Semi-weekly herald., 1916-04-10
er, and not desiring to kill him

stranger, and not desiring TO kill him.
hid out.
Scratching so feet of slick ice with
the hammer of six shooter to keep
"a smooth shod pony from falling un-
der heavy pack and breaking leg
is tedious task, and travelling all
night in heavy snow storm, failing
to reach the Cox ranch, and having
to kick two feet of snow off the
dead grass that the pony might feed
is not playing ring around the
rosey."
On January 2, 1878, there was one>
lone habitation where Pennington
poles, dirt roof.
Bob Bonsall and John Schulstad
had adjoining 160-acre claims and
lived in comfortable dugout at
the Anmas river bank, convenient
to water that was not then pollut-
ed. Johnnie Cutter and A. II. Lin
coin had ranches on the south side
of the San Juan river.
An ounce of tobacco bought a goat
and a quarter pound was the price of
Navajo pony A Navajo would
give a flock of ponies for any old
gun.
1t was in 1873 that the Navajoes,
after receiving rations from the gov
ernment ten years, were thrown upon
their own resources and they We're
ready to meet the situation. In 1868
| kit Carson shaped a campaign that
licked and rounded them up in big
corral. The government gave them
rations for ten years, providing they
did not commit further depredations
In those days the Utes We're al
ways scheming to get down among
the Navajoes to gamble. They were
better card cheats than the Navajoes,
but frequently the latter got even by
stealing the buckskins, saddle trap
pings or ponies of the Utes. A Ute
failing to get the consent of the In
dian agent to leave the reservation
would give some white man whang
of buckskin to write a recommends
tion something like This Indian is
"A thief and cutthroat, watch him,
kick him out" The reader grinned
and the Ute thought him happy.
On the 26th OF December, 1877, the
writer saw the Utes coming into lg
nacio to receive their first rations
ever issued there. Agent Weaver
Pony Pollock and Tom White were
issuing beef and flour. A Mexican
| Penetente came there that night, us
ing a section of a Springfield rifle
barrel for flute. ii. Il. Clifford,
known as Happy Alamosa," a mig
ger singer, long before the town of
Alamosa was thought of, the most
persistent liar during the ages, now
prominent as mining elgineer, was
there. After the Mexican had eat
en- and smoked corn husk, he start
ed weird noise on his thingamajig,
and Pollock told Clifford he feared
the soul withering noise was sig
} nal to confederates to come in, cut
our throats and eat all the beef.
Clifford was silent the balance of the
night.
On election day, 1878, the writer
was sent from Silverton as courier
to the San Juan river to warn the
settlers of the Meeker massacre, and
on reaching Pennington learned that
the Navajoes had already told the
whites, so rapid and perfect was their
means of courier communication.
Until the Lincoln county, New Mex
leo bunch came to the lower Animas,
Indians and whites got along and all
was peace and good cheer, but after
that aggregation of cutthroats got
in and got their feet warm, nobody
life or property was safe and there
was no peace, but those who are not
dead are out of the game. But while
they lasted hell popped everywhere,
reaching over to pitched battle in
Colorado.
And the story since that time Is
a winding trail of tragedy some of
the innocent went down with the gull
, ty-many of the latter got away
Frank Nee. Hartman, in the Ala
mosa Empire.