Part III: Fort Laramie, Wyoming – 1867
As Thomas Edward watches the Indians converge on Fort Laramie, his mind begins to wander over the events of the past year. Since the Indian attack last July that kills his little brother, grandmother and mortally wounds his grandfather; and causes the disappearance of his mother; events are sort of muddled together. But some things he will never forget, starting with the immediate aftermath of the attack.
First TE digs two shallow graves in the bald prairie and places the body of his little brother George in one grave and his Grandma Bertell in the second grave with only sagebrush branches as grave markers. Then Captain Duncan detours the wagon train to Big Laramie where they met up with a Captain Smith, who, upon hearing of the attack, organizes a company of 75 men and starts after the Indians, assuring TE that; “he will have his mother back before sundown.” Captain Smith is unable to keep his word. He follows the Indians for three days before pinning them down long enough for a brief battle. However the Indians slip away during the night and Captain Smith is forced to return to Big Laramie empty handed.
TE, his Father Henry, Brother William, Sister Anne and Grandpa Bartell (gravely wounded) accept an invitation to go to Denver to see if a doctor can help Grandpa ( he cannot and Grandpa dies a short time later). They stay in Denver for a year, working to make enough money to travel on to Utah – but at the same time always hoping for word about their mother/wife.
In the early summer of 1867 a Captain Wilson contacts the family and invites them to go with him to Fort Laramie where several Indian tribes have agreed to “make treaties with the white man” so a Peace Commission is established to conduct the terms of the treaty. There is a rumor that a provision of the treaty will be that the Indians return all hostages. This brings TE back to the present as he scans the hills carefully, watching for his mother’s trademark red hair. TE is surprised at the number of Indians, he guesses there might be 8-10 thousand and with only about 500 soldiers he is constantly warned to stay inside the fort. However, Thomas Edward often sneaks out in the afternoons and visits some of the more friendly Indian camps. He always asks about the red headed woman. And he gets lots of leads. Sometimes he feels he is so close to his mother he can almost feel her presence. He is sure it is just a matter of time before she will be back safe and sound. NOT TO BE! In spite of the best efforts by the family, the army, the peace commission and some friendly Indians, Elizabeth Bartell Cottle is not found. The Peace Commission wraps up their work and the Indians fade back into the hills and still no Elizabeth. TE returns to Denver with a heavy heart, but vows never to give up. Even as a grown man TE continues to track down every lead, every rumor, but to no avail. At one point, much later on Thomas Henry (son of TE and Mel’s Grandfather), hears of a motion picture company that had gone to Wyoming some years earlier to film an Indian Tribe and while there they see a woman with red hair who is the wife of the chief. They ask her why she does not return to live with the “white men” and reportedly she replies, “It’s been too long, my people will never accept me.” Thomas Henry tries to track down the movie company but does not succeed. And so the fate of one Elizabeth Bartell Cottle, wife of Henry Cottle, mother to Thomas Edward Cottle and Mel’s Great Great Grandmother, remains unknown to this day.