Document text
Igurie Carter
Anthony,
ew -exico
2,100 words
OLD TIMERS STORIES
Nemecio Provincio (Wife Anita Provincio
Date of Interview: May 9, 1937
**-14-1HI
The outstanding feature of the Provincio family is their innate
refinement and courtesy,. When I called at their Spanish Mission ranch
home, two miles northwest of Anthony, Mr. Provincio said:
I have lived in New Mexico all my life. I was born in the town
of Old Lesilla, October 31, 1872. My parents moved their family to Cham
berino in 1882. But the Rio Lirande, which was more powerful then man,
forced them to higher ground, so they built their home a short distance
above the town, at Ojito, or little spring. They continued to plant their
crops on the lower land, but they didn't take chances of living there, for
they never knew when the river was going to rise and flood them out."
The Provincio boys were brought up fighting the river. "It was the
big bad wolf of our lives," Nemecio said. The Elephant Butte Dam was a
God -send, s6ara. Before the dam came there was no way to control it; it
was never still; always rushing, rising and overflowing. Finally, in the
year of 1892, we pulled up stakes and moved to the Anthony district."
Mr. Provincio, his brother Victor, and his father. Agapito, all settled
on adjoining Terrenas. A terrena," Nemecio explained is 36 acres. Each
Carter --2
settler was permitted to have a solar or building site in town if he wished
it, and an ortaliza in back, or an extra piece of land thrown in. We were
the first to settle on this land. It was all bosque or woodland, and no
ditches of any kind. .,4e worked from early morning, till dark, days weeks
and months, cutting down trees, clearing the ground, building our homes,
plowing, olanting and fighting the r'do Grande."
It seems that the Hio Grande had a habit of taking toll at the most un-
expected times.
tt so
etimes we would go to beg hoping to rest after a hard
day's work," Nemecio sid, "only to be wakened by the lap, lap, of water at
our doors; sometimes around our beds. It had a voice, seTiora, that we grew
to hate --a voice that struck terror to our hearts and souls; it was there in
the rising river, increasing- in volume as the water rose, submerging our land,
stealing our seed, quite often our homes, leavin,7 us nothing --nothing. The
newcomers can't begin to realize the hardships of the early pioneers."
Mr. Provincio paused a moment then resumed: The greatest surprise of
the early days was the morning we awoke and found our land an Island in the
center of al ocean of water. The river had come up in the night and submerg-
ed the whole, country. For several days we went to town in row boats. We
made the first request for an irrigation ditch, and when we received it,
more people began to settle on the land near us. Very often I had to assist
people across the Hi° Grande, by swimming and leading their horses or teams.
I used to breed horses and kept a herd up in the Franklin mountains east of
Anthony. Sometimes I would bring several in to the ranch and when I was
Carter -3
ready to ford the Rio Grande, I would link them with, a rope and swim across
leading the whole group. I was forced to do this to keep from losing them,
for sometimes the current was so strong that it would take a single horse
two or three miles down stream before I could rescue him.
Charley kiiller was a good friend to the early settlers; he was also
a good business man. "Charley never lost anything in a trade," Mr Pro-
vincio said. If we borrowed one pound of seed from him he got two in
return. built the first store on the old business street west of the
Santa Fe tracks. Savina Lopez, who built the little white chapel north-
east of nthony, in honor of San Jose, traded quite a bit of her land at
Charley's store for groceries. At one time she owned a hundred and sixty
acres in Anthony."
In speaking of schools Mr. Provincio said: "se didn't have any schools.
Somebody started a private sOhool, which I attended for awhile. That is,
until it closed, for money was scarce. I used to hire out to other farmers
and work all day for fifty cents. Once I was paid as much as a dollar and
if -if -by cents, laying railroad track for the Southern Pacific, and I thought
I was pretty rich."
In referring to the Pool ranch west of Anthony, Mr. Provincio observed:
ILr. Fool has some very fine land, but in the early days it sold at a 'Very
low price. All Snow bought it for three dollars an acre; then L,r. Snow
transferred it to his wife, who sold it to S. P. Miller, brother-in-law of
Garter -4
Mrs. 0.
'torY for forty dollars an acre; S. P. Miller sold it to J. W.
Brooks for eighty dollars an acre; J. W. Brooks sold it to Mr. J. Pool for
a hundred dollars an acre, and to -day it is worth three hundred dollars an
acre."
it-YHI**
In speaking of the original land owners in his vicinity ir. Provincio
said; I am the only one left --Guerra, Arias, Gomez, Tellez and Marquez
all had the same amount of land I have today --but they sold it for almost
nothing. Lany people have offered to buy my land. Always they tell me, it
is very beautiful. And I feel like telling them that they can't realize how
ilard I worked to make it beautiful. Every time I cut down a tree I have
made it a rule to put the date on it. There is one outside dated 1884."
r. i-rovincio's ranch is in that strip of land known as the "Refugia
Grant," which borders the Rio Grande." This grant," he said 'originated at
the ission La Union. When we came here there was a corporation in charge
with a change of commissioners every two years. The commissioners at that
time were jeasus Ochoa, Jesus Enriques, and jacinto Perea. These men were
authorized to divide the land into terrenas, or thirty-six acres to a
settler."
Farming was a tedious task in the old days. The farmers," Mr. Pro-
vincia said, "had very few implements. We ploughed with a small hand plough,
and we cut our wheat with a scythe. le planted wheat, corn, frijoles (beans)
and alfalfa to feed our horses.
Garter -75
Sometimes I would take a load of alfalfa to El Paso to sell. '11.1e trip
usually took three lays. Now, with a good truck, I can make it in three
hours."
In the course of his conversation Lr. Provincio said: "My distant
cousin, _ulogio Provincio, used to like to go camping. He usually went
to the Aobledos, the mountains northwest of us. One day when he returned
from one of these trips I noticed that he looked very odd --others noticed
it too. I guess I was more curious than anyone else, for I kept urging
Eulogio to tell me why he acted so mysterious. But he tightened his lips
and would tell me nothing."
Lir. Provincio paused then resumed: Finally Eulogio took a man into
his confidence, and they both went to the Robledos. dhen they returned I
noticed that their faces wore a look of disappointment. benora, I am tell-
ing the truth when I say, I wanted to know their secret so much that I
almost burned to a cinder. But 1.ulogio was that way, you could burn and
be damn, but he wouldn't tell what he thought was nobody's business."
Suddenly ,1;ulogio decided to enlighten Nemocio, who, confided: I
didn t know whether to believe him or not when he told me that he had found
a treasure chest in the aobleros. I was so surprised I hardly knew what to
say. My lips went dry and I had to moisten them with my tongue before
could speak, but finally managed to ask him how he knew it was a treasure
chest? He stared at me a moment then exclaimed:"
"Valgame Dios! Don't you think I know a treasure chest when I see it?
Carter -6
This chest was heavy --so heavy I couldn't move it. Some day, I kept tell-
ing myself, I will take tools to the Robleros and open it. But I kept
putting it off and keeping my secret. The I thought, maybe I will tell
somebody about it and just as quick as I though I would, I changed my mind
and kept still. I think I was p000 loco. Then I got so I couldn't sleep
thinking about that treasure chest. As you know, at last I couldn't keep
the secret any longer, so i took ilamon to the Bobleros with me telling_him
only that I wished to show him something.'
'Yes, I know about that,' I said, impatient to hear more about the
chest. 'Then what did you do?'
'dell, we kept on going, leading our pack burros up the mountain
path. 'I guess Ramon was a little afraid of me for I kept talking to my-
self about gold and how rich I was going to be, and I know that he was
very glad when I told him that we had come to the place where Iliad left
the chest. Then I told him to leave the burros and follow me, for you see,
I had to climb a little higher, where the chest was concealed behith.
a clump of mesquite, which I grabbed hold of to pull myself up. Then Ramon
followed my example and reached my side, he found me standing but shaking
like a sick man with chills, and staring at the imprint of my coins in the
wet sand. That and nothing more. 4 treasure chest was gone.'
Carter -7
Nemecio Frovincio was born in Old Mesilla, New Mexico: Oct 31,
1872; He moved with is parents from Old Mesilla to Chamberino, New Mexico,
in 1882; :Loved from Chamberino to thony New Mexico, in 1892, where, with
his brother Victor and father. Agapito, he settled on a terrena, or thirty-six
acres adjoing the land of his brother and father, two miles northwest of
Anthony, in the strip of land that borders the rdo u-rande and which is known
as the "Refugio Grant."
The Provincios were the first land owners to ask for an irrigation
ditch, which, when granted, was the means of bringing other settlers to
this district. Ti,ey cleared the land, which was all bosque, felled the
trees and built their awn homes.
In 1896 Nemecio Frovincio married Jeasusita Lopez of Chamberino, New
.1exico, who was the daughter of a Civil war veteran of the Union army. By
this marriage there was one son, Fidel Frovincio, who is a farmer. Mrs.
Provincio died in 1899/
In 1901 Nemecio Frovincio married Anita Lartinez of El Paso, Texas,
who bore him five boys and two girls. The children are: Louis, Raymundo,
Emilio, Otellio, Anita, -emir° and Henry. Raymundo was dragged and killed
by his awn horses while working on his father's ranch in 1930, an accident
which shocked and grived the wnole community.
Otellio has been a teacher in the Anthony Grade school for the past
eight years, and A ita, who is a very fine dancer, has been teaching in the
Alta Vista School for two years.
Louis Provincio, who is a farmer, owns
4
Carter -3
his own ranch. His wife was the former Alvino Geck, who taught in the
Anthony Grade School prior to her marriage. Emilio is also a farmer who
owns his awn ranch, and is serving his second term as County Commissioner.
Emilio married Fay Dutchover, who prior to her marriage, was private Secre-
tary to Charles O'Hara of Anthony. Ramiro and Henry Frovincio are pupils
in the Valley High School. And Mrs. Aemecio Provincio, the mother of this
co_mendable family, is a housewife who finds time, in addiAft to her other
Ptuties, to grow and cultivate some of the most beautiful flowers in the
valley.