A HISTORY OF JOSEPH JACKSON

written by

Joseph Jackson

Note: I, James F Jackson, received a copy of this history from Kent Jackson on June 28, 2010. Kent said it was found in the things that his Aunt, Lily Josephine Jackson, had left when she died. Lily was a daughter of Joseph Jackson and his first wife Prudence Phillips. From the text, it appears it was written in 1935, shortly before Joseph’s death. At that time, Joseph was living in El Paso, Texas. The copy I received was typed, apparently by one of his daughters. I have transcribed it into Microsoft Word, retaining the original sentence structure and punctuation. I did correct a couple of obvious errors, as well as much of the spelling(except for the Spanish phrases).

In an old Bible presented to me by my dear mother on my 14th birthday, April 6, 1866, whose maiden name was Mary Argyle, she being born 14 June 1826, wishing me among other things, many happy returns of the day of which I have received 68. Making me at the present time 82 years. And which I have received, with the exception of a stroke I had Jan 3rd 1933, in the enjoyment of good health attributes to the sound constitution of my parents and the temperate life of a Latter-Day-Saint.

I was born at Market Bosworth, Leistershire, England, a very nice, clean, healthy little town, a good place to be born in. My father was a nail manufacturer, in humble life but nevertheless, a good, honest, hardworking citizen of his Country. He being an expert at his trade, and employing a number of men to assist him in his business. My mother also was a very hard working woman, being the mother of 14 children and a confectioner by profession. It was a common thing for her to work 14 hours a day in which she would walk from 10 to 12 miles and supply her customers with the things she had made in the morning before starting on her journey.

When I was small and 3 years old, mother would send me to school, more to be taken care of than to learn, for which I would carry my penny per week (2 cents) for my tuition. In those days women married to work and raise large families and not to shirk the responsibilities and God bless them, they did it. At that time all nails were made by hand. My sister, who was older than I used to make them and when I was 6 years old my spare time was occupied in commencing to learn, which was no disgrace to my parents, but that they might keep the commandments of God. I believe my mother would have died rather than take a pitt [sic] to present that responsibility for which I bless her and I believe God will bless her also. I went to school to that dear old lady, Mrs. Smith, till I was 6 1/2 years old, when she told me she could do nothing more for me and dismissed me from the school, for which I was, and am now very sorry, for she was a very good Christian woman, always attending to her prayers and teaching her little students to do so also.

She was married to a man who was a tailor by trade: they lived in a house of 2 rooms, one on the ground and another over it, which was his tailor-shop. The lower room was about 13 or 14 feet square, and was the school room, with a plank on 3 sides by the walls, against which we learned and held our slates in our hands on which we learned to write an do our mathematics, and all our books we held in our hand, not having a desk or anything on which to place them. The room was also the parlor, kitchen, living-room–everything combined. She had 25 or more pupils. As I said before, she had to let me go at 6 1/2 years old and I will never forget the tears which rolled down my face when she told me.

Across the street was another school, a vey rich man had built and endowed it with means to educate all the children of the town, and as many of the children of 10 villages surrounding the town over 7 years of age. Well my father tried to get me into the large, free school, but I was 6 month too young, so I had 6 months vacation. My father and others tried very hard to get me in, but the principle, Mr. Walters, who was an Episcopalian, (my father was Presbyterian) was very stubborn and wouldn’t bend, though he said I was far in advance of many of the students of his school, and he tested me in spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic. I had a cousin going to the school, and he told the principle to give me a mathematical problem I couldn’t do; so he asked me to tell him how many grains of parley it would take to reach around the earth. In less than five minutes I had the problem worked. He said, “A very wonderful boy”, but nevertheless he couldn’t let me in.

Six months soon passed away, then he permitted me to enter. Out teacher had 150 students to teach, too many, so I didn’t progress in a year, so my father took me out of school and put me to work till I was 14 years old, when I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, but all apprentices had to be bound under the government for to serve 7 years apprenticeship. My father said he was very sorry, but I think he wanted me to keep making nails. Just then a man invented a machine to make nails, which put thousands out of employment. So I was nothing. He then apprenticed me to be a builder for 7 years and agreed that I should work the 1st year for 5 schillings a week, 6 the 2nd year, 7 the 3rd and so on for 7 years, having 1 schilling raise a week each year, so that when I was 21 years old I would have been getting 17 schillings per week or about 43.25 per week. By parents had to feed and clothe me on that amount. It was the law at that time, that if a master struck or ill-treated an apprentice, the apprentice could leave his employ. So one winter day we couldn’t work at the fob we were doing and we stayed away. My master needed a chimney built on his house so he put me to work at building it. After an hour or so the lady, his wife, called me off the house to carry her a bucket of water from a pump, about 100 yds. away from the house. Of course that or any other jobs of the home was a part of the duty of the apprentice boy, so I went and got the water and returned to the house with it and when the bucket struck the wall on the side of the hall and a little water was spilled on the floor, she the Mrs. saw it and it was frozen. She went and told my master that I was the clumsiest boy she ever saw. The servant girl heard what she said and came up stairs and told me and I answered her as follows: “Oh, tell her to go to hell, she is always growling about something”. My master heard what the girl said and what I said, so he called me down and slapped my ears and kicked my pants and told me to go home. I went. The next morning he sent for me to come back damned quick, I told the man who came for me I was through doing things damn quick for him, and I wouldn’t go. He tried to force me by law, but the court said it was up to me and my father whether I went or not. My father had complained previously at the way my mater treated me and he told me that if I didn’t want to go back I need not do so, so I didn’t go. My master would ride his horse to work often 5 or 6 miles and would be there by 6 A.M. I had to be up at 4:30A.M. and go half a mile to get his horse from the pasture, feed it, saddle it and walk 5 or 6 miles and be there at the time my master came: work 2 hours, eat breakfast in 30 minutes, then work till 1 P.M., eat dinner, commence to work at 2 P.M. and work till 6 P.M., then walk home, unsaddle the horse and take him to pasture, then went to my home and retired. Mostly very tired, doing this 6 days a week for 5 schillings or $1.20.   So I think I earned my money and no wonder when my master cuffed my ears and kicked my pants that I was pleased. Next I got a job at more than twice the wage, on which I worked 14 months when it was finished. Then I rolled up my bed and started out, a full fledged hobo.

I walked about 20 miles and came to a large pile of brick at a beautiful mansion. I felt very thankful at the sight. I hurried to it and found it was an addition being built. I asked a laborer if the foreman was there. He said “No, you are a runaway apprentice, where are you from?” I told him from Market Bosworth. “and who did you leave there?” I told him, my father and mother and sisters. He said, “I think that is right, and I think you had better return and tell your father and mother to take care of you for a few more years before they let you out. You are too young to have your liberty. I need a man full grown, not a stripling. I like the looks of you and if you tell me truthfully that you are not a runaway, I will give you a trial.” I thanked him kindly. He said, “Have you had your dinner?” I told him, “no sir”, so he told me I would find his dinner bucket in which I found a nice lunch which I relished very much. I went back to him and thanked him for my lunch. I was ready for work. He said I had better rest the balance of the day, that I must be tired after walking about 20 miles. I asked him to allow me, please, to go to work, and if I didn’t suit him it wouldn’t be more than my lunch and I would plod along. He said, “I like that, go to it.” I started in on the wall by him, in a few minutes he said “you’ll do”. I thanked him again and at 6 P.M. he said “Now you come ride home with me and stay with me tonight.” I again thanked him. He drove about 2 miles and he said, “We’ll stay here tonight. He took me into the house and said to his wife “Charlotte, I’ve brought a young man who says he is not a runaway, but he says he is a brick-layer and if I can’t use him for that you can use him to play with Frank, a boy of 11 years. He will teach Frank manners, which will be worth his money. So I stayed that night and she treated me fine, but I could see that it discommoded her.

Soon another brick-layer, got out of the cart when I did and went to a house across the street. After supper I met him and asked if he knew where I could get lodging. I didn’t want to distress the wife of my master who seemed to be kind but little Frank didn’t appeal to me as a very suitable associated for me. He had been used to doing as he pleased. His parents couldn’t control him and didn’t know what I would have to do before I could subject him, and I thought I had better go somewhere else before I got arrested for cruelty to animals. I thought him the meanest little donkey I ever met. So that night I told the lady I appreciated her great kindness in consenting to her husband’s taking me in and making me his little boy’s companion, but I thought it would be an imposition on her if I accepted the offer, and I knew she had all the work she could do to take care of her beautiful home without me, which I regretted vey much, and I told her where I had found a place to stay. She thanked me very kindly for my consideration of her and she said that Ben, that was her husband wasn’t half so considerate, and she hadn’t been feeling well today, and the lady where I was going needed the assistance I would give her. Therefore she thought it was the best and particularly as I had suggested it myself. Well I worked for him till Saturday and he paid me more than 4 times as much as I would have got had I stayed with my former boss. So I was satisfied that I had my pants kicked. On that Saturday night a man who had worked for Mr. Fenkes or Ben came while Mr. Fenkes was paying me. He was a man who was a very good workman, but was an itinerate and said to him “Gaffer, I have not money to take to my wife this week, won’t you give me a little on next week’s work?” (by the way it was snowing). Mr. Fenkes said, “Joseph, time and time again, I have told you, you should put by a Bob for a rainy day”: a Bob is a schilling, about 25 cents. So Joseph, that was his name said, “Well Gaffer, I know you always told me many things that would have been better for me to do and I did put a Bob away for a rainy day, but who in hell thought of this snow coming?”

Well, I found Mr. Fenkes as a fine man and I stayed with him about 18 months, and his wife was a lady, and they treated me as a gentleman. I have always had a very kind feeling in my heart for them, and I hope they raised little Frank to be just like Ben.

Well I left Mr. Fenkes and his wife with regret. I knew very little about her during the time I worked for Mr. Fenkes. She was a lady who was very kind when I came in contact with her which was only at such times when I had to go to his house on business, when she always put herself out to oblige me.

I went to another village about ten miles away where I contacted another fine fellow and worked for him about a year and left him to come to America. When I left he offered to raise my wages 25% if I would stay, and give me a permanent position, if I would stay, but I thanked him kindly and told him that if I didn’t find things agreeable to me in America I would correspond with him and let him know. He said, “Any time you want to return, let me know and I will send you all you need.” I again thanked him and that is the last I knew of him. But prior to my leaving him I had a visit from my brother who had received a letter from our uncle who was Mormon and lived in Bountiful, near Salt Lake City, Utah, who notified my brother that he had sent the fare for him to be ready to leave Liverpool on the ship “Minnesota” which would leave on the 14th of Oct. 1872 and in his letter which he brought to me, he sent an invitation for me to come also, if I had the money and said if I didn’t like Utah or the Mormons he would pay my way back. As soon as I read the letter, without hesitation, my mind was made up that I was going. I don’t know what kind of a character my brother gave me at Liverpool, but I got another letter from them stating that if I wished to go, let them know and a berth would be reserved for me and asked no questions about money. I wrote and told them I would be there at the time specified. The next thing was to notify my boss, which I did and he was very sorry and told me many things he had heard of the Mormons, which were not very flattering of them. Nevertheless, I had made up my mind and my word was given that I would go and I wouldn’t change it. Then he turned and made the offer spoken of before. A few days before the time set to leave I quit and went home preparing to embark. I and my brother went through the usual trials and tribulations on leaving Father, Mother, Brothers and Sisters and Friends and Relatives, almost innumerable, and sailing for New York, with the avowed purpose of going to Utah and seeing Brigham Young with his 20 wives or more. I think at that time he had 40 or more, which did not deter us.

We were on time at Liverpool and got all arrangements made to come. There were about 350 souls on the ship “Minnesota” sailing Oct. 11 1872. (Father left Liverpool for New York on Oct. 11, 1872). [This parenthetical and redundant addition to the manuscript was apparently inserted by one of Joseph’s children who was typing the document. ]

We go a joyful start, everybody was happy and gay. The company consisted of Swedes, in fact all kinds of Scandinavians, Irish, Welch, Scotch and English, a few Swiss and Germans. Such a medley you never saw, but we were all of Israel. Nationalities were forgotten, we were Mormons and a jolly crowd and we could soon sing “Come, Come ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear. But with joy wend you way.”

But very soon some became fearful. In getting up speed our boat eased and pitched a little, and a few old ladies thought that was not in their contract and commenced to make a little fuss; but one good brother, John Smith, in trying to console the dear old souls said: “Listen dear sisters, please don’t be alarmed this will soon be over and all of us have got through tickets for Zion and we will all get there, everyone of us.” Well I thought it would be miraculous if there wasn’t one who was lost out of so large a crowd, but I thought, time will tell, be patient. So after a short time the vessel seemed to settle down and we straightened things around, and we had a fiddler who struck a quadrille and we had a nice dance in the jolly old English style. We had some good singers and lots of good old Mormon hymns, most of them to good old English tunes. I knew not of the hymns, the tunes were familiar to me and I could read the hymns so I and my brother sang as long as anyone.

And another thing which I will never forget, there were two beautiful girls, the prettiest and sweetest of the whole company. I am not going to tell their names here. They were fine Latter-Day-Saint girls, and we all three fell in love–I with two and two with me; and what was strangest to me was that I might be friendly and kind with either of them, and say anything in an affectionate way and the other seemed to take delight in, and not in the slightest way could I grieve either of them. This was not what I was used to: before this it was “hit me, kick me, knock me down, but don’t you touch my girl.” When we would take a girl to a dance, it meant that that girl was ours for the evening, and no one else must touch her. So of course when I saw these fine girls I though sure that one of them, if not both, would have companions there and I had better be very careful.

I was somewhat shy at first, but when I found that no one else made his appearance I felt more free and I not being a Mormon, made me more so, and I was led to believe that neither of them knew it. What made it more strange, the girls were very kind and lady-like to everyone, but not free as they were with me, but with all their freedom they nearly knocked the breath out of me; one evening after we had had a concert one of them sang a song no doubt by the Mormons, but which I have never heard since. The chorus went like this:

“Coming home, Coming home,

Don’t you hear them sing?

Yes, they are a coming—

Hurrah! hurrah!

The harvesters rejoiced–

The names they with them bring,

They’re coming, they’re coming from afar.”

After the first stanza I could accompany her in the chorus very well and she sang that song with such feeling, and in spirit I had never heard or felt before. It made me wonder what it was which struck me with such awe and admiration that I had never felt. Well, after that concert I went to our trysting place and after awhile both those girls came and sat down on a beam bar used to sit on. They seemed very thoughtful and serious. They told me they were very dear friends, and had been for a long time. That they were going to Utah together and didn’t want to be parted. They wanted to live in this fife together and continue through all eternity in each others company. They had thought and talked it over and neither of them had ever met a person they could both love until they met me on that ship, and if it was agreeable to me when we got to Utah, if I could love them as they could and did me, I could take them both to the alter and they would be mine. That was the 1st introduction I had to polygamy.

While we were talking, thousands of, maybe millions of porpoises, a large and very beautiful fish, were surrounding the ship. The sea was alive with them as far as the eye could see. They would spring out of the water and dive back again and perform beautiful gymnastics.  They had been following the vessel all day. The sailors said it was a sure sign of a storm and we might expect one. During the coming night the winds and sea arose violently, so bad that the hatchment which covered the stairs, which led to the storage under the deck where all the 2nd class passengers of the company live in the day and helped in the night, were sleeping and water came down in torrents. Their berths were covered and all had to get in the upper berths, there were four where there should only have been two. Many of the passengers were provided with small trunks which floated on the water and with the heaving and pitching of the ship it would soon be dashed to pieces. Nearly everyone was very much afraid. The captain also became very much alarmed, so much that he said he had traveled the sea more than twenty years, and had taken several companies of Mormons over, and that was the 1st time he had been alarmed, and he admitted he was much alarmed, and he believed nothing short of a miracle would save us. And he told the people that if they knew of any way to save us, to do it.

You remember that I spoke of John Smith trying to reconcile the ladies at Liverpool when we started away from that post. Well, John’s wife embraced him and said “John, we have been married twelve years. Our lives have been happy and particularly since we joined the Church. Now let us die together with these little ones.” The two largest clung to their legs, they held the two smallest in their arms, and expected to go down right away, and many others did likewise. Then one brother said: “John, what about your through ticket?” , which caused a smile to come on some of our faces. Still many, I believe prayed their first prayers and this seemed to get response, for the roughness of the sea seemed to become a little calmer.

The president of the company handed a bottle of oil to two of the returning elders and said something to them. What I don’t know, but the elders, after some difficulty got on deck. I supposed they emptied the oil on the troubled waters and asked the Lord through Jesus Christ to calm the troubled deep, that we might all be saved. In a short time the raging sea was as calm as a milk pan. We formed several gangs and with buckets bailed all the water out of the storage as every pump was broken, and that was the only way of getting relief. The seal was taken off the hatchway and in a few hours, in fact 36 hours, we got relief and we were happy and believed our tickets were hood yet, which they proved to be and everyone landed safely in Utah on the 6th of November 1872, happy and thanked God for our safe arrival which was on Tuesday the day after Guy Fawkes Day in England. [This was actually spelled Guy Folks Day in Joseph’s manuscript.]

All English people keep that day in mind. Guy Fawkes was a member of Parliament, a commoner, who planned a good many years ago to blow up the Parliament House and kill all his associate members. To do this he built a large building by the Parliament House and secretly dug a pit under the house of the Parliament, and filled it with many barrels of powder which he was about to ignite, when he was caught. He was tried and found guilty and condemned to die on a jibbit [this is old English for a gallows], i.e. to be burned to death over a fire. So on Guy Fawkes Day in every town and village of the country, to this time, on November 5th, people gather lots of wood and coal and build a pile as big as a house and make an effigy of Guy, hang him on a beam and burn him after. This has been a custom on that date for many years. His home stands yet on a beautiful estate, about 5 miles north of Strand, Gloustershire, England, but that has nothing to do with my story, to which I will now return.

On Saturday after landing at Bountiful (on Friday night and sleeping in my Uncle’s home, where I could lay in bed and count the stars and shiver, which I had never done in England), I got up early in the morning and started for Salt Lake City where they were building the gas works. I applied to Samuel Evans and Elias Morris for a job, and got one to commence work on Monday morning. I worked a month there and they sent me with other men to Harmonville Tintic to build some furnaces, and they paid me, if I remember rightly $17.00 per day and all my expenses. So I felt quite happy and wrote to my boss in England that he need not expect me back and told him of my wages in Mormondom and that I was quite contented and the stories he told me about them were without foundation in fact, which meant in English, a lot of lies. And also to my parents, that they could shortly expect to have the money to come to Utah. At that time it only cost for fare on the vessel $72.00, including the railroad fare from New York to Salt Lake, including eatables on board the ship. That summer I emigrated 8 souls, one of them I married–but as the Savior said about the foxes and birds having holes and nests, but no place to lay His head, so were we in that condition, but neither of us seemed to care.

We soon had a place and everything we needed; but my little girl I found on the Minnesota died, one of them, the other, when I saw her next was pushing a baby buggy and was quite happy, having married an Englishman by the name of Payne, with whom I became quite well acquainted and he told me that “Harriet” was the finest girl I ever knew. But my sweetest girl, the people who knew something of our affair, said she died of a broken heart, whatever that may be, but I have never ceased to love her and I hope to soon meet her again, but whether that will benefit me I don’t know, but I think that was the mistake of my life, but I was ignorant at the time and I don’t think I was to blame. If I was I have paid the bill with heavy interest, and I am willing to pay more if I can make a plaster as big as the sore.

The girl I left behind [in England] was a girl but not a Mormon girl. Good looking, intelligent, a fine housekeeper, good cook and everything outside of being L.D.S. She was an Episcopalian, not very much acquainted with true Christianity, or she wouldn’t have been that. But before I would send for her or marry her, I told her plainly that she had to be a Mormon or I wouldn’t have her, which she agreed to do and did as far as being baptized was concerned, but that was all. She never took any part in it, and led me a very uncomfortable life till the time of the trouble between the Church and the U.S. government.

When I accepted the Gospel and entered into covenants with God to accept the Gospel in full, not a part, and I meant what I said, and when that time came I didn’t backslide, but my wife hadn’t kept up with the vows and she defied me, and when the time came for those who would receive the condition on which the contention arose and was asked to prove if they meant what they said, I took another wife. My former wife sued me for a divorce and what alimony she could get. I was at that time worth fully $50,000 in property which was given into the hands of a receiver. She, my wife, took a property worth probably $10,000, another property was sold to Richard Balantine and Sons, for $25,000, which the court and lawyers and receivers got away with. I sent a man from Mexico to get what he could for me, he came back with $3,500, $500 of which I paid him and the balance of my $3,000 I paid on the old mill I bought in Casas Grande, and that is all I can account for. So that was all I got for my property and hard work of 18 years.

After two or three years in the little old Mexican mill, I had concluded to build a better one. I drew my plans of a building and devised a new mill, small of course, for I didn’t have money for much elaboration: but while I was putting up the building, General Terrazas came along one day and asked me what I was doing. I told him and he asked me if I had enough money to put it through. I told him “no” and asked if he would make me a loan of $30,000. He said he would. I thanked him and arranged the terms which was 10% per annum, with all the time I needed. The paper was drawn up. I got the money and completed the mill in good shape. When I made my first payment, he asked me if I needed help. I told him I would like a little on my tax. He said he would think about it, he was going home and would write me when he got there, which he did and sent me an order remitting all my taxes for five years, for which I wrote to him thanking him for his kindness.

I went to Chihuahua at intervals of six months to pay my interest and the amount due on the loan. He always treated me very fine, and as far as I know General Terrazas was a gentlemen. My obligation to him extended into the revolutionary war, and afterwards when I went to see him and said I always came with a sober face at my small losses and to tell him I hadn’t the full amount on account of the revolution, but he said my losses were nothing in comparison with his, and sometime he would tell Don Louis Chico to take me in and show me his books. Louis did so, and his losses staggered me. They were so great that I told him mine were greater than his in comparison, because I had nothing in comparison to him to which he agreed. And I can say for Mr. Terrazas, he was a man who took his losses with good grace, and as long as he could stay (in Mexico) he murmured but little. After I paid him my indebtedness, he continued to treat me fine–told me whenever I saw him afterwards that when I came his way never to pass him by, and if I needed any help to please be sure and call.

Soon after he left Chihuahua and came to live in the home of Senator Falls (El Paso, Texas) he said one time when I saw him here in El Paso that he would be pleased when he could return home. It was too much of a luxury to live here, that house-rent was too high. Mr. Falls taxed him only $200.00 gold per month to live in his house, while if the Revolution was over he could live a dozen places, each better than Mr. Falls’ for less than $200.00 Mexican and I didn’t doubt what he said, for I knew of 6 places myself, but that didn’t better him.

Just before the Revolution, Mexico established a Gold Basis and General Terrazas, having a bank of his own, had lots of gold money at his command. When he left, he left the gold in charge of Louis Chico and Poncho Villa got him and tied him up by his thumbs to make him divulge its hiding place. I don’t know if Louis Chico gave way or not, but he made his escape soon after and came to El Paso where he died soon afterwards. This hurt Mr. Terrazas very much for Louis Chico was his Joseph in Egypt. He loved him more than the rest, as did Jacob.

The Revolutionists were very severe on Don Louis. They took thousands of his cattle and canned them in Juarez. Then when the cattle coming on the frontier stopped, they killed them on the range, just for their hides, and left the meat to be eaten by coyotes and turkey-buzzards, or anything that wanted them. Large, fine, fat steers were killed for what they could get for the hides–$0.50 Mexican. Train loads of them, till the range was cleared. The Revolution was a terrible thing for many people and particularly the Mormons.

The Revolution was in earnest on Jan 1, 1911. At that time eight revolutionists came to my house early in the morning. They brought my horses up out of the pasture and took them out and started to drive them away. The horses ran away from them and came to where they were used to be fed grain. The men demanded we give them breakfast. My wife, Marie, prepared it for them or placed it on the table, it being New Years Day, she had plenty prepared for company we expected to spend the day. After they had eaten their breakfast, they came over to the mill and saw about 200 Federal Soldiers who were located in Casas Grande the night previous; they were about 3 or 400 yards away.   The captain of the 8 who had just had their breakfast took off his serape and waved it to the soldiers, inviting them to come. They didn’t in a body, but sent one man who met the captain by my corral. They exchanged words a few minutes and commenced shooting at each other without either being hurt. Afterwards the Federals established a rodindo i.e. a company of 10 to 15 men to ride the country in the night time to look out for the enemy. A few days after their shooting of which I have spoken, a rodindo came to my place. The captain had noticed a nice heifer about 20 months old which he thought would be good eating. So he told two of his men to lasso the animal and bring her up to him and he would shoot her. They got the rope on her alright because she was very time and they walked up to her and tied a rope on her neck, then got on their horses and led the poor little culprit to its fate. I asked about the pay for her, but got no answer. They held her at the end of the ropes, and between the horses. The animal had a small white spot in the center of her fore-head. The captain took aim, about 2 or 3 minutes, and then “bang” went the gun, the ball of which made a little scratch about 3 inches long on the most prominent part of her left side, which caused the captain to say “carambus, poco mala otra ves peus mas mejor.” So he tried again, with about the same results on the other side, and I laughed because I couldn’t help doing so and I wanted to take his gun, but [he] said “No Senor.” He let another soldier cut its head off, so they got meat anyway, but not with the rifle. After they had had a few years practice I dreaded their coming. The horror of war is terrible.

The few men who came to the house for breakfast claimed to be very brave, and when I asked them if they would be so cruel as to fight with their country-men, their real brothers, they said: “Con mucho gusto” and I learned that was true a few days after, when Mr. Madero with a regiment came to Cases Grande and fought with the Federals. They also had a General Garrbaldin from Italy to show them how to fight, which made me think that the saying of everything being fair in Love and War was to them verily true for that little skirmish they had there was by far the most blood thirsty thing I had ever seen. I hope to never see anything like it again. I am quite sure if everybody was like me I never would. I like the words of some poet I don’t know who he was, but he said–

“If I was King of France

Or still better, Pope of Rome,

I’d have no fighting men abroad

Or bounden maids at home.

All the world should be at peace,

And if Kings must show their might–

I’d have those who make the quarrels

Be the only ones to fight.”

Then I think but little blood would be shed, but few women would lose their husbands or sons in war. Today we see that all nations are preparing for the most bloody conflict the World has ever seen, and the terrible things we read in history makes me wonder how the instigator of such things can be justified. These things would not exist or take place if it were not for the selfishness and disobedience of those who claim to be the children of God. I think that we with all our learning and science we claim to have, are the most inconsistent people who ever lived. Then again I think that the only reason we are more blood-thirsty than our fore-fathers is that we know how to be more capable of destroying our fellow-men. They of old were just as bad as we, but they had nothing so destructive as we, but they destroyed all they could and the more they destroyed the more they were eulogized and almost considered themselves equal to God.

It shows the nature and depravity of man. The most vicious beast that ever lived was no more depraved than is man, only as he was less intelligent and had no power to reason and destroy everything that comes in his way. We are taught that a wonderful change is coming when the evil in man will be changed and also in beast. When the lion shall lie down with the lamb. When the young child shall place its hand on the cockatrices den–and man shall learn war no more. Man shall beat his swords into plow heads and spears into pruning hooks, and shall meet his brother and his friend. When no Dillinger or his class will abound, but I believe there are many Dillingers around today. I hope not, but I do know that many men who hold positions of honor, who should be honorable are such because they are cowards and are afraid to follow in the steps of that class of men because [of] the fear of the rope or the gas or the bullet, not because it is their disposition to be honest. I am speaking from experience and know of what I say. There are but a few strictly honest men in the world today. I mean men like Alma, who was a king and worked with his fellow-men, that they should not be burdened with taxes. Others whom I might name also, I believe that all of that class have gone, and we will have to go through a wonderful change before we can live on the same planet with that class of men. It seems this world is not an appropriate place for them. I think our natures will have to change entirely before we can live with that class of men.