The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1917-04-18
A Mysterious
Disappearance
TWo Men and TDo
Wagons LGAt on
the Plains
BY ETHEL HOLMES

tons from most Of the gold seekers
His partner in business, George Hun.
ter, had gone before him, purchased 6
piece Of property on which there was
evidence of gold, had returned, and the
two, having got together mining ma
chinery and other articles necessary to
their purpose, started from Council
Bluffs with.two wagons to make the
trip over the plains and the mountains
to California.
The Golden State was in those days
very remote. 1t was a long journey
either by land or sea, and there were
dangers which induced both Winston
and Hunter to leave papers with their
families to designate the location of
the property they were going to de-
yelOp. Not that there was any GER
tainty Of its being valuable-indeed
very few Of the claims proved to be so
but common prudence dictated this
course.
The partners, having crossed the Mis-
souri,, followed the Platte river They
had traversed about half the distance
to the mountains when they met a
train of empty wagons returning from
Denver, by which they sent letters to
their families, stating that they were
both well and all was proceeding sat
isfactorily with them.
These letters contained the last in
formation that was received from
them. 1t was assumed that they
would have opportunity at least once
in week or two to send back COM
municatiOn to their homes, and when a
month had passed and no word had
come from them it was feared that
something had happened
The main danger was from Indians.
and those interested in them began to
dread lest they should hear of the two
men having come to grief in this way.
But no such news was ever received,
nor was there any report of mishap to
them of any other kind. When suffi-
cient time had elapsed for them to
reach the Golden State and send let
tiers home by sea and still no news
came from them, their families and
friends and neighbors made a pool for
the purpose Of sending some one to
learn the truth concerning them.
Edward Jenkins, a nephew Of Hunt
ers, was selected to make the search.
Going to Council Bluffs, he attached
himself to a wagon train about to go
over the same route as the partners
and made inquiries along the way to
the point where they were last seen
This was at a settlement, or, rather, a
station on the bank of the north fork
of the Platte river. At this place Jen-
the date that Winston and Hunter
should have been in that location a
couple of men, with two wagons, had
left the station one morning to go
westward. Several days later some In
dams had come in and reported having
met them. The two wagons were a
quarter of a mile apart. Night was
coming on.
This was the last information Jen-
kinS was able to secure of the two
men, He went over the route they
were supposed to have taken, but be-
yond the spot where the Indians had
seen them no trace Of them whatever
could be found 1t was as if they had
been spirited away from the earth.
Jenkins made inquiries if there had
been hostile Indians in the neighbor-
hood at the time of the disappearance,
but was told that none such were re-
ported. Besides, If the travellers had
been killed by Indians not only the
wagons and machinery, but their bod
les, would have been found The red
skins would have no use for anything
except the horses and stores of provi-
sionS.
Jenkins could not be certain of the
exact ground the partners had gone
over, though he knew the route. There
were no actual roads, or wherever
there was a road it was a mere track.
and there were a number of them lead
ing in the same direction.
Having gained evidence to show that
those he sought had not been killed by
Indians, that they had not sickened
and died on the journey, that they had
not been destroyed by storm or flood,
Jenkins returned to the east and re-
ported the result of his labors. Had
he told that the two men were dead il
would have ended the matter. AS il
was suspense took possession of their
families and curiosity of their friends.
Mrs. Winston and Mrs. Hunter after
consultation with advisers decided to
do nothing more in the matter They
had no deeds to the property, no means
for its development and no one to in
trust with the matter Besides they
had had quite enough Of gold seeking
in the disappearance of their husbands.
A daughter was born to Winston
after he left for California. When she
became old enough to hear about the
father who had mySteriously disap-
peared she wondered a great deal about
him-how he could have died, whether
be had died. She was given to conjur-
ing up scenes in which he returned to
his home. When Alice Winston had
grown to be seventeen years old Hor-
ace Fleetwood. a young man whose
father was quite well off. fell in love
with her Alice reciprocated. but the
affairs Of the Winston family after the
fathers leaving for California had
steadily deteriorated, and Alice had no
dowry. Young Fleetwood being de-
pendent on his father and that father
forbidding a match for his son with g
poor girl, the prospect before the low
ers was not encouraging.