A new experience to me, but I soon "caught on." But something must be said about our little county town, San Juan, county seat of Apache County in which we were located.

St Johns consisted of one general store, three or four saloons, a drug store, a newspaper office, court-house, jail, etc.

A small settlement of Mormons, who confined themselves to farming on the narrow river bottom, and an equal number of Mexicans, an idle and mischievous riffraff, though one or two of them had considerable herds of sheep, and others were county officials.

County affairs were dreadfully mismanaged and county funds misused.

For our own protection we had to take part in politics, form an Opposition, and after a long struggle, in which my partners did noble service, we carried an election, put in our own officials, secured control of the county newspaper, and had things as we wanted them.