^ n 4H + REMINISCENCED A REMINISCENCE, A. F And is It that the haze of "inef Makes former gladness loom so great Tiio lovvness of the present state, That sets the past in this relief ? Or that the past will always win A glory from its being far: And orb into the perfect star We saw not, when we moved therein 'f — TtnnyHoii. Carthage, Mo. E. SKEWtb & Co.. PRlNTtKa AND BINDERS. 1883. 205449 '13 A PREP-HCE. If a perusal of the following pages, which have been written, it is almost needless to state, without any pretentions to literary merit, serve to recall to the inemoiy of a few Englishmen, who lived tosrether for a short time in the south- western Dart of Missouri, one or two pleasant episodes in a life which had few charms for them, except those of novelty and freedom, the idle moments frittered awav over the compilation of this remi- niscence will never be regretted and will be more than compensated for by the grateful feelings of their friend and associate. The AuTiioK. A REMINISCENCE. PART I. Althougli we had been looking forward to leaving for Xew Mexico for the last three weeks, the orders we received on the 18th of January, 1883, that we were to be ready to make a start on the following morning at 9:20, seemed to throw us all into confusion, and it was only with the greatest of exertion on the part of Will, who was suffering from a severe attack of neuralgia, that he was enabled to accom- plish the necessary preparations for a long journey to a new, and, by him, an untried country. The evening before we left Peirce City we were visited by our friend, Mr, Hill, 8 A REMINISCENCE. who came to join us in a final smoke and to say "good-bye" to "the boys," whom, in all probability, he will not see again for many years; and happy were the remi- niscences recalled of b^^-gone days spent at Fnlmur. No matter how auspicious the occa- sion or how jovial the party assembled, there is always something inexpressibly sad, when men uieet together to take leave of each other, and, as if the object of such a gathering were not gloomy enough of itself, there always seems to be some dismal individnal present who will try to forecast the future and speculate as to whether it will ever fall to their lot to be thrown together on earth again; and, though, out of the hundreds of men we meet and know, there are oidy a few whom we can call "congenial spirits;" oidy a few with whom we can* laugh over and over' again at the same old joke that seems to A KEMIXI^^('EN^E. 9 increase its mirth-provoking power the oftener it is repeated; only a few with whom we can sit in the same room for hours without saving a word and yet feel perfectly at ease, and only a few with whom we have that mutual magnetic sympathy, when a single glance flashed from one to the other seems to give utter- ance to what is passing in the uiind of each, and "thought leaps out to wed with thought, 'ere thought can wed itself with speech," yet there are many "farewell gatherings," which, in spite of the absence of these chosen few, derive all their sad- uess from the fact that the same par- ty in its entirety, in all human proba- bility, can never be collected together again: for though at school, at the Uni- versity, and even at ranches in the far West, men meet and talk and live togeth- er, and when the separation couies, the partings are "such as press the life from 10 A REMIXISCEXCE. out young hearts," it is very, very seldom that they are ever brought face to face again. In spite of the knowledge that we, who had been living together so harmoniously were destined shortly to be separated, we had never seemed to realize that our party would be broken up so soon and so suddenly, and we could not but feel de- pressed at the thought of it, despite the hopeful way in which we talked of a speedy reunion, if not on this Continent, at least on the other side of the Atlantic. Charlie, whom we were to leave behind, came to mv room, before going to bed, for in- structions during our absence, and it was not long before Jack came ambling in, with his thumbs in his waistcoat pockets, and puffing great volumes of smoke from his mouth, settled himself comfortably in an easy chair and began to recall many pleasant and amusing incidents that had A REMINISCENCE. 11 happened during the time he had been staying with us. But before we said "good-night" I could not help thinking that it was "the lowness of the present state that set the past in this relief." The next morning (the 19th) was the coldest I ever remember. A blizzard had struck Peirce City during the time that we were in the arms of Morpheus, and when we rose the wind seemed to cut right through our wooden house and freeze us to the very marrow. Of course all was bustle and confusion; Will was immensely excited and running here and there and forgetting and sud- denly remembering, then after all, leaving behind things that he meant to take with him, and in spite of his reiterated as- surance that everything had been sent to the station, the transfer waggon had to make a second expedition to the house to 12 A REMINISCENCE. take down a portmanteau that had been overlooked. After a hurried breakfast we walked down to the depot and were met there by Captain Purdy, Avho, during the time we have lived out here, has been to us a kind and valued friend, for whose many acts of hospitality, sound advice and ever-ready assistance in our many trials and difficul- ties, we cherish the warmest feelings of gratitude. He, and Mr. Stayner, who came from Toronto on the St. Louis train, and Mr. Bennett together with Jack, Will, Andrew and myself formed our party, ^fr. Hilt and Charlie were at the station to see us ott', and many others who were hardy enoUi>-h to fear no ill effects from exposing themselves to the cold, piercing, north wind. A\'ill was, as usual, full of hope and excitement, and though he has gone A REMINISCENCE. 13 through enough in this country to damp the spirits of any ordinary individual, he still maintains his cheery disposition, his good temper unimpaired by many bitter disappointments, he derives unlimited consolation from the reflection that *'things are not half so bad as they will be," and is as ready as ever to admit that "every cloud has a silver lining." How much better it would be for us if in all our undertakings we had the pluck and determination to overcome every difficulty, and such resolution as to make ourselves believe that we must eventually succeed, that there really is no such thing as failure, and that our life cannot end as so many others have done in vain regrets and a melancholy moan, "it might have been!" The sleeping car is switched, the bag- gage checked, and as the conductor sliouts out "all aboard" we jump on to the plat- 14 A REMINISCENCE. form of the car and wave "farewell" to our friends as the train stsams out of the station. We pass rapidly by the little wooden shanties on our right and left and after leaving the freight depot we curve round the foot of the hill to the west of the town, which is soon lost to view as we take our seats in the car; the ice is so thick on the windows that we cannot see what sort of country it is through which we are passing, but we know it is only the monotonous undulating prairie lands of western Missouri and Kansas, with here and there a break of a gully or a few storm-beaten trees, but there is nothing either to excite the admiration or gratify the eyes of a traveller, so we pass the time in chatting, smoking and reading. We stop at long interval at road-side stations without either increasing or di- minishing the number of our fellow pas- sengers to any appreciable extent, but at I A REMINISCENCE. 15 Columbus one man enters the car bring- ing with him a cold waft of frozen air and standing with his back to the stove gives vent to the remark for the benefit of general information, that "it's a kinder chillv," the thermometer beino- 10^ below zero, and he "guesses there is another blizzard coming." Though, undoubtedly, there are many advantages in the American system of railway travelling, I cannot bring iiv/self to prefer it to the English mode altogether, •Apart from that predilection for exclusive- ness, which is characteristic of English feeling, and a desire for privacy, which in so many cases influence our minds, there is something very repulsive in the idea of a lady being obliged, perhaps, to sit next to a man who is not over cleanly in his habits or his person, nor particularly choice in the selection of his language, and it is wretched to think of a car full of 16 A REMINISCENCE. people having to luulergo the agonies of listening to ten or a dozen children screaming and crying. I do not refer to trains on the eastern roads, or to lines on which Piilman cars or cars with reclining chairs are provided at a small extra charge, but on many of the trains in the West it is impossible to escape the dis- comforts, as they have only just sufficient accommodation for the number of passen- gers. The conductor seems to hold a position which is not analogous to any held by the officials on English trains. He is more like the captain of a ship, and should his scrutinizing eye detect any wretched wight travelling without being provided with the necessary ticket or without the means of paying his way to his destination, he has the train stopped, and the offender is set down, no matter how far he may be from a station. Most of the officials are courteous and con- A REMINISCENCK. 17 siclerate in looking after the comfort of passengers, and I must say that "our" conductor exercised his prerogative in a manner most gratifying to those who were under his charge for the time being. We arrived at Oswego about 1 o'clock, where a stoppage of twenty minutes was made and where a 'bus with seats all frozen was in readiness to drive us to an eating house for dinner; the meal was meagre in the extreme, but an injunction from Andrew (who made the very best use of the twenty minutes at his disposal) to be thankful for small mercies, and to "eat hearty" as it was uncertain when we should get another meal, had the desired effect of producing a feeling of satisfaction when we paid up the fifty cents as com- pensation for the repast we had enjoyed (?). We had a long, dreary, monotonous "ride" to Halstead, which was reached soon after 8 o'clock in the evening, and as 18 A EEMINISCEXCE. soon as the train stopped our ears were gladdened by the sound of a voice in a familiar brogue shouting out: "Jest put your things doon, and I'll take 'em up to the hoose mysel." , "Hello!" said Will, "I'll bet you he's from Glasgow. Say, ain't you from Glasgow?" "No sir, I come from Edinburgh; have you been there?" "I guess so," said Will. Then these two Scotchmen engaged in ananimated conversation as we walked from the depot to the 'Frisco House, and after they had exchanged confidences, we learned that this porter of the hotel was but another instance (of which, alas, we know so many) of the effect of giving a too ready credence to what we hear and read. Plow many of the younger sons of our English fam- ilies, who have been sent out here to A REMINISCENCE. 19 make a name and fortune for them- selves, have become victims of the wily intrigues and rascally designs of unscru- pulous land agents; being led on by fictitious promises of golden harvests and future prosperity they have become a prey to the temptation to embark in en- terprises for which they had no qualifica- tions; then, when they have spent all their money they have begun to find out that they have been deceived, and after en- during privation and want and under- going the greatest hardships, they have had to resort to the most menial occupa- tions in order to obtain their daily bread. We were agreeably surprised at the accommodation afforded us at the hotel at Halstead. A genial landlord and a good "square meul" had mors influence in restoring us to an amiable frame of mind after a cold and uncomfortable journey, than any amount of the Budweiser which 20 A REMINISCENCE, Andrew had taken care to provide himself with, while i)assing through the prohibi- tion State of Kansas. The number of rooms in a hotel in a small place of 300 inhabitants, is, of course, limited, and as the proprietor was unable to furnish us with separate apartments, we had, as Mr. Bennett said, "to double up;" Jack and Will, Andrew and I occupying one room. It was intensely cold so we "turned in" with most of our clothes on, and after we had exhausted all our powers of conversa- tion and the laughter which the novelty of the situation provoked had subsided one after the other succumbed to nature's cravings and by an early hour in the morning "the whole of the party was fast asleep." When we woke the thermome- ter was 12"^ below zero, and finding ^perhaps not very much to our annoyance) that no provision had been made for per- forming our ablutions, (as any water put A REMINISCENCE. 21 into the pitcher would have frozen solid in a very few hours) we registered a vow to indulge in a "real good wash" when the weather moderated and rushed, shiv* ering, down to breakfast at 7 o'clock. The train by which we w^ere to resume our journey was wired two hours late from Kansas City, so we waited in the office of the hotel until, hearing the distant whistle, we ran across to the depot, and by the time we were comfortably settled in the "sleeper" we were again on our way to. New Mexico. The accommodation in the Pullman cars- is most luxurious, though I think it cannot, be fidly appreciated by travellers on English railways, as the distances to be traversed are so short, and there is really very little occasion for the use of them: but in this country, where one is on the train often for four or live days consecu- tively, it is easy to realize what a comfort 22 A REMINISCENCE. it is to be able to walk about, sit at a table and read or write, wash one's hands, sleep and smoke just when one feels in- clined. The railroad over which we were to travel, belonging to the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Company is most solidly built and being the property of a wealthy corporation there has been no lack of funds to make it attractive in every way for its patrons. The eating houses along the road are excellent and though the line has only been in existence two years, it is^dready held in very high estimation as a means of transit between the East and the West. Our way now lay through a bleak, bare- looking country, where the ranch-men have to resort to a system of irrigation in order to make their crops grow, as the rain-fall during the year is so slight; but their chief employment is the raising of cattle, which in consequence of the im-. A REMINISCENCE. 23 munity they enjoy (as a rule) from severe cold weather, is to them the inore profita- ble branch of agricultural labour. The monotony of our journey was relieved at Kinsley vt'here we stopped for dinner and after indulging in a most sub- stantial meal we again boarded our car and passed the time in smoking and playing cards, till gradually day merged into night and the moon glittering in the frosty sky, rose in "unclouded grandeur," with her sad wan light, on this wild desert country, sparsely covered with snow, and revealed to us "heaven's ebon vault studded with stars unutterably bright." Looking across this broad ex^ pause of prairie land and "viewing the dismal situation waste and wild," one wa.<* forcibly reminded of the calm, rippling, boundless sea, and the white snow looked more like the foam of the waves as they break on some shallow bed; not a tree or ,24 A KEMIXISCKXCE. a rise in tlie ground to obstruct the distixnt view or dim the cletir horizon where sky and prairie meet. We had supper at Coolidge about 10:30 p. M., and after smokinii: one ciQ:ar we said "good-night" and retired to our sev- eral berths. On the morning of the 21st (Sunday) how different was the scene that met our view! Being rudely roused from our slumbers by a great black face, with "eyes that sparkling, blazed," protruding- through the curtains of our berths, and a shrill voice shouting out "wake-up, wake-up," we found that during the time we had been sleeping we had passed La Junta and Trinidad, and when we woke, the sun was tipping with "roseate streaks". the snow-robeil crags of the Rocky ]Moun- tains, and our train, with two ])o\verful engines attached, was struggling up a o'rade of 184 feet to the mile; before we A KKMIXISCENCE. 2o stopped for breaktast ut Raton we had emerged from the tunnel which crosses the state line between Colorado and New jNIexico. After passing through the narrow canon verging on the coutines of these two terri- tories, the hills which seemed to close in on us and surround us, gradually widened out and there stretched before us a plateau of 200 miles, edged on either side with rugged peaks. As we look out right and left we pass by innumerable herds of sheep and cattle feeding, and here and there a solitary horseman comes in view and disappears like a tigure on a camera obscura, then we see the timid antelope rush in wild confusion from the terrifying noise of the advancing train, and a huge Jack rabbit darts from the track and bounds along in his headlong course in- stilling fear into the breasts of the tiny gophers, of which we just catch a glimpse 26 A KEMINISCENX'E. as they dodge into their holes for safety. Only the noise of a passing train, then all is silent as death again. The utter loneliness of the place seems to pall on one, for the scattered indications of human life, that we pass, in the shape of squalid huts with wreathing smoke arising from their flat roofs, theabodesof those solitary settlers who have taken Horace Greely's advice "to go west and grow up with the country," are separated from each other by long, long intervals of dreary unculti- vated prairie land; not a sound to mar the dreadful stillness of the air, save the quivering of insect wings amongst the grass and the occasional howl of a hungry wolf, squatted on the top of some neigh- bouring bluit'. The atmostphere has become so raritied at the height we have attained above the level of the sea, that the distant hills whose sides are thicklv covered with A REMINISCENCE. 27 pignon bushes, through which the wind is blowing with a crisp metallic sound, seem but the distance of a stone's throw from us, whereas in reality they are miles and miles away, and everything appears clear and distinct but diminutive as if we were looking through the wTong end of a field glass. Shortly after leaving Las Vegas we see on our lelft Starvation Peak, a bold promintory of rock, on the summit of which a party of seventy white men who were out on a hunting expedition, were kept prisoners by Indians, who surrounded the foot of the hill, till they died of hunger; then farther on we catch glimpses through the trees on our right of the ruins of an old Mexican Cathedral, and while we look the top-most peaks of the lofty mountains are growing purple against the rose-tinted sky, and down below, the vale is full of light, bathed in the radiance, of departing day. At \^^allace some of the Fueblo 28 A KE.MINISCKNCE. Iiuliaiis come down to the depot and tiy to sell the turquoise stone, which they find in the locality, to passengers onboard the train, but they ask such exorbitant prices for the worthless specimens that only Andrew indulged his fancy for buy- ing something from a ''real live Indian." The Pueblos are a small, insignificant looking type of humanity, with low, square foreheads, black, waving hair, bronze complexions, high cheek bones and full lips, dirty in the extreme, and treacherous as all the Indians are. Wallace itself bears a very unenviable reputation as a rendezvous for "desperadoes," '"dead- beats" and "rustlers," and it is seldom that a day passes without some daring robbery or worse crime being committed in broad day-light within a few yards of the depot. So prevalent have these offences become that it is a common thing now for the conductors of the emigrant trains to warn A REMINISCENCE. 29 passengers not to go outside the station when the train stops at Wallace for dinner or supper. Such a state of things should be rectiHed by the greatest deternunation on the part of the vigilance committee to let no culprit escape unpunished, and they should deem no measures too harsh or cruel that would rid the neighbourhood of such a dastardly, mean set of scoundrels. A few more hours' travelling along the valley of the Rio Grrande and v»'e arrive at Socorro where we are deafened by the Babel of sounds emanating from the throats of swarthy niggers, who are shout- ing out the different hotels in the town that they represent. ''Free 'bus up to the Grand Central, the best hotel in Socorro!" "This way for the Windsor, the only first-class house in the city!" These and such like recommendations 30 A REM INISCE^CCE. Were yelled out by the niggers as soon as the train stopped, as a bait to entice the general public, one or two of them a little more obsequious than the rest would per- haps make a personal application for our patronage. ' This custom of employing what are called ''runners," is almost universally •adopted by hotel keepers in America, who pay them a commission on every guest they are instrumental in sending to the house they represent. We took the "free 'bus" and in a very few minutes were safely landed at the ."Grand Central Hotel." It was 12 o'clock on Sunday night when we reached our destination and we were glad enough to find ourselves comfortably housed, after the number of hours we had spent on the cars. PART II. After breakfast the next morning (the 22d) we chartered a "double-buggy" and team, and piloted by Captain Purdy, who was on horse-back, we made a start for the mines in the Socorro mountains. On our way there we passed through the principal streets of the town, across the plaza and up "dead-men's" alley where those who have committed crimes deemed punisha- h\e with death, suffer the dread penalty at the hands of the vigilance committee. Though the method adopted by this self- constituted authority seems in many cases somewhat arbitrary and indeed repugnant to the feelings of individuals who have been accustomed to dwell amongst a law- abiding community, it is the most effectual 32 A REMINISCENCE. way of dealing with those ruffians who will not recognize the obligations they are under, to observe the common law, which is binding between men, when they are under no form of municipal government. The wind was very cold that morning, but the sun was shining bright out of a cloudless sky, and the change to this bracing, exhilerating air after the relaxing climate of Missouri had a most beneficial effect on all of us; we were all in good spirits and felt as if no amount of exercise would produce any symptoms of fatigue. As we drove along the road we noticed on every side how different were the va- rieties of vegetation to what we had seen anywhere else: all kinds vf orchids and cacti seemed to grow in rich profusion, eliciting from Andrew the remark that '•the plants which we nurture with such care in our English conservatories, actually have 'the cheek' to grow wild A REMINISCENCE. 33 here," which little speech had a fatal effect on the propensity Will always exhibited for indulging in a lengthy discourse inter- larded with a few wholesome reflections, when he was favoured with the presence of a sympathetic audience and he thought he could "point a moral or adorn a tale." "Ay, ay," said Will, in the mock-sermon- izing sort of way, wdiich he often affected, putting the -tips of his fingers together, and closing his eyes, "ay, ay; here we may regard them as Nature's /r^^ gifts to us, and I look upon all these new things that we see as good omens for a fresh start in life. We are leavins- the old thino-s behind. This is indeed a grand country and I mean to make 'my pile' here." "You really are the most sanguine man I ever met," I said to him. "Well, I don't know; 1 feel down in my luck sometimes; but 'hope springs eternal in the human breast.' " 34 A REMINISCENCE. "xlnd you forget that 'man never is but always lo be blest.' " "That may be true, but we won't take Pope as an authority on everything: I like to draw my own conclusions from what I see around me. 'Everything comes to those who can only wait,' is not that a quotation from somebody?" , "You must have a devil of a lot of pa- tience if you are going to wait till things come to you; I don't believe in waiting for things, I believe in getting them." "Look at those flowers, you were talk- ing about just now," went on Will, hardly noticing my interruption; "all through the winter they seem to us to be withered and dead, but they are only -wjiting for the genial warmth and bright suns of Spring- to burst out again into fresh, life, and 'expand their light and soul-like wings,' to me, they are emblems of a happy future." i A REMINISCEXCE. 35 "x\nd to me, they are 'buds that open only to decay;' but you would make a first- rate preacher, Will, I am sure you have mistaken your vocation. You are a greut humbug too, and I think that is one of the requisite qualifications !" "I don't want to joke; and I am begin- ning to feel awfully 'blue' at the thoughts of your going away,'' he replied, relapsing into a sombre mood, "we have always 'hit it off' so well together. Do you remember old H used to say 'we don't have much money but we have a of a time? And will you ever forget that night at the 'Southern,' in St. Louis, when the waiter at dinner imparted to us the astounding information that he was an Englishman, by asking us if we would lii\e to have something done, the ^saine us we ''ave at 'or.ie, sir?' and the roars of laughter we went into, when we saw H-- — on skates at the natatorium? Well, it is 36 A EEMIXISCENCE. sad to think that those days are beyond recalling! When you fellows are gone I shall be like the 'last rose of summer, left blooming alone.' " "I suppose you mean that you'll be 'cenLless,' and Jack says you'll be 'dead' in less than six months! " "Ah ! but he means 'dead -broke,' and they say that no Englishman gets on in this country, til! he has been 'dead -broke ' " "It is a pity, then, that more don't land here in that condition." "If you want to see some you have only to take a trip to the north-western part of loiva, and you'll find a pretty c/(?s:ht as well be tears, So faint, so sad their beaniinfi: While memory l)riniis us l>ack auiain Eaeh early tie that twined us. (.)li, sweet's the eiip that cireles then To those we've left behind us!" Ill ''Charles O'Malley" ''tlie Adjutant;' when telling his storv, is made to com- plain bitterly of the cruelty of the fates that had doomed his regiment to such dreary quarters as Londonderry, and after showing how all the efforts of the officers to make the time pass pleasantly by giving balls and getting up pic-nics and theatricals met with no success, he goes on to say, "some months wore on in this fashion, and at length — what will not time do? We began, by degrees, to forget our woes. Some of us took to late hours and brandy and water; others got senti- mental, and wrote journals and novels and poetry; some made acquaintances among the townspeople, and cut into a quiet rubber to pass the evening; while A REMINISCENCE. 61 another detacbineiit got up a little love affair to while away the tedious hours and cheat the lazy sun." While writing this brief reminiscence, I have often wondered in which category my charitable associates will be good enough to classify me. I know I should meet with their sympathy if I told them that the general gloominess and lack of amusement in a small western town had driven me, at length, to late hours and brandy and water as a '^dernier ressorl^" and though the honour of being able to claim the acquaintance of the townspeople is not sufficient inducement to overcome the disinclination I always have to take a hand at "whist," and indulgence in "les afci'ires d 'ai::o:tr'' among so many fair subjects as Peirce City possesses, might involve more loss of time than I am willing to incur, yet I am sure they will forgive me if a feeling of sorrow 62 A REMINISCENCE. and regret at our early separation has betrayed me into showing a spirit too pal- pably sentimental, if it has been the means of putting on record one or two incidents that will remind them of some pleasant days we spent together in America. THE END. I I i ^ABY OF CON^"ESS