EARLY DAY STORIES. 13 



dropped out by the way. Some of these graves were un- 

 marked — some were marked by a slab or board only, with 

 the name and age and date cut with a knife, or burned in 

 with a hot iron ; and at the head and foot of others a rough 

 stone was placed without inscription. Very few, indeed, 

 of these graves can be located today, although there are 

 thousands of them. Perhaps the only one that is known 

 in the eastern part of the state is in Jefferson county, five 

 miles northwest of Fairbury; this has for a headstone a 

 large sandstone slab, on which is chiseled the following: 

 "George Winslow, Newton, Mass." And on the footstone, 

 "1849." As one goes west where the soil is harder other 

 graves can be found, but generally, the markings, if there 

 were any have perished. About two miles east of the village 

 of Scotts Bluff is a well preserved and well marked grave 

 that was visited by the writer a few years ago and in which 

 he took great interest because it was made probably only 

 about a month after he had passed along the route driving 

 four yoke of oxen. This grave was marked by a wagon 

 tire which had been cut and the ends driven into the earth 

 so as to form a bow over the head of the grave. On this 

 was cut with a cold chisel, "Rebecca Winters — aged 50 

 years. Died Aug. 15, 1852." A short distance south of 

 the grave were the deep indentations in the earth, still 

 plainly visible made by the wheels of thousands of wagons 

 more than fifty years ago. In the year 1902 — the centen- 

 nial year of the birth of Mrs. Winters, her grandchildren 

 placed an enduring stone monument properly inscribed at 

 the head of this grave, leaving also the wagon tire with the 

 original inscription in place. 



