Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-05-23
GOTHAM WOMAN
SAYS SHE SAW
MASSACREs HERE
Mrs, Ida Powell Priest Gives
BIood-curdIiog Interview to
New York World About Al
legged Indian Atrocities,
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE ro soss,so JOURNAL


tBy Guthrie Smith)
Santa Fe, n NJ, May 22.--Albu-
querque, the scene of Indian butch
cries in recent years? impossible"
exclaims all New Mexico, stunned
and Mortified. Bht it is not impossi-
BILE, according to a distinguished per
sonage who declares that mot sol
many years ago" she was in Albu-
querque when the massacres occurred
From her insistence that the women
Of today lie taught to defend them
selves and their families in time of
need, it nigh reasonably be inferred
that there. may be a recurrence OF
these butcheries in Albuquerque any
day
Mrs Ida Powell Priest, marshal and
president of the American Woman's
League for Sell Defense. so informs
the readers of the New York World.
The interview was given to the World
on the day of the great parade and
demonstration for preparedness. The
part which relates to New Mexico and
concerns New MeXicans Is as follows:
what MIS-. EFItst says.
Blood and iron must have been the
food Of my childhood declares Mrs
Priest. who is short and plump and
rosy, with fluffy blonde hair. Be
fore | was nine years old handling
firearms was my greatest pleasure
Every morning | would skip off from
our home i'm the north woods of New
York state to my uncle's home, where
there was large shot gun. With fun
powder horn and lunch crammed
into my pockets. would trudge
through the woods all day shooting
at birds and trees.
4 Narrowing Tale.
what makes me preparedness
enthusiast now is my conviction that
women should be able to defend
themselves in time of danger. Not
So many years ago | lived in Albu-
querque, ~ NJ a border town but
short distance from the scene OF the
recent Mexican raids This region
was infested with Indians, and ] have
sometimes seen white women stagger-
ing through the streets. crazed, after
having seen their families murdered.
The Indians would lie in wait for the
men folks, who would be trapped ana
murdered These scenes made me
heart aud soul for teaching women
TO defend themselves and their fami-
lies in time of danger
This will be news to all the citizens
Of the southwest Grave as may seem
the danger. ii will be joyful news, ana
many and hearty will be the laughs
fhereat. Far be it from any son OF
The old south to fail so far In chlNalry
fo woman as to insinuate that this
fair daughter Of an American pale
face has erred in the slightest in her
statement that Albuquerque is Dor
der town quite close to Columbus anu
the Big Bend region; and that llille
and again she has beheld lhe eVi-
dence of Indian massacres IN the
streets of that wild and woody Alpu-
nuerdue. If she says so, it goes. Hls-
tory records the revolution Of the Pu-
ohio Indians in this valley Of the RIO
Grande nearly two and nan cen
turtles age and no massaeres since
then Possibly she was in Albuquer-
oue at that time. This is giving her
the benefit Of any and all possible
doubt She says she saw the Indian
massaeres. The Indian stuff was
pulled in 1850.
The Movie Theory.
There is one other way she mish'
have beheld Indian massacres. Any
one of AlbuQuerque's -four good mo-
tion picture houses would afford her
the opportunity every once In WINE
In the movies they do it. While Al
buauerque really is not far from New
York. she need not make the journey
which would take her away from New
York for perhaps the greater part OF
q dav pictures showing graphicaly
the horrors of Indian hutchefles may
lie seen in New york.
\ Border Town.
Albuaueraue border town POS
sihlv she means "border' in the sense
NJ ON the border of CIVILIZATION
frontier town. Her qualifying stare
ment that il is but a short distance
from the scene of the recent MeNica"
raids makes il hard to escape the III
ference that is on the Mexican Dor
der The official Railway Guide ac-
cented as authority Throughout .ns
rrnited states. shows the distance pc
. ri p.sn and Albuquerque 10