https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/3c7d93139e662f40913542b3845c7077.pdf 067d4145536a23a5c3c251d4b1898f82 PDF Text Text MAX AND ELLEN (House) WATTS Max Smith Watts was born in a teepee camped in the pine Valley near La Boca, Colorado, in 1894, the son of Andrew and Cecilia Watts. Max says, "My father's band, the capote Band, traveled a lot in those days. Some of them were farmers, but most of them moved around to find better hunting. Teepees were just right for people on the move. There were very few white men around in those days. We hunted for deer and rabbits and herded our sheep and goats. Our games were made to give us skill. We would throw round targets into the air and shoot them before they came down. I made my own fishing pole from a willow, some string and a needle bent into a hook. We all had horses and depended on them for all of our moving around. My grandfather told me of a lime when he was young that there were few horses. He knew of some of our people trading a child for a horse. They were valued so much when they were scarce. The Utes always liked horse racing. Since the road across the river was so long and straight, we had our races over there." "My people were not surprised when the white man brought the train. One of the old men had seen it in a dream. He told his people that one day white men would come in a thing of smoke and fire. I never rode the train until I was nearly grown. I was scared of it. When it came up the valley, it looked like it was coming straight at me. I would run." My parents put me in the BIA Boarding School for a few years; but when I got old enough to herd the goats, they needed me at home. We had some land over on the Piedra River and moved back and forth to it. We played many games - some for fun and some for gambling. One was played with big nails and a pile of dirt. The nails which had numbers painted on them were pushed out of sight into a pile of soft earth. The players look turns poking a stick into the pile to expose a nail. They got points according to the numbers painted on them. The women watching the game would sing and dance around the pile lo try to make the earth fall. Blankets, horses and money were gambled in this game. We also had a game like the white man's horse shoes only we used flat rocks to try to throw near or into holes dug into the ground." By the time he was 16, Max was on his own. He worked with the crews which dug the irrigation ditches. His pay was $1.50 per day. Euterpe Taylor's father John Taylor was his boss. A few years later he went to Buckskin, Arizona, to work in the cornfields. Before the corn was ripe, Max was put on guard to shoot the blackbirds out in the fields. In harvest time he harnessed the horses every morning and helped with the picking. "I always came back lo Ignacio when a job ended. After a few years I got a job working at the Agency. Until I met Ellen House, I had not thought of marrying any one. Why get married with no money in my pocket?" Ellen remembers, "Max started sending me boxes of chocolate. Sometimes there would be money in the boxes. We were married in 1925 at the courthouse in Durango. I was born in 1907. My mother Fannie House died in the flu epidemic in 1918 when I was 11 years old. Daisy Eagle is my half sister and I had a brother, Danny, and a sister named July. Both of them died in accidents on horses. Max and I lived in a house near the agency until 1934 when we moved to the farm near La Boca. We lived on the farm 172 �~ "' 'I 'I 'J 'I J 'J ' J l ) ' ) J ) ) where Rose Watts is now. At that time there was an old house on the farm built of posts. Later we bought the land on the hill where we still live. It's good ground up there with a spring nearby." Afte r Max quit the agency, he worked for the D. & R. G . W. Railroad with the crews that cleared the tracks of snow in winter. Since Max was a cook's helper, his job was not too hard. The others had to use their shovels if the snow plow could not remove the drifts. The crews had lots to do at Red Cliff and at Soldier's Summit in Utah. The crews slept in the cars. It was very cold. "In 1955," Ellen says, "we built a new house on our farm. When we were strong, we raised sheep, horses, grain, hay and all of our vegetables. I still have a big garden. In the 1930's many hoboes came up from the railroad tracks and asked for something to eat. I always gave them something. So many people were traveling around then. I think a farm is the best place to live because even when there are not jobs, farmers have work. We sold potatoes to the BIA School and horses to the Navajos. We never liked cows, but we kept goats and made cheese from their milk. We're still on our farm and don't ever want to live anyplace else." ) ) ) The Watts had seven children in all: Colleen, Ed, Lula, Ellenetta, Crystal, Jerry and Eunice. Only Colleen, Crystal and Lula are still living. September, 1977 - Shelby Smith ) ) } ) ) ) ) J j ._) J ..J ..J J J ..J J J -.) ..J J ...) ...) 173 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Max Watts and Ellen (House) Watts Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1977-09 Subject The topic of the resource Watts, Max; Watts, Ellen (House) Description An account of the resource Biography of Max Watts and Ellen (House) Watts based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the September, 1977 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Watts, Max; Watts, Ellen (House) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby