The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1930-05-23

river some sixty miles to the south
of this tragic spot. The Indians could
throw no light on the subject, and 1t
may be that this fight occurred be-
fore their advent here.
Among the theories advanced to ac-
count for the wiping out of this cav
airy troop is one to the effect that
these men persisted in blizzard.
What gave rise to this idea was the
fact that no broken bones or perfOrat
ed skulls, showing the effects of gun
fire, were found. From this the idea
was gathered that these men and their
mounts did not perish in battle. The
story went around that these men
were a part of a cavalry regiment
stationed at some post along the Mis-
souri,, about the time of the outbreak
of the Civil war. That they were
either recruited from the South or
were with the South in their SYM
pathies, that they had deserted some,
time in March of 81, and headed for
the James river with the view of
WI lHCIl way uON ii ihtO lHC SOA-
federate states by that route.
"The theory was that this was the
safer route, as the army trails gen
orally followed the Missouri, ard
there would be much greater danger
of pursuit and capture, if they trav-
eled that way. That on their way
to the James they were overtaken by
q blizzard and, being lost and bewil-
dered in the driving snow, and in i'm
minent danger of freezing, they had,
on stumbling ON this buffalo wallow,
buried themselves in the snow. which
would be deeper there, in the nope
Of preserving their lives until the
storm abated. but because of the in
tense cold, they persisted to man.
Not so far away was the river, with
high banks which would have afforded
some shelter, and there was plenty of
wood for fires, so that they might have
escaped had they travelled little far
Their with their backs against the
storm.
However. old army officers who
had spent most of their lives on the
plains. say that they never heard OF
desertion on any such wholesale
scale. Neither had they ever heard
of cavalry troop riding out into the
vastness of the plains and vanishing
so completely, and for so long time,
that even the circumstances of its de-
parture and the mystery of its utter
disappearance were forgotten.
"That this was United States cav
airy troop, however, is practically Ger
tain from the odd pieces of equipment
lying on the prairie just where the
troopers gave up their lives, indicates
that this detachment was never locat-
ed by the command of which it was
a part, since the United States army
always buries its dead.
whether this troop belonged to
General Sully's army, which fought
in the Little Grow war, or a scouting
party of Minnesota troops which par
ticipated in the same conflict, is a
matter of conjecture.
This unknown battle of the buffalo
wallow may have been one of the
many fights which occurred along be-
tween the late sixties and the Custer
massacre in 1876, when the plains In
dians were making their last desper-
ate attempt to retain the prairies for
themselves. But who these men were,
or whether they persisted in conflict
with the red warriors of the Sioux ma
ton. or with the white armies of King
Winter is still, so far as we know,
one Of the unsolved mysteries of the
plains.