Mrs. Abijah Long
Joe N. Long (Jodie in the story)
(Mrs.) Lou M. (Long) Wood
(Mrs.) Kaye I. (Long) Williams
Ira B. Long
Mac A. Long
(Mrs.) Anda M. (Long) Brubaker.
Carlsbad, New Mexico
November, 1956.
[A] "Bije" was a nickname for Abijah. (Long "i" as in "hide.")
Part I
THE DISCOVERY
By ABIJAH LONG
1
We Move to Carlsbad
The distance from Goldthwaite, Texas, to Carlsbad, New Mexico, is slightly less than 400 miles—just a good day's drive in an automobile today. But in 1901 the automobile was something we heard about—something we read about, and friends of mine told of having seen a horseless carriage up in Dallas. People who did much traveling went by train or horse and wagon—or, they walked.
So when our family talked of moving West—talked of trying life anew "somewhere else," the question of how to go was considered. Train fare, we soon found, was much too high for us at the time. And with all our worldly possessions the freight charges would be excessive.
The answer—a covered wagon.
It was hard for my mother to leave Goldthwaite, and my wife was a bit fearful of the future in a strange land, but father and I thought our future was brighter if we tried anew somewhere else.