CHAPTER XI.

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.