Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-12-01
DAILY SHORT STORY
A REAL HEROINE


| Charles Thompson and killed him and
his wife and carried off little Jimmie.
their ten-year-oId son, into captivity.
There was a daughter. Mary. eight
| cen years old. who was fortunately
away from home. but two weeks later
she donned mans attire and set out
on horseback in the hope of rescuing
her brother single handed. She had not
been riding two hours when she found
that twelve mounted warriors had
taken her trail.
The girl was riding straight into the
enemy's country. and at shutdown she
decided 10 go no farther. AS she
reached the creek flowing around the
east base of Thompson's fort. which is
a hill standing by itself. she threw her
self off her tired horse and took n long
drink and then led the animal TO the
crest OF the hill. Fortunately for her,
there was 4 sink or basin ut the top.
with many loose rocks lying about
and in n short time she had done all
that soldier could have accomplished
under The circumstances. As the In
dams came up they spread out TO en-
circle the hill. but kept back out of
rifle range. They had run their quar-
nv to earth and knew that she could
not escape them.
From dark To dawn the heroine was
not disturbed. and she afterward re-
lated that she slept fairly well. She
had Il soldiers canteen full OF water.
plenty Of provisions and ammunition
and was not greatly dismayed over the
h.a n
dams demanded her surrender. giving
her much praise and promising To es-
cort her To one of their villages in safe
~. This they would likely have done.
as il was in keeping with their orders,
but she did not propose 10 become
captive while able tn fire Il shot from
rifle or revolver.
At Il given signal the twelve. who
were under the command of Il sub
chief named Little Horse, rushed for
the crest of the hill. being OH foot.
They gained il to lind the girl strongly
intrenched and after Il fight of two
minutes We're driven off with the loss
of two warriors killed and one wound
ed. This last was the chief himself.
So well was the girl intrenched OH
the crest of the hill that il WAS deemed
unwisc To attack her again. and the
band sat down tn starve her out. For
two nights and three days she held the
fort, wounding two other Indians and
escaping their bullets. and then the
redskins withdrew, and she went her
way in peace.
From May until November Mary
Thompson secured the plains and dodg-
81. LII 4. fn on
liberty in peril every hour of the TWEEN
ty-four. The village in which her broth
er was held captive moved many times,
but she always located it anew and
watched for her opportunity.
1t came one night with the setting in
of winter In the midst of a raging
blizzard and after she had been hiding
in the hills for three days. she entered
the village and crept from lodge to
lodge and finally found her brother
fast asleep between two Indian boys.
1t took her an hour to do il, but she
managed to wake him up and get him
out of the lodge without disturbing the
others. Her horse had TO carry double,
and they We're sixty miles from the
nearest fort So severe was the storm,
however. that after riding ten miles
they went into hiding in Il ravine to
wait for change.
1t was thirty hours before the storm
ceased and the Indians at once began
to scout around 10 pick up the trail.
The snow lay two feet deep on tine
ground and with the horse carrying
double there seemed no show, of es-
cape \ start was made aS soon as
81, . hnh
made a. distance of five miles. when
on their trail.
The same blizzard had caught two
companies of the Seventh cavalry out
on n scout. and they had been COM
PEELED TO camp in one of the ravines
and wait for the break. The pursuing
Indians were within half n mile of
the girl and her brother and would
have overhauled them in ten minutes
more. when the cavalry suddenly APP
peared in view.
There were thirty-two warriors in
the pursuing band. and they were cut |
off before they saw the soldiers. When |
they saw that escape was hopeless !
they dismounted and took cover and |
put up Il good fight. but only one OF |
them lived TO get back TO the village.
while the cavalry had only two or |
three men wounded on their side. One |
of the Indians was killed by the girl |
herself before the soldiers got fairly |
into action, and he made the sixteenth
red man she had slain since leaving |
home I'm search of her brother.
Among the Indian exhibits in the |
institute at Washington |
and the Museum OF Natural History |
I'm New York are souvenirs of that
wipe-out. and among the Indians /
met after that war was Crooked Nose,
the only survivor of the battle. BE |
was free to say that had the girl and
her brother been captured that day /