The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-02-19
An Old Man Searches Twenty-Five
Years for His Lost Love.

The author of the little book known
as "The Ute War" relates q very inter-
esting story, which is given as an Incl
dent brought to light during the march
of Merritt's command from the fortifi-
cations at Milk River to White River
Agency:
Signs of the work of the savages met
the command at every turn after they
left the scene of the siege. They left
behind them the dead bodies of COM
rades in arms to find the corpses of the
unfortuK ate men who had attempted to
serve the Government in different ca
pacity. The road was literally strewn
with the nude and decaying remains of
white men whom chance had thrown
in the way of the savages.
The soldiers had marched but q few
miles when the advance guard came
upon body, the remains of white
man, when, as the story was told to .
correspondent of the IS1bu,se, who was
on the ground, u conversation, of which
the following is q report, occurred:
"What have we hereP' asked one
soldier of comrade.
cit looks like the body of a man and
it is"
"It's q white man, too.''
"To be sure it is, and terribly man.
gled and mutilated. The red fends
have got in their work on some unfor-
tunate fellow"
Investigation revealed the fact that
the body was that of Isaac Goldstein,
an Israelite, who was called "The
jew" and whose proper name was
known to but very few. Fortunately,
there was one soldier in the command
to whom the old man had confided the
secrets of his heart, and among others
his great secret, the history of his own
life, which, though containing material
for q volume, may be related here in q
few words, and without marring this
narrative, indeed as properly part of
it. Old Isaac was between fifty aud
sixty years, buthe looked to be seventy.
He was ever sad and uncommunicative,
seeming to bear about him burden
which, while it weighed him down, he
did not care to share with others. But
becoming friendly with this soldier, q
private in General Merritt's ranks, he
gradually confided the story of his ro-
mantle career to him. In his early
manhood Isaac Goldstein had loved q
fair daughter of Israel as he loved not
his own life. They lived in an eastern
city. and few months promised to see
them united as man and wife. This
young lady had q brother who had gone
to California among the first who were
attracted to the gold coast. At first he
prosBered, and was cheerful and hope
full in his letters. At last he lost his
health, and was low spirited and de-
spondent. His sister, whose name was
Rebecca, determined at once to 60 to
her brother to comfort, and, if possible,
to cure him. She had an opportunity
to and did Join the unfortunate party
in its overland trip which persisted at
Mountain Meadow at the hands of the
Mormons and the Indians combined.
Isaac waited long, long time for
tidings of his love. At last the sad news
of the massacre came. He at once went
west to investigate the matter, and has
remained since. He was never con-
vinced thathis Rebecca had been killed,
but believed her to have been made q
captive by the Indians. He determined
to seek her out, and for many, very
many, long years he had been search
ing and searching in vain for her, GO
ing from tribe to tribe, and gaining the
confidence of the Indians that he might
the more successfully prosecute the
search. That the Utes, now of Colora-
do, took part in the Mountain Meadow
affair, is established almost beyond dis
pute. And thus, according to the story
related by the soldier over the remains
of the long gray bearded old man as
they lay upon the hard sand-stones of
the bottom of Milk River canon, came
d" the Jew" to be trading with Doug
lass Indians.
The few auditors who gathered around
the surviving friend of the old Jew list
ened with interest and attention to the
narrative. 1t wasreceived with a sigh
by all, and derision by none. A few
moments more and the remains of ''the
Wandering Jew'' were hidden away in
a trench dug for the purpose, and COW
cred with earth, and the following le-
gend appears on the simple stone grave
mark:
ISAAC GOLDeTEN,
Killed by Indians.
Sept. 20, 1879. .- s-
Denver Tribune.