Chapter 3

The rest of 1883 was a total loss, and 1884 started out that way. Finally, I realized what my melancholy was doing to Sarah. She had gone from a happy, bright spirited child to a dull, don't-bother-me one while I had been so morose. Somehow, I had been able to dampen her spirits completely.

I set out to correct my dreadful mistake. At first, I forced a happy attitude, but, as I interacted with Sarah, I found it less and less necessary to force it at all. With Sarah around, I was happy! Sarah's attitude changed as mine did; we seemed to pick each other up. At last, we were both able to smile and mean it.

We went riding and picnicking whenever we could. We spent every moment we could with each other. We got to know each other so well that we could communicate with a glance. It was almost as if we could read each other's mind; we often knew the other's thoughts before they were spoken. We absolutely delighted in each other's company.

It was about this time that I realized that Sarah would one day inherit the ranch. Oh, I knew that she would eventually marry and the ranch would then belong to her husband, but I wanted her to know everything she needed to be able to run the ranch, herself, if it ever came to that. Therefore, I started looking for a tutor to teach her the basics: reading, writing, and mathematics. I felt that it was not too early for Sarah to start to get a complete education. I wanted it all for her; I wanted her to have a better education than was even common for most men. Sarah had a good mind; I wanted her to learn to use it.

I feared that I would have to go East to find an adequate tutor, but the Catholic priest told me of a widow, a Mrs. Anderson, in Alamogordo who had an exceptional education and was an experienced teacher. I immediately contacted Mrs. Anderson to inquire if she would be interested in the job of tutoring Sarah. Mrs. Anderson was interested, so I invited her to our ranch to look us over and meet Sarah. I trusted my friend, the priest, enough to know that his recommendation was sufficient; I did not need to do more than a cursory interview.

Mrs. Anderson arrived, talked to Sarah, and was immediately as in love with her as we all were. Sarah reciprocated the feeling, so I made Mrs. Anderson an offer of employment, which she accepted. Mrs. Anderson would start in two weeks. At that time, I would send a carriage, a wagon, and an escort to Alamogordo to fetch her and her things to York Ranch. On the spur of the moment, Sarah and I decided to go along.

We met Mrs. Anderson on the appointed day and loaded her effects on the wagon. We all then climbed into the carriage and made our way home. By the time we reached York Ranch, we were all fast friends.

Juanita had arranged for a bedroom for Mrs. Anderson and another room to be set aside as a classroom. Mrs. Anderson had specified what she needed for the classroom and those items were ordered, if they were not on hand. Very quickly, she was able to start teaching Sarah. Besides being her teacher, Mrs. Anderson provided many of the functions of a mother to Sarah, and we spent a lot of time together when Sarah was not actually being formally taught. It was a wonderful experience for us all which lasted for several years.

I have been feeling ill lately: nausea, vomiting, and headache. I must see a doctor about this. I couldn't let something happen to me; who would look after Sarah? Juanita was particularly worried; she was afraid that her cooking was causing my problems. I keep telling her that it was not her doing; her cooking was just as good as it ever was.

Jesus had reported that some of our cultivated land was no longer getting enough water. At present, he could simply shift to other, unused areas of the ranch, but he had become worried that this trend might continue and our crops could start to suffer from lack of water. This raised the question of how long could we put off irrigation? I must look into this.

Much of our income now rested in the agricultural area. We were moving large quantities of produce to Alamogordo. We could do even more if we had more efficient transportation. If only the railroad would hurry to Julesburg! Could I do something to encourage this? If I could convince our neighbors to put in crops, instead of depending solely on cattle, we could easily have enough business to attract the railroad. I kept thinking, "Water is the key!"

I would often think out loud to Sarah, "We must have water to live. Our livelihood depends on getting enough water for our crops. The horses are no longer our major source of income. Agriculture is our base upon which everything else is built. I must get the neighbors to see that!"

I must have made a nuisance of myself. Every chance I got, I gave a hard sell to my neighbors about the advantage of cultivation over cattle. I touted how, with the decline in the available water, the free range grass was going to disappear. On the other hand, wells and irrigation could cover the water shortfall with cultivated crops.

I must have made an impression. I started getting inquiries about what to plant and how to go about it. With Jesus' permission, I offered his services to help the neighbors get started. We were off and running!

The railroad reached Julesburg in 1885. At last, we had a reliable means of transportation. Not much later, it was extended to Alamogordo, and we were in the food shipping business in a big way. We saw the improvement as the local economy became more prosperous. Our section of the county was now shipping agricultural products to many parts of the Territory. I even heard that some of our produce was finding its way into El Paso. Soon, we might even reach to Santa Fe, if the railroad would hurry and complete the link.

Obtaining enough water continued to be our biggest problem. We had to put in more and more wells and run small irrigation ditches to the crops. These ditches were in the way of our largest gang-plows, but we made do. Windmills began to dot the landscape as wells and reservoir tanks were put in. We didn't look like my memories of the English countryside, but we were just as productive!

Then the vandalism started. Windmills and tanks were damaged. We assumed that this was more harassment from the KKK, but there was no way to prove it; not much could be gained by proving it, anyway. We just had to mount guards and make sure that strangers were kept away. This was expensive, but we considered it just another cost of doing business. Guards were sometimes shot at and they shot back whenever they could. We never suffered any casualties and we never heard if we caused any, but we did stop the vandalism. None of our neighbors were bothered, much, so we assumed that we were the primary target because of my anti-KKK activity. This harassment never stopped me from opposing them!

My health problems kept me in a constant state of discomfort. The headaches were particularly bad, but I tried to suppress them with willow bark extract. I soldiered on as best I could, trying not to show Sarah how much I hurt, but I was not always successful. Finally, Sarah and Juanita's campaign had the desired effect: I went to a doctor in Alamogordo. He poked and pushed and pried and peered for all he was worth, and finally admitted that he did not know exactly what was wrong with me. He thought that the problem might lie in my kidneys, but he had no way to be sure. I had to give him credit for trying! He suggested I visit doctors either in Santa Fe or in El Paso. He gave me names and I thanked him for his efforts.

After much pestering from Sarah and Juanita, I contacted the doctor in El Paso (it was easier to get to) and made an appointment. Sarah had never been to a big city, so she wanted to join me on the trip. I thought it was safe enough, so she came along. We made a big adventure of it and stayed in El Paso for a week. Sarah finally admitted that she would be glad to get home; El Paso was just too bustling and crowded for her taste.

I saw the doctor and he poked and pushed and pried and peered about as much as the Alamogordo doctor did, but his conclusion was the same. He thought that I was suffering from kidney failure, but he could not be sure. He just did not have a way to test for kidney failure that was reliable, but I had most of the symptoms. He suggested that I visit a new operation in Wisconsin that he had heard a lot of good things about. He thought that the Mayo Clinic could find out what was wrong, if anybody could. He gave me their address and I thanked him and left.

Sarah and I returned home and I put the address in my desk drawer for later reference. I told Sarah and Juanita everything the doctor had told me, and we let it drop there, as other things came up which kept me very busy.

We now ran into a spate of attacks on our wagon trains going into Julesburg. Since we were using the railroad for all produce transportation out of Julesburg, there was no longer reason to run wagon trains to Alamogordo. Our only exposure off the ranch was these trips into Julesburg.