Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-02-19

story told by Mr.. King in which al
early journey across the great Amer
can desert and It's numerous trials
dangers and unusual incidents hav'
been pictured, the wagon train hat
reached Bear creek and the funeral o
one of the members was described. Ii
the present article, he deals with thu
origin of the Aubrey trail and thu
journey on from Bear creek. The tale
as told by Mr.. King follows:
, Our course from the Arkansas rivel
had been as near due west as could be
laid out and I will give you brieI
line as to the origin of the Aubrey
route at the time Of which l write
! it was the central branch of the worlC
famed Santa Fe trail.
In the early fifties an adventurous
Frenchman, F. x. Aubrey. rode on g
wager from Santa Fe, N. M, to indie
pendence, Mo-, in eight days and In
laying out his route from the eastern
border of Mexico he travelled almost
entirely by the compass, hence the
almost direct east and west line cover
ed by the Aubrey or central route OF
the Santa Fee trail.
l learned afterwards in Santa Fe
that when Aubrey left the east line OF
Mexican territory he was accompanied
by three Mexicans and had eight of the
best horses and mules that could be
found in Mexican territory, and that
at the end Of two days journey into
the desert, the Mexicans supposing
Aubrey to have large sum of gold
among his packs for delivery in the
east, made an attempt to assassinate
him and escape with the treasure, but
that he killed two Of them on the spot
and the third surrendered and accom-
panied Aubrey across the desert to the
Arkansas river where after crossing
the east bank he (the Me1:ican) was
deliberately murdered by his master
and his body thrown into the river.
Aubrey afterwards acted as guide
for an outfit crossing the desert via
the same route of which am writing.
Aubrey was daring rider and was an
expert with either the gun, knife or
lariat, but the time came when his gun
play failed him and he took the long
trail with his boots on. He became
involved in a dispute with an ex-maJor
of the United States army, X. II.
Weightman in Santa Fe, who some
time revious had been editor of the
Santa Fe Herald. Aubrey accused
Weightman of misrepresenting him IN
his paper. The accusation was resent
ed by the ex-major and Aubrey made
a gun play but too late, for Welghtman
threw a bowie knife straight into his
breast before Aubrey could draw and
the latter fell dead on the floor OF a
Santa Fe saloon.
Major Weightman had served n
Doniphan's Missouri raiders who dur
ing the Mexican war marched from Ft.
to Santa Fe. 1000 miles
without even a semblance OF base
of supplies and he afterwards located
in Santa Fee, the capital of the land OF
the greaser and in the late fifties drift
ed east and located in AtchisOn,> Kan,
but being an ardent advocate OF the
extension of slavery he soon dr1fted
south, and father told me afterwards
that he became very active in trying
to establish slavery in Kansas terri
tory.
But to return to the thread of my
story, after leaving Bear creek camp
we had fine hard trail with but
small semblance of sand, our course
lay on almost a bee line west.
Bear creek had its birth in or near
the faraway Rockies and was a spring
and snow fed stream. The first three
days travel after leaving the camp
herein described we had Bear creek
for neighbor crossing it twice in that
many days. The stream ran from west
to east and the trail lay south of it
and travelled on an apparently natural
divide, the surface of which was COW
cred with thick growth of nutritious
grass which on an undulating surface
to rise and fall like the
waves Of the ocean. This grass was
Of broad fiat nature for short dis
lance above the surface, then branch
ed out almost like corn and at height
Of about foot from the ground the
different spears folded gracefully out
ward and dropped limpy downward
and from all appearance rivaled the
natural construction Of the weeping
willow.
The stock appeared to relish it and
would push their noses against the
earth and bite it off close to the
ground. They would eat the lower
part and would waste the top which
had become slightly dried. Far away
to the north could be seen the blue
line against the northern sky which
marked the whereabouts of the Ratoon
range which is the southern branch of
the Rockies, while to the southwark
stretched the boundless waste of the
great American desert.
Across the great sandy waste was
to be found the Great Cimmeron route
or the original Santa Fe trail, while
farther to the south lay the Kearney
of Doniphan trail which crossed the
Arkansas river at Mulberry Bend be.
tween FIT. Larned and FIT. Dodge. This
trail was also known as the trail of
Forty-nine, but had to be abandoned
on account of the deep drifting sands,
long waterless wastes and the fierce
and merciless Camanche Indians
through whose hunting ground 1t tray
eled from east to west.
In the spring of 1866 when a govern
ment wagon master at Fort Larned,
took twenty-three SIX mule teams load
ed with all kinds Of clothing across the
river at the same crossing