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7.7dith L. Crawford,
OarrizozotaN. Mex.
PIONEER STORY
Pat Garrett -Billy the Kid.
1525 words.
I was born in Grapevine, Texas, in 1577. I was six years old
when we left grapevine in April 1583. My father, Seaborn T. Gray,
alother, four children, to boys and two girls, my father's two
sisters and their husbands, Mr. and Mrs. John Lowery and Mr. and
"rs. Henry !Tanning and three cowboys, Henry Pruitt, Jim Carlisle
and Johnnie 7icker were in the party.
Pat Garret was a cousin of my father. He came to Grapevine,
Texas to visit us in the early spring of 1853. He had a cattle
ranche on Little Creek, which is now part of the old "7" rPnche,
near Ruidoso, in Lincoln County, New Mexico. He persuaded 'my fat-
her t, --nve to Mew aexico and bring his cattle where there was
lots of good feed and rater and open range. Cousin Pat mapped out
the trail we were to travel as he had hunted Buffalo out on the
plains and had made the trip several tiles and knew all the water-
ing nlacer. We traveled in four covered wagons, drawn by tro,hor-
ses to each .::agon. One )n was a chuck wagon and carried the
provisions and the cow boys bedding. There was a chuck box in the
back o this waron. The th-ee v -,omen did all the cooking. The chuck
rac-on would pton at each torn and load up with provisions to last
until we got to the next torn. The rest of the wagons did not go
through the towns as we had two hundred head of cattle and twenty-
five head of horses with us. ie could only travel about fifteen
miles day on account of the horses and cattle having to feed
on the -Lay. :le camped out in the open each night. The men would
take turns standing guard over the camp and the stock each night
as the Indians were bad in those days and father was afraid they
would come by some night and steal all of our horses and cattle.
The families slept in the wagons and the cowboys made their beds
on the ground. We used lanterns for lighting and cooked over a
camp fire in dutch ovens. The only fresh meat we had were ante-
lope and Buffalo. They were very plentiful. I remember when we
would sight a herd of Buffalo le would drive until they could
see us, then the wagons would stop and father would hang a red
blanket on the stle of one of the wagons. The buffalo would be-
come curious and keen edging up and when they got in shooting
range f,ther would. get Ms winchester and pick out a nice fat
yearling and kill it. They would skin him and all we took was
the hind quarters and the hide. After we reached the plains the
only fuel we had was buffalo and cor! chips. !very day when we
stopped for dinner and at night my oldest brother and. I had to
take tor sacks and gather the chips. Mother made sour dough bis-
cuits twice a day and corn bread for our noon meal. She baked it
in dutch ovens and my brother and I would watch to see if she
dropped any of the chip ashes in the bread while baking it, for
we thought it was awful to have to use the buffalo and cow chips
to cook with. We never saw any Indians or any traces of any on
the whole trip out here and we were on the road five months. It
was awful dry and hot crossing the plains. We ran out of rater
one day and we and the stock too suffered terribly from thirst.
The cattle would not let us stop to eat dinner or supper. They
put their heads down and traveled in a trot most all day. It was
after dark when the cattle smelled rater and they all struck out
in a run for this watering place. It was just about dry when we
reached it and we had ta drink water from cow tracks that night.
When we got up the next morning and saw the kind of water we had
been drinking ae children all tried to get sick. There was not
enough water left in the holes for us to make coffee the next
morning so we started on our way looking for fresh water. We
drove about two miles when we reached the. Canadian River with the
nicest clearest rater, so we camped on the bank of this river for
three days and rested ourselves and the stock. Mother and my two
aunts dia the family vAshing and the men folks caught lots of
nice fish.
d‘
Cne day while mother was driving along my two brother e and
I were playing in the back of the wagon and I fell out. My oldest
brother called to mother and said "Mamma, Nellie is out." Mother
stopped the wagon and looked back and there I lay in the middle
of the road screaming to the top of my lunge. She thought that I
was half killed but I was not hurt at all, just scared half to
death.
When we reached Fort Sumner,Ner Mexico the Pecos 7iver was
running bank full of the muddiest water. We had to dip it up in
barrels and tuts and let it Fettle before we could use it. We
had to lay over there ten days waiting for the river to go down.
We camped in an olf7 adobe hut for it was raining when we got
there. We got so tired of waiting to cross the river that one
morning father decided that we could make it so the cowboys
rounded up the cattle and horses and jumped them off in the
Pecos River. They swam across with only horns and faces show-
ing but we lost only one cow in crossing. When it came time
for the wagons to cross the women folks and we children were
awfully scared. The rasi:ons crossed one at a time. One of the
cowboys tied a rope to the horn of his saddle and to the tongue
of the wagon and guided us across. The rater came up to the bed
of the wagon and some ran into our wagon. While we were in
Fort Sumner waiting to cross the river we visited Billy th Kid's
grave. I remember it had a board at the head with his name, age
and the late he 7 s killed. He had only been dead two years then.
After leaving Fort Sumner we found wonderful grass and rater
for the stock. It was about the middle of August and was the ra,
iny season in New 7exico. We were on the road, a month from Fort
Sumner to Little Creek, New 7.!exico. 7e traveled by way of the
Jicarilla and Capitan F.ountains and crossed the Salado flat
which is about eleven miles west of Capitan,New 7exico. We arr-
ived at Pat aarrett's ranche at Little Creek, New 7exico in Sep-
tember 18g3.- 7e had been on the road for five months. 7other was
so hOtesick when we first came for we had to sleep in a tent in
Pat Garrett's back yard and we ate with the Garrett family until
re found a nlace to live in. When we did find a place to live in
it was a log shack and leaked. Mother had an awful time trying
to keep our bed(ling dry when it rained or snofged. Tt was awfully
cold the first winter re spent at Little Creek as it is situated
at the foot of the White Mountains. We lived there about a year
and in 1884 father filed on a homestead on the Salado flat where
he raised cattle and fine horses until 1900. That year he sold
all his cattle and horses and laid out the town. of Capitan„New
Father was born in Coosa, County, Alabama, October 31, 1851
and died in Canitan, New Mexico, July 23 1915. Mother was born
in Arkansas April 2-% 1555 and died in Carrizozo, New Mexico,
October L';, 1935. Father's two sisters did not stay very long in
New Mexico, they did not like it here so they moved back to Tex—
as and I do not know what ever became of them. The three cowboys
stayed with us for a while and then drifted away and I do not
know where they rent. I was married to William M. Reily October
31, 1594, seven children were born to this union, five girls and
two boys. Mr. Retly c!lel in Carrizizi, New Mexico, March 9, 1931.
NARRATOR: Nellie B. Reny, Aged 61 years, Carrizozo, New mexico.