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Redfield, Georgia B. Words 1.650
2/18/38
MRS. ELLAJ,HOLTON)DA.VID:-.3LiN
DAUGHTER OF FnONTIER AR -AX -MAN
PION WIFE AND LOTHER.
Mrs. Ella Bolton Davidson, is me of the few living
pioneer women, who experienced all the hardships and dangers
of the first ye re of settlement of the new country of South-
east New Mexico,
Mrs. Davidson, as a child, lived in Fort Stanton, New
Mexico, an army post, where she was constantly surrounded by
danger from Indians, and where she had few educational ad-
vantages. Later, as a woman she lived the hard life of a
pioneer's wife and became a typical pioneer mother, when un-
attended by a physician her second child, a little girl, was
born. she made a happy home for her family, in which she
ruled with gentleness and kindress, and graciously welcomed
the stranger and newcomer as well as her friends.
Wherever she has lived she quietly became one of the
leaders in all cultural and educational ovements intituted
for the improvement and enjoyment of the town's people.
In 1871, when six years of age Ella 3olton and her Laother
Ella (Doyel) Bolton and a brother and older sister who is
Mrs. Amelia Bolton Church came to America -rom their native
town and country, Wexford, Ireland. They joined their has-
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band and father, John Bolton, at Fort Stanton, New Mexico.
lir. Bolton had preceded his famil in coming to the United
States and was head of the Government Commissary Department at
Fort Stanton* which was an army post maintained for protection
of the early New Mexico settlers from the hostile Mescalero and
Apache Indians.
After the voyage from Ireland* on landing in New York, the
Bolton family continued their journey to New Mexico, by rail.
They tlaveled as far as the railroad went, in the state of
Kansas, where they were met at the end of the railroad Ly a
military escort selit from Fort Stanton, for their protection
from Indians during the remainder of their journey overlana
through the hostile Indian infested country of Kansas, Colorado
and part of New Mexico through which they were to travel. An
army post ambulance was sent in which Mrs. Bolton and the children
rode, Alile the soldiers rode in three covered wagons.
They were allowed to make only thirty miles a day and were
required to make camp at Government Army I'osts, stationed along
the route. At night the wagons and ambulance were place in a
circle in which the mules, used for their conveyances, were con-
fined where they could be watched and guarded from Indian raids.
There were no Indian attacksond no Indians were seen on
their entire journey, though there may have been some hidden
in many places who dared not attack the ell armed soldiers who
were constantly on the alert.
The ambulance was, comparatively speaking, easy riding, but
the slow traveling had ecome monotcmous and uninteresting long
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before the three weeks time taken for the Journey had passed..
They saw no houses or human beings for hundreds of miles in
some districts, except the soldiers at the army stations.
The children becoming restless and adventuresome, on the
frequent stops, would wander short distances from the wagons.
On one occasion while gathering little stones(found on mounds
made by ants.) which they put in little tobacco sacks, discard-
ed by the soldiers, they were suddenly running vixt1 screaming
from the pain of many ant stings. This becoming an experience
of the journey, they never forgot. Also red chili peppers
called "New Mexico fruit" by a Mexican who presented some to the
children when bitten into by them, became another experience
of childish importance, as the one of the stinging ants, and
likewise was never forgotten.
The original Fort Stanton, of flimsy construction, estab-
lished in 1855 on the site now occupied by the Government
Marine Hospital was purposely established on Tnnian hunting
groun4s between the White Mountains anti El Capitan, and was
built in a strategic flat stretch of land from which Indian
activities could be nder observation. Many raids and massa-
cres were headed off and prevented by the alert attention of
the army officers.
The fort was named for Captain Henry W. Stanton, First
Dragoons, who was killed January 19, 1855, sixty-six miles
southwest of l'oswell, on the 2enasco River in the Sacramento
Mountains near the old home site of J. F. Hinkle, former
Governor of New Mexico.
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As an army post the fort was abandoned in 1861, was again
occupied by the army in 1863 and subtantial stony and brick
buildings and other improvements for defense, were constructed
in 1868.
In this reconstructed fort John Bolton, after the arrival
of his family in 1871, built their adobe house and here, in
this, her first New Mexico home, Ella Bolton with her parents
and her sister and brother spent three of her early childhood
gears.
Fort stanton was again a.bandoned as an army post in 1896
and since 1899 it has been continuously occupied as a Govern-
ment sanatarium.
In 1873 John Bolton moved his family -to Lincoln, New
Mexico where he was mAde postmaster, and here Ella Bolton,
nearly ten years of age, and her sister Amelia two years older
grew to young girlhood. They entered into the social life of
the town, and 1-;ith their youthful grace and charm contributed
to the pleasure of the social gatherings of the harassed people
of bullet scarred Old Lincoln during the *Lincoln County War"
of 1876-79. "Billy the Kid", farous outlaw of that region,
(who was one of the leaders of the gang of the Alexander A.
MeSween adherants, against the M:4pr Lawrence Murphy fol-
lowers) contributed a large share to the destruction and mur-
&faring that resulted through the many encounters of that fam-
ous cattle war.
i)ia Bolton met the young desperado at a dancing party
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given by a woman hostess who shared the Lelief of many others,
that "the Kid" had been led into evil paths, and through kind-
ness and friendliness of hospitality might. be led back into the
"straight and narrow way". Billy the Kid thoroughly enjoyed the
party and the occasion of his dancing with ala Bolton until
in his exuberance of enjoyment of the dance, he lifted her and
lightly swung her off her feet. Theehe who had. boasted of eon..
quests and murderings of numerous big strong men, was made ashamed
when he was left on the dance floor, where he stood in confusion,
vanquished by a small young girl.
On April 1, 1878 Ilejor William Brady, 6heriff of Lineoln
County was fired upon and killed by the licSween partisans, among
them "illy the Kid". The gang lay in wait, concealed b:) an
adobe wall, until Sheriff Brady should walk by after hexing
gone through the motion of dismissing court, that because of
threats of shooting and murdering had never convened.
On hearing the shots that killed sheriff Bardy and
Deputy Sheriff George Hindman who was one of three men who ac..
companied him (the other two were not shot) the Lincoln school
master became excited and dismissed the school children who
walked to their homes in danger of being shot by any of the
throngs of armed men, who wrought to a high tension of excite..
merit, would have shot to kill an any slight excuse.
The bodies of Brady and. Hindman, n9 one dared remove,
still lay in the street when the school children passed and
Ella Bolton, among them, realized then that the slender grey
eyed. youth, she knew as William Bonney, was possessed of a
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passion for murdering and destruction.
The story as an e;,e witness of parts of the final bloody
battle that practically ended the Lincoln County War is best
given in 1.sc. Davidson'. own words:
"Lincoln became an ari:xd battle ground after the killing
of 011inger and Bell (the Kid's guards) when he made his esca-oe
from the Lincoln jail there he had been confined since his cap-
tr,re after the ,,laying of Brady and Hindman.
"On the ./unday evening before the terrible days that end-
ed the Lincoln Countz, War llother said: 'Ella this is the week
that will end all this bloodshed and fighting and, I thank God
your father is away and lhon't be mixed up in the shooting, but
I am afraid to stay here with you children unprotectcd.' 6o
that night after sup er she took us to stay with the Ellis
family, in their house which was built with all the rooms in
one long row, About ten o'clock we heard ,umeone with spurs
on, come clattering do'l,n the whole length of the hose. The
door where we sat opened and there was Billy the Kid! He was
followed by fourteen men who took possession of the house. We
went back to our home but Liother was afraid to stay the_e after
she thought our water supply would perhaps be cut off, so we
went to Juan katron's house and. about midnight that house was
taken over by some of the fighters. We then went to kontonnals
store where we went to bed and when we got up the next morn-
ing about twenty men had taken possession there* but we stayed
there from ounday evening, until the next Friday morning.
Mother got up and after we saw men fired on and one killed,
she said 'I am going to take you children out of this danger.
80 she took us two miles out of town t where there wel-e some
tall -,)oplar trees thy are still there and about noon
we say heavy smoke. It was the McSween store that had been
set afie by the Murphy men to burn out the McSween men (one
of them was the Kid) who were surrormded, so they couldn't
escape. When the fire was imaer way Jr. Me3ween calmly walked
to the door as if surrendering and was 3hot down. Then, two
others that followered were riddled with bullets. George Coe
Henry Brown and Jharlie Dowdre were among the crowd that es-
caped- Billy the Kid was the last one left in the building.
During the excitement of the roof crashing in, he rushed out
with two pistols blazing. Bob Beckwith whose shot had killed
Le8weer was killed by one flying bullet and two others were
womIded. The Kid, with bullets whizzing all arorma him, made
his escape.
"After this battle that took _place in July, 1878 everything
quieted down, and my mother took us home. Mrs. MeOween whose
hoLe was burned, stayed with us all night, ara the next morning
she asked me to go with her to see the ruins of her house. We
forma only the springs and other wires of her piano that was
the pride of her life.
".She raked in the ashes where her bureau had stood and
found her locket.
"That was the most destructive battle of the Lincoln
County War. We were terribly upset with all the fighting and
killings. My sister Amelia had more than she could stand so
my mother sent her to a ranch until things could settle dom.
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"We moved to the Block Ranch in 1879 and my father engaged
in ranching. Indians made a raid one night while the ranch hands
were oway with all the ammunition. My father who was the only
sAP
man on the place found four gun shells, thvat he fired, thinking
to frighten the Indians, who were not to be scared off. They
drove awa;o eighty horses. I spent all of the time of the raid
shaking with fright, hidden under the bed.
"We moved to White Oaks in 1820, where I was married in
1883 to
Aar
L Davidson. We had two children, a boy named
Cyrus for his father who was born in 1884 in White Oaks. Millie,
our daughter was born in 1886 in Picacho where there was no
uhoician to be hod for attendence of her birth. We moved to oswell
in 18K."
Mrs. Davidson, who is the only surviving member of her
imoediate faoily, makes her home 1;:ith her sister Mrs. Amelia
elmich in oswell. Ohe is a member of the Chaves County
Archaeological and Historical $ociety and is a Lember of t.
Andrews Lpiscopal Church, of which she was OMR of the organizers
and hard workers for the church fund when the church was built
in 1899. he also was one of the guild workers who gave a
turkey dinner to raise the money with which three dozen kitchen
chairs were bought for seats for the church.
After hoving lived in New Mexico, rnder nerve breaking con-
ditions and rough surroundings, for over half an average life
time, hrs. Davidson, at the present time shows no ravaes of those
times of her hard past life.
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She is small in height and slenderly built, and has calm
kind eyes and a placid countenance. There are no signs of
strain or nervousness (in her quiet manner of bearing) that one
usually finds in those who have lived under the strain of har-
rowing experiences.
,the receives her friends in a quiet re:Aful atmosphere,
where she has all the comforts and beauty of surroundings of a
modern home, that the pioneer, during the days of settlement*
never believed one wo,ld be able to obtain and enjoy in Eew
Mexico.
Source of Information
Mrs. Ella Bolton Davidson Roswell* New Mexico