Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Dr. Daniel R. Cillis teaches graduate courses in management behavior and leadership at Molloy College in New York. In addition, he has taught at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Dr. Cillis lives in New York and in New Mexico.

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Statehood of Affairs

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

All three men sitting in the Circle C line shack on the open range had arrived on the strength of their character, having met the physical and emotional challenges of the day. More than two feet of snow covers the range, the result of a blizzard that has blanketed the central New Mexico Territory. The blizzard has exposed cattle to the most severe winter of the new century. Snow-covered grass is beyond reach and time is running out.

When the storm hit the territory, ranchers had found it nearly impossible to help their drifting cattle. Yet the three men of Circle C have led a valiant effort to save many animals and will continue their work at daybreak. Since the three men had arrived at the shack, the temperature had dropped and the wind had worsened.

Exhausted, wet and chilled, they are dressed in heavy coats, with their collars pushed up and their hats pulled down. The small, one-room structure houses an old rough-hewn table, a few bunks and a stone fireplace. The flames dance wildly as the Circle C men sit around the table. Line shacks across the range provide shelter to men protecting invisible boundaries. Tonight the cabins protect against nature's wrath.

Inside, the fire gives the line shack a slight smoky smell. Outside, lingering clouds conceal the sky; the darkness is absolute with no visible moon or stars, and the air is getting colder. Intermittent coyote cries shatter the otherwise complete silence. According to legend, the coyote gave man fire; on this night, the men are especially grateful for the gift of the crackling blaze.

One man offers coffee, cigars and appreciation to the two other men for their courageous and decisive action out on the range. He is Adobe Centori, sole owner of the Circle C Ranch. The vast ranch, with thousands of cattle on thousands of acres, is located near the town of Valtura, in Corona County, New Mexico Territory.

The conjunction of the Sandia Mountains to the east and vast mesas and plains to the west distinguish Valtura, the county seat. Established along the Rio Grande, the high desert town is elevated 4,800 feet above sea level. Although there are many sunny and dry days, the winters here can be unpredictable.

Adobe Centori is forty years old, intelligent, educated and romantic to the extreme. At times, practicality pushes his romantic view of the world to the back of his mind. Today was one of those times. The handsome leader is square-jawed with a slender, square-shouldered build. He wears a long brown coat, a big tan hat and an ivory-handled, silver-plated Navy Colt pistol.

As Centori drinks black coffee, his cool blue eyes see the cigar smoke and fireplace smoke intermingle. His thoughts turn to his responsibility as a New Mexico statehood delegate. He thinks, Will the economic impact of this winter have an adverse effect on statehood? There always has been some reason that stops the process short.

The people in Valtura appreciate Centori's integrity of character, expressed by his public-spirited work and his willingness to provide territorial leadership. A rising star in New Mexico politics, he will probably do nothing in the New Year to spoil that promise.

Centori has lived a life encircled by honor and has placed his trust in men based on intuition—experience has confirmed his feelings. Earlier, the other men had displayed their true mettle and clear devotion to the Circle C Ranch.

"Thank you for all you have done," Centori says. "There's no doubt that Circle C men are the best in the territory. This is risky business, yet you came through with skill, confidence and, above all, friendship."

The two other men nod in support of the emotion. Suddenly, the blizzard intensifies, sending a violent wind roaring across the range and slamming the cabin. The strong blast causes the door to crash open; the loud noise and the cold wind rushing through the quarters surprises the men. Centori jumps up, causing his straight-back chair to fall over with a crash. He pushes the door closed and places two heavy pieces of firewood against it as a defense against the howling power of the blizzard.

That night, the stockpiled firewood and stone fireplace shield against raging winds and frigid temperatures. That day, there had been no defense against a blinding snow driven horizontal by high-speed winds. The horses, with steaming breath, had staggered through poor visibility, fighting the deep drifts, with shards of ice flying up as they had struggled for footing. Pressing on, the men had screamed to communicate over the deafening roar of the brutal winter winds.

Sitting directly across from Centori is twenty-one-year-old Henry Anthony Ellison. A strong young man with long, wild hair, he has a devil-may-care attitude. Although he had little ranching experience, Centori had hired him and helped him to learn the job. On the surface, Ellison is loyal, but known to trust the wrong people. Nonetheless, at the Circle C, he has been a good cowboy.

The oldest in the group, A.P. Baker, has gray hair and slit eyes. An honorable person with a general good character, he is friendly and dependable. He drives a hard bargain and takes risks for a good cause. At one time, he was one of the youngest to ride the Chisholm Trail, driving longhorn cattle from Texas to Dodge City's railhead. A dedicated cowboy, he moved herds ten miles a day for bread, beans, bacon, coffee, son-of-bitch-stew and $30 a month. Upon his arrival in Valtura, the fast-growing Circle C had needed help. Centori had hired A.P. based on his notable ranching skills and had soon promoted him to line foreman.

It is the first decade of the twentieth century but this is not the first big snow of the century. According to A.P., this snow is similar to the blizzard of 1901, making it one of the worst winters in New Mexico's recorded history. Although the exact snowfall is unknown in Valtura, one thing is obvious: the unrelenting snows had started in December and had created a hard winter.

Although the men had spent the last several days focused on their jobs, they were also aware of the closing of the west. In the last century, men had protected invisible boundaries around the open range. The new century had increasingly called for more fencing, causing sweeping changes in the cattle business. The most significant sign was barbed wire—a stark symbol of the end of an era.

Centori reaches into his pocket to look at his watch while thinking of the doom that had fallen upon many unsuspecting animals. His thoughts return to New Mexico's long struggle in seeking statehood. He draws on his cigar and thinks, Will this disaster hurt our chances again? We have sought a self-governing state for so many years with so many failed attempts.

Coyote cries shatter the silence again, jarring Centori from his thoughts. The coyote is an amazingly adaptive animal known for shortcuts; but there are no shortcuts for the cowboys on the open range and there are no shortcuts to statehood.

Americans in New Mexico remain without self-government, a condition that has existed since Mexico ceded the territory in 1848. For centuries, New Mexico had been a Spanish province and then a Mexican territory, with Santa Fe as a significant trading town. Yet New Mexico, a low priority in Washington, was still a territory.

It is 11:58 p.m....