The Ely miner., 1930-05-16

this troop belonged. If this was the
result of battle, it Is probable that
the Indians carried away anything of
the soldiers equipment that struck
their fancy. This would account for
nothing remaining that would identify
the troop.
THE bones looked as if they had
been bleaching In the sun for years
and years. Inquiry was made. some
time after, of various members of
Drifting Goose's band Of Sioux, locat-
ed on the reservation west of the Mis-
souri,. These Indians once claimed the
territory in what is now Sphinx county
and vicinity. They had their main vii
lage on Armdale island in the James
river some sixty miles to the south
of this tragic spot. The Indians could
throw no light on the subject, and it
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 tha.
these men perished i'm a blizzard.
What gave rise to this idea was the
fact that no broken bones or perforat-
ed skulls. showing the effects Of gum
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 cavalry regiment
stationed ct 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 '61, and headed for
the James river with the view of
working their way down into the Con-
federate states by that route.
"The theory was that this was the
safer route, as the army traits gen.
orally followed the Missouri, and
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
a 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 ths hope
Of preserving their lives until the
storm abated. but because of the in
tense cold, they perished to 9 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
ther with their backs to the STERN.
However, old army officers who
had spent most of their lives on the
plains, say that they never heard Of
desertion on any such a wholesale
scale. Neither had they ever heard
OF cavalry troop riding ont into the
vastness of the plains and vanishing
so completely, and for so long a 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 cer-
tain from the odd pieces Of equipment
found. The fact that the bones were
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 it's dead.
"Whether this troop belonged to
General Sully's army, which fought
in the Little Crow war, or 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 perished in conflict
with the red warriors of the Sioux ma
tion, or with the white armies of King
Winter is still, so far as we know,
one of the unsolved mysteries Of the
plains.