The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-05-13

slipping down, inch by inch, and, as you
may suppose, it was a pathetic sight. TIL
well was 200 feet 8 inches deep Keep
your courage up, Jane" shouted the farm
er, as he ran for a rope.
He lowered the rope and the woman
grasped 1t. By that time she was hi tV-
, live feet down in the well. Try as h
would, Smith could not raise her with the
rope. He ran for the neighbors and by
the time a crowd assembled Mrs. Smith
was fifty feet down. and they could not
hear her voice, although she had not
reached the water by twenty-five feet
But one hopeful thing about it was that
she mad started slipping down in the solid
rock, the bore was a little narrower, and
she didn't go quite so fast"
My gracious, man; how. in heavens
name, did they ever get that woman out?'.
shouted the telegraph editor
Simplest thing in the world" said the
old reporter, as he knocked the ashes OUT
Of his pipe and reached for the bottle of
axle grease They put in suction rump
and exhausted the air from the bore down
to the head of the handsome farmers
wife"
"Yes?"
THAT created a vacuum in the top of
the well and she rose to the surface with
the ease that a fishing cork hobs around
on top of the water. 1t took them two
days to carry out the scheme, however,
and l gave the Wichita telegraph opera
tors nervous prostratiOn getting off that
story"
THE Rosa Whiteface yarn was one Of
the most paying fakes that Kansas ever
manufactured. Rosa Whiteface was sup
posed 10 be an Usage Indian girl. whose
hard-hearted and savage old father de-
cided to auction off to the highest
bidder. The girl was rich-a regular
Klondike-you know that the Usage In
dams really are the wealthiest people in
the world. This gave the story a little
foundation"
Sure" nodded the telegraph operator.
well, Rosa Whiteface had n poor but
noble lover, who begged the savage father
to delay the auction until he could de-
velop a gold mine, in Arizona and enjoy
a fair chance at the auction. Get onto
the rOmance?"
Sure" assented the telegraph editor.
1.-The savage father refused. The lover
committed suicide-raZOr or drowning
don't remember precisely. All that took
time, and gradually we got the country
worked UP to a pitch of excitement. One
New York editor telegraphed an offer of
81 600 for the rescue of Rosa Whiteface.
'Whiteface has shut her up in an under
ground prison, | wired, and then the
whole eastern coast, from Boston to New
The day of the auction approached. Rosa
fell into a decline. Nothing seemed TO
arouse her, and even government ratiOns
were left untasted. Finally old White
face was bought off for a large sum, fur
nished by New York newspaper. The
newspaper got great advertisement out
Of it, and the editor prides himself to this
day on his chivalrous conduct"
"WhO got the money!" asked the tele-
graph editor, innocently.
THAT IS a Kansas mystery" replied the
old reporter sOeInnly THE incident is
now closed, but l don't mind telling you
that Rosa, her father and her lover eX-
listed only in my brain.
Speaking of Indian stories" continued
the oil reporter, puts me in mind Of the
strange case of Walla Tonehka. Walla
Tonehka was 10 myth. I've seen him with
my own eyes. Well, as you know, about
a year ago Tonehka was to have been ex-
ecuted for numbering some six people.
He was q bad Indian. Several times he
escaped death under the Choctaw law,
but finally they condemned him to be
shot. Then they released him on- parole,
to play baseball with his team. Tonehka
was to show Up on the appointed day, sit
down on the edge of his coffin and wait
for the fatal bullet.
'Well?'
THAT much is true history, more or
less. Tonehka was TO be executed at
little Choctaw village seventy five miles
from a telegraph station. a short time
before the execution Judge Caldwell is
sued a reprieve. A messenger started on
a stout Indian pony for the Choctaw viii
lage Rains had swollen the creeks,
washed away bridges, made the cay
roads as slippery as glass. Would he get
there in timer"
did he get there in timer" shouted the
telegraph editor.
81 don't know" rejoined the old re-
porter, cooily. How should any of US
newspaper boys know? In my paper
Just as Tonehka barred his brave Indian
breast to the bullet the messenger rode
in on his foam-covered steed and To-
nehka was saved. Others Of the boys
preferred to guess that he was shot We
got together in drug store and drew lots
as to which Of us should send the shot aid
which the not shot story. Personally, l
believe that Tonehka was saved"