Document text
Edith Crawford,
Carrisozo, N. ilex*
Date: Or T. 110241
Words*
&West s Plassor Story
Octave or Inform U m:
Um. Eery Mien mosaiust
:JUT I (1
was born in Adomeville, Texas, January 15„ 18004, LI
father, Frank Thompson, wws born in Alebece. February 20, 1852.
obou be wee Quite you his parents moved to Time. Ay mother
was Elizabeth aloberdson and WOO born in Million, Time, June
5, 105,. ry Slither end mother were married et Adaseville Tomes,
in 10,24,
Up rather &seed a large !armee& raised fine bloodied
horses end registered Jereey settle.
Wy mother and father htd %MR children, ;ohm, Fannie,
Alt. Lamle, Mary Ellen (myself). Ow. Hattie, Thews. Elisabeth.
and Belle•
ben ay father wee about nineteen year* old he helped
drivee herd et orttle Adsmsville Tame, to some pleas is.
Colorado.(I do not remember Uke nabs of the place.) He eame
book to Tomes by is; or LIneola County Bee Uesloo and was op
mmoh impressed with the muntry test he alwayft wanted to acme
beak to Lituolr Coit t live• Hin mother never would consent
for his. to move his fanny tc Few .comieo, au she thought it was
suet e wild country, but La *lay 14902 to deeided to *ell his pleas
in TeX*, and come out to Row kui400.
tether mod e friend ct his, named Bill Lane. and
Tom end Zeck Dooley, who were my fatherte nephews, came out to
New Vexiso to find e piece to locate They stopped et Kugel,
Ni ttexioo.
About two months Pfter my rather left to come to Nos
2.
Mexico I wee rerried to;ialter If. 14411-1.11en, or /uly 10, 1902.
husband ezw I '*,:entad to core out tu New ixeo too, but we
stayed on p.other until the cros all FT thered.
Zr mother rrnd my 13 10 tO a I put u -o around two hun-
dred Cellone of fruit r?:nd vecetebles tht, t were very
busy f.Tettinf reedy to join iv fathor inNov,.
n October L4th, 1V02, my mother, two 1:.others two sis-
ters, zay husband and st.crted from kdameville Texas. for Nagel
new liezicto, fed throe covered vons, euct weou drawn by
two horses. t7y mother end Ta,y youni.est sister rode in one
brothermy Guy drove one, Find my husbec d urci I had our oval wegon.
3,7y mother Id decided to bring out sore of our fine horses rind
he'd about trenty heed. ry brothrm Thomas, EL d my sister
rode horseback 13d rove the horses.
rite three we cone stayed tore ther far about six de,ys until
we got to Crewe Texas, where my husband's /*ether lived. e de-.
cided to :Any there for awhile (rsy e hand t-mc.; but my mother
decided thrt they would go on end so she, with my brothers end
siEtk-..,re took -the two 'tie.cone end the twenty herd of horses and
went rtt on through w Nof,e1. They got there ....',bout the middle
of November, li;02„ ere joined my In the r t or -1 1. y mother
enu father stnyed rtt lqoFel ahnut e. year and went to An.oho„ New
exico, end filed on a hoifiestead there and lived on this sera
place until Lieir death, meny years later.
7.1 hus beii I stayed with ilia feLhor li Crevie Texas,
until anuery It bpd t:otten Ct colt; thE t ve decided thet
we iould writ tc. co on ;,c .e left
Crews Texas end went up to Onion, Texas, about tkenV miles south
3*
or Abilene Texas, where we stayed until Marsh ET, 1903, when we
started out for New 'feriae in our oomered wagon. tie had tun
horses, a gentle one and one that was not well broken. 'hen ny
husband would get the teen hitched up the unbroken horse would
immediately start to run* I would always get in the wagon and
hold the lines and my husband would have to run end catch the wa-
gon as it moved off*
e had our chuck box on the back of the worm and carried
two water logo tied on the side* ,ift had a pair of springs is
the wagon with our bed on it and we slept in the wagon* :e used
a lantern for light* 40 had a coop tied under the wegan with
six hens and a rooster, fun' blood white legkorne, that kept us
in eggs ell the way out to New Maxim* we used wood for fuel un-
til we got on the plains and than we used Sow chips*
'pe struck the plains at Gail Texas and the very first day
on the plains we ran into the worst sand stoma that I ever expe-
rienced in life* The sand filled up the ruts in th6 road and
made it very hard to travel* Jo were laming the wind and late is
the afternoon we case to a large water task* It was a dirt tank
end full of pater and while AO were still about a quarter of a
mile away from it we thought it was raining for we Gould feel the
water, but it was Just the wind blowirmg the water against the darn
with stash foree that it threw the water up in the air. 1ie stopped
at the teak tor the night end the wind wee eo very strong that we
were afraid that the won would be blown over* AI could not cook
any dinner or supper that day but we bad all oar provisions with
us. e had UD ol)eu seem clanged fruit but it got so full of seed
thet we could hardly eat it at all.
4e traveled the old Chia un Trail and there was not a
store or a post-offiee from 0011 Texas, to koeweil New NIMJA46
sew a lot of antelope, soyotes and prairie ehickens.
One day my husband decided that he would Mbeet some prairie
hens as we had only bacon for meet. I stayed in the wagon end
my ht./bead got out to shoot them. He had e shot gun and wham
he fired at the prairie hens the team of horses vot frightened
and ran away withal,. They ran for about half wile before
they stopped. We were so excited that we forgot to get the
prairie hens, though we knew that he had gotten two of thong
and we did not get any fresh meat after all.
After we left Coil Texas, ye CORO to the Fish Reneh.
This raneh me about twenty-five silos northwest of Gall.
The (settle were dying by hundreds. It was very dry and grass
was poor. Vibes wy husbend went up to a wind -mill to see if he
could water the tam and get water for our water kegs, he found
one of our old friends from Adamsvilla Texas, a non by the num
or Virgil Piper. 4e ware so sop b. be at dinner
with us that e;ay. 1e worked on the nab rmloh.
nue% the Fish ranch the road followed up what was known
as rttw. The next ;Ices no cane to as the L. F. D.
ranch. The heed quarters ranch holies was at Meacelace Springs,
near what is now known as Cop actek, Texas. Not far from &soca-
lero Uprings we come to some alkali sands whit& were twelve miles
across. Air fatter had already written us about these sends end
did net think that mt could make it across tbs.,: with just the eme
teen of horses scud had told ue that he would send one of my brothers
to teat us at N'scalero Syringe, alth mother teen of horses, but
when we rot there my brother had not come so we decided to try to
cross any way* The send bed piled up into ridges and we so
fine that the on wheels sank almost to the hubs* It was
very hard Ibr the horses to pull end every tine that they would
g*t to the top of a ridge the horses woul4 Live to stop fnd blow*
It took us one whole day to crows these sands and just after we
got on the other aide we net ny brother *mire wtth the extra
toe*. Lie was very mush surprised that we had rade it aerates as
well es we had.
Not very far fro, the Seseelero Springs we came to a ciall
ranch where there s a big prairie fire. The nen on the ranch
(I have for gotten his mem) asks d iy husban d if he would take
one pf our teem of horses end go roma up a saddle kora, for kin
as all of his Loretta were out in c b1g ge attire end be °mad not
get then on foot. Ths men had a amber of baby *elves out es
the flat* and he wee afraid that the fire would trap these heby
calves. 11, husband woe glad to help hie out by cetting his heroes
fcv uvi the man eta his wife give us svirrY.; freak talk end bat-
ter and eggs.
Lot wry mush hapvenad froi this rack et in to rogel* I
Sew Mr first turros between Roswell end No 1. They he d water
keGe strapped on their beoks. I thujt it looked very queer*
e reiaalati Nowil Novi rexieo on April 15, 1905. ;cere
stayed there for a short while with my parents and then WO Moved
to Anatol, !,:exiso where lay husband lzd uvrk at the eeriest
plant there* Mery woe only one Louse ir noho t tha t
e lived in z:, totit. ity first child, Ruth, was born on Zu3.y 51,
1903. 6i.la tar first Ji riueu t Lild born in the town of Amato.
;ihile we were living lit inch° New /taxi**, ny father fLIANI
cm a homestead seer Aneho ead moved there.
In October, 1903, my husband decided to work for the
rail road company and we moved to Carrigan), New Mexico. V/
husband worked as pumper for the in Paso, Northwestern Reilroed
Compeny, end ateyed with this company for mbout ten years.
bon we moved to Carrisone there was one store, e saloon end
post -office, ell in one long building under one roof. Mors were
very few people in Cerrixoro then end even as lete en 1,05 there
were not enough children bore to here e school. I bed to me is
Alto Oeke, rev Eerie°, for my dry goods. Met vows R reel nice
town at thet time.
After lerring the raf.1 road compeny my husband went to
work for the Few Eerie* Light end Tower Comeeny end he stayed
with this company for ten or twelve years.
In 1929 my husband filed on e homestead eight miles
south of Pitch*, Now Maxie*. Ao lived there until mor when we
traded our homesteed to our son-in-law, Jolter Burnett, for
house ard two lote in Oarrizoms, New Ytxico, where we still live.
My mother and father lived on their homestead at Pneho
until their dfteth. My mother died in 19R2 Pnd my father in 1933.
About five years before sty rather died he lost his eye eight.
Ho lived with me while we lived on our homestead nenr ;mho. I
have r sister Belle. Mrs. J. T. :ohamono mho with her husband
end two chiMree live on their homestead about three miles from
Ameba, N xteo. or ell ekr fether'n family there are mar
?our living. My brother Whit Thompson lives moor Ademsvills
Texas. Mr rietor Fannie, iv Yrs. Climber, and lives at Not Springs,
New Maxim, and my sistrm Mello, Mrs. Johnson is at Anebos Now
Mexico, end I as at Cerrizom).
7.
Both of my parents are buried at 'Inch°, New Lexie:).
Yly husband and I have six children, Ruth, Bonnie, Euda,
Mary Ellen and Corrine, all were born in New Mexico and all live
in New Mexico now.
For the past four years Ly husband has driven a school bus
from Andho, New Mexico, to Carrizozo, New Mexico.
NARRATOR: Mrs. Mary Ellen McMillan, Aged 58 years. Carrizozo, N.M.
:Aith ii.Crawrord iloneer
Ctrrizozoolex. rs. ry Laical (Thompson) 1cLillan
J,Ior LTC..T:Y
Corrections on l'ioneer btory of r8.Ery Lllen (Thompson'
1:111en.
Pefie 1. parepreph 3. 4 mother end father had ten children,
John, Fannie, hit, Lie, ::ary 1.1en (my self,) Guy, 'Tattle,
aizabcth and Bello, ell born in Adamsville Texas.
Tepe 2. parerre)1l Z. The five children thet crltk to New
rexico, with my mother were my two brothers :hit end Guy
two sistors Fannie and Belle and my
The rent of the children three boys tnd two girls were
nerried end had homes of their own in Texas.