Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-08
DAILY STORY
A LOVE TRAGEDY.



Near the coast at San Bias, Colon
bia. South America, dwells tribe Of
Indians, q peculiar race who trace
thei: descent from the ancient Toltecs
They are friendly with the whites,
will receive them and trade with them,
but will not mingle with them. At
sunset each day every white person
must leave their territory till the fol
lowing morning. This is a law OF the
tribe, and no white man has ever been
known to succeed in breaking it.
Cocoanuts are the product of tie
country, and the crop is usually very
valuable, though vegetable ivory is al
| so a source of income. The cocoanut
groves are large, and every tree after
the fourth year bears abundantiy. The
nuts are allowed after ripening to fall
on the ground, every twenty cocoanuts
being worth a dollar. All day and ali
| night the owner of one of those estates
may sit and listen to the thud of his
wealth dropping about him.
Many ships touch there to bring
away the crops, and since the San
! Bias girls are attractive there is great
risks in attempting to court them. The
| fascination in such cases is proper
| Tomato to the danger, and the danger
| is very great. Indeed, the penalty if
caught is death.
One morning the barkentine Sarah
| Clark touched at San Bias to trade for
| cocOanuts and vegetable ivory. Some
time was consumed in getting the
stock collected and transferring it TO
the ship. Meanwhile the crew of the
! vessel were coming and going to and
i, from the shore. Near the beach lived
young girl with her parents, who
| came down to where the boats were
loading. Young Jack Cutler, mate OF
the vessel, saw her and was enamorcd
of her wild beauty. The girl saw that
she was noticed and went away, wei
| knowing the penalty Of indulging 4
| love for a white man and feeling that
she could not trust herself under the
influence of the handsome sailor. Jack
| followed her, and there was short
but vivid wooing. Both were caught il
the tolls of love.
How long the ship remained there
how often the sailor saw the girl. how
| they managed to communicate, not
| speaking the same language, can only
be conjectured. Cutler as mate of the
vessel was much of the time on duty
and could only spend brief intervals
with his love. But he was in charge Of
the shore end OF the shipping of the
cargo. and this rendered 1t possible
that he should snatch these interval:
for lovemaking. Be this as it may
during the brief stay of the ship there
| grew up q devotion between the darl
Indian girl and the fair Anglo-Sa
stronger than the love of life. TheI
came the thought of parting. 1t was
not to be endured. Yet if the sailo
tried to take the girl away with hin
and failed she must pay the penalty
with her life. Only extreme you'll
will take such chances.
On the night before the ship was t.
sail the mate was missing. He was
lying concealed in a thicket near til,
shore and the girls home. She came t.
him, they left the thicket and wen
down to the beach. There they founC
canoe and started to paddle for thu
ship.
That region is famous for its storms
its cyclones and its hurricanes, which
often come without any warning. The
pair We're padding, life and love be
fore them, certain death behind them
The girl was an expert with the pad
die, and the man was strong. A blacl
cloud came up over the ocean. in it:
breast a storm wind. It struck tn,
frail boat and nearly capsized it.
would have been better had the wint