Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-02-19
ORIGIN OF AUBREY TRAIL AND JOURNEY
FROM BEAR CREEK TOLD BY JAMES KING

ahead on the trail while German and
myself followed the course of the
stream toward It's source.
we found a skull bone and some body
| bones of man. dismounted and up
| on picking up the skull it fell to pieces
at my feet and on further investigation
we found more human bones and
bones Of horses and they were all SO
weakened by age and exposure that
they would not stand handling and at
the least touch they would crumble to
dust. We continued our journey far
Their UP the little creek and stopped at
small grove.
Here we found a few dead trees
which bore the marks of having been
destroyed by fire while around and
near the base Of the trees human
skulls and bones lay in endless profus-
sion. Had we been in Zanzibar or CEN
trail Africa the sight before us might
have suggested a cannibal feast on hui
man flesh or if on the Ladrone islands
Of the southern Pacific it might have
suggested a years accumulation OF
mighty head hunter. We tested all the
best bones and finally found some that
we could take to camp as testimonials
of our grewsome discoveries. We wrap
ped the bones Of the dead in some
grass around which we carefully
wound our ponchos, then our over
coats Strapping the whole behind our
saddles we conveyed them to camp in
safety.
We went over the ground for some
distance and found many arrow heads
some made from flint and some made
from species of hard stone and some
from steel, the latter being procured
from Indian traders. We found two
pairs of bride bits and an iron stirrup
all of which we carried away as tro-
phies. l found one skull imbedded In
the gravel at the bottom of the little
stream. I dug it out with my butcher
knife and removed some Of the gravel
from its interior and took it to camp.
This skull. with some Of the other
trophies. Bud and took to Fort Union,
where the redoubtable Indian fighter
and trailer Kit Carson, promptly pro-
nounced it the skull of q Shoshone In
dian. He said the arrow heads were
representative Of the Shoshone and Co.
manche tribes, the steel heads repre-
senting the latter tribe.
In a future letter will give you the
story of how those bones and little
mounds came to be in that locality as
told by Kit Carson at party given
to a few people at the government
residence of Major Gordon and wife at
Fort Union.
Bud German and l reached camp on
our return trip soon after dark but 1t
was almost midnight on the desert, be-
fore Erwin and Grey returned to camp
and reported a buffalo wallow contain
ing clear water about thirty miles to
the west. They had rode at least sixty
miles since leaving camp. They also
the grazing getting poorer
and the trail more sandy.
After comparing notes we retired for
the balance of the night. Zigler, the
bugler was on night
guard and I instructed him to sound
reveille promptly at the first peep or
dawn and faithful to his trust he
awoke the camp at daybreak.
The herd was called in and while
the morning meal was being prepared
we harnessed and hitched up. After
breakfast we slowed away our culln-
arv outfit and soon we were rolllng
along to the water hole thirty miles
away on the Santa Fe trail.
James King.
P. S. In my next letter l will tell
YOU of the lake of death and the cross
ing of the poison plains which were
described to us by the Mexican stage
driver whom we met east OF the
Arkansas river.