Omaha daily bee., 1907-01-20

the Santa Re trail has spoken Of stopping
at this fort. II was the only haven and
about the only place where food and shell
ter against the Indians could be secured.
Around It were Kiowas. Arapahoes, Chey-
ennes and Comanches and rarely X ever
did the occupants dare to open the gates
and leave them ajar.
Nowhere have there been more thrilling
escapes from death than along the Santa
Fe trail. One of the most startling OF these
is told by Major Imam A train that had
left Fort Leavenworth was attacked when
near the Colorado line by rowing band Of
Indians. The men fought until all the
ammunition was exhausted. Then the In
dams closed in on them. taking what OF
the booty they wanted and burning the
remainder and leaving all the men scalped
and. as they supposed, dead. When the
soldiers. coming from Fort Bent to meet
the party, arrived at the scene they found
one OF the men still alive. He had been
terribly wounded, struck by no less than
eight bullets and scalped besides He was
carried to Fort Leavenworth and care
fully tended. His wounds gradually healed
and for many years he claimed the dis
tinction of being the only man known to
have survived the scalping knife.
Another tragedy of these mara uding In
dams was that of the Germaine family,
consisting of the parents, one grown son
and ave daughters. They had passed what
was considered the most dangerous part OF
the trail and expected to arrive at a place
of safety the next day. But they were set
upon by a band of Indians, who killed the
men and the woman and carried the five
girls off with them They killed the oldest
GIRL but the four others were for years
of I'd ha nf
of soldiers. After many startling adven-
lures all were finally rescued and for a
while remained wards of the government.
Eventually they all married and their de-
scendants still live in Kansas.
%
Blood and Gold Along the Way.
Rich as is the old trail in incidents of ad.
venture and Indian warfare, the stories
that are most frequently told of 1t are those
of buried treasure. Soaked In blood and
paved with gold" is the way the oldest
settler describes 1t. AS a matter of fact
probably all the treasure that was ever
buried to save It from the Indians Jyaa
long since removed but that is never told
In the stories and the fascinating lure of
the long buried gold and silver remains.
One OF the choices of these stories is Of the
returning gold miner from California with
lortuhe IN uust strapped around his
waist. While on the trail he was attacked
by smallpox and died most horribly His
companions were afraid to go near him and
only with difficulty were they induced to
give him the crudest sort of burial. Their
terror overcame their cupidity and no one
was brave enough to remove the golden
belt from the body. The place Of burial
was marked and for years afterward was
pointed out as the spot where a fortune
awaited the man who would brave death
70 secure it. Finally the marks disap-
peared and the location of the place became
vague. Men became drawer then and
ground enough for a hundred graves was
dug up in the search, but It was never
found and even yet people occasionally
take chance with shovel and spade in
the hope OF recovering it,