Eli, a Shepherd Boy, from Boyhood to Manhood

By Ronald B. McPherson

Eli Macpherson’s grandparents traveled with an 1858 wagon train caravan over the Santa Fe Trail to the New Mexico Territory. The settlers established a settlement called Friendly Valley located in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Eli, born in 1862, completed eighth grade at the Friendly Valley school. His early years are documented in books 1 and 2 in the Preface.

Eli, a Shepherd Boy, from Boyhood to Manhood is a continuation of the Eli story. In 1876 he began working at his grandfather’s General Store while completing high school. On train travels east to attend college, Eli crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis over the historic 1,524-foot steel arch bridge—an engineering marvel completed in 1874.

Eli obtained a 160-acre homestead permit for land located north of Friendly Valley. During summer vacations from college, Eli, with the help of Jake, a mountain man who left the mountains after losing his wife to a grizzly bear, constructed buildings, built fences, and stocked the homestead with farm animals.

When Eli graduated from college in 1885, he married Eleanor Lewis, an eastern girl, and the young couple traveled West to the New Mexico Territory. The story continues as the couple raise three children while living on Eli’s homestead ranch.

Books 1, 2, and 3 include math–history topics interwoven into a human interest story of the American frontier to provide an interesting read for elementary and high school students. Author Ronald B. McPherson is a structural engineer and retired university professor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685265809

Book preview

Chapter 1

The General Store

During May 1876, fourteen-year-old Eli Macpherson graduated from the eighth grade of the Friendly Valley school and made a July 4th presentation at Fort Union. His presentation was on the 1863 statehood of West Virginia when it succeeded from the state of Virginia during the war between the States.

While attending high school in Las Vegas, Eli planned to work for Uncle Jim at the General Store. Grandfather Schmidt had promised to finance Eli’s school expenses, which was considered a gift, and he did not expect Eli to work uncompensated at the General Store. Uncle Jim agreed to pay Eli twenty-five cents per day or $1.50 for a Monday through Saturday week.

The General Store carried a variety of items, including fabric, sewing supplies, dishes, lumber, stoves, agricultural tools, gunpowder, and items of clothing that included hats, boots, shoes, socks, gloves, and suspenders. Personal items included soaps, shaving equipment, lotions, liquor, tobacco, patent medicines, brushes, and spectacles. The store also sold writing paper, pens, pencils, and books. Over two hundred individual items were stocked. A store owner had to understand the needs of the people in the community and be well versed in business practices.

Because cash was often scarce, much of the business consisted of barter or credit until the crops came in. Farmers and housewives would bring in homegrown produce to trade for items that were shipped in from outside. Uncle Jim was responsible for identifying items that were not selling and for maintaining the inventory of items that did sell.

Grandfather Schmidt was partially retired from work at the General Store but available to help in matters pertaining to the operation of the store. In 1873 Grandfather Schmidt wanted to slow down from the daily rigors of the General Store. He would still work but at a reduced time. He did not wish to burden Uncle Jim with complete responsibility of the store, so he decided to advertise a position.

When Sam Conrad learned of the position at the General Store, he was interested. Sam and his wife, Evie, had arrived with the 1858 wagon train. At the time Sam needed a job and applied for a position at Fort Union, located at the intersection of the north (Mountain) and south (Cimarron) branches of the Santa Fe Trail. Fort Union was built in 1851 when the war with Mexico ceded the Southwest territory to the United States. The fort, which was the largest military base in the Southwest, contained a hospital, corrals, stables, barracks, officer quarters, and large warehouses with materials for distribution to military posts throughout the Southwest. The Fort Union Post was the central supply hub and was equipped to supply all other New Mexico forts. The Post employed many men, mostly civilians, and Sam Conrad was hired by the Post in February 1859.

The horseback ride to Fort Union took the better part of two hours. Sam would leave early on Mondays, spend the week at Fort Union, and return late on Fridays. After almost fifteen years of this schedule, Sam wanted to spend more time with his family, and he applied to Hans Schmidt for the General Store opening. With his Fort Union experience dealing with supplies, Grandfather Schmidt believed Sam was well qualified and offered him a job at the General Store. In the months and years that followed, Sam proved to be a qualified and trustworthy