eggs, however, were above
suspicion. We roasted them in the ashes and
they were indescribably delicious, though a
good part OF che egg was lost in the cooking.
we then decided that IN future mo- meal should
De considered complete without roasted eggs,
and we have never tried them since.
We reached the end of our Journey about
sunset the next day. blackberry consisted of a
large adobe store house, small frame build
ing. containing the offices of the agent and the
quartermsster's agent, Charlie Smiths house
and half dozen wicky-ups scattered about.
Most OF the Indians lived at some little dis
lance from the agency. Il speak of it in the
past, for that was ten years ago, and at the
ordinary rate of Arizona progress a CITY NAV
have risen up, fourished, declined and died in
that decade, for aught that know
THE AGED sU1roR cHERuM.
i was curious to meet the ardent Cherum.
and after being luxurious!y settled in the office
of the quartermaster's agent, went forth to
see what an Indian agency was like 1 had
met no Indians before, except a few who
haunted the railway station at Yuma, clad
principally in postage stamp each. The
Hualpais had accumulated all the clothing pos
sIble from soldiers dilapidated dress hats to
flour sacks and occasional white cotton
glove, and though there was usually some por-
ton or another Of the person which seemed TO
have been unkindly Disseminated against
there was an unmistakable effort to appear
warmly and handsomely attired. They were
generally men and women, far from good look
ing, and all seemed to be afflicted with colds in
tnelr neads However. the next morning
when L was watching the issue Of -four from
the store house, l was struck by the picturesque
beauty OF many Of the boys of about fourteen
or fifteen years old. There were faces which
reminded one of the familiar Neapolitan boy,
and the grace and muscular perfection of their
bodies were admirable.
Cherum rose from the ground to undergo an
introduction TO me, shook me tendery by the
hand and gave me the benefit Of his limited
English vocabulary. As he gesticulated in the
direction of Charlie Smiths house. l under
stood him to be asking my good offices with his
bride, but refused to commit myseH Nv
slight acquaintance with Indians had not quite
Graduated the hope that there might be beau
tlful squaw, and 1 was very anxious to meet
Chacha-pims, whose hand had been in such de-
mand- experienced one brief shock of dis
appointment when found her to be the same
lean, withered. filthy little creature who is the
typical squaw at the age of twenty-five She
grinned deprecatingly and chartered much.
producing perfectly naked baby for nv in.
spection and admiration.
My companion unhesitatingly decreed a di-
vorce between Cherum and Chacha-pima- He
told Cherum TO get up and stop making an old
fool OF himsef-that there were as good fish in
the sea as ever came out of il, with other con-
| solatory reflections invented for uniucky low
ers- Probably Cherum put as much faith in
these utterances as would white man in SINH
lar circumstances, but at all events the sieoe
| was raised Chacha-pima emerged from her
retirement and was present at the issue of ra
tlons- She was assigned to the care of a dis
tant relative, who was charged with her support
| in spite Of his voluble remonstrances-
cHAcHA-PIMA's FICKLEYEss
1 left blackberry in a very satisfied frame of
mind. felt that had assisted in SATISFYING
the claims OF poetic justice. Such constancy as
Chacha-pimas should be recognized and re-
| warded, even though the object of il were nm