The Cairo bulletin., 1911-07-17
RESTORED
By ELLEN TORBERT
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

Ny parents We're frontier people, and
during an uprising of the Apache tribe
their house was burned 1t so hap
pened that when the attack was made
my father had gone east and my
mother had left me asleep in my crib
TO have chat with a neighbor. The
Indians took me, a little chap but three
years old and the first my mother
knew of the matter was seeing the
light Of her burning dwelling. Those
who We're with her dragged hels
shrieking. 10 q point where protection
was to he had. and she never heard
what had become of me. There seem
cd 10 be no doubt. however. that had
persisted either by tomahawk or in
the burning building.
All this came TO my knowledge long
afterward. Meanwhile | was taken
care OF by and wandered about with
the Indians. When grew older not
liking the treatment | received from
them and having learned that | came
from different race. / ran away from
them and appeared one evening at the
campfire of some white men
| gained little If any Improvement in
my companionship. for had struck q
gang of men who lived by rascality,
principally horse stealing. They suf-
fercd me 10 remain with them, and.
since had not learned from the
Apaches that an Indian owed any in
diligence to he whites, II did not ap-
pear TO me that these villains were
very had men They asked ME how
| came To be brought up by saw
ages. but | was too young when can
tured TO rcmember much about it,
There was a faint gfimmer of mem
DRY Of Il painted savage bending over
ME and my being carried kicking and
squaling, from q warm bed out into
a cold night
We are made by our environment,
especially our associates, and | became
when joined the gang, and since
had learned many strategic methods
from the Indians they found me quite
a valuable addition to their band.
remained with them several months,
when we We're attacked by vigilance
committee Some Of us were captured
and hanged, the rest escaping. among
the number
l drifted after this, picking up the
best living / could, The first language
had learned was Apache. so | spoke
broken English and was usually mis-
taken for foreign born youth. My
antecedents did not conduce to my be-
ing considered Trustworthy, and was
usually soon expelled from any settle
ment | entered, | soon forgot any re
deeming traits that | had learned from
the Indians, and l had never gained
any such from my white associates.
When | was about eighteen | got to-
gether several young rascals about my
own age and organized them into
band of horse thieves, of which | APP
pointed myself the leader. We did
such a thriving business that at last ii
became necessary for the settlers liv-
ing i'll the egion we infested to hunt
us down A man we robbed got to.
gether a posse. armed with rifles, who
followed and attacked US, killing one
of my men and woundpg myself and
another
Our captors would have hanged those
of us they hadn't killed in the fight,
bur they were law abiding men and
hadn't the heart to string up wounded
men. We two who had been winged
they put on their horses, and we all
went back to the settlement from
which they had come.
The principal man of the lot gave
me his horse and walked beside me.
He asked me number of questions
and wanted TO know to what nation
atty belonged. | told him my accent
came from the Apaches. by whom
had been brought up. Then he wished
to know all about my capture, ard
told him all that | remembered, which
was a faint vision Of a painted Indian
looking at me and carrying me in his
arms. My listener questioned me with
view to finding out what point | had
been taken from, but gained no salts.
faction in this respect
When we reached the settlement my
questioner brought his wife to see me,
and they both stood short distance
from me, looking at me and talking
about me, the woman evidently much
affected. They went away and after
awhile came back with man to
where we were sitting under guard
and asked him to do something. He
looked at MS all, then pointing to me
said III any Of them is, that's the
one
The woman began to take on, becom
ing lysterical She looked wistfully
AZ me and tried to come to me, but
they wouldn't permit her
They made tests with number Of
persons as they had with the first
man. ana the majority said that
looked like one or the other Of them
Well to shorten long story they
finally told me they believed | was
their son. The woman was more Ger
tain about 1t than the man and insist
ed on hugging me. The man made a
journey and brought back an Apache
with him who identified me as a for
IN or mann hnr OF hip trihn o. nd told rrhnn