The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-05
o MARRY A PALEFACE.
GERONIMO's DAUGHTER SOON TO
BECOME A BRIDE.

dened CattIe-HerOic Spirit of Self
Sacrifice shown by the Young In
dian GirI-SIept Nenr the Herd.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.
Lola. 1.-The Red Rose Of the Forest"
as her people, the Apaches, call her,
is about to be married to Houston A.
Ward. one of the wealthiest and most
accomplished young men of Texas. The
fact that makes this announcement
of interest to others than the young
people themselves is that Lola is the
daughter of Geronimo. who, when he
led the Apaches in the latter sos,
achieved bloodier notoriety than any
Indian who has taken to the warpath
in the last half century.
Another interesting point is that the
engagement of the young people came
about in a manner so romantic that it
sounds as if it must have originated
in the exuberant fancy of writer of
half dime literature; but both Lola
and Mr.. Ward solemnly aver that their
romance as hereinafter set forth is
true as gospel. And surely they are
in a position to know.
Houston A. Ward is the son of old
Shanghai Ward, a famous mustang
king, of the Rio Grande country. The
old man died a few years ago. leaving
his only son a splendid fortune in
lands, mustangs, and cattle. Young
Wards boyhood was divided between
Texas and Illinois. He usually spent
the summers on his fathers ranch,
and the winters in the North where he
attended school. He possesses a fine
education and he is rather proud of
certain trophies won on the play
grounds, and a diploma from the Uni
versity of Illinois, at Champaign, Ill.
Last summer the grass was scarce in
the Rio Grande Valley, and Houston
Ward shipped some 400 or 500 head of
cattle to the Indian Territory. Finding
abundant pasture lands, the young man
remained for some time in the vicin-
ity of Fort Gill, where he made the
acquaintance of the pretty Indian girl
who will soon become his wife. The
gallant Texan frequently sought the
company of the dusky belle of the bor-
der, often dancing and riding with her,
but he now says that he did not Know
that he loved her until one evening he
found her fingers in his hair, and, upon
opening his eyes, in flame and smoke,
he felt the earth trembling beneath
his feet, while his ears were filed with
q noise as of a cyclone.
slept Near the Herd.
Ward had been riding about over the
prairie, looking at his cattle, and be-
coming tired, he dismounted and lay.
down on the grass in the shade of
tree, leaving his pony 10 Craze at will.
He soon fell asleep, and his pony
wandered off to mingle with a herd of
cattle and horses not far away.
The grass was very tall. and most
of it was dead and dry. Either some
careless cowboy dropped match or
spark from a hunters gun set the
prairie on fire. A strong breeze was
blowing from the north, and, as usual
in such cases, it looked as If the flames
increased the commotion in the air un-
til windstorm was driving the rapidly
spreading. fire before it.
The great herd of Texas cattle STAN
peded the instant they scented danger
and started south believing with ter
ror. The horses caught the contagion
and mingled with the flying cattle,
snorting with terror. There were about
five hundred cattle in the herd, and
seventy-five or eighty head of horses.
This moving mass of frightened ami
mails started straight toward the tree
under which the sleeping Texan was
lying.
Lola, mounted on a magnificent horse,
was riding across the prairie when the
fire broke out and she saw the animals
stampede. She saw the maddened herd
driven by the flames rushing furiously
onward toward the place where young
Ward was lying, and knowing that his
horse had strayed away and that moth
ing could turn the living wave of ter
L. - - IL.
her whip and rode straight toward the
rapidly approaching herd.
When she reached the tree, the front
ranks of the mad steers was not twen-
ty steps away. The flames were leap
ing high in the air, over the backs of
the animals in the rear, and the wind
was blowing a cloud of smoke and
dust above them. Horns were crack
ing and horses We're neighing.
Walked by Her Warming.
Ward was just beginning to move
when the Indian girl bent over the side
of her quivering horse and seized his
hair.
up. quick" she shrieked, "the prai-
rie is on fire."
He sprang to his feet, and compre-
hending the situation at glance, he
yielded to the girls hand and sprang
up on the horse behind her.
AS the animal turned the horns Of
the steers crashed against the tree
and several of the big brutes fell head
long, rolling over the spot where the
rescued man had been lying. They
were trampled to death by the hoofs
of the flying herd.
The. sure footed horse bore the In
dian girl and the Texan away at the
top of his speed, but more than 500
head of frantic cattle were close to
his heels, and it was four miles to
place of safety
Ride straight to the river" shouted
Ward, as soon as he was able to COM
mand his voice.
II know; 1 know" replied the girl
Maybe we can turn out of the way
pretty soon," she added.
The earth seemed to tremble and the
air was filed with roar more appall-
ing than the noise of the cyclone.
Ward turned his head and he was sur
prised to see the red eyes of the mad
cattle and their white horns almost at
the horses tail. Striking the foaming
flank of the horse with his hat, he
shouted:
''On. on. Lola, or we are lost!"
She turned her head and looked into
his eyes.
LET me slip Off" she whispered.
"The horse could save you l am too
many"
The Texan comprehended her mean
ing, and i'm that moment of peril he
realized that the Indian girl loved him.
Fearing that she might carry out
her suggestion and sacrifice herself to
save him. he grasped her in his arms.
and 1t was In that moment of peril