Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-03-20

an article under the head of "a Gar
den on The Santa Fe Trail y The
following, descriptive of actual hap
Ipenings will be read with interest by
all cur old settlers:
TREASURES OF YELLOW GOLD AND
GREEN FIELDS.
Have you ever sat by a camp fire
on a summers evening while the ba-
con fried and the coffee stepped
spreading its subtle fragrance on the
air? If SO, you well know the sensation
of gypsy blood running riot in your
veins. And then to listen to the
stories of old weatheT-beaten movers,
some of them pioneers who have trav
eled this trail when the Indian wasmon-
arch of all, Drawing every danger to
reach the land where earth's tabled
treasures of yellow gold and green
fields were to be found.
An aged couple camped one even
ing near our house, and carried water
from our windmill. Their appearance
greatly interested me and went out
to their camp fire. The old couple
had snow white hair, and their dialect
was that peculiar to people who have
for years lived in a wagon. l knew
they must have history, and it was
not long before the old man grew
reminiscent, and he told me the fol-
lowing tale.
| "When I was lad my folks lived
in southern Illinois, and everybody
was goin crazy over Cahforny. Lots
of our neighbors sold all their belong
lings and started overland in wagons.
After while my pap took. the gold
/ fever. He allowed he wa mt goin' to
set still and let all the neighbors go
out there and pick up what gold there
was lynn round loose. So he sold
his farm, COWS and sheep, and with
-four thousand dollars in gold and two
wagons, he loaded up the family and
started west At Kansas City we wait
ed until about sixty teams came along,
then we joined the caravan. They
had all sold property and pap said
lthey were carrying a pile of money.
We travelled along for weeks without
anything stirring happening. The
Indians used to sly around consider
able, but we was we'll armed, and
there was a good many of US, so pap
thought he was middlin' safe.
i ssBut one terrible night the Indians
lit down on US. We fit all night be-
hind the barricade of wagons and all
next day until our ammunition got low.
Then when we saw there want no
show we prepared to make a run for
the fort, ten miles back. Thinking
to save their money hole was dug
in the ground and after filling three
camp kettles with gold and silver the
men buried it. Then they took the
women and children on their best
horses and lit out for the fort. Only
twenty ever reached the fort, all the
rest were killed or taken prisoners by
the Indians. Pap and some of the
men had made rough map of the
country where they buried the gold
. and I've got a copy of that map
Them that were left after the massacre
never got back to the place where
they buried the treasure. The In
dams were mighty bad for several
Years, then Pap died and the wal
came on So after the war, when
things got quiet my old woman and
me started out on the trail to find
that money. We have travelled be-
tween where Hutchinson now stands
and the Colorado line twelve times.
I've studied the chart pretty close in
the last year and I believe we are al
most onto the place. l guess l have
dug a thousand holes along the trail
during the past 80 years, but l always
cover them up mighty careful. We
don't want no smart fellows spotting
on our trail. Me aud the old woman
has worked and waited too many years
to at last see a stranger dig up and
walk off with them there pots of
gold"
| Then taking up his lariat ropes he
Istarted out in the darkness with his
horses that had finished their chop in
the box back of the wagon and were
patiently waiting to be picketed.
After he had gone the old woman
who was one of those intelligent and
interesting characters we often meet
with on the western frontier related
me the following experience as one of
the many during her years of over
iland travel
'sAlong in the latter part of the six
ties think it was our third trip, we
camped about where Kinsley now IS.
We had been travelling quite slow