What are you reading Paul

A small booklet about a mystery

That has never really been solved

The booklet is less than ten pages long

It tells of the discovery of at fourteen skeletons

Found over a small area in Idaho in 1960

Eight men and six women

They were found when a highway was under construction

Near Twin Falls in 1959

Human remains dating back thousands of years

Had previously been found

By archaeologists in the area

But it soon became apparent that these remains

Were less than a hundred years old

And that the victims had died violently

Most had been stabbed and shot

But some had been beaten to death

The almost even split was also puzzling

And that the remains were found in tight groups

The death toll could have been greater than fourteen

But although the area was thoroughly searched

Nothing else of note was found

It was obvious that the bones

Were not Native American in origin

The fragments of clothing were thought to be Swedish

It was later confirmed that these were the remains

Of the Carson Party who were known

To have been in Nevada in 1876

They were Swedish in origin

But the actual reasons for their journey were obscure

It was decided that that they were pioneers

As George Carson was a farmer

No other members of the party have been accurately identified

It seems that at least fourteen members of the party

Had met violent unrecorded deaths

Historical records indicate that these groups were normally about thirty strong

For reasons unexplained the Carson Party were either attacked

Or had imploded after fighting amongst themselves

Another thing that remains odd is that nobody ever came forward afterwards

It is likely that after whatever happened some might have escaped

The only reference to the Carson Party can be found in US military records

Where a soldier named Peter Carson gave the name of his father as George Carson from Norrköping

Sadly this soldier did not survive the war

He was unmarried and had no siblings

No trace of his mother has ever been found

And that Paul is where it ends nothing more is known

Which adds to the mystery

It is obvious that there were some appalling acts of violence

The Carson Party as far as can be concluded were no different

From thousands of other pioneers in search of a new life

So little is known about them

And what has been confirmed

Hardly fills this small booklet