At Fort Stanton nature was a constant source of joy and pleasure. The
nearby streams were fairly alive with delicious fish, so abundant
that a line could hardly be thrown before one would bite. Besides
fish, we had game of almost every variety, and fairly lived on
the “fat of the land.” New Mexico had been called “The Troopers’
Paradise,” and we found the name to be well merited.
Perhaps the very wildness of the country and abundance of game
provoked a lawless element; for Lincoln County, if a good one for
natural supplies, has always been regarded as a rallying point for
desperadoes, and its history is famous in the annals of crime.
At first my wonder and sympathies were excited; but in time the
peaceful security one always experiences when surrounded by
well-armed troops deadened susceptibilities to what transpired
outside. Army officers’ wives hear of bloodshed with much the same
feeling as is experienced by women living in cities when they learn
of frightful accidents which involve the lives of others, but of none
who are near and dear to them.
We passed one happy, peaceful year at Fort Stanton. The houses, built
of stone, which was very plentiful in that mountainous region, were
very comfortable. Each had two rooms, with a detached kitchen and
dining-room about fifteen feet in the rear.
The climate was perfect, the air so exquisitely pure as to lend a
freshness and charm to each day’s existence. To breathe was like
drinking new wine. I cannot pity the isolation of settlers in those
regions, for the beauty of natural scenery displayed on all sides is
ample compensation, and to live is to enjoy. My recollections of that
year are delightful.
Several companies had preceded us, so I had companions of my own
sex. Our amusements consisted in part of driving, and fishing in
streams where success, however inferior the angler’s skill, was
certain. Our wildest gayety was a card-party, and we always attended
military balls. There were not enough officers’ wives to have
dances of our own; but we always opened those of the soldiers’, and
thoroughly appreciated their enjoyment.
Some of those affairs would have presented a strange picture to
people in the East; but the very absurdity and variety of the
costumes and conduct of frontiersmen and their wives, who were always
invited, only added zest to our enjoyment, and the recollections
amused us for days.
One evening so fierce a storm raged that we hardly dared cross the
parade ground; yet our desire to go was sufficient to induce the
attempt. We were fairly blown into the room, and to our surprise
found it filled with the usual throng. How in the world they had all
reached the place through such a severe storm puzzled us greatly,
but there they were.
It was a curious sight, and a still more curious sound, that all
those people produced. The strains of music, the stamping of many
feet, and the wild howling of the wind, all combined to greatly
stimulate our nerves. The excitement was still further increased when
suddenly a loud crash was heard; every one rushed out in alarm to
discover that a huge flagstaff, which it had taken months to make and
erect, had fallen and been splintered into a thousand fragments. The
staff had not been properly secured by stanchions.
The occurrence was regretted, not only because the making and
erecting had consumed much time, but also because it had been
difficult to find a suitable tree tall enough for the purpose. Thus
our towering flagstaff, which had taken many years to grow and
several months to fashion, had been laid low in a less number of
seconds.
Soon after I experienced another fright, quite different in its
nature from the one just related. I now firmly believe an army
garrison to be the most secure place on earth, and in later years
almost forgot the use of keys; but in those earlier days I was always
on the alert.
One night when Mr. Boyd was away I placed a student lamp at the foot
of our bed, and after looking under it in the usual approved woman
fashion, lay down to rest. My nervous fears had only just passed
away, permitting me to fall into a light slumber, when I found myself
suddenly sitting up gazing at the form of a man entering the door. My
heart seemed to stop beating, yet fortunately I had the courage to
exclaim:
“What are you doing here? Leave the room!”
The man promptly obeyed. I sprang up, locked the door, and called the
servants. When I found that my nurse, who slept in the next room, had
disappeared, and that cook, on account of the distance between the
house and kitchen, could not hear me, I felt as if a plan was on
foot to murder me, and endured a half-hour of absolute agony, such as
I hope it will never again be my lot to experience.
At last the nurse appeared, and I went once more to rest; but so
vivid were my impressions of the man that I picked him out next day
from among a hundred; and then begged, on learning that he had been
wandering around intoxicated, and merely entered the first door which
responded to his touch, that no punishment be inflicted.
Beautiful Fort Stanton was not only perfect in natural scenery and
surroundings, but had been improved by excellent methods. Various
officers had from time to time planted trees around the parade
ground; and to facilitate their growth an _acequia_, as it was called
in Spanish, or ditch, had been dug, and the water, constantly running
through it, kept the roots of the trees always moist, so they grew
rapidly and formed a delightful shade in front of our quarters.
We became so fond of our home in that charming spot that everything
else contented us. The mail came, as before, but once a week, and
its arrival made that day a red-letter one in our quiet lives. It
was always devoted to eager anticipations and close watching of
the long line of road over which the mail rider came. If over due,
nothing else could be thought or talked of until he arrived, and we
received our news from beyond the border. Even baby learned to look
for letters, and to expect some token of love from absent friends.
She would forsake her favorite playground near the muddy _acequia_ to
join the anxious group of watchers.
Every one has heard the story of the baby who was taken by her mother
to some performance in San Francisco in the early days, when women
were scarce and babies so rare as almost to be wonders; and how, when
the little one cried and refused to be pacified, an old miner arose
and requested that the play should cease so they might hear the baby
cry. His request was applauded on all sides, and a hat passed round
for the baby, who had reminded those rough men of a home life almost
forgotten in their pioneer surroundings.
My baby was not only of the greatest importance to me, but if I
noticed any sign of the devotion she was expected to receive from
other sources flagging, my displeasure was quickly expressed. I have
since been told that the officers, after reporting for duty to their
commander, would say:
“Now we must go see baby, and report her condition.”
Consequently she received as much notice as if it had been her divine
right. The little one could talk plainly by the time she was fifteen
months old, and amused us all greatly.
In looking back upon those happy days I often wonder how I could
voluntarily have left so dear a home. But after residing there a year
I decided to visit friends in New York, so bade farewell to beautiful
Fort Stanton, not knowing I never should again see it.