Rocky Mountains. 91 



time on a branch of the Le Mine river, where he found the 

 relics of the encampment of a large party of men, but 

 whether of white troops, or Indian warriors, he could not 

 determine. Not far from this encampment, he observed a 

 recent mound of earth, about eight feet in height, which he 

 was induced to believe must be a cache, or place of deposit, 

 for the spoils which the party, occupying the encampment, 

 had taken from an enemy, and which they could not remove 

 with them on their departure. He accordingly opened the 

 mound, and was surprised to find in it the body of a white 

 officer, apparently a man of rank, and which had been inter- 

 red with extraordinary care. 



The body was placed in a sitting posture, upon an Indian 

 rush mat, with its back resting against some logs, placed 

 around it in the manner of a log house, enclosing a space of 

 about three by five feet, and about four feet high, covered 

 at top with a mat similar to that beneath. The clothing 

 was still in sufficient preservation to enable him to distin- 

 guish a red coat trimmed with gold lace, golden epaulettes, 

 a spotted buff waistcoat, finished also with gold lace, and 

 pantaloons of white nankeen. On the head was a round 

 beaver hat, and a bamboo walking stick with the initials J. 

 M. C, engraved upon a golden head, reclined against the 

 arm, but was somewhat decayed, where it came in contact 

 with the muscular part of the leg. On raising the hat, it 

 was found the deceased had been hastily scalped. 



To what nation this officer belonged, Mr. Munroe could 

 not determine. He observed, however, that the button taken 

 from the shoulder, had the word Philadelphia moulded 

 upon it. The cane still remains in the possession of the 

 narrator, but the button was taken by another of his party. 



In relation to this story, Gen. Smith observed, that when 

 he commanded the United States troops in this department, 

 he was informed of an action, that had taken place near the Le 

 Mine, in the Autumn of 1815, between some Spanish dragoons, 



