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Redfield, Georgia D. 12/24/36 -el- 7O words
"OHIHUALWA" ;ASTRiCT iiO3LL
THE HOTATAMALE MAN
Many pieturesque oharactere, of the r,panish American
people, live in the diStrict called Chihuehua, located
in the southeast portion of Rosvell.
Charlie oier known as "Old hot -Tamale" lives
in one of the many little adobe houses, of the Chihuahua
district,which make this section of the city different
with their clean swept dirt floors, white cashed walls,
and tiny fireplace tucked in a cozy corner.. -Romeo typ-
ical of the he* Spain, which were builtx in New Mexico
after the uoming of Coronado in 1540.
old eot-lamale insists thi if there were a drop
of Spanish or iiexican blood in his veins, he would let
it out. hu was wurried in hIs early years to a Mexican
woman, who wade her departure from Lis ho!,le leaving be-
hin4 mysteries, lies and .any unpleasant situations, for
the man to battle with, alone,- until a woman with a
heart came into his liie, married him mothered him
and was a real companion for many years. "ow I am
eii4ity years old aLd need her-, said old Charlie, "end
she hie gone from me forever. Since she died I tin
helpless like e little child without her.
me.
"After she was took from me I just went to sleep and
didn't know anything for a long, long time. Now I
cant pull my wagon of hot -tamales, like I used to do, alt
and the Roswell people miss the ol' tamale man they
say. They like me. Friends came to my door often to pa
pass the time of day. Some men took my picture just
yesterday, and the finest painters come from away off
and paint me and my tamale wagon, and they want to write
stories about me. i haven't told any of them what I am
going to tell you, and you must get it all down good,
for it's history, and they want to keep it here in Ros-
well, always.
"They are stories of things that happened, and things
I saw, and heard in these parts long before you was
born, when there wasn't nothing, any where 'round here
closer than Fort Stanton.
"I guess now you must bear with me some, for my
recollection gets to dodgin' roun' and roun' when I try
hard to remember important places and times.
"I been burnt out here two ti7Jles by a low 1.exican,
for revenge when he got mad at me. You're right mam, I
dont talk like iMaxicans talk, for I aint Lexican
thank Gods I'm Indian mostly. lity mother was a full
blood aloctaw Indian. Dont make no difference what
other blood I has. I am just a man of honor arid of my
word.
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"The first man I ever worked for in my life, be-
sides my folks, was John Ghia= when he lived in Den-
ton County, Texas.
"I was a leader of pack out -fits on horses for
him in 1867 and we would be gone five or six days at a
time, working cattle. I had seven pack leading horses
and five other pack -men had six.
voula lead some and drive some, when we came
;'ew oxico by way of dastle Gap east of pontoon
bridge on the ..ecos River, where the old T ranch_used
to be at slorse .ledd Crossing. ie came up from there on
the west side of the river, to bosque ;1‘einde, about thirty
five miles north east of where Roswell is now, but it was
all wide dry prairie then, and lots of coyotes and
prairie dogs and nothing else living until you got to
six mile hill west und found antelope. The Pesos diver
was the deadline for buffalo. 4: never saw one west of
the river in my life.
"I was with General 'ocKenzie's outfit in 1872. e
was a great Indian fighter, even before the time .(4-
Geronimo commenced his murdering and stealing. Geron-
imo vias a terrible hard Indian and all ew i.axico dreaded
and feared hir. 'Jut they say %there's honor even among
thieves, and I never heard of him harming a woman or
child.
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"he wus u bitter old wan after he was in cap-
tivity at Fort Jill. Je would stand for hours facing ki
his old hunting ground, with his arms hanging helpless
never saying a word. It aint because I have Indian blood
in me I say it, but the whites crushed the 4lidian people
who were here in this country first. Do you know what
become of the i.ost Tribe which came up missing when
oses was leading them through the wilderness?
they swung around that mountain it was Mt. Ebo I believe
and they wandered 'roun and 'roun and finally crossed
the narrow ohannel in the Canada course. They was the
beginning of the Indian people Columbus found when he
came. Once a lawyer asked an Indian, where he got some
of his Lasonary. The Indian said, we always had it',
and I believe they did have it before the whites.
In 1674 I was with eneral Davison in
10th
Cavalry trying to capture 4 -one .ulf a bad 4-ndian who
raided with the f_;omanches. _e ;.ina eleven 00LDtlee er
soldiels, 2f pieces or artillery (cannon, 78 heed of
cattle, and nit l cow -boys. e pulled in and fixed up
for a camp at hite iish,where we were going to cross
icleiland Creek, and here come a stampede of buffalo.
rought buffalo fro nine to eleven at niOit. Je had
to „dock tne char ing buffalo with the dead ones as we
snot tnem to keep them from running through our camp
.15,00
out -fit. e utu been snort on supplies, eatiu only
one nsrd thck for e rel. After tnnt we had plenty or
ea t.
r
lt with in Isms uhd buffRlo you ned to travel
with your eyes open those days.
"I wes menher of the bull ox train, for
Ildersou, buffalo niter on th i•tk-ed Plaine in 18%.
1 wnli one of tYe fifteen skinners in ca e worked
over tree und four Aundred buffz-,110 surze .lays. In
,ciptemb r t!ie 6tner1.1 course of buff?::lo trevolinki we
south-west and in summer it was north-east.
1 huvo skinned buffnlo, nerd cO.hep, cooked, drove
bull ox watolis, and barbed here in iioswell. f.e lust
turee years have aot1blcI up on me for I've had it so
hard stn oh my vire dieu. I am al i tired no. ornu dhy
I will tell you more. u tril write n book of hll tne
t- a LI. 6.14U 1 -ore Ives the old hot-tezolle
non."