The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-03-24
A ROMANCE OF HISTORY.
An Incident Of Mexican Cruelty on
the Texas Border.


A little restaurant overlooking the
San Antonio river. Two men with
chairs tilted back and feet against the
projecting rail Of the balcony, were
smoking their evening cigarettes
The dusk lay above them like bats
wing, ready to fall swiftly and sudden
II, as it does in southern iatitudes
Both were young and of goodly pres
ence. Western suns and winds had
tanned their cheeks and burned in the
red CT youth to rich tropic hue.
Across the brow of oae-a brow
whose boyish contour moved women
with mother instincts to sudden long
ing to caress-lay loose waves of soft
yellow hair. Beneath looked out eyes
OF dark gray, heaEy with the long
thoughts of those early, desperate
days-days when = republic worked
out IN blood her long probation The
other had a fairrr eountenanee, more
lighssome and full OF happy promise.
No dark prophecy brooded in the
sunny shadows of the bright blue eyes,
and laughter sprang as lightly TO the
lip as the blush to the cheek OF a maid.
Superadded tonight to his native
exuberance was some foreign element
OF joyousness, which seemed TO master
spirit and muscles alike. He was full
Of movement Tossing away a half
finished cigarette, he cIasped his hands
back Of bis curly head and broke the
suence with sudden speech.
Ned, am too happy to smoke; en-
tho happiest man in ell this border
land Nellie Herndoo has promised
to be my wife. It's secret yet, but
couldn't keep it from you any more
than could keep my love from her.
There is not another woman like her,
north, east, south or west Did you
ever notice the gold Of her hair? II Is
like sunshine spun into threads When
ever / look At her ] think of some
quaint old words my mother used to
read out OF a book long years ago
when I was boy back in my old
Georgia home. They went this way:
Whose shoes latchet am not worthy
to unioose-' I suppose the preachers
would call that irreverent but God
viii bear ms witness there's no irrev-
erence in my heart when I think OF
her"
AT Harvey Armstrong; first words
the color was washed out of Ned Fos-
ter's face as with sponge, his very
eyes seemed to pale.
Bringing the chair to the ground,
concealing his face with his hands, he
leaned over the railing and looked
down into the sluggish waters Of the
river flowing few feet below.
How old and wise they looked, those
waters, in their calm, uufetted flow.
Good for you, Old fellow" he said,
as he extended his hand MAY Won
have centuries Of happiness If any
man deserves her it is you, Harvey"
This was IN the summer Of 1S4I
In the autumn Of 1872, when Presi-
dent Houston ordered out Gen. Somer-
veil TO the Rio Grande to organize
troops and avenge the insulting raids
of Vasquez and Vol, Ned Foster was
among the first to respond to the call
soy volunteers.
About one hundred and eighty miles
south of Saltillo, on the road to the
City OF Mexico, is an old fort, known
in history as the Hacienda Salado.
To this place, on the Goth Of March,
1913, were brought the recaptured rem
naut of the unfortunate Mier expedi-
ton, that gallant band of three hun.
bred and sixty men, the flower OF
western militia, who went forth to do
battle for the honor of the young re-
public and were SO treacherously
dealt with by the followers of Santa
Ana, to whom they surrendered as
prisoners Of war. All readers OF Texas
history know how the terms of the
treaty were broken and the betrayed
men shown no mercy but marched into
the interior, subjected to incredible
nardships. and finally imprisoned miles
away from home and friends
Feeling keenly the indignity of their
treatment and fearing worse at the
hands of such perfdious foes, they