Chapter 18

Our final day in Santa Fe was hectic as Tom and I, with the ready assistance of the escort teams, gathered supplies for the trip home in the morning and picked up the trunks, booze, and books that afternoon.

With little fanfare, we departed Santa Fe the next morning after a good breakfast with the Judge, Hiram, Helen, and Steve. We assured all of them but most especially Helen that we’d be back the first week in November with the ladies and babies.

Pushing the animals hard we traveled from ‘can see to can’t see’ hoping to get home before the rainy season started. We had no problems with raids or bandits but at this time of the year, we hadn’t really expected any. No one, good or bad, wanted to be caught out during the unpredictable and often deadly rainy season. Still, we’d delayed our departure a few days longer than prudent, so we weren’t surprised when we were caught by rain two hours out from the Estancia.

Despite the rains, we traveled the last few miles of the trip extremely quickly as Giuseppe had completed the newly paved portion of the Camino Real and seamlessly diverted the road from its old course through the Estancia. Tom and I had been amazed both at how difficult it was to tell that the route had been changed and at how smooth the macadam road was to travel on.

We arrived at the Hacienda very wet and uncomfortable, just as the rain ended for the time being. Anna and Yolanda were at the door to greet us and all my attention was focused on the huge super megawatt Anna smile I was receiving.

I scooped Anna up in a long drawn out hug and kiss before setting her down and listening to her laughing admonishment about getting her wet. Tom and I helped unload the wagons and then disappeared into the Hacienda for long hot showers and some time with our wives and kids.

All the kids were doing great. Beth and Izabella were of great assistance in keeping the younger ones under control and out of too much mischief. Mike and Alejandro were growing like weeds. A strong bond had developed between the two, further strengthened by their fast friendship with Antonio and Carlo. Manuel and Sierra remained the most physically active and able of all the kids in the Hacienda although Sierra was beginning to lose her tomboy disposition in favor of more domestic activities.

Sierra was also beginning to notice boys. She spent much of her indoor time with Beth and Izabella instead of Manuel now. Izabella hadn’t formed any close relationships with boys her age yet but apparently had her eye on a couple. The relationship between Beth and Maco also continued growing stronger, although Beth remained concerned that it was going too slowly.

Of course, after supper that night, Anna led me by the hand to the piano. I played some of my favorite instrumentals quietly to warm up while listening to the various conversations going on. Shortly before the kids were sent to bed, I sang them “Do-Re-Mi”.

After they’d all gone to bed, I sang a new mix of songs I’d been saving up. I started with “All I Have To Do Is Dream”, moved right into “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do”, followed by “My Girl”, and ending with “Southern Nights”.

The Padre asked for anything Irish, so I gave him the classic, “Danny Boy” which he really appreciated as it was one of his father’s favorites. I ended the evening at the piano with “Anna’s Song” as expected and then led Anna upstairs giving our goodnights to all as we walked up the stairs.

As I’d half expected Anna had prepared our bedroom for a little intimate time. She had a bottle of opened wine on the fireplace bench with glasses, a small fire going in the fireplace, and the guitar she’d given me shortly after her quinceanera leaning against the wall.

With a smile, I picked up the guitar and softly sang “Getting You Home” just to set the mood for the remaining activities, before we fell asleep.

After breakfast, the next morning we showed off our treasures from Santa Fe. All the ladies of the Hacienda were very appreciative of the trunks and amazed at the number of books. We opened all the crates of books and asked the ladies to decide how to divide them between the Hacienda, the village school, and the Las Cruces Library. While that was going on, Tom and I retired to the study to catch up on all the work going on within the Estancia by reading the monthly reports.

Construction activities continued apace with the school/community center scheduled for completion by the end of November. Giuseppe had received a reply to his letter about pumps and windmills along with a sample of both pump sizes he had questions about. Early testing with the larger pump indicated it would be more than satisfactory for our ice making operation. The smaller pump had been set aside until my return.

The initial work preparing for construction of the storerooms and stable complex on the upper plateau had already begun. Work slowly continued on the North and South boundary walls which Heinrich was using as training areas for a handful of older boys from the village who had expressed an interest in becoming masons. Preparation for paving the road from the bridge to the village as well as the village streets themselves would begin as soon as the rainy season ended.

The Estancia was awash in cattle again thanks to another better than normal calving season. Deliveries to the forts continued and Hector reported that the vaqueros were starting to hear rumors of increases in future deliveries at all the forts. He was extremely concerned about the potential for overgrazing. In support of Hector and Ranch Operations, Tomas had increased the area of alfalfa and feed corn production along the base of the Doña Ana Mountains and was advocating for larger and deeper cisterns to capture more runoff water. Between sales to the forts, the butchers in Las Cruces and Mesilla, and sales to our own villagers, Ranch Operations were showing a modest profit again this year.

Finca Operations had taken off this year as expected. The pecan trees had arrived and were planted with 60 of them covering 5 acres on the upper plateau and the remainder covering almost 80 acres at the north end of the Estancia.

Tomas had planted 3,000 acres with a mix of sweet corn, lettuce, chile, beans, tomatoes, peas, and carrots. All had produced large crops with the bulk of the lettuce and chile still to be harvested. Tomas reported little loss from spoilage, as sales to the forts’ commissaries, as well as stores and individuals in Las Cruces and Mesilla, were not only brisk, but the demand outweighed the supply.

The Hacienda’s vegetable gardens had also produced well. Between them, and the crops along the river, everyone on the Estancia was well supplied with preserved vegetables. Overall, the Finca Operations were expected to show a profit after the lettuce and chile were harvested.

George had been busy on two fronts. The first front was actually protecting the Estancia from Indian raids. The Navajo, Comanche, and, something we hadn’t seen much of the last two years, other Apache, had been very active this year starting shortly after we left and continuing until about a week before we returned.

None of the raids ever penetrated far enough into the Estancia to threaten the village, ranch area, or Hacienda thanks to the Scout/Sniper teams, the observation/signal posts, and the Estancia’s signaling system.

Most of the Apache and Navajo raiding parties were ten men or less, sometimes on foot and sometimes on horseback. The Comanche raiding parties, on the other hand, were anywhere from twenty to sixty warriors and always on horseback.

The Estancia had lost a wrangler and two farmers fighting off these raids and Anna, with Yolanda’s support, had issued George the only order she gave him while we were gone. Her order was simple and directly reflected her Apache heritage. All raiding parties were to be attacked outside the Estancia when at all possible. Further, the intent of the attacks was to leave only one survivor who would take back the tale of another failed attack on the Estancia. I not only agreed with her order but was quite proud of her for giving it.

The second front occupying George was organizing various types of training, including horsemanship for the farmers, supply and logistics planning, and deployment, as well as marksmanship. He was strongly pushing for building an area to be used by the rapid response force. He was hoping for what amounted to a small military-style post where the teams assigned to the rapid response force would be headquartered and conduct their daily training.

His vision included a small headquarters building, a large covered open-air training pavilion, as well as nearby rifle and pistol ranges. He was supported in this by both Yolanda and Miguel.

Stable operations were going well with the animals healthy and well cared for. However, Raul needed more of everything. More saddles, tack, harnesses, leather for tack repair, more wood for the cooper, more iron and steel for the blacksmiths. He also wanted to see less hay and more seed feed for the horses and mules. He was working with Tomas and Juan to identify possible sources.

Anna had talked to me over a private breakfast on the terrace about the Rivera’s accepting her offer of employment as landscapers after visiting the Estancia for a week. Two of the sons remained in Mesilla to continue the courtyard and house landscaping business the family had been developing while the rest to the family moved to the Estancia.

So, it came as no surprise when I saw that Anna had added a new section on landscaping activities to the report. This new section, written by Francisco Rivera, covered landscaping plans, activities, and status for the Hacienda, village and ranch area.

The initial plans were to focus on trees, principally acacia and crepe myrtle, in all three areas. Francisco was working with Tomas for manpower, Giuseppe for impacts to and from engineering activities, and Jesus, who had formed two volunteer committees in the village and ranch area to advise Francisco on their thoughts regarding specific locations and colors.

Finally, Jesus reported the villagers remained happy with few problems outside minor personality related squabbles and the inherent family issues that crop up in any village.

When we were both done reading, Tom looked at me with concern and said, “We need to spend more time digging gold if we’re going to get everything done on the Estancia, the Mesilla Valley Trusts, and the railroad.”

I had reached the same conclusion. We didn’t have answers to the problem yet, but it was clear we were going to have to do something and time was running out for the La Paz site which was, by far, the richest of the known sites.

Tom and I quickly settled into a routine after our return. A morning ride, joined again by Anna and Yolanda, followed by working on some aspect of our planning, working on the ice-making machine, refining the prototype ice boxes and ice chests, or working on the swamp coolers.

At the beginning of October, we took a family trip to Las Cruces with our two ladies and the three babies. Tom and I had to go to El Paso to pick up the new coach and prisoner wagon while the two ladies wanted a little time with the Mendoza clan. We also needed to see how the two Trusts were doing and determine how much money to bring back from El Paso to fund their estimated expenses for the coming year.