The rustler., 1891-11-27

master ever foated his banner of vel.
come .'un the outer walls
The kitchens were presided over BY
duslxy maldcns under the tutelnrc ui
experienced old crunes. and ia pre-
eincts were sacred 20 them The din
ing roumx during the hours of mcals-
which were served by boys-wcre as
forbidden % the females a. the mys.
teries of the temple of Isis 20 the rab-
ble IN Egypt
Maxwell was rarely. as FAR as my OBJ
servafion extended. while he lived on
.he rancho" without a large amount
Of money IN his possession. lie had no
safe. however. his only place Of tempo
rary deposit for the accumulated cash
was In the bottom drawer Of the old
bureau In the large room 90 which re
ferred when describing that apartment
II always stood against the wall about
the center on the south side and was
the most antiquated. common pine con-
cern imaginable. There were only two
other drawers In this old-fashioncd
piece Of furniture; but neither Of them
possessed a lock. The third. or lower.
the one that contained the money. did,
but Il was absolutely worthless, one of
the cheapest pattern affording not the
slightest security; besides, the drawers
above il could be pulled out, exposing
the treasure Immediately beneath u
the eupidity Of anyone.
have frequently seen as much as
thirty thousand dollars-gold, silver,
greenbaclSs and government checks
at one time in that novel depository
Occasionally these large sums remained
there for several days, yet there was
never any extra precaution taken to
prevent its abstraction; doors were al
ways open and the room free Of access
10 everyone as usual
once suggested 10 Maxwell the pro
/ priety of purchasing n safe for the bet.
ter security Of his money, but he only
smiled. while n strange. resolute look
/ flashed from his dark eyes, as he said
/ God help the man who attempted Il
rob me and knew himl"
The source Of his great wealth wn'
his cattle, sheep and the products Of his
area Of cultivated acres-barley, oat'
and corn principally - which he dis
posed of to the quartcrmaster aud com
missary departments Of the army in the
then large military district Of New
Mexico, at high figures. His woolcliI
must have been enormous, too, but
doubt whether he could have told the
number Of animals that furnished II OF
the aggregate of his vast herds Of cat
tle-so numerous were they in botl
problems.
lie also possessed large and perfect
ly-appointed grist mill, which was {
source of immense revenue, for whea'
was one of the staple crops Of his many
farms
Maxwell was fond of travelling al
over the territory, his equipage com
prising everything in the shape of n We
hicle, through all their multifarious va
rieties from the most plainly-construct
ed buck board 10 the numbering, buf
comfortable and expensive Concord
instead of springs, and drawn by -four
or six horses. He was perfectly reckless
in his driving; dashed through streams,
over irsigating bitches, stones anC
stumps like a veritablc Jchu, regard.
less of consequences; but rs Is usually
the fortune OF such PERCEPTIONS horse
men-so far as my observation extends
- coming to grief was n rare excep
tion.
The headquarters of the "Ute Agency
were established mt "Maxwcll's Rancho
In early days and the government de
tailed company of cavalry to CAM
there. more, however, for the prestig,
their presence might have on Tn,
"plain's tribes" who roamed along the
old Santa Fe trail east Of the Rator
range than effect on the Utes, whom
Maxwell could always control and whit
regarded him as u father"
On the 4th of July, 1867, Maxwell
who owned an antiquated and rusty
six-pound field howitzer, suggested Il
the captain of the troop stationed ther,
the propriety of celebrating" So th,
old piece was dragged from its plac,
under clump of elms, where il had
been hidden IN the grass and weeds
ever since the Mexican war, probably
and brought near the house. The cap
tain and Maxwell acted the role O
gunners, the former at the muzzle, the
latter at the breech; the discharge wal
premature, blowing out the captaini
eye and his arm off, while Maxwell es
capped with shattered thumb As
soon as the accident occurred n ser
geant was dispatched to Fort Union OF
one of the fastest horses on tn,
"Ranche," the faithful animal falling
dead the moment he stopped in front o
the surgeons quarters, having made
the journey of fifty-ive miles in little
more than four hoursl
The surgeon left the post immediate
ly, arriving at Maxwells late tina
night, but in time to save the ofiicer'i
life, after which he dressed MAXWELL
apparently inconsiderable wound. II
n few days, however, the thumb grew
stubborn and angry-looking; 1t woult
not yield to the DOCTORS careful treat
ment, so he reluctantly decided tina
amputation was necessary. After al
operation was determined upon | pre-