Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1890-10-04
TIE OLD SANTA FL TRAIL.


Western Kansas.
Travellers, in their "reminiscences OF the
Kansas frontier. write as IT the Denver
trail can hardly be traced at the present
time This may be 50 in counties as Tar
east as Ellsworth, but in the western
part of the State it will remain for many
years as a memorial of the brave men
who carried the mail for the United
States through an Indian infested dis
trict as far back as 1860 To-day, where
the pillow has not been, there are miles OF
the old trail in Cove county and west
ward, which are better todrive over now
than when John Butteriield first lad 1t
out.
How great an undertaking it was to
carry the mail, summer and winter, day
and night, from St Joseph to San Fran
cisco can be lealiz | by those only who
saw the plains inc days. The writer
has often wondered if Messrs. Major,
Wardell. and Russ. kept any record OF
their experi noes when they took the
contract to work the route, and If so,
whether any such record Is TIL III exist
ence. 1t would be interesting to the
younger generation to read how the
route was surveyed and the stations
built, 10 or 12 miles apart, all along the
line, and of the numberless exciting cpl
sodes which must have occurred.
1t has been stated that the names of
many of the depots on the Kansas Pa
cific Railroad were taken from thenames
given to the old sta stations. Charac-
teristic names MANY of them were, MO-
notony, Mirage, Wild Horse, etc. Walk
ers Creek, tradition says, was named Tor
a stage driver who was killed by Indians
at that point From there westward the
writer is we'll acquainted with the old
trail for many stages each OF which has
its history Fort Fletcher, established
in 1866, stands (or used TO stand on the
trail at the junction of North Fork and
Big Creek Here it was that the dash
ing Custer and his men were washed
out one night by a cloud burst Eight
miles west was Big Creek station, which
is said to have been utterly cleaned out
one time by Indians, probably Chey-
ennes. Ten years after bullets could have
been picked up by the dozen all round,
showing that it was the scene OF hot
fight Twenty six miles west is what IS
known as Threshing Machine Canyon,
where the trail runs close be lde the
Smoky River Here they say that eight
cen men, taking a threshing machine to
Colorado, were surprised while camped,
and every man scalped and the machine
burned up. Portions of the iron work
lay around for many year.
Il
About 80 miles from Fort Fletcher the
old earthworks of q small fort on Iowner
Creek are still plainly discernible, and
again at about the same number of miles
westward stood Fort Monument, near to
Monument Rocks. Here stood a small
stone building up to 80, almost every
stone of which had name of some trav-
eler cut thereon. Some Swede has since
pulled down the building and used the
rock for dugout, thereby destroying
an interesting relic of the past and the
handiw work of many man who has
doubtless before this gone over still
longer trail.
This brings us into the neighborhood
of the Beaver, the scene of the last In
dian fight in Kansas, in '7S, when Cap
tain Lewis was killed by the G eyennes
on their passage northward.
The story goes that one of ne above
mentioned mail contractors had an eye
to the spiritual welfare Of his men, and
when bull train was about to start
would present a Testament to each of
the teamsters, and that on a man apply
ing one day for job he asked, Can
you drive cattle?" Yes" was the re-
ply, 81 can drive them to H." To this
the contractor replied, "Thank you,
young man; l do not require your serv-
ices am not tcaming to that point. -
[W. B. F.