The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1897-12-06
AN INDIAN BRIDE.
The Romantic Engagement OF g
Sioux Maiden.
She Becomes the Wife of an Irish
man Who Saved Her Fathers
Life and Gave Her an Ed
ucatiOn.

A notable wedding occurred at Bis
marck, N. D., on June 24. The bride was
Picture Eyes, the daughter of John
Moose, an old warrior, who has scalped
many white man and participated in
many a tribal battle. The bridegroom
was Thomas Dulaine Cronan, an Irish
man by birth. The marriage ceremony
was performed first by Roman Catho-
lie priest, after which the Indians had
a genuine old-fashioned wedding feast.
The wedding was the elimination of
a courtship extending over seven years,
which has been attended by unusual
incidents.
Picture Eyes at the age of 1s was
well-formed, pretty-faced girl who
could not speak word of any but the
Sioux language, and had never known
the ways and customs of the white
man. She lived then in tepee with her
parents. Now she is 25 years of age,
educated and refined. Her father, John
Moose, lives on the Standing Rock res
ervation, but the bride has been 2 mem
Der of Col. Frank Duncan's family, hav-
ing been adopted by him several years
ago with the consent of her parents.
1t was about ten years ago that Mr..
Cronan first came to this country. He
was then about 25 years of age and
came out west through the instrument
tality of Moreton Frewen, an English
financier, who was at that time in
terested with Marquis de Mores in the
cattle raising and exporting business.
Cronan was sent to America as sort
of special agent to look after the in
terests of the English capitalists, and
his duties brought him to the cattle
raising regions of Montana and Wy
oming once each year. On his third
trip he had occasion to stop off at Me
dora, and it was there that he met the
Indian girl. Upon the day of his arrival
a Sioux Indian had been thrown into
Jail for attempting to set fire to a
ranchman's barn and there was a mob
of white men gathered about the jail
door evidently bent upon lynching the
Indian The plucky constable, who
was small man, stood upon the door
step threatening to shoot the first man
that made a move forward, but it was
certain that he could not stand the mob
+. off very long, and already a detach-
1rert of the would-be lynchers had be-
gun to batter in the lone window of the
building. In the meantime an Indian
girl had appeared upon the scene and
was darting about making frantic eff
forts to have some one understand the
entreaties she was screaming in the In
dian tongue.
Cronan, noticing the girl, asked who
she was, and was told that the man in
the iail was her father, and that she
wanted the mob to spare his life for
her sake. Cronan, moved by the help
lessness of the girl, decided to inter
cede for the life of the Indian, though
he realized that it was dangerous
move and might cost him his life.
Elbowing through the mob, he sprang
to the side of the constable and shouted
out a plea for the Indian. He per
severed in his efforts whenever the din
subsided long enough for him to be
heard, and in time he was successful.
The mob dispersed, leaving the consta-
BILE in charge of the Jail and his pris-
oner. A few days later the prisoner,
who was John Moose, was tried and was
acquitted, having proved an alibi.
Cronan went back to England, but
returned in six months to Medora, only
to find that John Moose and his family
had gone to Bismarck. He went to the
latter place on his return trip from
Wyoming and found the Moose family
sungly quartered in a tepee on the banl
of the Great Muddy. He learned tha-
the girl had already been promised tt
a young buck named Four Toe, whC
had given her father certain quantity
of tobacco for her hand. Cronan anC
an interpreter went to the tepee of the
lucky Four Toe and proceeded at one
to negotiate for the purchase of tn
prospective bride. 1t was an uphill
job at first, but after several trips haC
been made to the lodge of Four To
the redslzin finally rehnquished all hi
right, title, and interest in and to tn
Sioux maiden for the consideration o
$25 in hand paid and ten pounds o
cabbage-leaf tobacco to be delivered OF
the wedding day. Then the old war
rior's consent was obtained to the pro
posed marriage and Cronan returne'
to England, after making arrangement
with Col. Frank Duncan for the adoI
ton of the girl and for her education
Picture Eyes attended the Indian
school at Carlisle, Pa, for two year
ana then was placed in seminary a
st. Paul, where her education wa
finished.-N. Y. Sum-