'Killed by Indians' grave stone missing from Emigrant's Cemetery

Folks attending the history trek to Emigrant’s Crossing on the Overland Trail Saturday will discover that a piece of history is missing.

Gone is the “Killed by Indians” headstone from the Emigrant Cemetery. The incident has been reported to the Carbon County Sherriff’s office for investigation.

In 1933 the old emigrant cemetery (shown here) was restored through the efforts of the Wyoming Land Marks Commission and the Lions Clubs of Saratoga and Rawlins. It was fenced and the area within the enclosure cleaned and original markers repaired and set in concrete. At that time it was hard to read the full inscriptions on the eight markers. Today, it is impossible.

However, in 1961 L. C. Bishop wrote in the “Annals of Wyoming”,

“I am pleased to note that someone has erected a monument at this historic crossing of the North Platte River and that the eight pioneer graves have been fenced and the old headstones restored to some extent. It seems, however, that only one has the name and date.

“For your information I will add a note from my 1929 diary that shows the names and dates of six of these grave stones, beginning with number one on the north (right in photo): LeRoy W. Morrison, Died May ___. Number two, J. S. White, Died ___ 18th, 1863. Number three, George Layne. Number four, William M. Donald, Killed by Indians June 1864 (headstone now missing). Number five, John Hunter, Aged 17 years, Died August 10, 1865. Number six, stone in place, marks gone. Number seven, headstone broken off, marks gone. Number Eight, In Memory of Mary E. Stockton, died August 10, 1865.”

“I have sketches in my diary of all the stones except numbers six and seven.”