Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-08-29


cofPss, and rested for two hours. Then l set
out 70 reach the other side Of the range.
where would either stay by until night or
push on for Laramie, according as the signs
indicated. The pass for the first half mile
was fair enough, for q wagon After that 1t
was scarcely possible for a saddle horse to
make his way 1t was difficult to tell which
was the main pass and which the branches,
and when about half way over the mountain
came to a spot where | was completely
stuck. The pass | had been following was
now split into three, each one seeming to be
tho main pass, and, as there was nothing to
guide re, ! had to take one of them at a ven
ture. If 1t was not the right one, | must re-
turn and take another | went to the left,
and, after going few rods, found the pass
o. cut overgrown with bushes and badly
choked up by fall Of rock. The cut was
from twelve to twenty feet wide, twisting
about ike a creek, but gradually leading up
ward The height of the bank on each side
was from fifty to two hundred feet, and the
mountain was SO densely wooded that the
path was in semi-darkness.
got my horse over the Instructions which
blocked the way and proceeded on for half a
mile without finding any great change in the
denly swerved to the left and debouched into
cove of about two acres in extent, which
nature had so walled in that the most agile
Indian would have been put to his trumpS to
find spot where the wall could be scaled.
1t would have been more IN keeping with
nature and the surroundings had the cove
been full of water, as small lakes Of that kind
are frequently found in the mountains but it
hot
the sweet grass was knee high and there were
towers without number. Before setting foot
Oh the grass | saw that this was the end of
the pass had followed, and that | must re-
turn decided TO let the horse Craze for a
while, however, and it was only after | had
turned him loose that | caught sight Of whaA
appeared TO be six enllgrant wagons standing
against the further wall | was not sure of
their character until had made half the dis
lance, and it was only when | got close up
that discovered why they looked so queer
Their canvas tops had turned black and rotted
away and were now In rags and streaming
out in the breeze. The woodwork of the
wagons had turned gray, the tires Of the
wheels mad rusted until the iron was almost
eaten away, and when | took hold Of the hind
wheel Of one of the vehicles and gave it a
shake the spokes fell and the wagon came
crashing down amid a cloud of dust.
There was something so grewsome and
mysterious in my find that | wanted to run
away. should have been no more surprised
to find a steamboat resting there No emf
grant had vet dared penetrate 50 far into the
Indian country in that direction and 1t was
far away from the overland trail TO Callfor-
MA The presence of those wagons meant a
tragedy, and | was 10th to begin an investi-
CATION. | walked about the cove seeking to
brace my courage, and a few yards beyond
the wagons | came upon heap of bones
which | knew to have belonged to horses or
cattle A bit further on huge fireplace had
been constructed of loose stones against the
face of a cliff, and the smoke had blackened
the wall for a distance OF forty feet from the
ground There was 40 sign of the presence
of any human being 1t had been a long
time since the last fire was built, as the grass
was growing among the ashes and embers.
The key to the mystery must be hidden in the
wagons, and | returned to overhaul them.
You can hardly realize the lonesome look of
those vehicles. They were standing one be-
hind the other as closely as they could be
drawn. and the sight of them was proof that
years had gone by since they were parked
there. | should say that it would take at
least ten years to bring about such decay as |
saw in them They were large and heavy,
made of the best materials, and yet shake
would have brought any of them to the
ground.
l began with the first wagon, and can
easily recall the contents of each. The first
wagon was piled full of harnesses, or the re-
mains of them Time and decay had left
little except the buckles, and they were badly
rusted. | should say the heap contained the
harnesses of at least dozen teams. In the
second wagon were chest. two iron kettles,
a luz. and heap of mold which probably
represented clothing. hauled the chest out
and kicked it apart, but the contents had
gone to mold, except in the case Of fifty
Mexican silver dollars which had probably
been in a buclskin bag. The third wagon
also held chest, but found nothing Of value
in it. ! found In this wagon the rusted re-
mains of several picks and shovels and heaps
of mold which represented either clothing
or provisions. The fourth wagon was empty.
The fifth contained picks and shovels and
rough wooden box. From this box | rescued
a small one made of tin, and | broke that
open to find $40 In state bank bills, rude
map evidently representing the Copper mount
aims and neighborhood, and four five dollar
American gold pieces
The fifth wagon had evidently been stored
with provisions, but | found nothing but
mold In the sixth were three chests, two
shovels, three picks, the barrel of ride,
rusty ax and key which held whisky. In
one of the three big boxes | found a silver
tobacco box containing $50 in Mexican gold
and note or description. It had been writ
ten on heavy paper and with good ink, but
some of the words had faded entirely away
and others had to be guessed The following
is the copy | made of it upon my return to
Fort Laramie:
there will about twenty, and
in you should take precautions
Have Captain Jim see that powder and
lead three months or more
same general direction about due north
from must act for shall ex
poet . from man send.
The letter was unsigned, and SO much of it
was illegible that We could only guess at the
general tenor There had been private ex-
petition from Kansas years before. The
party had sought shelter in the mountain
valley. They had killed a portion if not all
their live stock for food. Then the men had
departed, but never one had returned to
civilization to tell the tale All may have
been wiped ont In the main pass or at the
base of the mountain, or some may have died
In the cave Had the Indians ever found the
wagons they would have piundered and
burned them The fact that they had not
only deepened the mystery, had notice OF
the discovery published far and wide in the
west and on two occasions guided parties 10
the cave that further examinations might be
made, but to this day the fate of those people