Document text
B TV. Leone -!firltinokitduS
Albuquerqu e June 9# 1939
About 1500 words
Sources Personal
Interview
JUN 1 2194
EARLY .1,..)rF, IN kUBUQUWa .PE
In 1886 Frans and Charles Nilnin3 opened a store in Old
Albuquerque, with a general stock of everything from drugs to
furniture und clothing. Difficulties entailed in hauling the
goods wet from Kansas City and Lit. Louis made for limited stocks
of merchandise, especially furniture which is walky and more easily
broken en -transit. Some inJicatior of the Iurniture shortage is
found in the remarks of Mrs. Pauline Meyer, who arrived in Old
Town in 1375,
peaking of the event vs. Meyer said: "We cams by train from
San Yrancisoe to Pueblo, colored°• than the rest of the way by
covered moat. Coming down from Lueblo to Albuquerque we were
most fearful of Indian attack. lo fires were built and we had to
make out best we could for several days until we i;ot out oi the
danger sone and into New Mexico.
"There were very few white women in the little village that
was tho Albuquerque of 1875. There were only the flat -roofed
adobe —we called them Inemd'-houses, for no other types of house
were built here at that time.
"Mr. Frans nunim found a house for us. It was part of a
2.
larger house.-..wesd call it an 'unfurnished apartments now. But
I waa well pleased because it had a board floor. Few houses had
wooden floors, and to me a. mUd house was bad enough --without
mud -floors, too.
Oust to show the uttIereuou in travel as is now, I remember
we once drove to bernalillo..l7 miles --with a fast team and buggy.
It took us four hours and now they make it In fifteen minutes in
those fast oars. liut anyway, the lady I called on that day was
so surprised to see visitors from suoh a lonG ways oS4 she dropped
a layer cake on the floor. he was just takIrw, the cake from the
ovon as I (same up to the oor. LA5eing, me and knewin had come
fall the ways from labuquerque---well, it wan such a surprise she
dropped the cake from sheer excitement.'
gr. and Mrs. Myor later moved. from Old Town to 4 ranch south
of town. It was there thEt the author of Ben hurt Lew ;ffillace
paid them a visit. Governor Wallace (Teriltorial Govevnor at that
time) was on he way to visit difierent ln„Asn ,''uebloe in connection
with Fuvormucnt
"I romeinbor it all very WClj rs. ..tyer recalled. hus;.;and
had just returned fram a nuntino trip when a 4-overnment wan with
four hsndsom mules drew up in front of the house, it was 4overnor
.11aces3 outfit. it was a chilly October day and as the sun went
down it grew chilly enough for 4k fire. I was amused by the 4overnorss
behavior which exemplified our idea of southern gallantry, -tArst I
obtained the necessary kindline, and other necessities for the lire.
These -laced in position, roady for lighting. All this time Governor
had been watching me as T. went about the task. Then* just as. I _
started to strike a match to lteht the blaze* Lew Wallace took the
match from my fInf-ers.
"Allow me*" said he with a sli6ht bow. "so lady has yet lit a
fire while I was in the room." And with that he atruck the mat&
and set it to the paper beneath the kindling. Ho made crate a ceremony
of the match-strikim.
"Afrxr Lew '4allaee had one I reminded my husband of his 13allant,
act.
"Yuh-- my husband scoffed jokingly. "If he was so gallant
as all that, why in thunder dldn't he carry An En armilead of lumge
fa, you: He sat there and let you do all the work* then he ups
and ntrikes the match with a big...to-ode* just as if he'd done something
wenderful:
"of course I couldn't help but agree with my husband* thouith of
course I never let him know it."
(verbatim)
TT4OWTTT T
LAmop Wool induatr:
:abuquarque and L61 conty have always hold E. mr$king
positton in sheep r1sinb. T rroundn mesas ofi.er excellent
foraes and uhtil recent years wl-lon fenees bean to out up tlw
pasturer:es this re6ion 1018 a c,roat w.A. center. 5hoop 3rowInc had
becom a 1it entermase by 1'2,70, was carted to :A.buquerque
from miles around. -u60 sucks of wool piled high in lumbering wagons
and drawn by oxen moved slowly over roaCE tht were little more than
trails. The ox,,team freight trains we at time more than a half mile
in 1 n6th. Albuquerque drew from a very extensive territory, fram
di trioLs that oro now known a daton -ocorro, MeTinloy and Sandoval
counties.
L. orea.„ Eriano Pisarri, ,,tcro* '..olomon Luna,
Frank Ilubbel„ and others numberod their sheep in thousands. tfld
millions of pounds of wool came into Albuquerque for storace and
onipnont.
Yiany were thr tricks employed by dishonest wOol-solloro. f?ooks
were ofton put into the wool sacks to increase the weight. In time
it was discovered by the simplo uxpedient of sortin6 the wool and
feelin4z. for Lard lumps. 3ut the oharp prootise was .:ontinued with
improved teohnique. iiine sand was used, dispersinG it throunh the
wool to conceal it, hut adding weioht to the sack's contents.
In 1.1446 to late Jrone* James Oilkinaon and LoA.s 2c!itto
estc,,bliohod ir.t wool-scourixv plant in tho eity. This plant
scoured on an avera6e moro than :Ivo million pounds of wool each
year. Yhe scour -1116 pl,nt continaco until 1-A.„ when now mct'oe
Of wool-cornbin mado it improoticablo to oeour at a prolt. Wool
csn be shipped in tho 6reaso" (unscoured, beoause o. aodcrn
shippif facilities and speed in 1-londlIn6 the raw product.
,t'nor old timors :111 the wool blteiness include 7:iseman 3rothers,
whose firm later moved to ooeton 4here it !7t111 exists. osonwald
brother* the picturesque ;Tauk Orawford„ and many ,:there of oqual
renown. In Ito he -di,, the wool b,asinos brouiht much money and
many- biG dealers to the city.
Former Flood woe: Until recently portions of the city were
menaced by floods with each spring rise of the Rio Grande. Melting
snow in the Colorado mountains together with spring rains cause the
river to reach flood stage. high water formerly flooded all the
low-lying areas in the river bottoms near the city. In early days
the aio Jrande had a habit of choosing a new course almost at will.
A.eaking through its banks upstream, the river often chose a new
path aouthward, sometimes passing through the center of the town.
In 187fsuch a flood occurred, and a new channel was out through
Illbuquerque, supposedly about where third street is now. At another
time the river --or a part of it --flowed along where the railroad tracks
are now laid.
Eastward, cloudbursts and heavy rains in the mountains often
sent floods pouring down into the lower levels, bringing enormous
amounts of silt and earth from higher lioints. A) that while the
aio (rande invariably carried away muoh top -soil, the mountain
floods generalI4 replaced it with rich loam from the mountain areas.
The citzens were not surprised when* in 1885, a survey showed that
the streets were some 3 inches higher than when first laid out a
few years before. The mLuntain flooda were as benificent as the
Riots were destructive, the former more than offsetting the latter.
In later years corrective measures were taken to deepen and
straighten the aio rande to force it to cut its own channel and
cease Aaking trouble each spring when on rampage. Storm sewers
diversion canals and other Tisane removed all danger from both the
river and the freshets which come rushina down from the Sandiaa
with each heavy rain in the highlands.