The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-11-08
MARBLE SHAFT OVER GRAVE OF
BEAUTIFUL CHEROKEE MAID.
AFTER SIXTY YEARS NEGLECT
Memory Of TaIihina is Paid the Re-
spect Due the wife % a Great
Warrior-Now lies Beneath
stars and Stripes.

Muskogee. l. +. Nov. On a state
! ~ white shaft of marble within the |
offcers' circle of the national ceme-
! terry at Fort Gibson is engraved the |
simple inscription. "Tallhina IIous.
ton"
The monument has only recently |
been put into place and is the culmi- |
ration OF seven years of effort on the |
! part Of patriotic citizen. ]. s. Hol- |
den, editor OF the Fort Gibson Post, |
to get permission from the war de-
! partment to place the remains OF this |
Cherokee woman under the stars and
stripes as he thought befitted the
wife of the great Sam Houston. sol.
dier, statesman and wandercr.
when General Houston suddenly
and mysteriously deserted his home.
his bride of few hours and his Of
flee as governor OF Tennessee. he
came to the Cherokee nation and fell
in love with Talihina. beautiful
Cherokee girl There is story that
he had seen this girl IN Georgia be.
, fore she came to Indian Territory and
that it was memory of her that led
him westward Anyway he found her
and they lived together during his
stay in Indian Territory. There in
Fort Gibson, on the bank of the
Grand, they were happy and content.
But the lust of battle was in his
blood and the call to liberate Texas
he could not resist. Without warning
he left as suddenly as he had aban-
doned his eastern home when he came
to Indian Territory. Talihina pined
for her lord and in a few months af-
> ter his disappearance she died, in
1888.
Her body was buried at Wilson
Rock, high blum overlooking the
: Arkansas river near Muldrow. !. T.,
and a small cedar tree was planted
over her grave. For nearly sixty
: years the body lay there In its forgot
ten grave. the cedar tree keeping
lonely vigil by night and the river
murmuring in discomfort as It rolled
by. Then Mr.. Holden conceived the
notion that the wife of the great war
rior was entitled to a more noble
+ resting place and he petitoped the
department TO allow the bones TO be
taken up and reinterred in the Off
GERS circle over which floats the
flag IN the national cemtery at Fort
lGibson. This was very unusual
, request and the first thing the
government required was proof that
, the grave was that of Talihina
Houston before it would give
- permission. 1t took a long time to
, collect this proof, for sixty years in
a lonely grave seals the book of mem
q DRY In many mind. But the proof
d was finally secured and later permis
, sion was granted by the government
:, to place the remains in the officers
Z circle. In the meantime MT. Holden
v had been raising money by subscrip
, tion to bear the expense of transfer
ing the body and erecting the marble
+, monument.
Unattended, save by workmeh. one
/, Saturday afternoon, Mr.. Holden went
i 20 Wilson Rock and exhumed the re
d Insins. He found the bones in a well
preserved state. IN the grave was
found d large tortoise shell comb near
0 ly six iffches across which had been
one of Talfhina's favorit5 ornaments
In life and had been buried with her
1t was in perfect state of pfeserva
= tion. The casket INTO which the re
p mains were placed was completely Ell
folded in an American flag and thus
. enshrouded the body was placed in
its last resting place, in the presence
of many noted Cherokees. for Talihi.
ma came OF family that has pro-
duced many chiefs, and cu,ious
throng.