The Ely miner., 1930-05-16


fort Although the outpost which
once bore his name has long since
passed away. the fame of Felix Nav
ier Aubrey, French Canadian by birth
but an American hunter. trapper and
trader by occupation, has endured be-
cause he was the hero of one of the
greatest long distance rides in history
from Santa Fe, n. NJ, to Independ-
ence, Mo-, a distance of more than
500 miles, in five days and sixteen
hours.
In 1916 Aubrey was young dry
goods clerk in st. Louis. who, sitting
on the st. Louis levees and seeing the
vOyageurs OF the Southwest come into
the city with the harvest of their
journeys, became infected with the
fever to visit that country.
He resigned his position; went TO
Independence. then the outfitting point
for the Santa Fe Trail: invested his
savings in a traders outfit and started
toward the Southwest along the old
trail
In the year 1916 it required from
three to four weeks to make the jour
ney of 800 miles from independence
to Santa Fe. Aubrey made the trip,
disposed of his goods, then announced
that he would make the return trip
TO independence in not more than
eight days, going by horseback. He
did make the trip in slightly less than
eight days. being forced into detours
by the Indians.
He invested In another freighter's
outfit and returned to Santa Fe. His
ride of few months before was the
talk of the plainsmen gathered in the
town. So much was made Of the feat
that Aubrey declared that he could do
even better and would wager that he
could make the long journey in six
days.
He found plenty of takers on this
wager and $1,000 was posted. This
time rather extensive preparations
were made for the dash across the
plains. Five men with the best
horses that could be obtained for re-
lays were sent ahead to post these
relays
Early in the morning of September
II, 1S46, Aubrey rode out of Santa Fe
for the start of this classic of the
plains. From the morning of the start
until Independence was reached he
stopped neither to eat or sleep, and
on at least three occasions during his
ride narrowly escaped capture and
death at the hands of Indians. He
ate while riding, and after the second
morning out he tied himself into the
saddle and snatched bits of sleep at
times.
Late at night on September II, five
days and sixteen hours after leaving
Santa Fe. Aubrey rode up to the old
Noland House in Independence He
had traversed 800 miles by horseback
in that length of time by 136 hours
of continuous riding and travelling 14O
miles each "a hours.
Fort Aubrey was established in
September. 1856, about four miles east
of the present city Of Syracuse. Kan.
During it's brief career it was an i'm
portant post on the historic Santa Fe
Trail, for it was the only refuge for
wagon trains. harassed by Indian at
tack, in the 150-mile stretch between
Fort Dodge, Kan, and Fort Lyon.
Colo. 1t was garrisoned by United
States troops for time and then, the
necessity for its being there having
apparently passed away, it was ahan-
doned. At least it passed out of the
army records about 1858 or 1859. To-
day nothing remains Of the fort but
a few grass-covered pits on the shore
of body Of water known locally as
Lake Aubrey. This "lake" is about
mile long, from ten to a hundred
feet wide, and from three to six feet
deep. 1t is fed by an underflOw prob
ably from the springs discovered by
Colonel Aubrey.
Interesting as Fort Aubrey was as
a haven for those who traversed the
Santa Fe Trail by stage coach, COW
cred wagon or pack train when the
savage tribesmen swoOped down, it is
even more interesting because it is
the scene Of tragedy of the plains
which is still one Of the unsolved mys-
teries of the Old West. For here one
day in December. 1863, a party of %
Missouri miIitiaInen froze to death in
fierce blizzard which swept over
western Kansas What their names
were and just how they met their
death no one knows. Local tradition
has preserved part of the story and
the military records throw some light
on the tragedy, but there is still
enough left untold to make 1t true
mystery of the plains"
The local tradition part Of it has
been preserved by a Syracuse mer-
chant, H. Helfrich. pioneer home
steader and the Socialist candidate
for governor of Kansas in 1926, whose
hobby is the history of his county.
He got the story from Il. T. Goans,
who was a member of the party
caught in the blizzard and who as
sisted in the burial of the dead.
Mr.. Goans told Mr.. Helfrich three
companies of cavalry, an escort of
Governor Goodwin of Arizona, left
Fort Leavenworth in the fall of 1868
to accompany the governor TO Fort
Union, n. Nj. He said they arrived
safely at their destination. but were
separ;tted on their way back and that.
while caiiipiIlg in the ruins OF Fort