The Progress., 1893-03-25

when you see him. Opinions are divided
as TO whether heroism is a matter OF luck
and accident or springs from n personal
quality inherited and cultivated by the
winners of laurel crowns. But here IS
story Of deeds such as are claSsed varouSiy
as brave and noble and daring that seems
to upset some of the theories underlying
both arguments.
How could the luck theory or the train
ing theory account for the exploits OF Cyn
thia Westovcr, who in youth was CHRIS
tened the Colorado Girl because OF a
way she possessed from early childhood OF
doing wonderful things in the presence OF
men and women having equal chance to
snatch the flying moment-if it all restef
upon chance-and with training for emer
gencies superior in hundred ways TO that
of any juvenile.
Miss Westover crossed the plains from
Iowa to the Rocky mountains in wagon
train seven times during the period OF In
dian hoStilites in the Platte country. she
was born il Iowa in 1888 and made the
first trip to Colorado in 1865. From that
date until womanhCod her life was passed
roughing it in the mining regions and or
the plains. She told me, when | asked foi
the narrative of her daring deeds, inklings
of which have appeared in the newspapers,
that she had never done anything worthy
the name of daring, but at length agreed
| TO tell her own story for the first time, let
| it pan out tIue metal, quartz or what not.
! This is substantially what she said:
! On our first trip up the Platte the train
| reached Julcsburg just after the great massa-
! ere there. Everybody was panic stricken. Inc
Indians lowered around the route, and We
] ,.,--i,,, tn no ID
/ nations in the mines One of the drivers oi
| the train, who wa n great favorlte, was
scalped outside of imp and lay there in the
hot sun. None of the men would go To his re.
lief for fear of being seen by the Indians Some
| Of the women in the train gave me water and
handkerchief, and Icrawled out through tbs
| tall grass, bathCd the wound and bound hl-
! head with a wet handkerchief. thus saving the
poor fellows life.
! On another trip the Indians attacked Oui
| train when part of it was detached and SEP
| arated from the rest. There was little fort
back on the trail where we had passed-a hoe
! scoopcd out in the ground and rooted over
with adobe and loopholcd. There were but
few people in our little train. and the whC!'
thought was to get back to the fort for De
fense ahead of the Indians. Father and sci
out alone and cTawled through the grass t'
the fort found it unOccupied End kept the In
dians at n distance for n whole night and unit
| our friends came. tatnef WIS Bolu 7ethcl
and when he determined to adopt the rowing
miners life he put me in training for rougf
experiences, for had no mother and he would
not leave me behind. He taught me to shoot
| could handle n rifle, and always carried ;
small Colts revolver in my belt
The Indians who were hostile in that region
in my early days were the Comanches, kiowas
Apaches and Arapahoes. They would ham,
I along the route Of a train to attack stragglers
and if they could catch children would hole
them for ransom, and murder them out Of Te
venge when the ransom was denied or the,
were attacked i'm force. On one Of our trips
when we were near Cottonwood Springs, wa
out at a distance from the wagons, end still far
ther off were boy and his mother. !heard th
mother scream, and looking up sax an In
dian with his tomahawk raised to strike tn
boy, whom lie had seized and was carrying of
when the mother screamed an alarm. / wa
confused over the sceno-the frantic mother
the struggling boy and the ugly redskin brand
ishing his tomahawk-but my instinct told m
10 shoot, and / did and brought the India
down.
The people in the train made a good deal q
IL at the time but don't think it was muc
of a daring feat. l was always timid, eve
, after became young woman. The sight Q
any one suffering whom | could help move
me to act did whatever would help any on
in trouble. While we were camped near Gen
trail City the news of the assassination of Lin
coin was brought by message overland.
miner made a silly remark, gloating over th
) deed, and some of the men who had bee
D drinking started a mob TO lynch him. sa'
the poor fellow at bay, pleading for his lif'
, and ran between him and the maddene