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-Mrs. N. C. Totty
Box 677
Silver City, N. M.
Wds. 650
Early days Around Silver City
We used to get quite a few scares in the early days. One morning
while I was living on the Washburn Ranche, Fide a small dog of mine
kept growling and bristling up his hair/
"Fido what's the trouble?" I asked.
Fido looked at me as if to say stay in the house.
I went around to all of the doors and fastened them for just a day
or so before the Apache Indians had been seen.
In about an hour I heard a knock on the front door. I went to the
door there stood an Indian braveWithout any clothes, but a breach cloth
and a pair of moccasins.
I asked, "What do you want?"
The brave rubbed hisetomach and said "Hungry" and Pointed to his
mouth. I understood him to mean he wanted food.
I gave him all of the bread that I had, a pound of coffee some
sugar
and milk. I then pointed out to the line where I had some forty or fifty
pounds of jerky hanging on the line and handed him a sack.
He went out to the line and took every piece of meat off the line.
I was afraid to make a protest as I knew there were Prot bly other braves
near the house.
The old brave came to the house and said, "Shake," and stuck out his
hand. I replied, "Go on away."
The Indian bowed his head to the ground got up crossed himself and
left.
A few hours later on going to the spring my husband and I saw tracks
all around the spring as if there might have been twelve or fifteen
braves at the spring, who had waited while the old brave came up to the
house after food.
A few days after the old brave was at our house everything seemed
so still even the air seemed to be held in suspense. My husband happened
to look out the front and saw something moving. He told me to take the
baby and crawl through the yard and up the canon. I got some quarter of
a mile from the house before I ever stood up to walk.
Geronimos Indians had been causing some trouble and we were so sure
that the thing Tom saw was an Indian we didn't think to investigate, when
Tom saw that a donkey had only strayed out close to the house he started
up the canon after me. In those days people did call as we never knew
when Indians were around.
When I heard my husband coming up the canon I thought the Indians
had discovered me and I started up the canon as fast as I could go. I
ran until I felt that I couldn't go any farther, I stumbled, but got up
and vent on. The last I remembered was a hand grasping me by the shoulder.
When I OMM8 to I was at home in bed. My hisband was sitting by the side
of the bed.
I asked,""What happened?"
Tom siLd, "I chased you up that canon for a couple of miles. I over-
took you just as you fainted. As soon as I discovered that our Indians
were donkeys I started out to overtake you, but was afraid to call you,
but it looked as if I was going to be unable to overtake you until you
fainted. You sure can run."
"loll anyone can when they think their life is at stake", I returned.
I was in bed two weeks as my feet were so cut, brused, and welled,
that I couldn't walk. There wasn't a foot of my body that hadn't been
scratehed by the brush and rocks in my flight.
Informants Mrs. Tom Johnson