Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far WestDrannan, William F.
History
Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West
Drannan, William F.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); Indians of North America -- Wars
I then said to her, "You will soon be among friends, for I am
taking you to a woman that will be as good to you as your own
mother was," and at that moment we hove in sight of the Fort. I
pointed to the Fort, and told her there was where the woman lived
that I was taking her to.
We were now safe from an attack from the Apaches, and only a few
minutes later I drew rein at Fort Yuma.
I first rode up to the guard, whose beat was in front of the
Commander's tent, and asked where Lieut. Jackson's quarters were.
He pointed to a tent not far from where we then were, saying:
"That is his tent, and his wife is there, too."
As I rode to the Lieutenant's quarters, all eyes were turned in
our direction. Mrs. Jackson came to the door of the tent and
recognized me at once, and her first words were: "Chief, in the
name of common sense, where are you from, and who is this you have
with you?"
I said: "Mrs. Jackson, this is a girl I rescued from the Indians.
She has no parents and no relatives, that she knows of, and I have
brought her to you, thinking you would be a friend to her."
The reply of that noble woman was, "I will, with all my heart,"
and at that she assisted the girl in getting off the horse and led
her into her own tent.
By this time Lieut. Jackson and all the officers of the Fort were
there, and it seemed to me that the Lieutenant would never quit
shaking my hand, and when he went to introduce me to the other
officers who were present, laughingly said.
"What shall I call you? I have known you as the 'Boy Scout,' also
as the 'Chief of Scouts.' I have known you when you were giving
lessons in hunting, and now you have come in from a hostile Indian
country with a white girl riding behind you. What shall I call
you?"
I said: "Lieutenant, call me Will Drannan, the trapper, for I am
now engaged in that business."
"Yes, I see you are," responded the Lieutenant with a hearty
laugh, "and I see you have had splendid success in your new
enterprise." He then asked me if I had trapped the girl.
I told him that I did not trap her, but that I got her away just
the same.
The Lieutenant then introduced me to the officers, and had the
orderly take charge of my horses. I was never kept more busy in my
life answering questions than I was for the next two hours,
relative to the girl and my plan of rescuing her.
Among the officers was a captain by the name of Asa Moore, who had
heard all about this massacre only a short time after it occurred,
and he said he thought there were some of the relatives living
somewhere in California, but he did not know just what part of the
state.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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