Year: 1872

sketches, enJltIcQ - Lie OIl thO loihe'


The last gives many facts and incidents
in the history of Julesburg, from which
we extract the following thrilling story


Riding out above Julesburg, rock
was pointed out to me, at the foot of
which had been enacted tragedy the
mere recital of which made my blood
run cold. The place was in deep canon,
surrounded by high bluffs, and there was
a loneliness and silence in the frowning
rocks that oppressed every visitor, and
made them glad to hasten their depart
ure from the gloomy dell.


Many years ago two young men came
from the east, and ascended the Missouri,
engaged in the fur business. They were
bosom friends and prospered in all their
undertakings money flowed into their
Golfers and they became wealthy; still
they stayed in the West that had been
so generous to them, and finally determ-
ined to make it their permanent home.
One of the young men had fair sister
who lived at st Louis, where the partners
went annually to sell their furs and di-
vide the profit of their business. The girl,
infatuated by the tales Of adventure told
her by her brother, longed to vistit the
great West, and begged so hard that she
might be permitted to go, that her broth
er finally consented. For year she
lived at the hunters rancho on the head
waters of the Missouri, and when the
time came for the partners to go down
the river and sell their furs, the brother
was sick and could not go. The girl was
10th to leave her brother, but he urged
her to go home and see her mother, say
ing he would soon be well and would fol-
low her. Entrusting his darling to his
friend and partner, the two set out in a
Mackinaw boat, well manned and pro-
vided with every comfort, The brother
grew worse and the Summer wore away
before he was able to travel. In the
meantime the partner returned, bringing
him news from home and division Of
the annual profits, which were larger than
ever before. The brother, pleased with
the manner in which their business had
been managed, readily yielded to the sug-
gestion of his partner to delay his visit
home, devote the Winter to active oper-
ations, and go down in the Spring with
furs. All went well until midwinter,
when the brother received a letter from
home that nearly crazed him. The let
ter was from his mother and gave a long
and circumstantial account Of the seduc-
ton and ruin of his beloved Nina by his
partner. The girl had confessed every
thing and told how he had seduced her
while bringing her home down the Mis-
souri,, and then abandoned her. The
poor girl. unable to bear her shame,
had become a maniac, and would soon
become a mother. The first impulse of
the brother on reading the letter was to
seek out at once and kill the william who
had ruined his family; but he thought
that the momentary suiferings inflicted
by a ball was not enough punishment
for such a scoundrel and so he devised n
plan of revenge that no Indian could
have outdone for cruelty. Keeping the
receipt of his letter profound secret, he
went on with his business as usual and
met his partner on the same terms of
friendly intimacy as formerly. When
the skins were packed and all in readi-
ness to go down the river, the brother
N, Enrf 1
will, leaving the name of the person
who made it blank, after which he re-
turned to camp on the Jefferson Fork.
He then represented that on the Plat,
great profits were TO be made in the fur
trade, and proposed to his partner that
instead Of going down the Missouri, they
should go overland to old Fort Kearny
and intercept their boats at the mouth of
the Platte on the Missouri.


The inducement was, that if they found
all as represented, they would establish
branch Of their business at Fort Laramie
any thus increase their profits. The
partner readily assented to proposals so
manifestly for the advantage Of both, and
they alone set out, taking with them only
pack mule to carry the -four and bacon
to be used on the journey. They trav-
eled for many days, and finally came to
the Platte, down which they followed
the overland trail to Bernard's ranch.
Under some pretense or other the brother
induced his partner to accompany him
into the lonely pass, where, disarming
him, he securely tied him hand and foot
and then bound him to the rock. At
frst the partner thought it was some
cruel joke, but when the brother pro-
duced the letter and read it, the poor
man knew but too we'll his time had
come. He confessed all, and asked to be
shot, but the brother had another fate in
store for his victim. Coolly encamping
by the rock, he sat down to see his part
ner starve TO death


On the third day the ill-fated man
signed the deed bequeathing all his prop
erty to the injured girl, and the brother
attached fictitious name as witness of
the instrument, by which he was made ex-
ecutor OF his partners estate. He then
"ioS" NtS0i9 saJlnB ne nad 1allen Ill of
fever on the plains, and if he did not re-
cover, the letters would be delivered by
his beloved partner. All this the infuri-
ated brother compelled him to do. and
then quietly awaited the end. Dav bv
day the partner grew weaker and the
brother goated over his misery, often
reading to him the letter from his mother.


The poor man promised to marry the
girl and make all the reparation in his
power TO the family, but the brother
was deaf to entreates. At last the part
ner died, and the brother, after burying
his victim's emaciated corpse in the sand.