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Edttla L. Crawford
Carrizozo, N. Mex.
rIONEER STORY.
By —Mrs. Anna Brazel.
Words 8S1.
I was twelve years old when we left Murfreeboro, Tennessee,
anel seventeen when we arrived in New Mexico.
We spent five years in the state of Texas, on our way to
New Mexico, on account of my mothers health and the awful stor—
ier we heard about the Indians and the terrible deeds they were
committing out in this part of the country.
I have lived in the state of New Mexico, forty seven years
and most of the time in Lincoln County.
I was married to William W. Brazel, July 19, 1894, five
children were born to this union, three girls and two boys four
of them are living in Lincoln County and the oldest boy in
Tularosa, Otero County, New Mexico.
Little Creek, New Mexico was never a town just a settle—
ment of farmers and stock men, our, post office was Bonito City,
New Mexico, eight miles west of Little Creek, we rode horse
back to the post office about once a week for our mail.
In later years there was a big saw mill located on the head
of Little Creek, New Mexico.
Little Creek, New Mexico is located twenty four miles south—
east of Carrizozo, New Mexico, and eleven miles east of Ruidoso,
New Mexico
My fathers farm on Little Creek, New Mexico, joined Pat
Garrett's ranche home on the North, this is the old home place of
Pat Garrett, where Miss Lizzie Garrett was born.
The X I T Ranche was in Texas between Plainview, Texas and
the extreme west line of New Mexico, on the staked plains. The
Long 8 Ranche was in Texas southwest of Canon City, Texas.
The night my father reached the Long S Ranche, in Texas
some of the cowboys had found a white man wandering around in
a circle they first thought he was crazy, but on riding up to
him found he was about dead for water his tongue was swollen
out of his mouth, the cowboys were giving him a couple of table
spoons full of water at a time until he got so he could talk, he
told the cowboys that "he was trying to make it to the Long 8
Ranche and had become lost on the plains, had run out of water
for himself and horse the horse had died from thirst, and he
started to walk he knew not where looking for water".
Father said "he would of have died in a few hours from
thirst if they hadn't found him when they did".
This happened when father was on his horseback trip to
Roswell, New Mexico.
One night while we were crossing the plains somewhere be-
tween Plainview, Texas, and Roswell, New Mexicorlib not remem-
ber just where it was), we heard an awful commotion. At first it
scared us for we were afraid it was Indians, but Father soon de-
tected it was a herd of cattle stampeding. We could not go back
to sleep and just as it was breaking day Father got up and built
a fire. In a short time two cowboys rode up and wanted to know
if they could get a cup of coffee, said they were worn out from