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The equipment for these schools was purchased by money made from
pie suppers, tackey parties and festivals common in this state.
There wore also some private donations.
Yes, we have had 'hard times', cold weather, hot weather,
storm snows and fires and other inconveniences oommon to people on
the frontier. These have been years whop peopled were compelled
of
to use a grelA def--.1 ingenuity to be able to stick to their claims.
A
One story is told of a faTily after yore of dry weather, rt..-J
grond maize in a coffee mill zunt because thure was not enough of
the maize to pay the toll,if it was taken to the mill to be ground.
At one time thee vve no fuels() the mother soaked her beans soy.
eral days in water and then they ate them without seasorillg or
salt. But these were rare instanoes, for the homesteaders were
thrifts people and even instances like the above were caused by
circumstances and not because the people were thriftless.
I remember about the prairies fire that swept everything
fror the face of the earth reaching from the south west .4040,147
and Bellevio. too the north west and as far as Clayton New Mexioo.
One boy was caught out with his mules. The child's face was
burred so badly and only his teeth on one side was left, The mules
were so badly burned that they had to be killel.
Storms, .1-r electric storm where we lived, four miles
so410 ,r,dy and six miles directly south of the edge ef—t14—edrgir
of the caprock. It w s so ti e in =,ug.st, a big cloud stretched
from e- to west h.e blackest had. ;:rieriest that I ni:,ve ever
Maxwell
seen. The horses had oome up and waited across the road. I know
that something had to be done to get them away from the wire fence
daughter
The oows were aginst the fence too, lay pipri and I got buckets
of grain maize heads and went si:dross to *bore the horses were.
4fter flashes of lightning we crawled under the wire and ran down to
the other end of the pasture rid smattered the hells of grain. After
the horses began to eat we went back to the house, leaving the
b,rs of a lot down. When we went into the house and closed the
doors, there were little sprIrks of electricity all through the room
just like sassafras wood sp-rks fro- an open fire place popping
from the fire. The lightning got continually worse, We took the
metal hairpins out of our hair and I took off my corset which had
steel staves in it, put on our night dress and (waked into a 60
pound feather bed. My th,a6ater put her arms around me. Iisaid
'do not do th t dear, if I am struck and killed it will kill you too'
Sho cried,'Mama if you ar killed I do not want to live.' So we lay
electrical
clasped in each other arms until the istidiftel display bad passed
over, which seemed at leJst n hour. That is the most terrible ex-
perience that I have sver gone through with. That was perhaps in
1914 Or '16.
I think that it was in 1910 that we had a very severe snow
storm. It was necessary for my father to Fend some money to the
bank. He saw a man who was Fcoing to jlovis from Grady so he gave
the money to him. That night after he had given the money to the
man he he 2'4 of some of his dishonest &Janne'', so he awoke me about
twelve o'olook, and told me to get a horse from the stable ,nd lead
him to my brother -in laws about three quarters of a mile and tell
my brot,:ler to go to Grady and get the money and take it himself.
The snow had been on the gr und for seven weeks, and the reason I
had to lead theahorse, the ice was so slippery that my father was
afraid for me to ride. I had to go across the pasture and open the
gates. I was nearly frozen when I arrived. I awakende the family
and my brother.in law set out for Grady at ones. My sister begged
me to stay until morning, but I knew that my father would be un.
easy, so fter resting a half hour, and drinking some ()off'', I
starts -eaten*. Just outside tue yard gate, I heard the wolves, but
went on. I found a stick and waved them back, but they came
to within fifteen feet of me. I waved the stick and flung my bon.
46e4
net aroand my head several and halloed at them. I was at the pas
a
tura gate and 1 thought that they would get me, but as I went through,
I yelled at them and threw the stick and r n with all my might to
the house. The wolves were famished for they could find nothing to
eat in the t O two or th ee feet snow. They had eten several
young calves and colts in the pastures and human flesh would taste
just s good to them. ttack some echo° children at San Jon a
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small school not far w y„ but the older children fought them off.
etaa.
During the same time my sistevlimbed a snow bank lb feet
high to reach a feed stok on the other side. At one end of the at
stack the snow was not very deep. e would tie a rope artand the
bundle of feed anddraw it up I would aold the feed and she would
climb a little farther up.
Jersey
During the snow storm, a ferocious lissim bull that was chained
in a pen was covered up in about five feet of anw except just a
breataiac hole. We had to dig down and get the chain, and turn him
from
loose. We shoveled the anew around him andby the time we got him
Maxwell
out of tne snow some of t f5ghtwas taken out of him. Stook suffe
fared a great that yes,r and several different times we have had some
severe snows. I taught sonool se,;eral miles fror:. home and often
es...rer
I have had to shotel two or three foot out of the schoolroom before
I could even get a fire built.
My brother-in.law, We I Simms, was offered some lambs from the
DeOliveria ranch ner Grady. There was not much feed for the sheep
and the snow we so deep th t the sheep could not grass, so if the
owners kept the Iambi they run the risk of loosingboth awes and lambs.
So they gave the lambs to Mr. Simms if he wanted theme H$ took num..
bar home with him. He had five good cows, and letting these lambs
milk the cows was easier than to milk them himself or to try to
feed the lambs. So he built two platforms far enough for the cows
to walk between and just right for the lambs to st-nA on and he
would drive the cows between the opening and then turn the orphan
lambs in on the platform. I h ye always been sorry that I didn
not h'Are a kodak. Each lamb knew its place at the table. In this
way the cows Jot a milkine 4bout three times a,day. I am not sure,
but the wagging of the lambs' tails would have frustrated the camera
mane He had a flock of wtenty of these lambs that spring
Yes, I enjoy the work in the museum. There is a great deal to
do, but it is interesting and I am classifying the different sections,
and have a gret dev.l. of information written about the different
archaeologic find especially those of recent discovery in New Maxie°.
Some of the out.of-state visitors say that it is the best one(museum)
they have have ever seen in a town of this kind."
Mrs. Maxwell is a very interesting person and is glad to give
any information that she has concerning the Clovis MUMOUM, WhiChle
Mammon .6.
Mrs. Maxwell is t very interestine poreor -111 is glad to give
any intorsv;tion that she has oonoerninp. the 01,vis thileum, whish is
loo ted in the 2ublio Library on 8th and Ale Street,
her address is 402 Connefly Street, qovis Now 1001iiti