Albuquerque evening citizen., 1907-01-28

regard of the expense of the neces-
stiles and luxuries of life. Under his
Indifferent direction. thousands of
acres of his grant were cultivated i'm
a most primative fashion by native
Mexicans, who. though as complete
ly enslaved as the vassals of the
ancient Goths and Saxons, were
nevertheless kindly treated. His word
was absolute law with them. They
loved their master as friend and
kindly adviser. and never appealed
to him for amelioration of their con-
dition i'm Vain-provided the lord OF
the domain did not shrewdly suspect
them of misrepresentation.
Maxwells home at Cimarron. which
is still standing. was as much of a
palace as the time and the country
afforded. Soms of its apartments
were most sumptuously furnished
after the prevailing Mexican style,
while others were devoid of every
thinb but table, chairs and cards for
poker or 'old sledge." He was an
inveterate gambler on occasions
when his winnings were heavy. he
would sometimes lend to the winner.
the next morning. two or three times
as much as he had won from him.
Though he played for amusement
only. and never with any whom he
did not number among his personal
friends he always insisted upon a
stake. Many men who were widely
known throughout the southwest in
those days were his guests, and most
of them had cause to remember his
prowess at the game of draw" Kit
Carson, Ex-Governor Thomas Boggs,
Richens (Uncle Dick) Wootton. Don
Jesus Abreu, Colonel Ceran st. Vrain
and other men whose names are well
known in the pioneer history of the
Santa Fe trail made his home a
rendezvous for years. He was a
great lover of horses and not in
frequently made enormous wagers
on the results of races He owned
some of the most finely bred and
fleetest horses in the west, and re-
posed unlimited confidence i'm their
ability to win. At one time he caus-
ed to be inserted in the Kansas City
newspapers advertisements calling
attention to the virtues of one of his
pet racers named Ely" Offering to
wager many thousands of dollars
that she could win over any other
race house in the United States. At
this time Maxwell was president of
"A bank which he had established in
Santa Fe. A waggish Kansas City
banker cut out this advertisement,
pasted it on a letter-head of Max
wells bank, and writing beneath in
the words, Banking in New Mexico"
hung it i'm a conspicuous place in
the lobby of the Missouri institu-
tion.
The rooms devoted to the culinary
department of Maxwell's great house
the kitchen and two dining rooms,
one for the men and one for the wo-
men-were detached from the main
residence. Men who visited him
rarely saw women about the house
only the quick rustic of skirt a
hurried view of a rebosa, as its wear
er, evanescent as the lightning. flash
ed for an instant before some win
dow or half-opened door, told of
their presence" wrote one of his
guests i'm later years. His table SER
vice was for the most part of solid
silver. Covers were daily laid for
more than dozen persons, and va
cant chairs were seldom to be seen
In addition to his invited guests
many forced themselves upon him as
the result of his widely advertised
hospitality to all comers; others came
to him through necessity. as the re-
suit of the location of his home on
the main line of travel into the ter
ritory at the point where the as
cent of the mountain range to the
west began. Coach-loads of passeng-
ers were frequently bloodhound at
the ford in the Cimarron at this point
and compelled to remain at his home
until the subsidng waters permitted
a continuance of the journey.
Maxwell invariably kept large
amount of money-from twenty-five
TO fifty thousand dollars. usually in
gold and silver coin-in an old bureau
standing I'm the main room of his
/ house. The drawers were never
/ locked, and no precautions for its
/ protection We're ever taken. This
| money was the proceeds of the sales
of his sheep, cattle and grain, prin-
cipally to the army, at figures which
would stagger purchaser today.
For years he made no effort to keep
/ track of the number of his sheep
nor of the amount Of his wool clip
When his American lord was not
at home entertaining his friends, he
| was visiting others. He loved to
travel in state. He owned almost
every conceivable style Of vehicle, but
on his longer journeys, as when go-
ing to Taos, Santa Fe or Las Vegas,
he usually travelled in great
thorough-brace Concord coach drawn
by six or eight horses Men who
are living today and who accom-
panied him on some of these jour
neys say he made II rule to take
small arroyos and irrigating bitches
at gallop. regardless of the con-
sequences To his equipage his guests
or himself
One instance will serve to illus
trate Maxwells nerve. on July 4
1867, he caused to he hauled from Its
place under the cottonwood trees that
fringed his home an ancient howitzeI
which had lain there since the day
the valiant General Don Manuel Ar
milo learned OF the approach OF
kearney's army. With the assistance
of captain in the regular army sta
toned at the barracks nearby. he
loaded this gun two thirds of the
way TO the muzzle and prepared for
a grand salute I'm honor of the ma
tion's birthday. A premature dis.
charge followed, blowing away the
captains arm, destroying his eye and
shattering MaXwelrs thumb. A sol.
der was at once ordered to Fort
Union, at a distance of nearly sixty
miles, which he covered In foul
hours his horse the daatast a., No.,