John Hewitt sent out notes calling for a quiet, private meeting to discuss a letter he received from Horace Ropes Gould’s representative
The note said to dribble in at Watsons home around 8pm so as not to raise public knowledge and to keep it to yourself. Asked to attend
The authors
William Watson
Mathew Hoyle
Ed Bonnell
George McDonald
Albert Ziegler
Jones Taliaferro
John Hewitt
Notables not invited : Susan Barber, Emile Ozanne Major Cafrey
William Watson house at 830 pm 1892 Dec 13. Sitting around the dinner table fire crackling, snow falling outside . Hewitt I received this letter from El Paso yesterday I’ll read it and then we can talk about it.
To John Hewitt et al
Subject Railroad
The article published in your towns paper belittling, disrespecting and glad our leader Jay Gould is dead and good riddance was transmitted to his family in New York. I was instructed to inform you and your people regarding a railway thru White Oaks the families position. First as long as the Gould family is involved no railroad will ever be built through whatever your towns name is. Second if in the future the family decides to sell their interests in New Mexico part of the sale will be a covenant to the new buyers That no railroad is to be built through or closer than 11 miles Of said town.
Signed
H Ropes
McDonald I asked the Major why he wrote that he told me that’s how we all feel about that SOB. I told him it will cause problems when it gets back to NY he told me buy my own paper and write whatever I want and walked into the Pioneer Saloon. Hoyle let’s just build our own line from the valley where they have to come from El Paso thru town and up the valley towards Las Vegas. Cant cost more than the $50,,000
We had to pay him. Bonnell: “towns cant build railroads. It takes Federal Government approval.” Ziegler: “We are just fine for now without it so let’s just wait and see what happens.”
Taliaferro: ” maybe we consider making here the center of education and commerce for the county do that they cant by pass us. It wouldn’t take much a brick school a first class post office and a bank , we have talked about all these “.
Hewitt: “ it will cost much less to dress the place up like you say than pay extortion for a railway ”
Bonnell: “that may work there is no place within 175 miles of here that has these things“
Ziegler: “we cant change our stock levels, advertising or anything to spook the population.”
McDonald: “we make this place the shining light of commercial activity for the whole county they cant ignore that ”
Hewitt: “ if we go that way we better get to getting it done while we can.”
Hoyle: ” we just need to make a new strike or two and to hell with the railroad I mean there cant be just two lodes out here and we have claims everywhere.”
Taliaferro: “this all needs to be kept between us it could make it impossible to do if we get the population to skedaddle.”
Hoyle: “nobodies going anywhere . They have it too good here where would they go anyway “
Watson: “hasn’t said a word he speaks, If we dont get a railway in 10 years this place will be a ghosttown no matter a new strike a bank school or whatever else we do or dont do.”
Everyone just started at the table
Hewitt: “ok enough for today let’s get back together after the new year and make some decisions
And keep this under your hat.”
They did build the best school and post office in the county
And the only bank . None of it mattered. No new strike was made and the railroad went right around town. Watson was right but it only took 6 more years not ten and the White Oaks shinning light was rapidly flickering out.
After the set to at Watsons the authors simply mounted the boys and rode up to Las Vegas. They spent the next two weeks on a spree of absolute debauchery, lascivious, drunken ,violent behavior that is still legendary up that way!!! . It was one to remember and the authors still recall it from time to time