The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-26
HEROINE OF THE BR4ZOS.
White Girl Who Risked Her Life to
Save Co1ored People.
st. Louis Post-Dispatch.


in Texas is Miss Ida Gray. the brave girl
who saved eleven negroes from being
washed off an island and drowned. She
forced a boat three miles through the per-
ilous torrents and reached the knoll on
which these hapless blacks lad been driven.
took them safely back tc the mainland and
gave them shelter on her fathers farm.
The Gray farm lies about six miles from
BaileyviHe. on the west side OF the Brazos
river. Across the river TO the east is piece
OF rising ground called Hopkins's Knoll.
named after a man who used to have
house en- the top of 1t. but moved away
some years ago because Hopkins said the
country was certain TO be swept away some
day by a food, which would drown every
thing alive within a hundred miles OF the
terrible river. He moved to higher chimes
and left Hopkins Knoll deserted. and some
tramps completed the desolauon OF the
place a few months later by setting hre
TO the house and burning the top OF the
knoll smooth.
Between Hopkins's knoll and the home of
Ida Gray, the heroine OF the floods, Is a
distance of three miles. On the afternoon
of July 6, when the fury of the mighty
Brazos was reaching its height, Miss Gray
stood in the door of the farmhouse, watching
the havoc of wreck and water floating by
like vast sheet Of earth's surface sliding
out of place, with all its human freight
cure on their elevated domain, but could
not rest for the awful tragedy nature was
enacting just outside their door. The flood
of their vantage ground. Three of the Gray
boys were away on relief expeditions, and
Ida: the only daughter, was at home. alone
with her aged father and mother, who were
powerless 10 aid any one.
Suddenly the girls voice drew the old
people from a window at the other end OF Of
washing them away!''' The old people hur-
field glasses which the girl excitediy held
out TO them 1t was true enough The knoll
was alive with dark objects which were east
| ly made out to be human beings, with here
and there different shape, which told of
| the fortune of some horse or COW In strik-
Ing this point Of temporary refuge in its
| sweep down the relentless currents.
Ida Gray is a sturdy girl of eighteen. She
has alert. bright eyes and a firm mouth.
! which tell you now how she must
on Hopkins's Knoll Knoll first mashed
| across her mind. Without going back for
and made for the river
The Gray boys are fond of boating and
she knew she would be likely to find a boat
or two at the waters edge. They always
| had an assortment at hand. The three best
ones were gone when she got there, but she
found Pne that might answer her purpose.
| sence OF oarlocks and an air Of incomplete
| ness in general which would have deferred
the girl from venturing. out in it under or
| binary circumstances; but these were not
| ordinary circumstances, and the fact that
/ 1T was any kind of boat at all was too for
tunate reality to be questioned. She
l dragged the heavy oars out from the bottom
| OF the raft, united the rope, sprang in and
| pushed off,
1t was a precarious undertaking for any
two men: for this one slip of a girl 1t was
desperate. The knoll was more than two
| miles away and current was running
| lily the boat had started from a point some
| distance above the knoll and could afford 10
| drift down little in the struggle across
| BUT more luckily yet. there was unusual
| strength in those young arms that piled the
| oars, and fine determine ton in the breast
| OF the girl who was stalking her life agains,
the floods to save a swarm of strange black
| men.
Many times she narrowly escaped being
run down by piece Of wreckage. Once
house nearly swamped her. She imagined
that, as it passed within six feet of her, she
saw saw s white face at one of the windows
stern of the boat, whirling it around. The
| !uckless beast went on down the floodway
still at the disposal of the I mad nS Waters
| A section OF fence caught her once anc
swept her down until she thought she SHOULD
self. but she pushed clear of it with an oal
face ever turned toward toward the strange negroes e
When she was half way across the ne
groes saw her. Probably the purpose of hel
|
strike at once into their dazed minds They
Were too full of the horror of their impend
ing fate to imagine that the white girl GU
there in the midst of the sea-fiood could
have anything to do with them. 1t was only
when they had seen her a number of times
always bearing toward them, that the more
she was coming to land on the knoll Ther
they set up a shout and fell on their knees
The brave girls intention was finally ceal
to them. How they must have wondered
| Was 1t possible that for their sakes thi
pretty girl in the approaching cockleshel
was breasting the dangers Of the food ant
must have been difficult for the colorec
refugees to believe. They danced in al
near, and would have rushed down to NEE
her If the water had not hemmed them vi
on the very top Of the knoll and left then
10 further room to move in. She got there
just in time. The water would have car
iied the eleven men away in another hour
Already it was tapping their feet in coaxint
ears and sing them TO the death sleep
The boat swept right up and bumped
against their shins, 1t was caught by
of the most grateful and surprised ne
groes that were ever introduced to thu
white mans spirit of bravery.
| The rescue was not completed yet. i
would be an ordeal to take the boat bacl
again with its heavy cargo. The girl was no
| assured that the negroes could help her
They answered the question in her eyes b,
taking the oars out of her hands and bid
| ding her to make herself as comfortable
as she could while they pulled the boat I,
land. She told them which way to go. ant
they put the strength Of four brawny ARM
into the strokes as they beat up against tn
food and stood off for the two-mile trip
Mr.. and Mrs. Gray. watching from the
doorway, at first saw the boat with thei
daughter fade away into the simmer of tn
flood, saw the black objects on the knoll
disappear an hour later. saw black mas
moving slowly athwart the sweep Of wate
| until it grew into boat with people In 1t
II 4
boat. with their daughter I'm the bow ant
the rescued blacks lined up behind her
| They had a rousing fire ready in the opel
| fireplace when the bedraggled party cam
| dripping into the house, led by the heroin
| of the Brazos floods. The negroes wer
| warmed and fed to their hearts content an,
| provided with place I'm which to spend tn
| remaining flood days on the Gray farm. A
| for Ida Gray. she is becoming known all tn
way between Baileyvie and Dallas tn
| heroine CT the Brazos f1oods-and such sh
| is likely to remain in the affections Of tn
colored population of Texas for many year
| to come.