The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-16

lady. Only II years old, with a COM
plexfon brighter than the average Indian.
with form Hssome and gracefully
rounded. she was on the threshoid Of
what promised 10 be beauty that would
live In the traditions OF her tribe.
idyiiic. Bound by ties Of blood and fam
lily. no discord had ever arisen and the
most dangerous foe was the rattiegnake.
which was too brave. however. to strike
without warning. But another sort Of .
| snake was about to enter the village lts
| color was white and its fangs unsus-
Dected until felt by its victim
At the close of a December day In ieSe
| hunting party Of Indians from this VIII
lage was returning laden with the spofls
Of forest and stream. Suddenly the lad:
| that had in its note something Of human
and he stopped and listened intentiy-
Then. with gesture to indicate that
in the forest the march was resumed.
i Again came the moaning note and again
the party stopped. This time the leader
the sound. and in q few minutes shout
side.
They found the chief standing ove
what had once been young white man.
but so overcome by suffering that only
| bundle Of quivering nesh remained. Eia
clothing was In tatters. and his desh was
By the Dt thorns q the s wiiderness. Lons
past speech. only a moan at Intervals IL
sued from his fever-parched lips. On .
finger was gold ring and in his bosom
was found q blood-stained knife.
i At an order from the leader rude lit
ter was constructed. the stranger placed
| upon it and the march to the village re-
ger was tenderiy cared for. ms battered
clothing was removed. he was bathed.
| wrapped in blankets and was soon In
restful sleep. In caring for him the In
L Afox. xra~d he <ncr fpAvT
and the blood-stained knife from his
| bosom.
The next morning the stranger awoke
He made his nurses understand that his
| ring and knife were missing. The arti-
cles were brought and he slipped the
ring on his finger and thrust the knife in
to his bosom. In a few days the stranger
was completely restored, but showed no
desire to leave the village. To the old
chief, who could understand some Eng
lish, the white man stated that he lad
left home moved by a spirit of adven-
ture and would like to remain in the viii
lase. The chief grunted assent. fiattered
by the desire Of the white man to adopt
the Indian mode of life.
Weeks passed and the white man be-
came as one of the Indians. He hunted
J with them. Joined them in their dances
and cast longing glances at the lissome
; daughter of the cid chief. She. foolish
maiden. although a marriage had been
planned between her and a young brave.
l
miration and answered by coyness that
! had in 1t something of invitation. and
rendered her all the more tempting.
Meanwhile: her young indian is oyer 1uicl;
; finger his knife in a manner that BODIED
no good for the stranger.
, With the passage OF time the white
mans fondness for the old chiefs dangh-
, ter became apparent to all the village.
Even the chief noticed 1t. and. thinking
: to make his daughter happy. proposed e.
1 Nt%nN 4. al RstA ~ -
, become the husband of the girl. But the
white man demurred- Pride of race there
was in him yet. and the thought of be-
} coming an Indian and the husband OF an
indian girl, was repugnant Perhaps, too.
that ring, which he guarded so jealousy,
was a pledge of love given by a falrer
! maiden in that world whence he had ned.
When the white man refused the honors
| or adoption into the tribe and OF mar
riags with his daughter, the cid cher
, told him that he would have to leave
the village, explaining as best he could
the situation which had been created by
the strangers admiration for the Indian
! girl. The white man promised TO go, but
day after day ne fingered and day after
/. day he sought the company OF the In
! dian girl. who was frequently In tears
when not with the stranger. He seemed
to be urging the girl to course which
she was reluctant to pursue.
The climax came one night when a
} woman's shrek shrilled through the vii
lage Aroused, the old chief, followed by
| MS sons, ruSnSQ TO MS ohukutcf tshs
and found her in paroxysm of fear.
, with the white man bending over her.
The chiefs eyes flashed the fires Of hell.
but he stayed the arm OF son who rais-
ed his tomahawk to brain the despoiler.
The chief had another mode OF vengeance
. in his mind.
, Seized and bound. the white man WHOSE
| sense Of honor had been overcome by his
passion for the Indian girl. remained UNI
der guard until morning. Then he was
/ H.
, borne to an elevated knoll about a mile
Of the knoll grew a tree and this had
been Topped of its branches by the In
: dams, leaving only the trunk For
3 space of thirty feet or more everything
{ had been cleared from the elevation. so
that the semi-troplc sun might have full
sway About this cleared space there
were trees laden with oranges. and not
$ thirty yards away bold spring unsteady
!, gurgled.
j The white man was stripped nude as
!. when he came into the world, save Tor
2 the ring that circled one OF his fingers.
j and was then securely bound to the poll
$ lard on the summit of the knoll. Then
the Indians squatted on the edge of the
( clearing and watched their victim. As
: burning darts Of pitch were driven into
{ his flesh no brave tried his skill at
: hurting knives into the tree so as Just
to miss the shrinking flesh of the bound
; man. Torture of that description was too
tame for the outrage he had offered the
daughter of the chief. Hunger was to
RndW a his VitalS Wnen Jnere was ten1pt-
! ing food in sight; burning thirst was to
parch and blister his throat when water
was gurgling almost at his feet; the
; flaming rays of tropic sun were to roast
his desh when all about there was cool
ing shade; tropic insects were to glut
I their thirst on his blood when hands
! were helpless to drive them away. All
I this he was to endure untfl feeling and
g reason fed because he had entered the
5 tent of the laughter of the chief at
J night.
p With the cruelty OF their race. when
anger is aroused, the Indians were re-
solved to enjoy his agony. They prac-
tically moved their village to the knoll
= on which the white man was expattating
the insult offered the Indian girl Morn
ing noon and night they cooked savory
u dishes that the odor of the food might
: reach the bound man and add to his tor
t1re They drank the water of the spring
A with grunts of satisfaction which their
victim could hear In front of the SUI
! | ferer so that his eyes might rest on
I them. they placed platters containing
vanison and fish and piled oranges. grapes
@ and other fruit In profusion. 1t was the
torture Of Tartalus over again with ad-
ditions that made the agony more exqus-
T lite than that endured by the man or
Dav after day this torture continued.
He saw and felt the insects draining him
-, of his life blood but was powerless to
! prevent Then his stomach spoke in
: angry tones. but he could do nothing to
I satisfy IT, though food was all about.
. He felt the dryuess of the desert creep
ing up his throat. but could not stay Its
=