Averaging about 15 miles a day as is normal for the team ,we stay at three ore camps equally spaced on the 70 mile transit from Carthage to White Oaks. In the last camp before white oaks the Teamster is asked to take the wagons to Capt Lee and let him decide where to unload, we give him $50 for the freight ($1,400) today to give to Mayer. Mid morning of the forth day we come to the cemetery Southwest of town, wave the wagons on ahead and dismount, walking thru the grave markers. 70 more years and all the people we know, all the family members, everyone will be resting here or somewhere else like it. Makes one think , ponder on it ,realize you are not immune either ,no need to get melancholy, its just how it is, life that is. Too bad mist people don’t realize this fact until way too late.
Crossing the trail that leads into town, we ride up the side of Baxter mountain to get a look see of how the town has changed since we were last here in 1881. Taking turns on the telescope, we look around. Tents and log structures were the norm on our last visit 300 citizens or so made up the town at that time. Now the main commercial street has a few masonry structures, some adobe ones the rest are sawed planking , only saw a few log structures, this indicates an improvement and a permanency. Around 150 homes are arranged south of the main street. Placed on owned blocks and lots. There is an order to it all. Somewhere between 600 to 800 citizens are probably living here as we arrive. 150 years later, this lot and block arrangement and the records created become the basis for our virtual reconstruction. We decide to camp here for the night and come into town in the morning.
Waking up and to our left further up the hill the stamp mill at Homestake bangs away. The steam hoist engine. And the one running the stamp mill make white spent steam and black boiler fire smoke drift off in the blue sky. Bond and Stewart store. The Post Office across the street Mathew h Bellomy is postmaster. Weeds large two story store. Harry Doergers blacksmith and wagon repair. Homestake billiards, town hall (just dedicated) Served as school. Church and town meetings. Pioneer saloon james Redman owner (we make a note of this place). Brothers hotel and dining room (we will stay there)
The homes are mainly sawed planking, tin roofs ,we see wagons loading at the sawmill delivering to about 7 home building sites. Carriage and wagon traffic moves about. Cant make out the faces of the people about from up here. All in all it seems on the uptake , clean Industrious without hurrying. Orderly. A true place to raise a family , just not at all to Steve and my nature. We see no evidence of a place future historians must have invented (hogtown). Don’t think the townspeople would stand for that seeing how the town looks. One could imagine a small town in Ohio, or Indiana scooped up and dropped here in this wide valley. Civilized would be the one word to describe what we are looking at.
It’s a short ride to the Brothers Hotel on west end of White Oaks blvd. Two rooms , three days , over to Paul Mayer’s livery top notch arrangements for the boys. We inquire as to where our kins homes are , while direction is being given, up pulls one of Steve’s kin , so off we go. If you add up both our families, almost 7% of the whole dang town is somehow related to one or the other of us. As the day goes on , more yakking, handshakes, hugs and kisses are passed out than we can handle whom married whom, new babies. New houses , furniture, sicknesses. Injuries. Recoveries, not a single pause in yapping. Around dusk we head out to the livery drop the boys off and walk to the hotel. We stay at the Brother’s Hotel because they also have a Dining Hall located on the premises
Dawn breaks, breakfast, reading local newspaper. We see two advertisements we would like to investigate further. One being, the Pioneer Saloon, and the other the Billiard Hall.( Authors Note:We kept this paper and still have it in our museum today.) Pick up the boys, Mayer meets us and tells us he had been paid by Homestake for a dead head return trip from Carthage and he cant keep the $50 . It was surely worth every penny to us so consider just keeping it, ends up Mayer will credit Homestake mine on their next ore haul. Ethics was alive and well in White Oaks. Turns out ,recently the town was plotted and recognized as a town by the federal government. See Here
Last night it was decided to celebrate May Lee’s 3rd birthday but also have a general city wide picnic to acknowledge the official status of the town. The stuff we brought will help a lot. It will be in the field behind weeds store day after tomorrow. Over to Well's and Forsythe' ice house, turns out we still have about 500 pounds of the 800 we shipped from El Paso needed for immediate storage . Perfect for ice tea. Lemonade and to freeze ice cream at the picnic
Down to the post office, send a letter to Daniel and Bill (family we left to run our Buckhorn Saloon in Pinos Altos) While we are wandering around, “you have a few more weeks till we get back. So if the place burned down or anything else bad happened you two monkeys better fix it.” Was the general message we sent them. Mrs. Watson is also at the Post Office and says the Captain wants us to come over. Out back of the house he and James A are working on a wagon as we pull up. Bear in mind these two men were not talkers so best listen when they did. Captain tells us “want you two boys to know we are proud of how you both turned out ” James a spits a chew, wipes his mouth on his sleeve , looks us in the eye and nods. Dumbfounded we just look at the ground and kick a rock, hands in pockets , like we were young boys again. In life once in awhile someone you respect says something you never forget, this was ours. Back with all the kin folk. We can hardly keep up with all the family news. Both here and the ones still back in Texas. Dusk comes boys back at Mayers to check in on the boys. Stop into Pioneer Saloon and are served by Arnold Ridgeway 31 years of age the owner , the Saloon almost full, we stay about an hour and dang near talked to death, we happily swagger back to Brothers Hotel and call it a day after swaggering over to the boys first.
Breakfast at Hotel. Walk over to Mayers , stop in at Weeds two story store on the way shelves extend from front door to back , floor to ceiling both walls. Main floor has low platform stacked with goods . There is not a lot of quantities like seen in El Paso stores , but plenty of choices. Actually don’t notice any items I might want to buy that weed did not have . Pick axes to sack of flour, it’s all here. Upstairs was primarily clothing. Shoes, bedding, linen. Bolts of cloth and dress material. All shiny. Organized, what else could one ask for out here 70 miles from a railway.
Remount the boys head out to the sawmill. Edward Bonnell is owner, a us veteran of civil war. He carries a Confederate ball in his upper leg which pains him when the weather gets just right. Wood and saw dust fired boiler supply a one cylinder horizontal engine maybe 20hp. Nit real big, 4 foot diameter flywheel pulling a leather 6 in wide belt which drives the sawmill equipment. Cutting 1 inch thick by 16 inch planking 15 feet long mainly for sheathing homes and stores. A few wagons wait their turn to load. Logs come in from the forest as sawing is in process. Edward explained he is running over 80 hours a week and gets more orders than he can deliver. Sounds like a start of a boom town if this keep up
We ride out south to the coal mines and a few new copper mines. There is not much going on. Maybe 6 men total are working. Loop back from the Northeast of town coming in the Jicarilla road, Texas city area of White Oaks. Back to the family dinner and talk fest. Seems to me they may be running out of news. Finally, Mayers, quick stop at Homestake billiard and saloon. Hotel, and bed.
Today is the party, June 3rd. The young boys have been churning away on the ice cream maker and have more than 15 gallons if homemade vanilla set aside covered with rock salt and ice. The deer, beef, and pork are slow roasting on spits over open hardwood fires turned periodically. Collards. corn, beans , tomatoes, potatoes and yams will be made later. Biscuits, loaf breads, pies and cakes make up the menu. A tent awning is erected for the ladies to get out if the sun. Picnic tables with table clothes are set out. Barrels of beer are packed in ice so are tea and lemonade. Looks just fine. All turned out just like you would expect. Fun. Laughing, speeches. Kids scurrying around. Ladies clutches , just wonderful in every way. Around 10 PM we call it a day. Over to mayers and then straight to hotel. Tomorrow will be the last day of our visit.
Today is our last day in white oaks for this trip. Plan on a dinner with all our combined families. When it’s over at dawn the next day we will be on the road to Carthage. So good byes etc will take place today. Pick up the boys and head over to treats butcher’s store . We see a pork and a beef carcass Fresh. Look them over, yep these will work. Ask George how much? He was going to feed them to his dogs. You can have them, maybe make a soup. Rest of the fixens’ are set . Taking a ride around, seeing the sights, waving, nodding, it’s all nice and neat, civilized, pack the whole thing up and drop it i. Ohio or Indiana and it would fix right In, North of the city steam and smoke pour into the bright blue sky from Homestake.
At the captain house family is gathering, all told there will be almost 60 there. In the kitchen, Steve cuts the rib cages into 3 rib sections, both the beef and pork.
Into a cast iron kettle we simmer the meat for a few hours. Molasses, honey, brown sugar, vinegar, sliced jalapenos are mixed in a pot. Covered and simmered. All around its chit chat. Laughing, kids running. No fake attitudes or drama like in the 2019 world. These people actually liked one another. Maybe even loved. Just a mellow scene all day. Over a mesquite fire , the pork and beef is roasted with the sauce applied thick as the meat gets done. James a asked what do you call this?
I tell him. “BarBeQue Ribs” They still call them that in 2019.
From Chance we had mailed a letter to our pals in Lake City. Maybe planning to go home through there even though it adds 250 miles .another friend send us a letter, we received in White Oaks telling us Leary and add name here. Were on their way to Silver City. So no trip to Lake Valley. Towards the end of the party the Captain gives Steve a new set of chaps from the hide of one of his steers. Steve liked them so much , put them on , I looked at my watch when. This picture was taken in White Oaks at 4:07 pm June 2 1885.
Mattie c gave me a wool parka made from their sheep herd raised east of town. Told everyone well be back before you know it. Great trip great people great scenery, not a bad thing the whole way. Breakfast at dawn. Thank Mayer for his care of the boys. Mount up. Head west on white oaks Avenue, out of town , bend to the left. Past the cemetery, White Oaks fades behind us.
Footnote
We returned early November 1892 and were there for the happiest day in the history of white oaks and the Ringling of the death bell of the place all in the span of two days
