Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-02-07

Itll uuIll dH1 tltdl BOhCf ''AAA
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
do not feel that ! am wronging any
man in writing down the story told us
that winter afternoon, some ten or tif-
teen years ago.
"In the little old churchyard just
outside of the Mexic can village of San
Felipe, in Arizona" the colonel said,
sis 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, U. S. A., died March 10, 1877,
aged 20 years.
Mercedes Briefly was my wife.
am 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 | did not put many
severe QueSLlOIlS W Ollt pun AOhiB
to-day.
81 first met the girl who was des-
tined to be my wife in the spring Of
ls6-,when l was stationed on the
frontier. The civil war, in which had
won my colonels commission, was just
over, and the Apache and other Indi-
ans were constantly on the war path |
was at that time in command of the
til cavalry, and l 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
for about month, but the air of my
tent was heavy with reports brought
TO me of large body of Apaches said
to be on the war path and rapidly ap-
preaching our neighborhood.
Zone afternoon 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
tent by her captors. They had found
her riding by herself in the hills, and
had only succeeded in making her a
prisoner after she had severely wounded
one of them.
Il will not attempt TO describe the
beauty of this girl. She was then
about nineteen years of age, of sublime
figure, with the most wonderfully
beautiful eyes. will only say that I
fell in love with her the very moment
/ saw her.
eve held tie girl a prisoner. She re-
fused to tell us anything about herself
or to betray the whereabouts of her
people. That they were near we knew,
however, and daily and nightly we ex-
pected an attack. But for one month
they remained under cover. We did
not go out and look for them, as 1t was
my policy always to let them fire the
first shot
THAT month was in many respects
the hnppiest month in my life. Love
was new to me. | hadn't known 1t
since my days at West Point. | loved
the girl with all my heart, and, what
was sweeter, she soon grew TO love
me in return.
Zone afternoon told her of my love,
and asked her to marry me. She told
me then that she loved me, and told me
that she would marry me. ! left her,
anu that night the Apaches attacked
us Their victory was complete They
found us unprcparcd. Our loss was
something fearful and my loss was
greater still. for when the morning
came the girl was missing. Her people
had recapturcd her.
The morning found us in a desper
ate mood. The men were mad, and
was mad We were all in the humor
for "a first-class massacre, and laid my
plans accordingly Our scouts located
the enemy, and that afternoon we
peuncd them in and had them at Jur
mercy. Our numbers were about even,
but our men were all old soldiers, thor
oughly disciplined, and so they fell
easy victims tor our superiority.
''It was about five o'clock, when the
fighting was at its worst. | showed a
flag Of truce, and "A few moments later
an Indian Of commanding stature rode
out from the little fort they had built
on the top of he hill and advanced u
the center of the diminutive plain
which stretched between where the
two armies were posted. ! rode out
alone to meet him for could guess
that he was the chief of the tribe.
1--WE salutcd
"'I offer you peace ! said TO him,
'on two conditions: first, that you lay
down your arms and surrender; second,
that the girl you stole from US last
| night be returned TO me-
&" She is my daughter said the In
dian, haughtily.
Then there is much more reason
why you should surrender, for love
her; | would marry her, and do not
| wish to be ut war with her people
lyon are good replied the Indian
with snccr, the first and only time
have ever seen "a sncer on the face OF an
Indian You offer me peace for honor.
Go back 10 your tents
THAT evening at about eight o'clock
a corporal came into my tent, saluted
and said that an Indian girl wished tc
I speak with me. My heart beat vio
lently, and ordered the man to show
her in.
But IL wns not my love-not my
Wood Dove, a. she had told me heI
name was among her people. The girI
/ who stood before me was small and
wizencd, with weak eyes, and in rags
"'What do you want?' ! asked her.
"'The Wood Dove could not ly &c
YOU, she replied, so she sent me.
They are guarding her, but she will
escape from them. She tells me 20 say