Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-08-15
STORIES OF
AN 0LD-T|MER
The Stirring Days Of 63---Au-
brey Shot and Killed by
Colonel Wightman.
BECK-GORMAN TRAGEDY
Seligman Bros, Alone Remains Of the
Many Business Firms Then in
Santa Fe.

"How everything has changed" said
told his experiences of pioneer days to
a representative of the New Mexican.
why, forty years ago, when I came
for the first time to the city of the
Holy Faith, your now beautiful plaza
was barren waste, place where the
freighters found camp and where the
hoo hoo of the tecalote would be
heard in the night time. Then there
were no monuments, no pagoda, no
beautiful little park at once rest for
the eye and the soul. Then the town
was filled with soldiers and there were
officers of all kinds in plenty. On my
arrival I found the territory under mar
tial law and the imperative duty of all
new arrivals was to go at once to hes !.
quarters and then and there take the
oath of allegiance, as well as give a
complete account of himself. General
j. HI. Carleton was then in command
of the department of New Mexico and
Arizona, Henry Connolly, governor of
the territory, and the chief justice was
Kirby Benedict. Then there resided at
Santa Fe, Ashurst, Tompkins, Wheat
on, Cleaver, Hugh A. Smith and John S.
Watts and they were the only lawyers
living in the territory. John S. Clark
was then surveyor-general and his
clerk was genial David J. Miller.
''fn those days the leading merchants
Were Spiegelberg, Bros, Elsberg & AM
berg, Johnson & Co., Staab & Bro, and
Selignan Bros. and of them all I see
today only one, Seligman Bros, and
that firm is f1ourishing now as then,
but the others and many of lesser i'm
portance live only in memory. And
worthy sons of honored sires have sue
ceeded to the great commercial inter-
ests that were most familiar to US of
the early days
'.It was soon after my advent that
the tragic encounter between German
and Preston Beck occurred. German
was one of the leading business men
of the town and he and Beck had mis-
understanding over some trivial mat
ter, but those were days when mems
passions were easily aroused and when
the two men met they slashed each
other to death with bowie knives. 1t
was just about the same time that the
famous plainsman, F. X Aubrey, was
killed by Colonel Wightman who later
met his death in the battle of SPRING
field, Mo-, in the civil war. Colonel
wightman was also a delegate to con-
gress from this territory.
t"Then there were no railroads with
in a thousand miles, and mails came to
dis once a week. The freighting was
all done by wagons and the rates were
high. There were some eight or ten
companies of troops stationed at Santa
Fe and there was work for all. Money
was plenty and good times generally
were enjoyed. The soldiers were paid
In currency and for the first time
sgreenbacks' were introduced into the
territory. But everybody seemed suspi-
cious of the paper even though 1t bore
the stamp of Uncle Sam and had his
guarantee of payment, so, these bills
were readily exchanged at the ratio OF
two-and-a-half for one.
s"Those days were great days and
happy days. There are only a few OF
us old timers left now, but we remem-
her we'll the early times of the terri
torv and of the city of Santa Fe."