Albuquerque morning journal., 1921-07-11

How the first bottled beer reach
ed Socorro from Albuquerque by
boat in the good old days is de-
scrlbed to the Journal by G. Err
beck, an "old timer" In the south
west who now lives at Hamilton, o.
Erbeck, who was a carpenter by
trade, says that he was the first
man to build flatboats here to
carry freight down the river to
| Socorro.
Along about 1880 he built three
boast, eight by thirty feet. which
were loaded with thirty barrels of
bottled beer. After arriving at
Socorro the lumber from the boats
was used to build saloons in which
to sell the beer. In this efficient
manner both commodity and store
were transported with a single ef-
fort.
In the winter of 1879 Mr.. Err
beck enjoyed shooting ducks and
mudhens in the slough of bull
rushes which used to be where the
busiest part of the downtown dis
trict of Albuquerque is today. be-
tween Second and Third streets and
Copper and Silver avenues. The
country west of Third street to the
Huning flour mill was all sand
dunes in those days.
~ am trying to find out whether
or not there are any living that
belonged to the Old Albuquerque
guards and the first volunteer fire
company" writes Mr.. Erbeck.
"You see came to Albuquerque In
I1S79, walking from Las Vegas to
Santa Fe and then to Albuquerque.
+ was 10 years old, spending my
birthday, November 81. in San Do
mingo pueblo north OF Bernalillo.
'I learned my trade as car
penter in Old Town, working for
one by the name of Leon March,
and. There were then ten or twelve
men doing business in Old Town,
Tom Post, the hotel keeper; Kent,
the druggist; Governor Stover,
dealer in wool and merchandise;
Frank Huning, general merchan-
disc; Ilfeld Brothers, dry goods and
groceries; Marchand. the carpen-
ter: Melcher Werner, county re-
corder; william Morris. the baker,
and two or three others.
"In the spring of 1880 the Santa
Fe came to town. bringing a good
many nglo-Americans. There
were only five adobe houses in the
new town, three on Tijeras road
and two on Third and Copper ave.
nue.. The first big fire Albuquer-
que had was that northwest corner
of Railroad (CentraD avenue and
Second street. 1t cleaned up near
/ ly everything in that block. we
were all good fire fighters in those
days for we saved the ground the
buildings were standing on.
Early Lynching.
1.-THE first excitement l expert.
enced was when California Joe and
lbis gang were lynched in Old Town
iail, three the night they brought
! them in and the fourth two or three
weeks afterward. l helped make
the coffins for them all. After
4 leaving Old Town worked in the
new town for Whitcomb & Medler,
/ contractors.
[ although / was not yet 21 ]
voted and cast my first vote for
/ Mill IOl tOWh
| He did not make a very good man
| for the place for he shot Browne,
an Adams Express company guard,
four times in Anderson's restaurant
on Front street and Railroad ave-
nue. north. Every bullet went
through his body,
"Yarberry was set free for that
killing and continued as marshal.
Then not long after he shot Camp
bell, carpenter from the Atlantic
& Pacific shops He surrendered
again. expecting to be freed again
but fate was against him for he
was tried by a jury and sentenced
to be hanged.
"As a member Of the Albuquer-
que guards I happened to be
standing on an adobe fence but six