The Portland daily press., 1889-10-11

guide me, had to take one of them at a
venture. Fit was not the right one, l must
return and take another. | went to the left
and. after going few rods, found the pass
OF cut oyerSrown with bushes, and badly
from twelve to twenty feet wide, twisting
about like q creek, but gradually leading
upward. The height of the bank on each
| side was from fifty to two hundred feet, ana
the mountain was so densely WOODED tnat
the path was in semi-darkness.
/ GOT NV horse over the distractions which
blocked the way and proceeded on Tor half
| mile without finding any great change In the
general character of the pass. Then 1t
| suddenly sweryed 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 1t 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 l must return, decided
to let the horse gaze for while, however,
and II was only after had turned him loose
that caught sight of what appeared to be
SIX emlgrant wagons standing. against the
ter Until had made half the distance, and 1t
was only when got close up that discovered
why they looked so queer. Their canvas
tops had turned back 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 wheels of one
of the vehicles and gave it 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. l should not have been more sur
prised to find a steamboat resting there. No
emlgrant had yet dared penetrate so far in
to the Indian country in that direction, and
II was FAR away from the overland trail to
California. The presence of those wagons
meant tragedy, and was 10th to begin an
investigation. l walked about the cove
seeking 70 brace my courage. and few yards
bones which knew belonged to horse or
cattle. A bit further on huge fireplace had
been constructed Of loose stones against the
face of 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 OF the mystery must be hidden In
the wagons, and returned to overhaul them.
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.
began with the FIRST wagon, and can
ell thn nc Of onh H. G-aA
wagon was piled full of harnesses, or the
remains of them. Time and decay had left
little except the buckets, 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,
a jug and heap of mold which probably re-
presented clothing. hauled the chest out
and picked 1t apart, but the contents had
gone. to mold. except in the case of fifty
Mexican silver dollars, which had probably
also held chest, but l found nothing of
value in it. 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 a rough wooden box. From this
box secured small one made of tin, and
broke that open to find $40 in st tie bank bills,
rude map evidently representing the Copper
mountains 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 six were three chests, two
shovels. three picks, the barrel of a rifle, a
rusty axe and keg which held whisky. In
one of the three boxes l found a silver
tobacco box containing $50 in Mexican gold
and note or description. 1t had been written
on heavy paper and with gold 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 y *about twenty,
and in *you should take precautions
Have Captain Jim see that n
powder and lead three months or
mere *same general direction
about due north from must act for
shall expect from man i
send
The letter was unsigned, and so much of it
was illegible that we could only guess at the
general tenor. There had been a private
expedition 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 enc had returned 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 did
not only deepened the mystery. had notice
of the discovery published far and wide in
the west, and two occasions guided parties
to the cave that futher examination mig hit be
is my stery.