The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-07-19
A Mystery
The Wagon Train That Was
Lost In the Mountains
By 8. cRIrrRNDRN LYTLR
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
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Z Copyright, 1870 by American Press
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Years ago. when there were no rail-
roads between the Atlantic and Pa
cific oceans. wagon train was lost ib
the Sierra Nevada mountains. 1t was
last seen by some Indian hunters.
Searching parties went out to find 1t
without success. At last 1t was given
up and forgotten.
The leader of the party was Edward
Earle. He was a widower with little
| daughter, Elizabeth, whom he had left
In the east in care Of his sister. Eliza
beth was five years old when her ia
Their was last heard from, but she took
deep interest in the story of his dis
appearance. What to older people was
mystery was to her a child's story
books. 1t did not occur to her that
there was anything more wonderful in
the disappearance of a wagon train
consisting of half dozen teams and
ten or twelve people than In changing
man into frog In other words,
she did not realize that the one really
happened and the other was impossi-
BILE.
But as Elizabeth grew beyond the
age to be impressed by the Imagination
this story of the lost wagon train be-
gan to grow upon her Had it not been
given to her by those In whom she had
confidence she would not have believ-
ed 1t. A man might disappear to re-
turn many years after with an expla-
nation But how could wagons, horses
and men all go out like candlef
Elizabeth was the only person who
fancied that her father would some
day come back. Her elders did not op-
pose her in this. though they did not
pretend to agree with her. But as time
wore on she realized that the case of
the wagon train her father conducted
was like that of a ship going down I'M
der some marine catastrophe, carrying
with it every living person. There
came a hope that her father had left
some message for her which she would
some day receive. She was told that
he had had some property, but he
alone knew where it was located. No
will had ever been found nor any
other papers to throw light upon his
affairs. But this was not strange since
he had all his effects with him.
BY the time Elizabeth had become
eighteen this question Of her fathers
disappearance had grown upon her to
such an extent that it became sort of
monomania. Possibly this resulted
from trying to solve an insoluble ques-
ton. She was continually asking her
self how such thing could happen.
One of her suggestions was that the
train had been carried away by a
cloudburst Another was that it had
been buried under an avalanche. But
In the case of the cloudburst the re-
mains Of men. horses and wagons
would be carried down where they
would be seen. and In the case of the
avalanche they would appear as soon
as the snow melted. 1t was brooding
on these problems that at last threat
ened to affect Elizabeths mind.
When Henry Merryweather began to
court Elizabeth her aunt hoped that a
living interest would relieve her from
the burden of d dead one. Henry was
a fine fellow and grew more and more
wrapped in the serious girl made so
by a mystery. By delicate attentions
he endeavored to withdraw her mind
from the topic upon which it was abb
normally fastened. But his efforts
were failure Despite all he could do
he ELECTED only an occasional smile.
temporary interest.
The time had come when Elizabeth
felt that she must relieve her aunt of
her support. and she accepted a posi-
ton as teacher in a school. Occupa-
ton helped her in the matter that was
troubling her. but did not cure her.
Often in the midst of her duties she
would find herself endeavoring to solve
the problem of the lost wagon train.
AS last resort Henry Merryweather
resolved to go out to the region where
the train was last seen with view to
solving the mystery. He hoped that If
he could bring back any plausible solu-
ton Elizabeth would accept it and she
would regain her normal status With
out saying anything to her in reference
Sierra Nevadas and the region where
the train had been last seen.
Fifteen years had passed since the
tragedy or whatever it was occurred,
and settlers had come into the region
that had been solitude. Henry. OBJ
tanning good horse. set out to go
over the pass where the train had
been lost The mystery was so we'll
known that he had no difficulty In To-
eating the position where 1t had been
last seen. One Of the equipments he
possessed for his quest was a taste for
geology. AS he rode along he noted
the character of the rocks. the fiow of
the streams. the CONFORMATION of the
soil. AS he passed through a canyon
in which ran q mountain stream be
came to a point where the ground
formed dam. making small lake.
1t seemed to him that this could not
have long been so. The trees growing
on the dam were all very young. He
wondered If it had not been thrown
across the stream by some shaking of
the earth. He looked up and saw that
the soil on which he stood formed
direct incline for several thousand |
feet to spot where side Of noun
tain seeEaed to have been scooped out
1t occurred to him that a large mass
of earth far above had slid down and |
formed the dam CD which he stood.
Might not the lost wagon train lave
been buried under this landslide?
The more he studied the conflgura-
lions about him the more be was con-
vinced that some cause. either a clap |
of thunder. snowslide or an earth |
quake, had loosened the mountain side |
and thrown it down and across the |
road Then by riding back and forth |
he traced the old road, noting its juno
ton with a later one both above and |
below the dam. While he was salts |
fed that this avalanche Of earth might |
have buried the lost train. he had no (
hope that he would be able to find any
vestige of man, beast or wagon with |
out employing host of men to re-
move the earth from the old road, a
part Of which was now covered with |
water But he could tell Elizabeth Of |
his find and assure her Of his belief |
that the wagon train had been buried |
under the landslide.
He argued that II those connected
with the train had seen the mountain