Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1894-03-09

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The teacher always had loaded rifle
sitting in the corner of the schoolroom
during school hours, and had it strung
behind her saddle us she rode. She
was n fearless rider and an unerrinp
shot.
After the school Mt the Peak had
been going on for about two years n
singular state of affairs began gradually
to come into being. The fame of her
school had gone out over all tho sur
Rounding country. She had exactly
those accomplishment and exactly
that turn of mind calculated to win
for her the respect and admiration of
the men of the frontier. The result
was thnt they respected, trusted and
almost worshipped her. BY degrees
she acquired almost unlimited inilu-
cnce over the men for over 100 miles
around. They would come to her to
settle nll disputes, and would always
respect her decision. II any given
man felt inclined to resist her dccis.
ion such feeling WAS useless, as every
other man felt honor bound to help
enforce it. Ii II question arose as to
the ownership of,.stoc!i the parties
would bring the cattle or horses IN
volved up to the Peak. Each claimant
would State his side of the case and
call on anyone else he might choose to
snbstantintc it. Ilien came the de-
cision from which there was no ap-
peal. 1T n Fan was Suspected OF steal
ing stock or of committing murder the
process was the same. A ease could
be disposed OF completely in thirty
| minutes. On one occasion Il mere boy
WAS brought up under accusation of
murder The ease vas clear aginst him,
and the verdict ran NJ follows:
"Wcll, he ought TO die, but he's
nothing but Il kid. Give him pony
and let him so, but hang him it you
find him within forty miles of this
place by tomorrow morning."
The hoy left.
Meantime II natural metamorphoss
took place in the name of the place
where she lived. From Quinn's Peak
it was changed to Queens Pcakc, the
schoolma'nm being by that time uni
versally known rs tile queen.
Her death, however, was rs il should
have been, the climnX and browning
point IF her Lie. 1t was all that was
necessary to make her subjects worship
her, not almost, but altogether.
During the fall Of 1869 the CO.
manchcs began once more to make
raids through this portion of Texas.
The Comnnches have been called the
lshmaelities of the West, their hand
heing against every mans hand and
every mans hand against them, The
queen had formerly acquired almost
ns much influence over the Indians as
she had over the whites, and in peri
ods OF open Indian hostility this in
iincnce stood her in good stead. The
Indians seemed 60 consider that her
Indian blood made her one of them
selves, and SO allowed her to pass back
ward and forward to and from their
camps unmolested. Though Chero-
kec, she had soon acquired the lam
gungc of the Comanches. For II long
time her influence was successful in
protecting the settlers around the
Penk from any disturbance, but on one
occasion it failed. All the men for
forty miles had gone some distance
below to Clear Creek Canon, toward
which locality it had been reported
that large band of hostiles were nd
vancing. While the country WAS thus
unprotected, fourtccn-y year old boy
came dashinS up on his pony and
called to the queen that band of
about twenty Comanches were coming
ms fast rs they could travel He
begged her so meet them and pacify
them.
"No," she answered sadly 'its no
use this time. Their bloods M be-
cause our men have gone To Clear creek
and they won't he pacilied. You ride
like the wind and get all the women
and children hid in the creek bank.
I'll hold the Indians long enough for
that
Even as she WAS speaking the Indians
came i'll sight over rise in the prairie,1
They would willingly hayeqpassed her
by without molestations bnEI ehc gyass
determined thegSsboaiid nsis n
;,leiFbera to aim Ut long i. 3 iirnsi
and ditss5 tum5 ram IS horse,
anhen che aug; & ION the & t i
isssise q 81 VI ne Per and standing at full
sent out ringing yell and de-
risively waved her gun The boy
waited to see no more, but keeping the
wooded base of the Peak between him
self and his pursuers, he dashed OFF, as
he had been told.
No one will ever know the details of
what happened after this. There was
natural barricade of stones on top of
the Peak, and keeping behind it she
had the advantage over her foes in the
open prairie. The Indians seem finally
to have taken positions inside the tim
Der around the Peak, and then gra-
dually to have drawn their lines nearer
the summit Doubtless they were UNI
able to tell whether it was defended
by one person alone or by more.
Doubtless, when they had drawn nearer
and were preparing to make the last
fatal rush, she dropped her rifle and
used her heavy six-shooter with deadly
effect. Certain it is Shat she was game
to the last. Finally, the Inst cruel
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