Gardner IN Oklahoma

Old family story has a Gardner serving the the Civil War with a unit from Iowa. He never returned and was presumed dead. Some years later, he reappears at a reunion of his unit.Claims he went west, participated in the Oklahome land rush and staked a claim on land that later became downtown Tulsa or Okahoma City. Married an native American woman and lived in teepee. This is a neat story....if true. Anybody have Oklahoma GARDNERS in your family tree that might matchup with any of this?