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Maxie Carter 1750 words.
Anthony, N. M.
OLD TIM MS STORIES
Mrs. Mabel Luke Madison -Husband: James Madison
Interview: June 6, 1937.
In speaking of old times Mrs Mabel Madison said: "When
mother and I left Montgomery, Alabama and moved to Temple,
Texas, we didn't know much about New Mexico. That was in 1880.
Six years later I met and married James Madison, a Texas cattle_
man, and went to live in Marian, Texas. We 111oved from Marlan
to Rotan, but Jim couldn't get anything to do in that town so
we pushed on up to Alamogordo, New Mexico where he landed a
job on the Oliver Lee cattle ranche. Lee paid Jim some money
and the rest in calves. After awhile we had a well stocked
ranche of our own about fourteen miles out from Alamogordo."
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Following a pause Mrs. Madison continued: "I liked ranche
life right from the start, for I rode the range with Jim, learn..
ed to cook and eat chuck -wagon food and to ride and rope with
the best of them. Our cowpunchers were a jolly bunch and al-
ways ready for a good time. We got lots of fun out of rodeos,
chuck suppers, roping contests and dances. Our ranche was the
JA -M ranohe, and our cattle was branded with the J on the should-
er, the bar on the side, and the M on the hip.
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Regarding the cook's' culinary efforts Mrs.Madieen deelared:00ur
ranch cook was famous for his sour dough biscuits. The cow-
boys called them 'dough gods.' And I just wish you could have
seen the boys decked out for a round -up; they were as eager to
get started as a bunch of school kids. To see them on their
prancing ponies with their faces wreathed in smiles was some-
thing worthwhile. The cowboys always took the lead. Then came
the noisy old mess -wagon with the cook perched on the driver's
seat as proud as a peacock because be had a chance to show off
his skill in managing a four -hand team of dancing ponies. And
last came the horse -wrangler with the reserve horses, called
the 'saddle bunch'. Each ranohe had its own mess and bed -wagon,
and its own set of men. The cattle companies from miles around
met at a given point and pitched camp. At mess they usually had
bacon, beans, black coffee and warm bread, or as it was called,
'hunk'. After they'd leave I could hear them singing in the dis-
tance: Oh, I want to be a cowboy and with the cowboys stand, Big
spurs upon my boot -heels, A lasso in my hand.' They had good
voices too and just seemed to put their hearts and souls into
music."
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In recalling her life on the range Mrs. Madison observed:
"We worked hard in the old days and didn't think anything of it.
In fact we enjoyed it. My chief amusement was a rodeo. Once 1
went to one where some of our cowboys were going to ride. I was
proud and yet afraid that some of them would get killed, for the
ponies they rode were untamed devils. One of our boys was call..
ed Cinnamon because his hair was the shade of cinnamon bark.
Cinnamon was all decked out for the rodeo in real cowboy fash-
ion, high -heeled boots with spurs, a red and black flannel shirt
and a polka dot neckerchief. I almost forgot to mention his
high crowned hat and shape. As for the ponies I won't try to
disoribe all of them. The one I remember most was the one Oin.
namon rode, as mean a piebald little critter as I'd ever seen
a cowboy ride. First they roped and blindfolded her. Then
some of the cowboys held her, and the moment the saddle was cin-
ched on and the blinds pulled away, Cinnamon leaped onto her back."
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Regarding the pony's antics Mrs. Madison declared: never
saw a brow show so much spirit in all my life; she simply want
mad, and the wilder she acted the louder the audience shouted and
cheered. First her back curved into a half circle.'Then her legs
stiffened like she was paralyzed, but no such luck, she was just
bracing herself for what followed. With her head lowered until
it almost met her hind feet, she shot straight up and came down
with a jolt that would have unseated anybody but Cinnamon. And on
top of that, with her legs still as stiff as ramrods and her head
almost touching the ground, the little devil began to rock her
rider back and forth with her hind lop doing a kick step between
rooks. Finally she gave that up too, and going into a frengy,tore
around and around the ring with the laughing cowboy waving his hat
and never budging an inch. Then as suddenly as she started she
stopped, her little body shaking like a leaf; shetd met her
master and knew it. And after two or three quivering sighs
she dropped her head and trotted out of the ring with the
meekness of a lamb."
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In recalling the cowboy dances Mrs. Madison said: "Danc-
ing in the old days was a family affair. We all piled into a
wagon and took the children along, and while the grown-ups
danced they nlayed outside. And when they were ready to go to
sleep we found a corner, made 'em a shake-dawd on the floor
and let 'em: tumble in. We always brought plenty of blankets
and plenty of food along, danced all night, and got home on
time for breakfast. A Calico dress was oonsidered to be good
enough for any occasion. When we had a barbecue the men cook.
ed the meat. Semetiltes they'd be up all night, turning, bast-
ing and keeping the bee/ from burning. The women baked all the
good things they knew how to bake and took them to the barbecue.
They usually arrived driving a team of horses and some kind of
a wagon, wearing their sunbonnets and old calicos. Of course
they brought the children along; it was a regular picnic for
them. The cowboys &Tway' brought a fiddle and a guitar along
and ended up with a shindig. We mostly waltzed, two -stepped
or square danced."
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Mrs. Madison related an exciting episode in her life on
the range: "It happened early one morning while we were wtill
in bed," she said. "We heard horses moving around outside, and
heard men talking in low but excited voices. Jim got up and
want outside. I stayed in bed, straining my ears to hear what
the strange men were talking about. Then someone came into my
room and by the dim morning light I thought it was my husband.
I started to speak when suddenly I felt the cold steel of a gun
pressed against my forehead. I started to cry out but ended
with a feeble mean. When the man, whoever he was, heard my
voice, he backed toward the door saying: "Ohs I thought you
were Tucker." Just why he said that I don't know. But I think
he was so excited that he didn't know just what he was saying."
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Mks. Madison paused, then continued: I was so scared
I didn't know what to do, but finally decided to get up and
dress, which I did. Men the door opened, admitting a small fig-
ure. It was my son who had been sneaking around outside to see
what the men were doing in our corral. He put his finger to his
lips and cautioned me to be quiet because Oliver Lee, our old
boss, and some of his henchmen were hiding on top of the house.
That the sheriff was after them because he heard that they had
killed Albert Fountain over at the White Sands. The quick thud
of horses hoofs sent me flying to the window. I looked out__
sure enough —the sheriff and his deputies had arrived. The'sher-
iff was Pat Garrett, the same man who had caught and killed Billy
the Kid in 1SS1. Pat and his deputies were starting toward the
corral when they saw a red saddle blanket drying on the fence.
The sheriff paused, pointed at the blanket, then motioned his
men to follow him. My husband, who was outside, told me that
they went straight to the oorral where Lee's horse was nosing
about with several other white horses. The sheriff had no
trouble in picking out the horse he wanted, for the saddle
blanket, while wet, had faded, leaving great red streaks on
the animal's back."
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"Shortly after finding Oliver Lee's horse in our corrals"
Mrd. Madison said, "Pat Garrett, Lincoln Counfy Sheriff, caught
sight of the fugitives on top of our house and opened fire. The
charge was returned with a volley from the guns on the roof,and
we could hear the bullets falling like hail all around us. Just
as I grabbed my son and pulled him down beside me on the floor,
a bullet crashed through the window, whistled through the room,
and buried itself in the wall above the bed. My husband told me
that the sheriff went up to bring Lee and his men down, but just
as he reached the top of the ladder one of his deputies who had
°limed up on the other side, was shot and rolled off the roof
into a wagon just outside the kitchen door. The accident brought
the shooting to a sudden stop, for Garrett and his men went back
down to look after their companion. Finding him still alive they
decided to take him to the station and when the train came in
send him to Alamogordo. So they called my husband and told him
to get out a team of horses and hitch up the old wagon. He told
them that he hadn't used that wagon for years and didn't have any
way to hitch tem. Then they did the next best thing; they tied
a rope to the tongue of the wagon, rode along in front and
dragged it after tem. As they started toward the station they
called back to the men on the roof, "Weill be back to get you
fellows by eleven."
"Be sure ye don't get here before that time, or we might
get ye first." Lee answered."
"The injured man died on his way to Alamogordo, and the
sheriff and his deputy were back by eleven o'clock, but Lee and
his henchmen were gone."
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M. C. Book rights reserved.
Mrs. Mabel Madison was born in Montgomery, Alabama, 1870;
moved to Temple, Texas with her mother, Sofia Luke, 1880; Mar-
ried James Madison in 1886; moved with husband to Marlin, Texas;
moved to Rotan,Texas, then to Alamogordo, New Mexico; worked for
Oliver Lee three years; moved from Lee's ranohe to own ranche,
fourteen miles out from Alamogordo.
Mrs. Madison has lived in La Mesa, New Mexico for twenty
years, where she lives on the family ranche. She is the mother
of six children, Zgra Madison, Rotan,Texas; Mary Iris Madison,
wife of R. F Hymen, Bebe, New Mexico; Willie geece Madison, whose
wife was the former Opal Chalk of El Paso; Robert Lee Madison,
El Paso, Texas; Charley Madison of La Mesa, John James Madison,
El Paso, Texas.