The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1895-03-21

n Z ,
WyMsugMA w b n ordered
.~>VS S@ convened at
49lp ~ e Fort Marcy. It
had convened.
Private Thomas Wilkins, OF Company
d. -th jnfantry, had been tried for
being off duty without leave, the pa
pers had been signed and sent to Wash
John Briefly, who had acted as judge
advocate, and Maj. Thompson, the sur
geon, who had appeared as witness
against Wilkins, were striding along
the board walk toward the colonefs
quarters when l met them, and was
invited in to have glass of something
hot.
After the something hot had been
declared excellent by all the persons
interested, the talk naturally was OF
the court-martial.
by the way, colonel" said Maj.
. sThompson. 'if you will pardon my say
ing 30, thought you were very rlenient
toward Wilkins in your examination. !"
''Yes, said the colonel, Il generally
am in such cases. You know" he said,
turning to me, s'Nilkins left his quar-
ters to go and see his sweetheart. He
Is engaged to the girl
'But it was clear case of neglect of
duty" remarked the surgeon.
81 know it," replied the colonel, "but
well, sympathized with him.
The major said nothing more. The
colonel regarded his glass for few
moments, tested the punch, and then,
looking up suddenly. he said:
I'll till you what / will do. If you
men will give me your word of honor
never to reveal to soul what have to
tell until am dead and gone, l will
give you my reasons for sympathizing
with this man"
We gave him our word of honor, and
we kept our word. The colonel has
now been dead for many years; the ma
jor, believe, is on. the retired list, and
living somewhere up in Maine, and so I
do not feel that am wronging any
man in writing down the story told us
that winter afternoon, some ten or fif-
teen years ago.
I'm the little old churchyard just
outside of the Mexican village of San
Felipe, in Arizona" the colonel said,
us grave off by itself in one corner.
On the modest headstone is the in
scription: Sacred to the memory of
the Wood Dove, received into the church
as Mercedes Briefly, wife of Col. John
Briefly, O. s. A., died March 10, 1877,
aged 20 years
Mercedes Briefly was my wife. 1
an the John Briefly referred to- She
was an Apache Indian, and when you
have heard what did to win her hand,
knowing her heart was mine, you will
understand why I did not put many
severe questions to the poor young man
to-day
Il first met the girl who was des-
tined to be my wife in the spring of
lso-,when / was stationed on the
frontier. The civil war, in which had
won my coloners commission, was just
over. and the Apache and other Indi-
ans were constantly on the war path. 1
was at that time in command of the
-th cavalry, and had about three
hundred men with me.
We were encamped near a little
Mexican village, San something or 9TH
er, in the northeastern part of New
Mexico. We had had no work to do
Tor about month, but the air of my
tentwas heavy with reports brought
70 me OF large body of Apaches said
10 be on the war path and rapidly ap-
preaching our neighborhood.
One afternoon-I remember the day
well-the reports were. verified by the
capture OF an Apache girl by some of
my men. The. girl was brought to my
tens by her 'captors. They had found
her riding by herself in the hills, and
mad only succeeded in. making her
prisoner aftershe had severely wounded
one of them.
Il will not attempt to describe the
beauty. OF this girl. She was then
about nineteenyears of age, of sublime
figure, with the most wonderfully.
beautiful eyes. Twill only say that I
Tell in love with her the very moment
! saw her.
We held the girl prisoner. She re-
fused to tell US anything about herself
or TO betray the whereabouts of her
people, That they were near we knew,