The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1906-01-06
Story OF SEVEN RlvERs.
A Stranger is Told Some Incidents of
Eary Days by an Old Timer.

old timers in the Pecos Valley. The
story begins with a conversation in
the Saloon of "Hoss'' Cummins, and
the main part of the talking is done
by Tom White. Other old timers
mentioned + Gus Stegman. who
comes into the saloon and
that the postofice has been moved
from Seven Rivers to Mcmillan. This
starts a train of "reminiscences. A
tall man named DiEs is referred to
as a bureau of information-but Dills
throws the burden of telling about
escapades of early days upon Tom
White who disposes his two hundred
pounds in a chair outside and with
his feet on the HORSEBACK tells the
stranger some b~lood-curdling as well
as amusing incidents.
He tells of he and his brother j..
Phelps White locating their ranch
near Seven Rivers twenty years ago,
describes a justice of the peace nam
ed Atkins, who got himself appointed
a captain of rangers and then could
not organize a company, and men
tons by name everal other charac-
ters of those days. Atkins the jus.
tice of the peace is said to have &C
quilted a man for stealing a horse ON
a plea of self defense White says:
we had a horse stolen and paid
Charlie Perry seventy-fve dollars to
catch the scoundrel, and when he
came to trial, the fellow said he did
not have any horse, so he stole ours
in self defense, and Atkins decided
that a man had to have a horse, so
he acquitted him"
Much of the story is devoted to
Clay Ellison, a bad man who had a
on, but who was finally killed by a
load of lumber sliding off a wagon
upon him. Ellison had taken charge
of the g and lumber, which be-
longed to "old man" Neatherlin. He
was out hunting Jack Owens, and ov-
ertaking Neatherlin asked him to get
in his buggy and let him drive the
lumber wagon De died with his
boots on.
Bud Wilkinson comes along and
joins White in front of the saloon
m tells about a narrow scape he
had from getting married, when
Squire Milestone tied up three cou-
pies all at the same time. 1t was
intended to marry only n of the o
pies, n the only eason that Will
kinson wasn't married in the bunch
was. that he didn't have any woman
| along. Two of the couples are said
to have paid Judge Freeman $3.50 at
the next term of court to get them
out of the ENHANCEMENT in which the
justice of the peace had placed them.
The story closes with the following
sage remarks:
"You see out here in this Territory
it's easier to get int a scrape than
it is to get out. So if you see any
signs of Keep off the Grass it
wouldn't hurt any if you would keep
off. Lots more men have passed in
their checks for too free a S of
their tongues than ever did for too
free use of their guns.
1--WE were all peaceful and didn't
want anything but to run u cattle
on the free grass. Wed have match
ed a scrap with anybody who would
have tried to run us off the range,
but there was grass enough for "
erybody. so we never a any trou-
BILE; while other folks were fighting
and killing each other, we got along
all right. It's some comfort to mir
that there didn't ever any man go to
his last account any quicker because
of you. You can sleep lots better. I
guess that old chap up there's got a
whole chapter in his book about Sew
en- Rivers. Maybe that's why he's a
lettin' it be wiped out. When those
old adobe walls wash down and a few
generations of us die off, there
won't be anybody who'd ever know