Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1926-06-24
THRILLS OF FRONTIER
DAYS ARE RECALLED
Niece of President Pierce Tells of
Indian Warfare in Southwest


she could scarcely rise from her
chair, was huddled close to the small
wood heater in a plain, bare room on
Railroad avenue, Vancouver, Wash
ington. Yet this same woman, Mrs.
Georgiana McCullum, the grand
daughter of gallant soldier in, the
Revolutionary army, later brigadier
general and governor of New Hamp-
shire, and the niece of a senator from
New Hampshire who afterward be-
came president of the United States,
has known great wealth and has been
the heroine of many adventures. says
a writer in the Portland Oregonian.
Her mother was Mary Elizabeth
Pierce, daughter of General Benja-
min Pierce, who fought in the Revo.:
luton at Concord, where the first
British blood was spilled, and at
Bunker Hill as well, and who finally
served New Hampshire as governor.
Her uncle was Franklin Pierce, four
teenth president of the United States,
who attended college with Longfel-
low and Hawthorne, whent to con-
gress in 1882, and in 1887, at the
age of thirty-three, became the
youngest member of the senate. He
was a general in the Mexican war and
alter that defeated General Winfield
Scott IN a strenuous presidential race.
Mrs. McCultum's parents having
died while she was very young, an
aunt in California reared her. She
was married to Gsofge Byron Strans.
field, young man Of wealth and po-
sition, while she was not yet fifteen
years of age, since her aunt wished
to see her niece settled before her
own imminent death. The Fairs, the
Crockers and the old California
families were intimates of hers.
Years Spent in Travel
After her marriage there followed
years of travel abroad. There Georgi-
ana and her young husband had the
entree to interesting and exclusive
pope and at the Court of St. James
as well. But the beautiful young
wife's greatest concern in those years
of life in foreign cities lay in finding
hair dresser who could dress her
glossy black curls to her taste.
Back in San Francisco again, Mr..
Stansfield made unfortunate invest
ments until finally only $4,000 of
his extensive fortune was left, and he
staked that in speculative deal,
hoping to retrieve the rest of his
money. This venture, too, was un-
lucky, so he secured a position as
clerk of the commissary to division
of the army making war upon the
noted Indian chief, Geronimo, head
of the Chiricahau band of the Apache
Indians, who was pursued by General
George Cook and afterward in the
summer of 1856 by General Nelson
A. Miles.
Fired on BY Savages
1t was while riding across the des-
ert between her husband. and Lieut..
Sullivan that Georgiana found out at
first hand what Indian warfare could
be. For suddenly, the main escort
of soldiers having gone ahead, bull
let whistled through the hat of her
husband and another a second later
through his sleeve, and the lieuten-
ant on her other side had fallen from
his horse Looking behind to see
what had become Of her companion,
she was forced to turn her eyes away
from the grisly sight Of an Indian
taking the young 'ieutenants scalp
with his sharp knife.
Their escort, hearing the shots,
came back to them and the Indians
fled. The colonel gave orders to go
after them, leaving behind every fifth
man to watch the horses. But Geor-
giana, of fighting stock herself, beg
ged the colonel to allow her to take
the place of a man at watching the
horses, so that one more soldier
would be free to pursue the cruel In
dians. Finally the colonel, after re-
assuring himself from the flashing
ewes and determined mouth in front
of him that the comrhissary clerks
wife was capable Of keeping tight
hold of the bridled horses and would
not release them at the first sight OF
an ambushed native, granted her
wish.
Indians Pay Penalty
"And we were certainly revenged
for pool Lieutenant Sullivan death,
Mrs. McCullum recalled, "for many
more than one Indian were left on
the plains to pay for the lost life"
Another time Georgiana was very
close to death. While journeying IN
carriage, she and her husband got
off the main road, and two apparent
ly friendly Mexicans invited them to
pass the night at their house, since
they would be unable to go further
that night. "Once in the house" re-
lated Mrs. McCullum, 81 felt that
something was wrong. AS soon as the
Mexicans left the house woman who
Id boon sitting there with dOWncaSt