El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-20
A Stage Ride In New Mexico
OF A Little Journey In Sierra {
Has Eyes To See


skelter an arrangement of the human
baggage, the driver gave US a few
nerve-trying whirls and plunges, and
then set out at q steady pace over the
grassy spaces among the hilltops. And
the sun was low in the west, the peaks
were blue and shadowy against his
glowing light, while in the east
all were rosy.
OF course, we On top piled the driver
with questions. He was one of those
big, bronzed, soft-voiced westerners
with Il Wrinkle in his eyes. Equally, of
courst, we did not get any stories for
our questions. With that eternal
sense of the ridiculous that usually
keeps the men of our country from
telling heroic tales of their own deeds,
this westerner turned all of his stories
into jokes.
Eyes, there was q hold-up on this
line once before my time. The stage
was plugged full of holes, but nary pas
senger or horse was hurt; the robbers
got & silver watch and half dollar
from niger soldier, though.
"A noted phrenologist from Wash
.ngtOn came out with me once, and he
asked me If there were any Indians
about, and told him yes. plenty. A
little while after he pointed to some
prospect holes and asked If they were
Indian houses. I said yes. He said,
were there Indians in them now? 1
said they only slept there nights. He
said didn't they make the country
pretty dangerous. 1 eaid yes; some
times we had to go out and shoot
hundred or so Of them to keep peace in
the family.
Another scientific man from Wash
ington-oh, there 3 lots comes down here
to this country-asked me while we
were passing that arroyo, If the water
done that. There was water in it then,
and it had been done in single night
by a watsrspout, but it was such fool
question that when he asked if the wa
ter done it, 1 said no, the wind done it,
We were beginning to discover that
the lnquislttve passengers got the
worst of it in getting stories out of this
stage driver, and were charter with
our remarks. AS result we were re-
warded with jolly running fire of
| those little stories about the great
| rock sheltering three men against the
Indians, the story of q prospect hole
and the fortunes of a miner-stories
| that exactly fitted the twilight and the
hilltops and gullies, and must loae
| their SAVIOR when retold in foreign
parts.
AS twilight faded to darkness and
the horses began to climb q long hill
we saw lights twinkling in the win
dows of a little house at the foot of the
hill. 1.-The man that lives there came
from the east expecting to make his
fortune here and go back to marry his
girl. Every year he'd just get through,
but he kept hoping for luck and that
he would go get her. After 40 years
| she died in the east and he never saw
her after he had courted her, and
then left her to come here to make
their fortunes. He's q queer enough
I,l6 fnl d.
won't accept pass-even when he
was very poor, he wouldn't-said he
didn't think it was right. but just the
same he defended Mexican and got
him off for killing his wife-and the
Mexican ID already killed two-one he
tied to load of wood and whipped the
horses into a run down hill and into
the creek
THE HIGHLANDS OF NEW MEXICO.
These highlands of New Mexico are
very different from Ell Paso. They are
covered with thick, long grass
brown and dry-but pleasant cover
ing for the earth, many cattle Craze
over the hills, some of the gullies have
water in them, and trees and hills
and mountain peaks are curiously top
ped by rocky sky-lines that look like
walls and towers, and In the twilight
suggest all manner of romantic strong
holds, castles and Notifications. Long
ago volcanic upheavals gave them
these strange outlines.
Well. we finally came to Hillsboro,
babe goodnight to our acquaintances
on top of the stage, clambered down.
and as we left in the darkness we heard
the same voice that had Interpreted
accounts of the fight, tales of the trial,
stage coach stories and meditations on
the sunset with his highly-wise and
moral conclusions that IA man can't
burn out his stomach with liquor and
expect to succeed in life"-we heard
him ask the stage driver for 1.-The bar
ROOM" We had hoped he was as
good as he was tiresome aud as he
thought himself beautiful, but we had
to conclude that his curly hair was bis
only virtue.
These days at Hillsooro were tt be
filed with plenty of live human iuter-
est. The little courthouse on the hill
top was crowded with men and women
to watch the trial for the lives of the
two men well known in the territory.
The II stolid jurors listening to law
yers and witnesses: the six lawyers, sill
prisoners; the "20 good Fl hting men TO
side" this was woven into play, a
living story for US to read with the
characters standing up fore the Judge
aud jury telling how it all happened
ELSIE MCELROY SLATER.
A Night Of Terror.
HAwful anxietv vas fol, fo~ tho