The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1913-09-25
From the Sioux city Tribune.

Stanton, Neb. Special: "A rusty
roughly made old knife blade, bearing
the date 1887, and dug from an In.
dian mound near Sulphur Springs
Ark, by Charles Ia. Hebler, a druggist
Of that city, has given Thomas w
Barton, an archaeologist Of Stanton
the last link in a chain Of proof show.
ing that a shipload OF Welshmen visit.
ed the southwest 20$0T years before the
discovery Of America by Columbus and
were assimilated by the Indian tribes
of New Mexico and Arizona. Mr.. Bar
ton, who has the old Welsh knife at his
home In stanton, has spent more than
a dozen years among the zuni, Moqui
and other Indians Of the southwest
studying their traditions, habits, lam
guage, etc. He is now at Stanton
resting and working up the field notes
he made while among the Indians. The
old knife blade, which came Into his
possession some time ago, was so heaV-
lily encrusted with sulphur that ii was
almost an inch thick. When this was
removed, the iron blade remained and
the date "1257n is easily discernible. To
this incrIistation Mr.. Barton credits
the state OF preservation in which the
old blade "a found it wal removed
from the Indian mound. The water
around the town of Sulphur Springs is
heavily impregnated with sulphur and
the inc~rustation was due to the settling
Of sulphur crystals from the water
upon the knife blade.
Proof of Welsh Visits.
From Investigations / have made
Gays Mr.. Barton, II find that in the
Thirteenth century the Welsh were the
only people in the world who made iron
articles and put the date on them. But
this IL only n link in the chain OF
proof"
The Welsh, according to the archaeol-
ogist, not only antedated the sailor OF
Palos, but they preceded LaSalle and
Marquette to the Mississippi, entered
the mouth Of that river 400 years before
d'Iberville heard OF it.. rowed or sailed
against the swift current and around
its shaggy bends several hundred miles,
turned their way into the then dark
recesses OF the Arkansas and up that
stream journeyed to the Rocky noun
talns centuries before the Rold-seekers
footed a train to Santa Fe. These white
men were adopted into the Indian
tribes and gradually the white strain
disappeared, but today these same In
dians cling to many traditions and
words left behind by the Weishmen.
Thirty years ago. says Mr.. Bar
ton, while in Arizona among the In
dams, I picked UP the tradition that
In an earlier day a party Of men with
Z. WAAAAS 5hlllA iLiN NSIllG dulUIlB tInGIll,
were adopted into the tribe and died.
They came from the eastward, UP the
Arkansas river. The white men had
weapons and implements of a strange
metal, but these gradually were brok-
en- or thrown away. 1t was many gen
erations before that the white had
come and / gained scarcely more than
the tradition. But / kept this tradi-
Ten years after that T was visiting
in a Creek Indian village. There were
many Welshmen in the western states
and I had two OF them in my party on
that trip. Shortly after our arrival |
was exchanging greetings with the
head men Of the trib and my two
Welshmen began making comment on
the camp, speaking to each other IN
the Welsh tongue. One OF the head In
dams stopped and listened to my men.
Then he ran over to. them and em-
braced them both. at the same time
speaking rapidly in Creek. which they
did not understand. Then he pro-
nounced his words more slowly and