Document text
APR 5 1937
Mrs. A. M. Hedges
7/0 WOrt1.4
banal(' Valley
Iben lufus and Mary F. Borne reached Buffalo Valley in
the spring of 1908 it was an attractive looking pleats, but
seemed very lonely tho there were several settlers there be-
fore then. Their son Mark had gone there the year before and
had some plowing done on his homestead. Alfred Jay had been
there since 1902 and John S. Matt, Jesse Assn, the Bonine fem..
ily, and a confederate soldier, rearnot, were there.
Mr. Boyee put in the first pump in the 'river in the val-
ley that Spring. High water washed it out and he replaced it.
lie put down a well but the water was too brackish for use. As
they didn't want to drink river water they hauled water for
house se from liagerman, six miles when they could ford the
river and twelve miles when t%ey must go by the bridi4e. The
line between the Tiaerman school district and Vie Lake Arthur
district .i.)asses thru t: .0 valley and the nenrost school was in
_al!;en„an, -ere was no shurek and the risks in gain' to oturch
in i'..-eren is illustrated in this story told by young ary
e youngsters were going to church in Hagerzaan. a start-
ed about 5:30. The river wAs up so e but Rs it we only six
a5d a quarter Ades this way and twelve by the bAdge we risk-
ed it and got r,CT*388 all right. Then it began to rain an how
it did rain. e came to an adobe house an vent in ntil the
rain was over, than we went on, rip:Wang "geman about eleven
o'clock, with nothing to do but get home again. e dared not
risk the ford so we went on the Aim ::rid -e nnt. after orw,,sin
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that, we started winding around mesquite bumps. It was so
dark that we could not see the road and one of the boys got
out and walked ahead but we got lost. About four o'clock
in the morning we came to a fenoe and knew where we were.
We got home at about 4:30 o'clock in the morning."
The water dogs (a species of lizard that infest damp
plaoes) made the nights voeal with their booming. The salt.
grass grew knee high and was out in late summer for winter
feed.
In 1912 Carl, Ray and Bruce bought out the Boyoes az-
crept Mark's homestead. Another son, Allen had taken a home.
stead. They got from land commissioner, James A. French,
the water right to cover 840 sores.
In 1912 James Miller installed a pump about two and a
half miles below this pullp. Re also had his pump washed out
by high water and replaced it. While Miller owned this lo-
cation he lived there. Be sold to a Roswell company, ez-shor-
iff Young, Judge McClure and Harry Maynard. Of these, Young
lived there a while. This water right plovers 1300 acres.
Down the valley about two miles was the Parks spring where
good water could be obtained for house use. This spring was
across the river from the Pilkey spring which was a noted place
for round -up camps and for people trnvelling up and down the
valley. This lower settlement was in the Lake Arthur school
district and in the summer of 1921 a schoolhouse was butlt
here and Miss Grace Harvey taught the 19 term of school
there, with an enrollment of 23 and an average attendance of
15, some of wham came from cattle ranches in the adjourning
hills. Wade Lane taught the 22-23 term. Then the schools
Page III
were consolidated and a bus woe run from Lake Arthur to pick
up the children. This is all the sehoolims they ever had and
they have never had any oburoh. The only social .athering was
an occasional dance. Now in 1937 Mrs. Gilroy owns, lives on,
and manages the upper ranch and Jack Sweat manaizes the lower
ranch, lives in Eagerman and works Mexicans who occupy the ten-
ant houses.
The generally cattle ranges are not dangerous, occasion-
ally when the cowboys and the settlers got into a dispute o-
ver grass, guns were nourished.
Buffalo Valispy
SOURCES OFINFORKATION
Mrs. John Lane
Gracie Harvey
;aft Sweat
Mrs Cassie ason
Mary boy°.