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Edith L. Crawford,
Carrizozo, N. Mex.
Sam Farmer,
Carrizozo, N.M.
Words 690
PIONETIR STORY
JUL 151938
I have lived in Lincoln County sixty-eight years, which is
all my life. I was born two miles west of Lincoln New Mexico,
on a ranch called "Henry's Ranch", named after my father, Henry
Farmer. He filed on this place in 1865 and raised a few cattle
and sheep and did some farming. He was married to Gavina Aguilar
in 1865. Ten children were born to this union, seven boys and
three girls. My oldest brother, Teodoro and myself are the only
ones left of the Farmer family. Father was born in Missouri in
1842. His parents moved to Little Rock Arkansas when he was very
He left home at the beginning of the Civil War at the age
of eighteen. He roamed around for awhile and then came to Manzano
New Mexico. After staying there for a short while he cane to
Lincoln County in 1882 and lived on the Hughes place, which is
located about one and one half miles below what is now the town
of Tinnie, New Mexico. He worked for Mr. Hughes for quite some
time and then be filed on a homestead two miles west of Lincoln
New Mexico. His place was on the Rio Bonito and he used the water
for irrigating a small farm. He used to freight some and during
the years that Murphy and Dolan and McSween and Tunstall had their
stores in Lincoln he hauled freight for them and also for I.C. 011
Laney of Fort Stanton New Mexico. He had two teams of oxen, six
to a team and had two big freight wagons. He hauled from Las Vegas
to Lincoln and Fort Stanton. He was never bothered by the .Indians
but once. He was coming from Picacho to Lincoln New Mexico, driving
two mules and a band of Indians attacked him. He was shot three
times with arrows. Once in the upper left arm, in the left shoul-
Edith L. Crawford, 2.
Carrizozo, N. Mex.
Words 690
art
der and leg. The mules got frightened and ran away and Father
always said that is the only thing that saved his life.
Father always used the oxen in freighting and it took them from
twenty-eight to thirty-five days to make a round trip from Lincoln
to Las Vegas and return and that depenCid on the weather.
We were living on our ranch during the Lincoln County War but our
family took no part in it. We all liked Billy the Kid and would
do anything that we could for him. Once my father took myself
and my two older brothers to one of the trials of Billy the Kid.
He wanted to impress upon our young minds that no one could break
the laws as he did and not pay the penalty.
The day that Billy the Kid killed Bell end Olinger, my father,
two brothers and myself were irrigating our wheat field when Billy
came riding by on a black horse. He stopped and hollered, "Hello
Henry," Father looked up and said "Hello Billy, whet are you
doing here?" Billy replied, "I am going, I don't think you will
see me any more." I killed two men at the Courthouse and I am on
my way, good-bye." g0 kicked his horse and went off up the road
as fast as he could go. I remember distinctly seeing the schack-
els on his legs. That was the last time we ever saw Billy the
Kid. My brothers and myself always liked Billy the Kid so much
for he always took time to talk and play with us when we saw him.
Billy was killed at Fort Sumner about six weeks later by Pat Gar-
rett.
My father lived in Lincoln county until his death in 1898, and
was buried in Lincoln. My mother was born in the Manzano mountains
at a place called Chato in 1848. She died in 1893 and was buried
in Lincoln. Father was a very quiet un-assuming man and a good law
abiding citizen.
NARRATOR: Sam Farmer, Carrizozo, N.M. Aged 68 years.