That was her gift to her son Fred, who was born on
May 11, 1861.
His education as a child consisted in memorizing many verses of
the Bible, the "Three R's," and wood-craft. His childhood was
strenuous. In his mother's arms he saw the burning of the town of
New Ulm, which was the funeral pyre for the women and children
of that place when they were massacred by Red Cloud and his
braves.
On another occasion Fred's mother fled for her life from the
Indians, carrying the boy with her. He was a husky lad, and
knowing that if she tried to carry him farther they both would be
overtaken, she hid him under a shock of corn. There, the next
morning, the Indians having been driven off, she found her son
sleeping as soundly as a night watchman. In these Indian wars, and
the Civil War which followed, of the families of Burnham and
Russell, twenty-two of the men were killed. There is no question
that Burnham comes of fighting stock.
In 1870, when Fred was nine years old, his father moved to Los
Angeles, Cal., where two years later he died; and for a time for
both mother and boy there was poverty, hard and grinding. To
relieve this young Burnham acted as a mounted messenger. Often
he was in the saddle from twelve to fifteen hours, and even in a
land where every one rode well, he gained local fame as a hard
rider. In a few years a kind uncle offered to Mrs.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174