In closing...

Given what we now know of the causes of death in Seven Rivers, females who survived to six years had a good chance of surviving to old age barring a true epidemic. Males who survived the first year had a good chance of living to adulthood. Then the greatest threat would have been the possibility of being killed by gunshot or knifing before age 30.

The story of the cemetery reflects the turbulence of the time and allows a glimpse of the people who came to Seven Rivers and the hardships with which they coped.

Cemetery information derived from "...and they laid them to rest in the little plot beside the Pecos", the final report of the relocation of old Seven Rivers Cemetery, Eddy County, New Mexico, by Bobbie H. Ferguson. Published by the Denver Office of the Bureau of Reclamation in 1993.