Pioneer story of Mrs. Anna Brazel

Written up by Edith L. Crawford, of Carrizozo, NM. A manuscript from the Federal Writers Project, 1936-1940, stored at the Library of Congress. Keywords: Lincoln County, Otero County, Little Creek, Bonito City, Carrizozo, Ruidoso, Pat Garrett, Roswell, Butterfield Trail, Fort Selden

I was twelve years old when we left Murfreeboro, Tennessee, and seventeen when we arrived in New Mexico. We spent five years in the state of Texas, on our way to New Mexico, on account of my mothers health and the awful stories we heard about the Indians and the terrible deeds they were committing in this part of the country. I have lived in New Mexico forty-seven years and most of the time in Lincoln County.

I was married to William W. Brazel, July 19, 1894, five children were born to this union, three girls and two boys four of them are living in Lincoln County and the oldest boy in Tularosa, Otero County, NM.

Little Creek was never a town just a settlement of farmers and stock men, our post office was Bonito City, eight miles west of Little Creek, we rode horse back to the post office about once a week for our mail. In later years there was a big saw mill located on the head of Little Creek. Little Creek is located twenty four miles southeast of Carrizozo, and eleven miles east of Ruidoso. My father's farm on Little Creek joined Pat Garrett's ranch home on the North, this is the old home place of Pat Garrett, where Miss Lizzie Garrett was born.

This happened when father was on his horseback trip to Boswell while we were crossing the plains somewhere between Plainview, Texas, and Roswell. I do not remember just where it was, we heard an awful commotion. At first it scared us for we were afraid it was Indians, but Father soon detected it was a herd of cattle stampeding. We could not go back to sleep and just as it was breaking day Father got up and built a fire. In a short time two cowboys rode up and wanted to know if they could get a cup of coffee, said they were worn out from riding after the stampeding cattle the night before. The trail we traveled from Plainview to Roswell was the "Butterfield Trail". It crossed the Mal Pais at Oscure now called the Mocking Bird Gap crossing, and went on over to Fort Selden.

NARRATOR Mrs. Anna Brazel, Carrizozo NM, aged 64 years.

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