The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-09-14

out 10 reach the other side OF the range,
where | would either stay 10y until night or
push on for Laramie, according as the signs
| indicated. The pass for the first half mile
was fair enough, for n wagon After that II
was scarcely possible for "A saddle horse 10
make his way IL was difficult 10 tell which
was the main pass and which the branches,
and when about half way over the mountain
| came 10 a spot where ! was completely
stuck. The pass | had been following was
now split into three, each one seeming 10 he
the main pass and, as there was nothing TO
| guide me, had 20 take one Of them at n ven
! turc. If II was not the right one, must re-
,urn and take another. went % the left,
and. after going few rods, found the pass
O. cut overgrown with bushes, and badly
chokcd up by fall Of rock. The cut was
| from twelve 10 twenty feet wide, twisting
about like creek but gradually leading up
ward. The height of the bank on each side
was from fifty 10 two hundred feet, and the
mountain was 50 denScy VOICED mat the
path was in semi-darkness.
got my horse over the distractions which
blocked the way and proceeded on for half
mile without finding any great change IN the
general character Of the pass Then 1t sud-
denly swcrvcd 10 the left aud dehouchcd 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 trImps 10
find a spot where the wall could Ice scaled.
II would have been more IN keeping with
nature and the surroundings had the cove
been full of water, a. small lakes of that KIND
are frequently found IN the mountains but II
was not only solid earth, tut 50 fertile that
the sweet grass was knee high ana 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 Ia let the horse Craze for IA
while, however, and 1t was only after j had
turned him loose that | caught sight OF what
appcarcd to be six cmigrant wagons standing
aeaiust the further wall. | was not sure Of
their character until had made half the dis
lance. and IL 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 had rusted until the iron was almost
eaten away, and when took hold of the hind
wheel Of one of the vehicles and gave 1t
shake the spokes fell and the wagon came
crashing down amid 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 steamboat resting there. No emil
grant had vet dared penetrate so far into the
Indian country in that direction, and 1t was
far away from the overland trail to Califor-
nia. The presence of those wagons meant
tragedy, and | was 10th to begin an investi-
cation. | walked about the cove seeking to
brace my courage, and few yards beyond
the wagons | came upon heap Of bones
which knew TO have belonged to horses or
cattle A bit further on a huge fireplace had
been constructed of loose stones against the
face Of IA 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 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 1t would take at
least ten years TO bring about such decay MS
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.
| 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 a dozen teams. In the
second wagon were chest, two iron kettles,
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 buckskin 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 shoves 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
mapevidently 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 a rifle n
rusty AK and keg which held whisky. In
one of the three big boxes l found a silver
tobacco box containing 500 in Mexican gold
and note or description. 1t 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'
pect . 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 il 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