Chapter 7

The weather was starting to cool off and I had not been to Santa Fe for a while, so I thought that I'd drop in on Saul Jakobs and Doloros before it got cold enough up there to be uncomfortable. Also, I planned to check up on Ruby and friends to make sure that they were doing well. I decided to take it easy on myself and my horse, this time. I put my horse in a likely looking livery stable and paid for two weeks of care in advance. I told the proprietor that I didn't know exactly how long I would be gone, but I would pay any charges beyond the two weeks when I returned.

The train ride to Santa Fe was a welcome two-day change over the two-week horseback ride it would normally have taken. You can bet that I would not have taken a stagecoach! Why two days in the train? Because the train made so many stops and had to swing around so many mountains. Even at a top speed of forty miles per hour, the many stops at the stations and the water stops in between slowed our average speed considerably. Finally we arrived.

I went to my usual hotel and checked in. A message to Saul Jakobs for a social visit resulted in an invitation for supper that night, starting at 7:00. I responded that I would be delighted to attend. Since there was plenty of time, beforehand, I went to Madam Helen's place to visit with her, Doloros, and Ruby.

Madam Helen and Doloros were their usual ebullient selves, but Ruby was quieter. A few minutes of general conversation brought the topic around to Ruby and her apparent low spirits. Questioning on my part revealed that Ruby was not unhappy; she just would like to have a more permanent relationship with a man of her own race. There were not many Negro men in NMT who were educated enough to interest Ruby, and those that were, were already married. I promised to be on the lookout for likely candidates, but I told Ruby not to expect any quick results. She said that she, too, would keep looking, but she was not hopeful; however, she would not give up, no matter how long it took.

The other three women who had come to Santa Fe with her had also found similar employment. Diamond, Emerald, and Jade, the Chinese girl who had been only 13 at the time of her "rescue," were all doing well at other establishments around Santa Fe. They seemed to be happy enough, and met with Ruby often enough to remain friends. I did not consider myself really in their circle of friends, since I had not spent as much prior time with them as I had with Ruby.

As it neared time to leave, Ruby offered me a tumble, on the house, for old times sake, but I had to beg off. I explained that I had a diner appointment that evening, and I had to return to my hotel to prepare. No, it wasn't with a woman, but with an old friend and business associate. With that, I took my leave.

Saul greeted me with a handshake and a hug. He appeared genuinely pleased to see me. I greeted Mrs. Jakobs (Hannle) and Jake, too, and we went in to the dining room. The conversation was pleasant and lively over an excellent kosher meal. I had had no knowing experience with kosher before this, so I really was looking forward to it. Many of the flavors were different from what I was used to, but how much variety can you get camping on the trail or in small town restaurants? I could do with more of this style of cooking if I could just get it.

Further conversation in the parlor let me ask Hannle a favor I wanted. I told them about the orphan children I had stashed away in the cabin near Goshen and explained that I wanted to do something for them for Christmas. Therefore, I hoped Hannle could help me select suitable gifts for the children which would be something that they would like and would be useful. The gifts also had to be small enough to fit into saddlebags. Hannle was enthusiastic and agreed to take me shopping the next day.

The next morning, I met Hannle at her home and we went to the largest store in Santa Fe. We had discussed all three of the children at length the night before, so Hannle had a good idea of the kind of gift that would be suitable. It didn't take much searching to find Sue the perfect comb, brush, and hand mirror set. A bit of a search produced a dress for her sister and it was easy to select two pairs of jeans for her brother. Fortunately, my eye for detail let us settle on sizes fairly easily. I had the purchases sturdily wrapped in individual packages with the store's name prominently displayed on the outside. As a thank you gesture, I took Hannle to a kosher restaurant (they had those?) she suggested. I took her home after lunch.

I went to Saul's bank the next day and deposited my surplus money. My account had grown to over $25,000 and I was very gratified. Saul suggested that I start investing some of this money to make it grow even faster. I thought that was a perfect idea; I already had plans on how to spend some of it. He suggested an investment counselor who had a good reputation for finding conservative investments which still paid off. I went to see the man and was impressed enough to open an account that day. Thus began my climb to real wealth.

I spent the rest of that day and the next lazing around Santa Fe, taking in the sights. I also dropped by for a professional visit to Doloros that night, since I wanted to stock up on pleasure before leaving Santa Fe the next day. I caught the train back south to pick up my horse.

I spent a few weeks roaming around southern NMT with no real purpose in mind. Late in November, I went to Goshen and picked up a pack horse. I loaded it with supplies, including popcorn, and headed for the children's cabin.

When I got close to the cabin, I was startled, but not surprised, to have Sue pop up in front of me, holding her .32 pistol at the ready. She recognized me when I stopped and removed my hat. She let out a delighted squeal, shouted for her siblings, and rushed to me.

"Oh, Mat, we missed you so much!" she murmured into my ear as I hugged her. Ann and Bobby came running up and had to be hugged, too. We moved into the cabin and we all continued to talk without stopping. However, a few minutes later, Bobby and I went out to tend to my horses. We put them into the shed and brought my bundles into the house, for Sue, Ann, and Bobby had truly converted it from a simple cabin into a home to be proud of.

The children had rearranged the furniture, what little there was of it, in such a way as to suggest a separate kitchen and bedroom. The two bunks, providing four beds, divided the single room. A blanket handing from the ceiling provided a suggestion of privacy. The table was near the stove, and the three chairs were arranged neatly around the table. The whole place was probably the cleanest it had ever been.

There were a number of animal skins stretched on frames outside the door, attesting to Sue's continued prowess as a hunter. They should be worth a considerable sum when delivered to Goshen. I even saw one wolf hide—I didn't need to worry about their ability to take care of themselves.

They had worked out a division of labor: Sue hunted and prepared the game, Ann fixed meals and cleaned the house, and Bobby tended the garden. They helped each other as the need arose. They appeared to have their world completely under control, but I worried about their isolation from adults and other children. Unfortunately, I could not come up with a solution to this dilemma, but I planned to work hard on it.

I had a grand time with the children. We played and told stories at night, there wasn't much free time during the day. The advent of cold weather required the collection and preparation of firewood—Bobby's principal task, now that the garden harvest was in. Ann had done most of the preserving of food and most of it was stored in the root cellar. Sue was busy hunting as much meat as she could find, to have a backup in case the weather got too harsh for her to go out. Obviously, my best contribution was a strong back! I mostly helped Bobby with gathering firewood, but there were a few other tasks I could do.

One of the first things I did was measure the children's feet for shoes. I went into Goshen and found a boot maker who happened to have a selection of children's shoes. I was able to find a pair for each of the children, but I knew that they would be growing fast enough that these would soon be outgrown. I had seen what would happen when children wore shoes too small, so I was greatly concerned. At least, in the Summer, they could go barefoot or wear sandals which they could make themselves. When I returned, the children tried on the shoes and pronounced them quite satisfactory.

While the weather was still bearable, I went on a close survey of the condition of the house and environs. Mainly, I was concerned about water availability. Everybody knew about the critical need for water in most of NMT. Where ever possible, we tried to insure that our water supply would hold out; obviously, without water, we could not live. Sue's home was fed by a small stream and a well, so they had a better chance than most. Currently, Bobby was irrigating from the stream and Ann was taking house water from the well. They were in good shape as long as both lasted, but I was more concerned by the stream than I was by the well. It was not going to be practical, maybe even impossible, for Bobby to irrigate his garden if he had to depend on the water he could raise one bucket at a time from the well. As it was, the more I studied the situation, the more I thought that from an engineering point of view, that stream was doomed! Just from the change I had seen between my first visit and this visit, I thought that the stream had three or four more years before it simply ceased to exist! I didn't say anything to the children, but I knew that I had to consider an alternative place for them to live.