Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-09-05
n. THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 5, 1889

l got my korse over the Instructions which blocked the way and proceeded on for half mile without finding any great change In the general character of the pass. Then 1t suddenly swerved to the left and de- bouched 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 spot where the wall could be scaled. It would have been moro in keeping with nature and the surround ings 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 flow- CTS without number. Before setting foot on the grass saw that thls was the end of the pass had followed, and that must return decided to let the horse graze for awhile, l however, and it was only after had turned him loose that caught sight of what ap- peared to be six emigrant wagons standing against the further wall. was not sure of | their character until I had made half the | distance, and it was only when got close | up that discovered why they looked so queer. Their canvas tops had turned black 1 and routed away, and were now in rags and streaming out in the breeze The wood- l work of the wagons had turned gray, the | tires of the wheels had rusted until the iron l was almost eaten away, and when took l hold of the hind wheel of one of the vehicles l 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 l away. I should havc been no more sur prised to find steamboat resting there. No emigrant had yet dared penetrate so far into the Indian country in that direction,' and it was far away from the overland trail. | "a NAn 44 wagons meant tragedy, and was 10th to begin an investigation. walked about the. cove seeking to brace my courage, and a 1 few yards beyond the wagons came upon! 1 a heap of bones which knew to have be-j longed 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 al | distance of forty feet from the groundl There was no sign of the presence of any human being. It had been a long time since | the last fire was built, as the grass was | growing among the ashes and embersi The key to the mystery must be hiddenl in the wagons. and returned to overhauh them. You can hardly realize the lonesome look of those vehicles. They were stand-' ing one behind the other as closely as theyss could be drawn, and the sight of them was! proof that years had gone by since they were parked there. l should Say that it would take at least ten years to bring about such decay as saw in them. They weres large and heavy, made of the best materi , als, and yet shake would have brought any of them to the ground.
 began with the first wagon, and I canN easily recall the contents of each. The; first wagon was piled full of harnesses, or the rem aims of them. Time and decay had left little except the buckles, and they were badly rusted. should say the heap con tained the harnesses ot 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 which had probably been in a buckskin bag. The third wagon also held a chest, but I found nothing of value in it. I found in this wagon the rusted remains 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 I rescued 8 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 fpe-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 rifle, a
 rusty axe, and keg which had held whisky.
 In one ot the three big boxes found silver
 tobacco box containing sixty dollars in Mex
 ican gold and 8 note or description. It had
 been written on heavy paper and with good
 ink, but some of the words had faded en-
 tirely 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 that
 powder and lead three months or
 more same general direction
 about due north from must act for
 shall expect t from man send.
 The letter was unsigned, and so much of it was lllegible that we could only guess at
 the general tenor. There had been pri-
 vate expedition from Kansas years before.
 The party had sought shelter in the mount
 ain valley. They had killed a portion if
 not all their live stock for food. Then the
 men had departed, but never one had re- turned to civilization to tell the tale All
 may have been wiped out 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
 plundered 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 to the cove that further ex- , animation might be made, but to this day , the fate of those people is mystery.-N. Y. Sun.
 Tinjsh What You Begin.
 l My old great-grandmother Knox had { , way of making her children finish theil , work. If they began 8 thing, they must ! complete it. If they undertook to build 2 cob house, they must not leave it until il was done, and nothing of the work or play l to which they set their hands would she , l allow them to abandon incomplete
 , l sometines wish I had heen trained ir