San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-09-30

from the prairie maze uTe, got Ieduy my
coffee, and rested for two hours Then l set
out to 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 wagon. After that IL
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
the main pass, and, as there was nothing to
guide me, had to take one of them at ven
ture If 1t was not the right one, must re-
turn and take another. / went to the left,
and, after going a few rods, found the pass
or cut overgrown with bushes, and badly
choked up by fall of rock The cut was
from twelve to twenty feet wide, twisting
about like 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 d1nsely 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
general character of the pass. Then it sud
denly swerved to the left and debouched into
a 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 a 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
was not only solid earth, but SO fertile that
the sweet grass was knee high and there were
flowers without number Before setting foot
on 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 n
while, however, and it was only after | had
turned him loose that caught sight of what
appeared to be six emigrant wagons standing
against the further wall l was not sure of
their character until / had made half the dis,
lance, and it was only when l 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 had 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 l wanted to run
away. should have been no more surprised
to find steamboat resting there. No emf
grant had vet dared penetrate so far into the
Indian country in that direction, and it was
far away from the overland trail to Califor-
MIA. 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 a 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 distance of forty feet from the
ground. There was no 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 al
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 a chest, two iron kettles
a Jug. 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 bucEskin bag. The third wagon
also held a 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, a 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 l found nothing but
mold. In the sixth were three chests, two
shovels, three picks, the barrel of a rife,
rusty ak and keg which held whisky. In
one of the three big boxes | found silver
tobacco box containing $50 in Mexican gold
and note or description. 1t had been writ
ten on heavy paper and with good ink, but