The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-03
SHOOTTHE CUSSED PIANO
NOVEL EPISODE OF IRELAND WAR
IN LINCOLN COUNTY, y. NJ.

They Wreck the Instrument with
Which She Encouraged Her Parti-
sans-UniQuo Ranch Ball Given by
the Earl OF AyIesford.
From the PauadeIphia Tines
"Shoot that cussed piano to pieces; it's
making too much noise, came as an official
order from the sheriff of Lincoln county.
New Mexico, TO body Of armed men not
so very long ago. The order was promptly
obeyed. At the moment it was given a
strong woman Of the western type was
seated at the instrument playing March
ing Through Georgia" as nonchalautly as
though war was not going on Just outside
of her doors. Reckless men were firing at
each other to the death about one OF the
most famous homes in that territory. IL
was big fight for acres and power, and
the woman was doing her share in the
singular combat. She never left her post
OF duty. for it was given to her TO thrum
patriotic airs to encourage the men who
were fighting in her and her husbands in
| terests,
| At the instant when Marion Turner gave
this strange direction two dozen men with
| Winchester rifles in their hands opened
| fusilade upon that piece of musical mahog-
| any inside the house that very soon put
stop to the music. The woman never left
the piano until 1t would no longer give up
| a tone. The circumstances Of the hour and
the conditions Of life thus shown, peaceful
| and menacing by turns, form one of the
most singular events IN the frontier life Of
this country, and fittingly illustrates that
| courage does not always belong to man.
Mrs. Chisholm, a wonderful oman, took
her chances in what has long been known in
| the west as the Lincoln county war, one of
| the most thrilling Of the many tragedies Of
frontier life that can be told or written, and
they are as numerous as the hours of the day
and the days of the year.
| Mr.. Chisholm was q character. She
| was OF about medium size. strongly built,
and endowed with great will power. She
had seen much of the wild life of the far
west, and followed her husbands fortunes
| while he made money. She did not seem
the slightest disturbed while bullets were
swapping the wires of her Instruments, and
the battle outside was apparently no more
to her than mere incident of the existence
Of which she has seen so much. Yet with
all this show Of spunk, she vas by no means
a coarse womau-becauss she was a
musician and fond of books; rather a
strange combination to find in female sur
rounded, as she was. with rude men and
the secluded belongings of ranch life.
The controversy which filed her piano
with bullets while she was playing on it
took place on a fine range of acres in Pecos
valley, one of the few fertile spots aud good
tracts for grazing in New Mexico. 1t begins
at Toyah on the Texas and Pacific railroad
and runs north for many miles. 1t is well
watered by the Pecos river, which courses
through the low lands from point in west
ern Texas far into New Mexico. The stream
is fringed with stunted timber, such as is
found In that southwestern country, where
the mesquit and the cottonwood are about
the only trees. What a contrast to the
great portion Of New Mexico one finds in
some few spots. Here aud there are little
valleys along the scarce water courses that
are beautiful and fruitful. They are more
charming because of the general deco
latlon. They are bright as a diamond found
in the sand. The verdAnt cotton trees, the
growing plants. and the shooting vegetables
charm the senses when found in the midst
of dreary mesa, a wilderness of mountains
or a waste of sand hills Travelling for hours
without seeing a green and thriving field
naturally makes the sight Of anything that
suggests good vegetable life very cheering.
The Pecos valley is one of these touches OF
fertility where everything can be raised and
many cattle grazed. 1t is less importan.
than the Rio Grande, but nevertheless very
valuable becausei it furnishes that one every
day necessity which is scarce in this coun-
| try-water.
Years ago Mr.. Chisholm settled along the
Pecos valley and took up all the government
land that he was permitted to by law. Rail-
roads had not penetrated that territory vet.
and all OF the crudest Of primitive condi-
tiOnt surrounded the settlers. It did not
take him long TO see that be had O fortune
within his reach. He reached for it and
found it. The operation was a simple one
then. 1t is not so now. Plenty of men in
the territory have profted by bis example
l 49, 4 St.
destroyed by rifles 1t was then easy to
evsde the law in regard to actual residence.
The employer could put some employee on
the land, build for him something costing
a few dollars, in which the man
could dwell, or ostensibly live the
few months required by the govern
ment to obtain an actual residence on pub
lie land. When this farce was complete
and the employe received his patent he
would get a few hundred dollars from the
big landlord for valuable piece of prop
erty, where water could be found and util-
lied for the stock and irrigating purposes
This has been Common practice in the
west for years. and many man has built
up great fortune In this way. Such was
the case with the Chisholms, and the quiet
Of Pecos valley was the scene of their opera
tons until a great ranch was feeding
thousands of cattle.
A few years after Chisholm began the
earl OF Ayiesford an English nobleman,
pursued similar tactics farther northeast.
Toyah was just beginning as a frontier
town, but now it's a good-sized place aud
quite a health resort on account of It's
springs The English earl used to hold
high carnival here and very soon after his
arrival became aEc5wboy Of the most stir
ring sort. He used to stake the gamblers
along the country and his pet hobby was
to import young Englishmen and teach
them the ways Of the western wilderness.
l remember looking upon a Dall that
he gave at Toyah one night, where
a couple Of dozen of English lads of birth
and education attended the festivities, clad
ia dress suits having ali the style that they
would have worn in London; but every
one OF them carried bis six-shooter ready
for business 1t was a singular sight to an
eastern tenderfoct, as thsy swung In the
mazes OF the dance and their coat tails
Topped aside, TO SEQ Colts revolver more
than foot long hanging to every
mans belt The affair was a great
blowout, bus the English earl by assimilat-
ing with the sentiment Of the people amassed
a great property. He is now dead, but his
brother manages the estate. 1t must have
been a strange experience for one of the no.
bility to come into such place, acquire
great tracts of lard without much cost and
live among people who had no respect for
titles, and used to designate the earl as ''the
old man. and his brother, who has succeed
/ D. 49, 81