​Abram Was Here

A long long time ago, when i was older, i was stationed at an outpost in the mountains of northern New Mexico.  Our crew lived in a cabin built in 1891, we were in the post civil war days. With no electricity we had oil lamps for evening light, wood stove for cooking, a "cold hole" in the floor for food storage, and a nearby mountain crick for water. Our main duty was as instructors in both black powder shooting, utilizing .58 calibre Springfields,  and also in blacksmithing, utilizing our forge and hand tools. Participants (we called them "recruits") would backpack in, and could travel to a variety of backcountry camps that offered instruction in various skills and programs. As there is no road access to our valley,  we packed in and out our supplies with our Mammoth burroughs, Lee and Grant...