■**»Tj , |i; Srer .■*■' Pi -,--••*■» •-■■v i if-.** JBWi •• : t •' fc INGO; NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. BY W. W. H. DAVIS LATE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY. NEW YOEK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 185 7. V Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, by Harper d her people. bodies and dry our clothes. Here we sat until quite late, and in no very cheerful mood, when we made ar- rangements to pass the night. To sleep comfortably upon the ground such a night as this required more than ordinary management, and called into requisition all our ingenuity. The balance of the party slept in the wagons, but I preferred lying out to being cramped up among the baggage and mail- bags, and accordingly made my bed under one of the wagons. I wrapped myself up in a buffalo robe and blankets, and, with as much resignation as possible, laid me down to sleep. I discovered, when too late to rem- edy the difficulty, that I was reposing in a little hollow, and soon became aware that the water was running to- ward me ; but there was hardly a choice left, and I must either run the risk of being drenched there, or go else- where with every prospect of doing worse. I therefore determined to stand my ground and take the chances. In the course of time I fell asleep, and while in troubled dreams about Noah and the ark, I awoke to find a con- siderable pool of water by my side. It now required straight and steady lying to keep out of the water, but this I managed to do, and again passed into the land of dreams. In the course of the night I awoke a second time, and found the condition of things much worse ; the water had collected in the hollow in which I was lying, and I was wet to the skin. This seemed like a determ- ination to drive me out, but I resolved not to beat a re- t reat so long as I could keep the head above water ; but ail sleep was at an end, and I spent the balance of the night in moody reflection. The morning at last dawned, rainy and unpleasant. We drove eight miles to Diamond Spring to breakfast. The rain came down in torrents while we were around the fire eating, and all were obliged to seek shelter in the TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 27 wagons, plate in hand. We remained here but a short time, when we harnessed up and drove to the Cotton Wood, twenty-nine miles, where we made camp for the night. By evening the weather cleared up, and the moon came out bright and clear from under the heavy clouds. The country was now becoming less rolling, and appeal- ed more like an extended plain. On the ninth of the month we reached the Little Arkansas, where we break- fasted, and stopped for the night at Plumb Bute. While breakfasting, we espied a fine old buffalo bull feeding a little way up the creek, and having a hankering after some of his flesh, Captain Reynolds and myself took our rifles and started in pursuit. I followed up the wind- ing of the stream, which here runs through a deep ravine, while the captain held directly across the prairie. I had lost sight of the buffalo, and was anxiously seeking his whereabouts, when I heard the crack of a rifle, and, upon looking up the stream, saw the animal standing* under a cottonwood-tree, shaking his head as though about to make a charge. The captain gave him a little more sea- room, but he did not advance ; when another shot caused him to beat a retreat, and he was soon lost to sight over a roll of the prairie. We encamped for noon and dined at Cow Creek. Here I received my first alarm from the Indians. See- ing a small herd of buffaloes feeding up the creek, Rod- man, Ash, and myself started off in pursuit, two being armed with rifles, and the third with a small six-shooter. We followed them some distance from the camp, but finding they were moving off without a prospect of being- able to overtake them, we concluded to return. We were on the point of retracing our steps, when one of the party cried out, " Look at the Indians !" and, turning to the north, we espied three mounted warriors, just out of rifle-shot, standing upon a roll of the prairie. The cry 28 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. of " Indians" is at all times startling upon the Plains, but particularly so when you encounter them away from your main party; and, under such circumstances, the market value of good white scalps will naturally occur to the mind. We held a council of war, and resolved unanimously that it was advisable to return to camp ; we considered ourselves a pretty fair match for the three liana in sight, but did not know how many more there were behind the ridge. We knew it would not do to let the Indians see that we were alarmed, and therefore did not run ; but we managed to do some of the handsomest kind of walking, now and then looking back to see if our red brethren were coming on. They gradually moved toward us, which caused us to lengthen our steps a little. We made a straight line for the ravine that lay in front of us, and, when once in it and hid from the Indians, we made some very respectable running. We soon increased the distance between us and them ; and when we emerged from the ravine upon the plain, we were out of all dan- ger, and walked leisurely into camp. The Indians fol- lowed slowly, and came in while we were eating dinner, and turned out to be three old Caws; and, if the truth Was known, they were probably as badly frightened as ourselves. As usual, they were upon a begging expe- dition. We filled a pipe for each, which they smoked with much gusto before the fire, and then gave them a moderate drink of brandy apiece, which was the most acceptable thing we could have given them. The young- est of the party was not satisfied, but wanted more ; he made many signs to show how dry he was, and offered all the buffalo -meat he had on his pony for another ram. We gave the old man a few things to carry home to his squaw ; and when we drove on, we left them hov- ering over the expiring embers of our fire. The next day we passed the Great Bend of the Ar- TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 2\) kansas, and made our camp for the night eight miles be- yond the Pawnee Fork. Here we struck the region of buffalo grass, and saw herds of the animal grazing upon the surrounding plains. They were very shy, and we could not get near enough to shoot any of them. We breakfasted upon the meat we had procured from the Caw Indians, which I found quite delicious, being sweet- er and more juicy than beef. We made the crossing of Pawnee Fork about nine o'clock at night, with a bright moon shining upon us. This is considered among the most dangerous ground on the road, and, before we at- tempted crossing, Mr. Booth made a reconnaissance of the ford, and up and down the stream some distance. The banks are high and steep, and afford an excellent situa- tion for an Indian ambuscade. When he returned to the wagons he reported that he " smelt Injins," and di- rected us to have our arms ready for an emergency. We therefore shouldered our rifles and buckled on our pis- tols, to be ready to defend the passage of the wagons if it should be necessary ; but we crossed in safety, and continued on to camp, where we arrived at a late hour. In crossing Coon Creek the following day we met with an accident that came nigh putting some of us hors du combat for the rest of the trip. The wagon in which four of us were riding had been given into the care of the Mexican a little while before, and, as he was not much skilled in driving, the mules ran away with us. They plunged at full speed down the steep bank into the creek ; and the wagon body, with its human load, was thrown off the running gears, and landed at least ten feet distant in the dry bed of the stream. The concussion seemed like a young earthquake. People may talk about seeing stars upon such occasions, but, as near as my rec- ollection serves me, I had the pleasure of beholding a score or more of full-sized moons. I was pitched out of 30 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the wagon head foremost on to the hard earth, stunned but not much hurt. On looking after my companions, I found them to be alive and kicking, and scrambling out of the wagon with all possible speed, apparently fearful it was about to make another summerset. We were all more or less bruised. Rodman was more seriously in- jured than the others, and the blood was streaming down his face from an 'ugly cut over the left eye, produced by falling against some sharp instrument. The wagon was in a worse condition than the passengers. When the mules had rid themselves of the body, they dashed across the Plains with the running gears in fine style, apparent- ly pleased with the operation as a most capital joke. They dropped the wheels here and there as the linch-pins came out, and then dragged the axles about on the ground until they were stopped by the men. This accident de- tained us about an hour, when the wagon was pronounced in running order once more, and we resumed our journey. At this time our road lay across what is known as the Dry Route, where for the distance of thirty miles there is no water. We last filled our kegs at the Pawnee Fork, wliich supplied us with water to drink, but we had none to cook with, and the mules were obliged to thirst until we reached the Arkansas. We made our last meal at Coon Creek, the scene of our disaster, where we cook- ed with buffalo chips in place of wood, of which latter there was none to be had. They burn with a bright warm flame, much the same as Irish peat. We passed through immense herds of buffaloes all day, but did not stop to kill any of them, being anxious to reach the river iis soon as possible, as the mules had not been watered for twenty-four hours. Soon after dark we saw a fire ahead, which we supposed was the camp of a party of Indians, but when we drew near we found it to be the down mail from Santa Fe, a single wagon in charge of TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 31 four men. We halted a while to graze our wearied ani- mals, but they refused to eat until a smart shower of rain had moistened the grass. Soon after we arrived at the camp of the down mail a large herd of buffaloes came toward us on their way to water. We could hear them some distance by the rum- bling noise they made, and when they appeared in view they' resembled a great black cloud moving close to the earth. Two of us sallied out, rifle in hand, hoping to be able to bag one of them, and laid ourselves down in a ravine near which we knew they must pass. They came slowly toward us in a great moving mass, fairly making the earth tremble with their tread, and the leader now and then stopping to snuff the air, as if apprehensive of danger. They were almost within rifle-shot, when they became alarmed at a noise in our camp, and turned and scampered off as rapidly as possible. This evening the wolves came around us in great numbers, and kept up a most dismal howling the while. They and the buffalo are sworn enemies, and have many fierce encounters. They chase the herds in droves and singly until they run some one of them down, which they hamstring, and aft- erward dispatch at pleasure. The oldest bulls some- times fall a prey to them in this manner, and the bones of their victims lie scattered over the Plains. When the cows are attacked, the bulls, like gallant fellows, come to their rescue ; and they farther exhibit their devotion to the gentler sex by forming a ring around them in time of a storm to shelter them as much as possible from its severity. We resumed the drive at half past eleven o'clock at night, with twelve miles before us to the Arkansas, the first point at which we could reach water. The night was dark as pitch, and before we had driven a mile the mules refused to go faster than a walk through sheer fa- 32 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. tigue, and neither whipping nor coaxing would induce them to hasten their speed. After traveling a few miles along the beaten road we turned to the left, hoping to reach the water by a shorter route through the hills, Captain Reynolds and myself leading the teams on foot. We followed the buffalo-paths, as we knew these animals always reached the water by the most direct route. The moon and stars had now come out, and the night was beautiful and 'clear. We followed down a narrow valley inclosed on either side by a ridge of broken hills. Several times we saw ahead what all supposed to be water, but as we approached it vanished into air, and turned out to be no more than the mirage of the Plains, which had oft before deceived the weary traveler. Thus we trudged along several weary miles, hoping every moment to see the stream, when the fatigue of the day would come to an end. At length, when man and beast were well-nigh worn down, the sparkling Arkansas was seen directly in front, and but a few hundred yards dis- tant. The mules at once snuffed the water and in- creased their pace, and in a few minutes we were on the banks of the shining river, now about three o'clock in the morning. The thirsty animals could hardly restrain their impatience to be in the stream until they were un- harnessed ; and, when once free, they rushed pell-mell into, the water, and drank long and deep. We arranged our little camp without ceremony, and were soon in sweet repose amid the high prairie grass. We did not leave camp until ten o'clock the next day, and then continued our journey up the east bank of the Arkansas. The river here is not more than three hun- dred yards wide, with low banka* and filled with numer- ous beds of sand. The water is very shallow, clear, and pleasant to the taste, but in regard to navigation there is no hope of its ever being able to bear upon its bosom xKIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 3;i a larger craft than an Indian canoe. As you ascend the river the banks become more broken, as a general thing the ridges following the course of the stream. We pass- ed old Fort Atkinson, now in ruins, and halted a few miles beyond to dine. During the preparations for din- ner each man seemed metamorphosed into a cook, ready and willing to lend his aid. 'Tis said "many cooks spoil the broth," but the quality of the victuals that day gave the lie direct to the old adage, for the soup was never more palatable, and the fried buffalo-meat was de- licious. The cooking scene around the fire was amus- ing. Here one was seen with a large potato on the end of a stick, which he was roasting in the ashes, and there another with a slice of buffalo-meat broiling upon the coals, while a third was stirring the soup and adding the condiments. The gallant, poetical captain gave his en- tire attention to a buffalo-steak which he was broiling upon a piece of old iron he had found at the fort. The meal was truly a joint-stock concern, and each one help- ed himself according to his inclination. Flap-jacks were in the bill of fare to-day for the first time, and the maker received praise enough to satisfy any reasonable mortal. We saw a number of buffaloes during the day, but they had too much good sense to come within range of our rifles. We encamped that night at the middle crossing among the sand-hills. We forded the river the next morning opposite our camp-ground, and stopped on the other side for breakfast. There were herds of buffaloes and antelopes grazing near, but we did not succeed in killing any of them. A large number of the former came down to the river to cross over about the time we encamped, but, becoming alarm- ed at our presence, they scampered off to the sand-hills, and a few only succeeded in getting across. The ante- lope is a most beautiful and graceful little animal, and, B2 34 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. when running across the plains, has almost the appear- ance of a thing of air. We gave chase to a large herd, but they soon placed themselves far beyond the reach of danger. Here the road leaves the river and strikes off toward the southwest, with a stretch of nearly sixty miles without water. We left camp at ten, and resumed our journey after filling our water-kegs and jugs from the river. For about four miles the road gradually ascends among the low sand-hills, when -we strike the Jornada, a stretch of nearly fifty miles of dead level, without a tree, or bush, or hill to break the evenness of the surface, and covered with buffalo-grass. We dined near the spot where Col- onel Cook disarmed the Texans a few years ago, which one of the passengers christened the Jornada Hotel. We made a night-drive of twenty-five miles, and encamped upon the open plains. The next morning we drove to i id Creek for breakfast, completing the passage of the .Jornada in fifteen driving hours. To day our friend the padre complained of being mui mo in his cabeza, which means, in plain English, i iiat the poor fellow had the head-ache. As a traveling companion we found him much more agreeable than many who understand our language and manners better, lie greatly improved upon acquaintance, and his good ([iialities, which were gradually developed, more than overbalanced his eccentricities ; and in all things we left a wide margin, because he was a stranger in a strange land. He was generous to a fault, and appeared to have in his heart an abundance of that desirable fluid the world calls the milk of human kindness. He was a man of learning and extensive travel, having .been five years a missionary in the Holy Land, and had passed much time among the Arabs, whose language he spoke witli fluency. Though he and I were far asunder in matters TEIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 35 of religion, I could but have some respect for the faith' he professes, and for which he sacrifices all the charms of life, and buries himself from the world in the middle of the continent. We may speak about the tenets of the Romish Church, but we must unite in giving the priest- hood credit for great self-denial, and a meek forbearance with all the trials that beset them in their lonely path through life. 36 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. % • CHAPTER II. trip across the plains — Concluded. Camp at Sand Creek. — First Buffalo killed. — Cimmarron River. — In- dian Fright. — Padre and his Pistols. — Mishap. — Country. — Stran- ger's Grave. — Flap-jacks. — Prairie Dogs: their Habits — Appear- ance. — Rock Creek. — Geological Formation. — Buffalo Hunters. — Murder of Mr\ White. — Mountains in View. — Murder of a Mail Party. — Fort Union. — Las Vegas. — Tecalota. — Old Pecos. — Ruins of Pueblo. — Cauon. — Arrival at Santa Fe. The reader left us, at the close of the last chapter, en- camped at Sand Creek for breakfast. Here we shot and made captive our first buffalo. As we were sitting around our camp-fire, discussing the remains of our morn- ing's meal, five buffaloes were seen approaching a small pool of water a little way in front. Booth seized his rifle as soon as he saw them coming toward us, and, stealing along the edge of the pond until he obtained a good position, waited for them to come up. They ad- vanced with stately dignity, ignorant that an enemy was concealed so near. They were led, some yards in ad- vance, by a noble-looking old bull, who had probably piloted the herd across the Plains for many years. When they had approached within a hundred yards, iTooth fired, and struck the leader under the fore shoul- der. He wheeled around and staggered, but did not fall ; then braced himself, and turned his head with an angry look in the direction whence the shot came. The others trotted off a few yards, but soon returned and took their stand beside their wounded companion. Booth, in tho mean time, remained lying close to the ground where he TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 37 had fired, while the buffaloes kept looking in that direc- tion, and seemed disposed to keep their position until they had discovered their enemy. Seeing our companion in rather a dangerous situation, three of us sallied out from camp, rifle in hand, to raise the siege and relieve him. We ran along the edge of the pond toward the place of concealment, and when within a hundred yards of the animals we opened a fire upon them. Captain R. struck the wounded buffalo in the fore leg, and brought him to the ground, while my ball took effect under the fore shoulder of one of the others. The latter did not fall, but with his three comrades moved slowly off, stop- ping now and then to look back at the fallen bull. I pursued them some distance, but not being able to get within rifle-shot again, returned to the place where the wounded animal had fallen. He was not yet dead, and we fired three more balls into him before he yielded up the ghost, when we fell upon him with our knives, and cut out the choicest pieces, leaving the balance to the vultures and wolves. The same afternoon we drove fifteen miles to the Cim- marron, or Lost River, where we halted for dinner. The only evidence of a river to be seen was the dry bed of the stream which wound before us across the Plain. In some parts there is running water in the old channel, while in other places it sinks into the sand, and does not make its appearance for some miles. The storms upon the Cimmarron are terrific, and apparently as much dread- ed as were the "fierce Bermotha" that Shakspeare wrote about in times of yore. Sometimes the hail comes down as large as hens' eggs, and the wind blows with the fury of a West India hurricane. The mail-men had often spoken of the fierce storms we might expect upon the Lost River, and we were therefore rejoiced to see it for the first time beneath a clear sky. 38 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. While we were waiting dinner, our little camp was startled by the cry, " Look at the Indians !" when, cast- ing our eyes toward the west, we saw what we supposed to be a party of some thirty savages just rising a swell in the prairie. The anticipations of dinner were at an end for the present, and all hands stood to their arms. Then there was "mustering in hot haste" — all was bus- tle and confusion. Each man was putting himself upon a war footing : one was hallooing, "Where is my rifle ?" another asking for his six-shooter; while a third was cry- ing out, "I have lost my knife." Our friend the padre was a good deal alarmed, and some of his actions were quite amusing. When the alarm was first given he ran for the baggage-wagon and called for his box, which was at the bottom of the load. We did not know but that he was after a crucifix to confess the whole party, ami therefore one of the men got the box and placed it be- fore him. He opened it, and took therefrom a pair of old shoes, in which were stowed away a brace of pocket pistols about six inches long. His weapons were duly loaded, and the man of peace was prepared to stand upon the defensive. The arms being placed in order, we next caught up the mules and hitched them to the wagons ; and I venture to say that the same number of animals were never harnessed in quicker time, nor the dinner fix- ings cleared away with less ceremony. About the time we were ready to drive on, we discovered the supposed Indians to be a party of teamsters on their return to the States, having conducted a train of wagons to Santa Fe. Of course we were a good deal relieved to find that the imaginary foes were friends, but for the time being they answered the purpose of bona fide Indians, and caused us a genuine alarm. After a few minutes' chat with the strangers we re- sumed the road and drove to the " Barrels," where we TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 39 halted for the night. A short time "before we reached camp one of the hind wheels of the passenger wagon ran off, and let one side of the body down. At first we thought something serious had happened ; but, upon ex- amination, we found there was no other damage done than a skeen drawn out and a linch-pin lost, and in a short time we were in running order again. The padre considered himself beneath an unlucky star, inasmuch as all the accidents to the wagon happened on his side, zifter the turn-over in Coon Creek he made his boy Car- los change seats with him, believing his was the unfor- tunate side of the wagon ; but now, as the wheel ran off on the side to which he had changed, he fully believed that misfortune followed him. We reached camp at a late hour, when, turning the animals out to graze, we cooked a hasty supper and lay down to sleep, some in the wagons and some upon the Plains. The country along the Cimmarron is very sandy. Wood is scarce, and the only water to be had for a great distance is found in stagnant pools in the old bed of the river. The following day we drove some fifty miles, and encamped in the evening at a place that bears no name. We breakfasted and supped upon buffalo-meat, and many thanks were given to the cook for the savory dishes. The night was cold and frosty, and sleeping upon the ground was very uncomfortable. We continued the next clay through the same barren country, and again struck the Cimmarron. We dined at a place known as the " Stranger's Grave." Here lie the remains of some poor fellow, who probably died on his way home after a long absence. The grave is near the road, and a plain board has been erected by some friendly hand to mark the spot where the stranger sleeps. Upon one side the letters "J.M.," and upon the other the name of "Isam B.Monson" have been cut into the wood. What a lone- 40 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ly place for the last resting-place of a human being ! In the afternoon we passed the spot known as " Mule Head." It is a modern Golgotha, and marks the place where a hundred and twenty mules perished in one night a few years ago. The bleached bones are piled up by the side of the road. We are now beyond the region of buffaloes, and are passing through herds of antelopes, which skim the Plains upon all sides of us. The night was cold and damp, and when I arose in the morning my bedding was dripping with water. The poor chambermaid was again blessed — " over the left" — for not shaking up the feath- ers, which seemed to have become knotty for want of use. We harnessed up early, and drove sixteen miles to breakfast, to Cedar Spring. The padre made himself useful to-day, and in a manner that was pleasing to the whole party. We had flap-jacks for breakfast, and the cook had tried in vain to turn them without the aid of a knife. Our priestly friend watched with attention, and, seeing him at fault, came to his assistance. He under- stood the operation well, having probably been taught the same in some lonely cell in the Holy Land, and turned them with ease, making them perform sundry gy- rations in the air before they struck the pan again. Ever after, when the pan and batter were brought into requi- sition, they were turned over to him, with the polite re- quest that he would make himself useful, and his kind- ness of heart never permitted him to refuse. As we looked westward to-day, we could see away in the dis- tance, like fleecy clouds hanging in the atmosphere, the faint outlines of what proved to be the Mesa Mayor, the first of a succession of table-lands we were approaching. At dinner one of the mail-men seriously shocked the feel- ings of our spiritual friend by asking him if the Pope had a wife. The question was asked with such a sober countenance that the padre was at a loss to determine TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 41 whether it was done in jest or earnest ; but he replied good-humoredly that u the Pope never marries," with a look that implied that he was imparting knowledge to an ignorant heretic. We were now traveling through the region inhabited by the " prairie dog," and the whole country seemed one continued village. They are a curious and interesting little animal, and deserve a passing notice. For miles the Plains are dotted with the piles of dirt before their hole*s, which resemble large ant-hills. They dig a deep hole in the ground, four or six inches in diameter, and carry up the dirt and place it in a heap at the mouth in the shape of a cone, and about a foot high. Their holes are unequal distances apart, and are arranged without order. It is said by some that they live on friendly terms with the owl and rattlesnake, but, from the best information I could obtain of their manners and habits, I do not think such is the case. It is quite amusing to see the little canine citizens manoeuvre when a party of strangers invade their dominions. In the first place you will observe some of the little fellows, in various parts of the settlement, putting their heads out of their holes and peeping over the sand-hills in front to see what is going on. Next they venture all the way out, and sit on their hind legs upon the top of the sand-hills in order to obtain a better view of matters and things. After having made a satisfactory reconnaissance, you will see them running in different directions as though giving in- telligence through the village. They skip from hole to hole with great agility ; soon the whole population is aroused, and " heads out" seems to be the order of the day. / Those that first discerned your approach seem to have been sentinels, stationed to sound the alarm to the main body. Now the town is aroused, and every able-bodied 42 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. citizen comes out of his hole to be prepared for any emergency that may arise. As you approach nearer their activity increases, and frequent communication is held between different quarters of the town. Now you notice three or four in close conclave, as if holding coun- cil upon the affairs of the nation, at the end of which they separate, each one returning to his own home. Now you observe a single dog run across to his neighbor, hold a moment's confab with him, and then skip back again. In another part of the village you will see them assem- bled in grand council, in considerable numbers, apparent- ly holding a solemn debate upon the state of public af- fairs. They are formed in a circle, each one sitting erect upon his hind legs, and in the middle is seated a grave old patriarch, who has the required wisdom to preside over and direct their deliberations. Apparently some important question has been discussed and decided, for, when they adjourn, messengers are seen hastening to all parts of the town to announce the result. Thus the lit- tle rascals keep up their operations until you draw very near, when every fellow disappears in his hole, and you see nothing more of them while you remain in the vil- lage. In point of size they resemble a common gray squirrel, and look not unlike that little animal with the < are cut off and the tail bobbed. They are seldom caught, and will not even leave their holes when water is poured in upon them. We dined at M'Nese's Creek, named from an old hunter who was killed there by the Indians a few years ago, and slept at Cotton Wood, twelve miles beyond. The next day we made Round Mound, and encamped upon the open plain. It began to rain soon after we left camp in the morning, and continued all day and night. We halted on the Rabatier Creek for breakfast, fourteen miles from where we had slept the night before, and TEIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 43 while eating we sought shelter under a ledge of over- hanging rocks from the pelting of the storm. #We re- mained at this point until three o'clock in the afternoon, when we harnessed up and drove on. The rain came own in torrents while we ate dinner, and our humble camp-fire did but little toward keeping us warm and dry. Our night drive was exceedingly unpleasant ; it was as dark as pitch, the roads were deep with mud, and the rain still came down with great violence. As usual, I made my bed upon the ground, and when I awoke in the morning I found myself almost submerged in water. The camp was astir early the next morning, but we did not leave until about eight o'clock. We breakfasted at Rock Creek, the rain holding up while we ate. The geological formation of the rocks along the stream is rather interesting. The banks are abrupt, and in many places perpendicular. The rocks were originally formed by deposition in water, and the strata can yet be dis- tinctly traced, as though they had been laid by a stone- mason. The layers have not been disturbed from their horizontal position, and the attrition of water in times of freshets has worn many of "the softer stones away, and left the harder ones projecting over the bed of the stream. The formation appears to have been subjected to the ac- tion of fire at a subsequent period, as it bears evidence of having undergone intense heat. Many of the rocks are partially crumbled, and in places they are almost a blood red, caused by the action of the atmosphere upon the chemicals in their composition. In places they ex- hibit seams and ridges upon their flat surface, probably caused by a softer overlying stone having been reduced to a liquid state, portions of which remained and became hardened. Soon after we encamped the advance of a large party 44 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. of Mexican buffalo-hunters came in, and stopped just above us upon the stream. All told, they numbered a hundred and fifty men, near five hundred animals, and some fifty carts. They were upon their annual buffalo- hunt, which they make each fall, when they remain upon t lie Plains six weeks or two months. They dry the meat in the camp, and sell it when they return to the settle- ments. They made as mottled and uncivilized an ap- pearance as can well be imagined; no two wore the same costume, and, upon the whole, they looked not unlike a party of gipsies migrating to some new field of action. They showed their friendly feeling by offering us aguar- diente to drink, as barbarous an alcoholic compound as ever was made, and gave us a few loaves of bread, of Taos flour, dark and coarse, but sweet. The rain set in again soon after we were under way in the afternoon, and continued nearly all night. We J ia< I traveled but a few miles when it became dark, and, as the storm increased, we concluded to halt and encamp until morning. The mules were picketed near the wag- ons, and also well blanketed to keep them from freezing ; but the rain came down in such torrents that it was out of the question to cook. We all passed the night in the wagons, as it was too wet to lie out : some dozed upright, on their seats, while others had the privilege of lying down. I was one of the perpendicular snoozers ; and i > keep the rain from beating in the wagon, I hung an In- dia-rubber cloth up in front. The night seemed of an interminable length, and we were all greatly rejoiced when the morning broke, and showed a clear sky look- ing down upon us. During the travel of yesterday, between Whetstone Branch and Hock Creek, we passed the spot where a small party of Americans were killed, a few years before, by the Jicarilla Apache Indians. Mr. White had been TEIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. . 45 a merchant in Santa Fe, and was now returning to New Mexico with his family, in company with the train of Mr. Aubrey. All danger was considered at an end when they arrived at this point in the road, and Mr. White and family left the train and started on ahead. His party consisted of himself, wife, and child, a German named Lawberger, and an American whose name is not known, a Mexican, and a negro servant. There is a dif- ference of opinion as to the manner of attack, but I was informed by Major John Greiner, then Indian agent at Santa Fe, that the following relation of the affair was made to him some time afterward by the Jicarilla chief Chacow. While the Americans were in camp, a small party of Indians came up and demanded presents. These Mr. White refused to give them, and drove them, out of camp ; they returned shortly, and were again treated in the same manner. This time they did not go away, but commenced an attack upon the party by shooting the negro and Mexican, the latter falling upon the fire. The others made an attempt to escape, but were all killed ex- cept Mrs. White and child, who were made prisoners. The dead bodies were then laid beside the road, but were neither scalped nor stripped. A short time afterward a party of Mexicans came along and began to plunder the wagon, when the Indians, who had concealed themselves, fired upon them and wounded a boy, who was left for dead. He laid still until the Indians had left, when he got up and started toward the settlements, with an arrow sticking between the bones of his arm. He came up with a party of Americans the same day, and got in in safety. ,The Indians who committed the outrage are said to have been a party on their return from the South ; that they struck the trail a short distance east of the place where the attack was made, which the main body followed, while a few were sent back to watch the train. 46 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. When the affair was known in Santa Fe, a company of dragoons, with Kit Carson as guide, were sent in pur- suit. They struck the trail, and followed it for three or four -days, when they came up with and attacked the In* dians. They succeeded in killing several of the savages, but during the fight the latter murdered both Mrs. White and her child. Several of the women and children of the Indians perished in a severe snow-storm that came on. The troops came nigh sharing the same fate, but their guide, who was well acquainted with the country, conducted them to timber, where they obtained shelter from the storm and wood to keep them warm. The morning of the twentieth was clear and cold, and the mountains within sight were covered with snow. We drove to the Point of Rocks to breakfast, dined ten miles beyond, and encamped for the night on the west bank of the Canadian Fork of the Arkansas. To-day we crossed the first of the series of mesas that terminate the western boundary of the Plains, and came within range of the mountainous regions. Captain Reynolds and my- self walked two miles across this beautiful stretch of ta- ble-land. The road ascends in a winding course until the plateau is reached, when it runs away toward the west in nearly a straight line. When fairly upon the mesa, we halted to admire the prospect that opened be- fore us. The country is almost as level as a floor for miles in every direction. A rim of mountains, broken and serrated, but not high, bounds it in the distance on three sides, while toward the east you look upon the boundless plain stretching away until the earth and sky appear to meet. At that elevation, near seven thou- sand feet above the level of the sea, the sky shone as bright and clear as crystal, and there seemed hardly a limit to the vision. The rarity of the atmosphere sensi- bly affected our respiration, and the least exertion ere- TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 47 ated an unpleasant sensation upon the lungs. After cross- ing the mesa, we entered upon a more rolling country, and followed the winding course of the valleys to the river. The last few miles of the road was wet and muddy, and we did not reach the crossing of the river until nearly midnight. The stream is narrow hut rapid, and the banks steep and rather difficult of descent. The crossing was in bad repair, but we made the passage without accident. The place of camping was damp and soft from recent rains, but, as there was no choice of lodgings to one who had an outside ticket, I threw my- self upon the wet ground, and soundly slept away the fatigues of the day. When we awoke in the morning the ground was white with a heavy frost. We breakfasted at the Ocate, where we consumed the last of our rations except a little ham and coffee, and halted at four in the afternoon to graze the animals. There was no wood to be obtained, and we were obliged to fast for the remainder of the day. The mules were grazed upon the grass that abounded ; and one of the passengers remarked that the landlord of the hotel was liable in damages because he did not furnish entertainment for man as well as beast. The road was bad, and we made but little progress. Near this point is the vVagon Mound, in the vicinity of which the United States mail-party was cut off by the Indians in the winter of 1850. They were en route from Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fe, and were ten in num- ber, all of whom were killed, together with their mules, and the wagon rifled of its contents. From information afterward obtained, it was the combined work of a party of Apache and Utah Indians. The first attack was made in the morning, and the fight lasted all day, without much damage being done, only a man or two wounded. This was by the Apaches alone. In the evening they 48 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. were joined by a party of Utahs, who told them they did not know how to fight Americans, but that they would show them. The attack was renewed the next morning, when the combined force of Indians rushed upon and overpowered them after a short resistance. The final struggle took place at a pass between the hills, where the savages had every advantage. When intelligence of the light reached Santa Fe, a party of soldiers were sent out to bury the dead. Two men were found dead in the wagon, having probably been wounded early in the en- gagement, and placed there by their companions, where they were afterward killed. The mules, and the remain- der of the party, were lying dead near by. The men had been shot with arrows, and the animals with balls. The former were partly stripped, but none were scalped. A great quantity of arrows covered the ground, and the mail matter was scattered round about. We encamped for the night in a little wet valley, and again lay down to sleep, supperless, and without tire. We were astir early the next morning, and got under way in good season. The distance from this point to Fort Union is ten miles, and the remainder of our jour- ney to that post lay mostly through the mountain val- leys. In a drive of five miles we came to a region of snow, which lay three or four inches deep upon the ground. As we crossed the ridge some three miles dis- tant, the fort came into view, which at first sight ap- peared like a cluster of dark spots upon the white sur- face, close to the foot of a range of mountains. As we drew nearer we could distinctly see the quarters of offi- cers and men; soon the flash of the sentinels' muskets caught the eye, and objects could be distinctly seen mov- ing about. We reached the fort about eleven o'clock, and were landed at the suttler's store, that being the post-office. TEIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. ** 51 Fort Union, a hundred and ten miles from Santa Fe, is situated in the pleasant valley of the Moro. It is an open post, without either stockades or breastworks of any kind, and, barring the officers and soldiers who are seen about, it has much more the appearance of a quiet frontier village than that of a military station. It is laid out with broad and straight streets crossing each other at right angles. The huts are built of pine logs, obtain- ed from the neighboring mountains, and the quarters of both officers and men wore a neat and comfortable ap- pearance. I had the pleasure of making the acquaint- ance of several of the officers, and among others Lieu- tenant-colonel Cook, of the dragoons, commanding the post. I dined at the hospitable board of Colonel Cook, and, after having eaten but one meal for the past forty- eight hours, the reader will readily believe that I did full justice to the repast. We left the fort about three in the afternoon, and drove two miles beyond Barclay's Fort, where we en- camped for the night. This is a private trading-post, and was built during the war with Mexico. It is a large adobe establishment, and, like the immense caravansaries of the East, serves as an abode for men and animals. From the outside it presents rather a formidable as well as a neat appearance, being pierced with loop-holes and ornamented with battlements. The rooms within were damp and uncomfortable, and all the surroundings looked so gloomy, the hour being twilight, that it reminded me of some old state prison where the good and great of for- mer times have languished away their lives. As we were now in a country abounding with wood, and no danger to be apprehended from the Indians, we built up a large fire at our place of camping, and slept with some degree of comfort. The next morning we drove to Las Vegas to break- 52# NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. fast, sixtlen miles, a About midway between our camp and this place we crossed a ridge that is called the Grand Divide, separating the waters that flow east into the Mississippi from those that flow west into the Rio del Norte. The country around is diversified with hill and dale, but there lacked the appliances of civilized life to make the landscape pleasing to the sight. Las Vegas is a dirty mud town of some seven hundred inhabitants ; many of the houses were in ruins, and most of the others wore an exceedingly uncomfortable appearance. We halted our teams in the Plaza, but which more resembled a muddy field than a public square, and all sorts of four- footed domestic animals were roaming at large over it. We made a sumptuous meal on fried ham, bread and molasses, eggs, goats' milk, etc. A few Americans were living here, who seemed to control the trade of the place. In company with Padre Donato I paid a visit to the an- tiquated mud church, which looked as though it had stood the wear and tear of more years than was likely to be meted out to it in the future. It stands upon the Plaza, and over the entrance hangs an old cracked bell, the tones of which fell in doleful sounds upon the ear. The form is that of a cross, with a damp earthen floor, and void of seats, or other accommodations for worship- ers. In the nave is the altar, with a few rude and prim- itive decorations, and in the rear of it are three daubs of paintings, one of which is intended to represent Christ nailed to the cross ; while a rough image of the Virgin Mary stood in the north transept. The old man in at- tendance showed us the sacred vestments of the priests ; and as he laid article after article before us, and explain- ed their respective use, a smile of proud satisfaction ap- peared to light up his countenance. Our next drive was to the Mexican village of Tecalota. we leave Las Vegas the road ascends slightly, but ry TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 06 soon descends again to a narrow valley, which we follow some four miles, when we suddenly turn to the right and pass a mountain ridge through a deep canon. On the right of the valley, a chain of serrated hills, rather than mountains, run from northeast to southwest, while on the left the country is more open, and a few miles to the east lie the open prairies. The ridge appears to have been cloven asunder by some great convulsion of nature, and a beautiful road made through it wide enough for four wagons to pass abreast. The sides of the canon are formed of immense masses of rocks nearly perpendic- ular. The original formation was deposition in water, but there has been a subsequent upheaval, as well as a subjection to intense heat, which has displaced the strata, which now lie at an angle of about 45°, with the dip toward the east. The ridge exhibits no other vegeta- tion than a growth of scrubby pine-trees, and a fev. blades of grass starting up among the rocks. Passing the canon we entered another narrow valley, wedged in between opposite hills, down which we traveled for some miles. Just within the canon a clear spring bubbles forth from the side of a sand-bank, at which I quenched my thirst, as no more water was to be found for some distance. It was near two o'clock in the afternoon when we reached Tecalota, where we halted long enough to feed the animals and dine. This place looks enough like Las Vegas to be a twin sister, and has a population of some five hundred, living in miserable mud houses. As we drove into the town, a lad was in the belfry of the old mud church, tolling the bell for the death of one of the inhabitants, which he effected by striking the clapper against the opposite sides of the bell with the hand. Here a teacher of the Methodist Church had just located, and was about to open a school for the instruction of the 54 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. rising generation. I crossed the Plaza to his room for a few moments, and listened with pleasure to the recital of his bright anticipations for the future. May God smile upon all his labors, and may his hopes never grow dim! Mr. Moore, an accommodating and intelligent American, is located here, who appears to be pushing business with the usual energy of our countrymen, wherever found. We encamped for the night at Bernal Spring, six miles beyond, at the intersection of the In- dependence and Fort Smith roads. The country be- t ween these two points is mountainous, and mostly cov- ered with a scrubby growth of pine. The water of the spring is strongly impregnated with carbonate of soda, and both unpleasant to the taste and unhealthy. Al- most overlooking our camp rises up a mountain peak high above all its fellows. The sides slope gradually until within a few hundred feet of the top, when they become perpendicular, and rise up like walls of masonry, showing the natural layers of stone with perfect distinct- ness. We procured eggs and onions from a small ham- let near by, and tried to buy milk, but the goats were abroad, and cows they had not. We drove fourteen miles the next morning before day- light, and halted for breakfast near the little village of San Jose. In the route we crossed the Pecos River, a beautiful stream, and abounding in trout. While we were eating, a Mexican and his boy came to our camp with a few articles to sell, and as they were both cold and hungry, we shared with them our food and fire, and sent them away with well-filled stomachs. We dined at old Pecos on a fine sheep which one of the mail-men was fortunate enough to purchase. .Within a short dis- tance of our camp are the remains of the old Indian pueblo of Pecos ; and while the men were harnessing up ihe mules, I started across to examine the ruins. The TEIP ACROSS THE PLAINS. 55 church was roofless, and altarless, and fast going to de- cay. It is in the form of a cross, built of adobes, with the main entrance looking toward the southwest ; it is of much more recent construction than the rest of the ruins, and was undoubtedly built by the Spaniards after the Indians had been converted to Christianity. All the wood-work about the building showed conclusive evidence that it had been fashioned by Europeans. Just in the rear of the church, and covering the slope of the hill for two or three hundred yards, are the ruins of the village. Large blocks of stone, some oblong and others square, and weighing a ton and upward, lie about upon the surface of the ground, some of which show signs of having been laid in mortar. While I was ex- amining the ruins the wagons left camp and started on, and I was subjected to a run of about half a mile before I overtook them. That afternoon we drove ten miles farther, and encamped for the night at El Boca del Canon — the mouth of the canon. This canon is another pass through the mountains, and appears to have been formed by Nature expressly for a wagon road. It is about three miles in length, and in many places is only wide enough for one wagon ; the sides are formed of ledges of rocks, in some parts two or three hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular. The place of our camp was at the western terminus of the canon, and near where the Mexicans took up their position to oppose the march of the American troops under General Kearney in 1846. We congratulated ourselves that this was the last night before reaching Santa Fe, and were quite rejoiced that our long journey was so nearly terminated. The canon serves as a great funnel, and at all seasons of the year a current of air draws through it from west to east. We left camp next morning at eight o'clock, and drove to the Arroyo Hondo for breakfast, where we remained 56 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. long enough to graze the animals. We had now six miles to travel, and after we had resumed the road we dnQve along leisurely through a hilly and barren country covered with pine-trees. We had gone about two miles of the distance when from the top of a hill we saw be- fore us in a valley the long-looked-for Santa Fe, the ter- minus of our travels for the present, and in a short time we were within the limits of the city of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 57 CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. Country little known. — Situation. — First Knowledge of Spaniards. — Baca and Companions. — Their Adventures. — Negro goes to Cibola. — Nizza. — Coronado's Expedition. — Arrives at Cibola. — Tignex. — Cicuye. — Querechos. — Quivira. — Fate of Expedition. — People of the Country. — Route of Coronado. — Situation of Cibola. — Espejo. — His Description of the People. — Oiiate colonizes the Country. — His Peti- tion and Grants. — Treatment of Natives. — Rebellion of 1G80. — Pope. — Sa'nta Fe taken. — Retreat of Spaniards. — Otermin attempts a Re- conquest. — Fails. — Bargas. — Revolution quelled and Peace restored. There is no country protected by our flag and sub- ject to our laws so little known to the people of the United States as the territory of New Mexico. Its very position precludes an intimate intercourse with other sec- tions of the Union, and serves to lock up a knowledge of the country within its own limits. The natural feat- ures differ widely from the rest of the Union ; and the inhabitants, with the manners and customs of their Moor- ish and Castilian ancestors, are both new and strange to our people. For these reasons, reliable information of this hitherto almost unknown region can not fail to be interesting to the public. This territory occupies that central region of North America lying between the rivers Arkansas on the east and the Colorado on the west, and is bounded by Texas and Mexico on the south, and Utah and Kansas on the north, and contains an area of two hundred and seven thousand square miles. It was obtained from Mexico under the treaty of Guadalupe de Hidalgo, with the ex- ception of a narrow strip along the southern border, pur- C2 58 NEW MEXICO AND HEIl PEOPLE. chased under the late Gadsden treaty. The physical formation is a type of the whole of that extensive region known as the Great American Central Basin, whose dis- inguishing features are extensive and arid elevated plains, lofty and barren mountains, and narrow valleys i Jong the water-courses. The middle portion is drained by the Rio del Norte and its branches, and the other | rincipal streams are the eastern tributaries of the Colo- rado, and some of the western tributaries of the Arkan- sas. A continuation of the great rocky chain runs through the eastern part of the territory, and numerous isolated |>eaks and spurs are found in other sections. A large portion shows very evident traces of recent volcanic ac- tion, and in many places the surface is seamed and cut up by immense ravines and canons. It is not my intention to write a history of New Mex- ico in this volume, but merely to give the reader, in tlir* present and the next succeeding chapter, a sketch of the leading historical incidents that have transpired in the course of more than three hundred years, since its first discovery and exploration by the Spaniards. The first knowledge the Spaniards of Southern Mex- ico had of this country was about the year 1530, when it was known as the country of the seven cities. At that time Nuno de Guzman, the governor of New Spain, had in his employ an Indian, said to be a native of the prov- ince of Tejas, who gave him information of an extensive and rich country to the north, of which he related the most marvelous accounts. He said that his father had formerly traded there as a merchant, and that the coun- try abounded in the precious metals, and contained seven larire and beautiful cities. Guzman was so much inter- < .>ted in the account of the Indian that he immediately organized an expedition for the exploration of this new ion. The adventurers marched from the city of Mex- HISTOEICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 59 ico to Culiacan, but they encountered so many hardships by the time they had reached that point that they aban- doned the enterprise and returned home. The governor remained in Culiacan and colonized the country. About the year 1538 the Spaniards received further information of the country of the seven cities from Alvar Nufies Cabeza de Baca, who, with three companions, ar- rived in Culiacan, and were the first Europeans who pass- ed through the country. They were the survivors of the unfortunate expedition of Pamfilio Narvaez, who sail- ed from San Domingo the eleventh day of April, 1528, for the conquest of Florida. They landed in safety and proceeded some distance inland, leaving instructions for the fleet to follow along the coast, and to await their coming at some safe and convenient harbor. Instead of obeying these instructions the vessels sailed for Habana, and left Narvaez and his companions to their fate. The adventurers returned to the coast after a brief absence, but neither finding the vessels nor hearing any thing of them, they constructed boats in which they intended coasting along the gulf to the River Pacuno, whence they hoped to be able to. reach the Spanish settlements in Mexico. They converted their stirrups, spurs, and every other piece of metal into saws, nails, &c. ; they cut up and sewed together their shirts for sails, and made cord- age of the tails and manes of their horses ; and they kill- ed their horses, and dried the flesh for provisions for the voyage. Thus equipped, they launched their frail barks upon the almost unknown waters of the gulf. They coasted in safety beyond the mouth of the Mississippi, when they encountered a furious storm, which wrecked some of the boats, and drove others out to sea, which were never heard of afterward. The boat commanded by Baca was thrown upon a low, sandy island near the shore, whence he and his companions were fortunate enough to 60 NEW MEXICO AND HEli PEOPLE. reach the main land. Of those who escaped drowning, all were killed by the savages except Baca, two other Spaniards, and an Arab negro. The survivors directed their course toward the interi- or, and, after wandering about the country for several years, they reached the Spanish settlement of Culiacan, in New Galicia, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Cal- ifornia. Their route across the continent can not be traced with accuracy at the present day. They are "sup- posed to have been wrecked on one of the low, sandy islands that skirt the coast of Louisiana or Texas, and to have pursued a northwesterly course until they reach- ed the plains frequented by the buffalo, on some of the western tributaries of the Arkansas, whence they took a southwest direction toward the frontier settlements of New Spain. Coronado, in his subsequent expedition through the country, visited a point where Baca and his companions had probably passed, being told by the In- dians that a small party of white men had been there some time before, who had blessed their burTalo-skins. The relation of their adventures by Baca and his com- panions created a deep interest among the Spaniards in Mexico, and raised a desire to penetrate these unknown regions, as well to seek adventure as to possess the coun- try for the crown of Spain. In order to obtain a better knowledge of the country, Yasquez Coronado, at that time Governor of New Galicia, sent three monks, with the Arab negro who had accompanied Baca, in the direc- tion where the country of the seven cities was said to lie. The negro went in advance of the monks, and cross- ed the desert to Cibola in company with a party of friend- ly Indians. He was kindly received, and treated in the best possible manner; but, presuming upon their mild disposition, he began to make very unreasonable demands upon them. His conduct finally became so bad that they HISTOEICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 61 were obliged to place liim in confinement. They held a council over him, and resolved to put him to death — fearing he intended to do them some great harm — which they carried into execution. Some of the Indians who accompanied him were detained as prisoners, while the remainder were set at liberty, and directed to return to their own country. On their way back the Indians met the three monks in the desert, to whom they related all that had happened to them and the negro in Cibola. This alarmed the monks so much that they hastened back with all possible speed to inform the governor of the result of their explorations, y^mong the monks was one named Marcos de Nizza, a shrewd and unscrupulous man, who gave Coronado a most exaggerated account of what they had seen and heard, representing the country as rich and populous/ This account inflamed anew the minds of the Spaniards, as it more than confirmed the marvelous stories told of it previously. Coronado de- sired to explore the country in person, and for that pur- pose requested and obtained permission of Mendoza, the viceroy, to organize and lead an expedition thither. In a short time an army of three hundred Spaniards, horse and foot, composed of the adventurous cavaliers of the times, and eight hundred friendly Indians, was raised for the expedition and duly organized, the wjiole being placed under the command of Coronado, witn the title of captain general. The troops assembled at a place called Compostella, whence they marched to Culiacan, where they arrived the day after Easter, in the year 1540. After remaining here a few days to complete their ar- rangements, they resumed their march for Cibola, driv- ing along with them one hundred and fifty head of Eu- ropean cows and a large number of sheep for the support of the troops, and also to assist in the colonization of the country. 62 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. Coronado, with an escort of sixty men under the com- mand of one Jaramillo, and accompanied by the monk Xizza as guide, set off in advance of the main army. They took a northwest direction, nearly parallel with the shore of the Gulf of California, and at the end of thirl \ - eight days they came to the edge of a desert bordered by a chain of mountains. They crossed the mountains, and entered upon the desert, over which they marched for thirteen days in a course a little to the east of north, crossing several rivers on the way, at the end of which time they reached the first village of what was called the country of the Cibola. The villages were six in number, situated in a valley six leagues long, and the houses were three and four stories high, built of mud and stones, with terraces running around them. The whole province was subjugated. From this place Coro- nado continued his march to a neighboring province called Tignex, a few leagues to the northeast. Here he was soon afterward joined by the main army, when they went into winter quarters, and remained there until the following spring. The winter was a very severe one ; snow lay upon the ground three and four feet deep, and the river which ran by the town was frozen so that horses could cross upon the ice. When the main army reached Tignex, the inhabitants were in a state of rebell- ion, caused by the heavy tribute Coronado had levied upon the province, and the bad treatment their women received from the Spaniards. The arrival of the addi- tional force enabled the general to subdue them in a short time, when their villages were captured, and a large number massacred and made prisoners. When the spring opened they resumed the march, but not before the neighboring provinces had been brought to submission. The army left Tignex on the twenty- fifth day of May for the province of Cicuye, twenty-live HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 63 .eagues distant to the northeast. They reached Cicuye without accident, and the inhabitants immediately made terms with the Spaniards, and remained peaceable. Here they encountered a large and deep river, which detained them several days to build a bridge before they could cross over. Thence they continued their march in a di- rection northeast for six or seven days, when they came to the buffalo-plains, where these animals abounded in great numbers. Here they met with a race of people different from any they had before seen — they were call- ed Querechos — who inhabited lodges made of the skin of the buffalo, and lived upon the flesh. They had a great number of large dogs, which they obliged to carry their baggage when they moved from place to place. These people appeared friendly, and offered no resistance to the Spaniards. From this point Coronado ordered the main body of the army to return to Tignex, while he continued on some distance farther to the north w r ith a small escort. In his march he saw another tribe of na- tives distinct from the Querechos — they were called Teyas — who made their home in the valley of the Tig- nex, and frequented the plains to hunt buffaloes. They were also friendly, and furnished guides to the main army, by which means they were enabled to reach Tig- nex, on their return, by a much shorter route than the one by which they had marched to the plains. When Coronado marched from Tignex in the spring, it was with the intention of visiting the country of Qui- vira, which had been represented as abounding in gold and silver, and where was situated a beautiful city with broad streets, and houses three and four stories high ; but he was deceived by his guide, and conducted out upon the plains. He obtained a new guide from some of the roving tribes, who professed to be acquainted with Quivira, and determined to march that way on his return 64 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. to Tignex. After the main army had taken up their march, himself and escort placed* themselves under the direction of the Indian guide, and started for Quivira ; but when he arrived in that country he found things very different from what they had been represented. There was neither gold nor silver, nor a magnificent city. The country was without interest, with only a few small vil- lages, and the inhabitants differed in no particular from those they had already seen. Being greatly disappointed in not finding gold and other riches, he returned thence to Tignex, where the whole army spent the winter of 1541 and 1542. It was the intention of Coronado to renew his explo- rations in the following spring, and penetrate farther into the country of which the Indians had spoken so much and given such flattering accounts, but several causes op- crated to prevent an expedition of the kind. Soon after they went into winter quarters he was severely hurt by a fall from his horse, which confined him to his bed for some weeks, during which time the discipline of his troops had, in a measure, been relaxed, and they became discontented, lie was also becoming home-sick. He had left behind him a young and lovely wife, and great wealth ; and having been sadly disappointed in not find- ing the rich and populous countries he had expected to discover, he began to pine to return home. The dissat- isfaction among the officers and men increased as their hardships multiplied, and they desired to be led back to the pleasant valleys of New Galicia. A council of war was held to determine what should be done under the circumstances, and it was thought best to evacuate the country, which they carried into effect as soon as spring opened, when they returned to Culiacan. The returning adventurers were received without favor by the viceroy, and the conduct of Coronado was so highly censured that HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. (>d he was deprived of his government, thereby lost his rep- utation, and died in obscurity. An account of this expedition to the Cibola country was afterward written by one Castaneda, who accompa- nied it, in which he gives an interesting description of the country they passed through, with the manners and customs of the inhabitants. The villages were all built on the same plan, and consisted of one or more blocks of houses in the form of a parallelogram, and were from two to four stories in height, with terraces. There were no doors on the ground floor, but they were entered sev- eral feet above, by means of ladders, which the inhabit- ants pulled up after them and secured. The ascent was made in this manner from one terrace to another, there being no internal communication between the stories. Some of the houses had balconies of wood, and opened upon an interior court, which added to their strength in time of an attack. The houses were large, and some of them could accommodate three and four hundred per- sons. They were built of mud, made hard by drying in the sun, and for lime they made use of a mixture of ash- es, earth, and coal. In each village there were well-con- structed baths, the males and females using separate ones. Some of them were built with considerable taste, the roof being supported with large wooden pillars and the floor paved with stone. In each village was also an estufa, built under ground, and which was used for both political and religious purposes. They assembled here to discuss all the affairs of state, and for all other mat- ters of grave deliberation. Their sacred fires were kept burning within the estufa, and were never allowed to go out. In their manners the inhabitants were mild and ami- able, and, when not molested, always received the Span- iards kindly. Their customs were extremely simple. The 66 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. men dressed in cotton cloth and tanned skins, which was the dress of the women in some of the provinces, while in others they went naked winter and summer. Their food consisted mainly of maize, beans, and pumpkins, and they also manufactured bread from the berry of the mesquit tree. In some of the valleys the soil is said to have been so rich that it was not necessary to break up the ground before sowing the seed, and that the produce of one year was sufficient for the consumption of seven years. They raised cotton, from which they made much of their own clothing. They were armed with bows and arrows, clubs and bucklers, which were their weapons of war. They manufactured a great quantity of pottery, which they glazed in a very neat manner with some shin- ing metal ; they also made ornamental vases, beautiful in finish and curious in form. The villages were govern- ed by a council of old men, and by the caciques and re- nowned warriors*, The people were comely in person, and intelligent.,' The route otfCoronado can be traced with much great- er accuracy than the previous trip of Baca and his com- panions acr6ss the continent. Leaving Culiacan on the river of the same name in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, they marched about parallel with the Gulf of California, passing through what is now the State of Sonora, until they arrived nearly at the head of the gulf, when they changed their course toward the northeast. They con- tinued in this direction, and are supposed to have struck the Gila River near the present ruins known as Casas Grandes, as Castaneda mentions, in his journal, that just before they entered the desert they passed a large ruin called Chichilticali ; and the barren region which leads to the point where I locate Cibola begins on the north side of the Gila. Leaving these ruins, they crossed this desert, and reached the country of the seven cities, or HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 67 Cibola, in a march of thirteen days. Thence they con- tinued their march to Tignex and Cicuye, and so on un- til they arrived upon the plains where they encountered buffaloes. There has been much speculation in reference to the situation of the Cibola country, some locating it where are now found the seven villages of the Moquis, and oth- ers in a still different region of country ; but after .a care- ful investigation of the subject, with the aid of some old manuscript documents found in the archives in Santa Fe, I believe the valley of Zuni to have been the true lo- cation of Cibola. In giving an account of the march of the Spaniards in 1540, Castaneda mentions that a few miles before they arrived at the first village, which bore the name of the province, they came to a small river, which, on account of the reddish hue of the water, they called Rio Bermajo. The present pueblo of Zuni is on the north side of the Rio Colorado Chiquito (Little Red River), which name was probably given to it on account of the color of the water. He also describes the village as being situated upon a high rock, which was the case with the old pueblo, and the distance of it from the river is about that mentioned by the Spaniards, while the new village is immediately upon the bank of the stream. Zuni is northeast of the point where they are supposed to have crossed the Gila, with several hundred miles of barren country intervening; and it is the first Indian village, or the ruins thereof, to my knowledge, to be met with after you pass that river coming northeast. He also speaks of the province of Tusayan, twenty -five leagues from Cibola, and on the route to the great canon of the Rio Colorado ; from which province they took a guide, and marched in a westerly course to the canon. Placing Cibola in the valley of Zuni, it makes the loca- tion of Tusayan, both as to direction and distance, agree NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. with that of Moqui of the present day ; and there are no other two localities in the whole territory that stand so nearly in the relation to the great canon as that de- scribed by Castaneda. Among the records of the early explorations of New Mexico by the Spaniards that fell into my hands in Santa Fe was the manuscript journal of Captain General Don Domingo Jeronso Petriz de Cru- zate, who marched into the country in 1688 for the pur- pose of reducing the Indians to subjection. He men- tions, among other things, that in the time of Philip the ond of Spain, Xufii was known as the Buffalo Prov- ince.* Now, as Philip was upon the throne within i wenty years after the expedition of Coronado, and some of the men were still living who engaged in it, and that before his death other Spaniards visited the Cibola coun- try, which was afterward named Zuni, I think the evi- dence in favor of the latter province being the Cibola of Castaneda is quite conclusive. This location of Cibola aids us much in tracing the further course of Coronado, and also throws additional light upon an interesting point in history. A party of Coronado's men, as before mentioned, vis- l, toward the we.-i. I large river that flowed through a fissure in the rocks which was so deep that from the top the stream appeared like a tint ad of silver. This was undoubtedly the canon of the Rio Colorado, which is looked upon as one of the most remarkable things in nature, and which, on account of its great depth and steepness of the sides, has never been descended to the water. The province of Tignex was most probably sit- uated in the valley of the Puerco, as this is the first river you come to traveling northeast from Zuni, and answers very well to the description given of the river of Tignex, * The word cibola means buffalo, and is undoubtedly of Indian in- stead of Spanish origin. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 69 which ran in front of the village of that name. The banks are said to have been high and steep, and the cur- rent rapid, and that before it emptied into the Cicuye the river disappeared. The Puerco is a stream of this character, and at certain seasons of the year it sinks into the sand before it reaches the mouth, and afterward ap- pears again. It empties into the Bio del Norte some hundred and fifty miles below Santa Fe. The river the natives called Cicuye, and which the Spaniards were obliged to bridge before they could cross it, was, I be- lieve, the Rio del Norte. Castaneda mentions that, six or seven days after leaving the river, they reached the plains where the buffalo abounded, which would be about the time required, at their rate of marching, to reach the plains east of the Canadian River from the crossing of the Del Norte any where in the latitude of Santa Fe. But we have further confirmation. The village of Je- mez is mentioned as having been visited by the Span- iards, and that before they reached the Cicuye, in going east from Tignex, they crossed another smaller stream and a range of mountains. The River Santa Ana lies between the Puerco and the Jemez Mountains, winch must be the smaller river referred to ; and this chain of mountains lies between the River Santa Ana and the Rio del Norte, and from the position the Spaniards were in when in the valley where Jemez is situated, they could not reach the River Cicuye (Del Norte) without crossing that river and chain of mountains. On his return from the plains, Coronado must have passed by the salt lakes near Manzana, which answer tolerably well to the loca- tion of those mentioned in the journal of Castaneda. After leaving Quivira, they continued toward the west to the River Cicuye, which they struck about a hundred miles south of the point where they had crossed it going east. They followed up the river until they reached the 70 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. province of Cicuye, whence they proceeded to Tignex and joined the main army. The exact location of the Quivira mentioned by Cas- taneda has never been satisfactorily determined, and the question is still one of speculation. There are to be seen, some distance south of the salt lakes mentioned, the ruins of a village now called Quivira, which has been in its present condition since the memory of the oldest inhabitant of the country. The ruins of a large church and convent are still in a good state of preservation, but they are evidently the work of white men, from the style of building and material, and the carving found upon the beams. They are probably the remains of an early Spanish mission, or the ruins of a pueblo where a priest was stationed after the Europeans took possession of the country, and which was abandoned by the Indians during some of the early wars between them and the Spaniards, and the village allowed to go to ruins. The Mexicans have traditions among them concerning Qui- vira, but they partake so much of romance that they are not worthy of narration. After the unsuccessful expedition of Coronado, it was some years before another attempt was made to explore and take possession of New Mexico. During this time a few friars, who always formed the vanguard in the dis- coveries and explorations in Spanish America, penetrated the country, and made an effort to Christianize and civ- ilize the Indians. In the reign of Philip the Second of Spain, a Franciscan friar, named Marcos de Niza or Niz- za, with a few companions, penetrated the country as far as the province of Zuni, which I have already located as the ancient country of Cibola. This priest is said to have been a native of New Mexico, and may have been a son of the same friar Marcos de Nizza heretofore men- tioned, who, it will be recollected, attempted to reach HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 71 Cibola with the Arab negro, and afterward accompanied the expedition of Coronado. The first arrival of Niza and his people caused much surprise among the natives, who were astonished at seeing white men, and at first thought them to be gods, and respected them as such. But after their surprise had worn off a cruel war broke out, in which most of the priests were killed, a few only making their escape to the pueblos of El Paso. Among those who escaped was a friar, who went to Mexico, and carried with him an image of Our Lady of Macana, which was preserved for a long time in the convent of that city. The precise time of this outbreak I have not been able to determine from the data in my possession, but sup- pose it to have been about the year 1580, or shortly aft- erward, as I have evidence that a Franciscan missionary, named Augustin Ruiz, entered the country in the year 1581, and was murdered by the natives, a victim of his own religious zeal. The Viceroy of Mexico, hearing of the new discoveries made in the country, and the prog- ress of the missionaries, sent one Don Antonio Espejo into the territory with men and provisions to protect and sup- ply the missions. After his arrival there was an out- break among the natives, which compelled him to send for a re-enforcement of troops to defend the settlers and found, new presidios, which were accordingly furnished him. Espejo gives an interesting account of the country ; and I have translated the following extract from De La- renaudiere's History of Mexico : "The people were somewhat advanced toward civil- ization, with many manners and customs similar to those of the Aztec. Many of the men and women wore long gowns of cotton, tastefully painted, and some had coats of cloth colored with blue and white, similar to the man- ner of the Chinese. They were adorned with feathers 72 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. of different colors. One of the chiefs gave him four thou- sand bolls of cotton. One of the tribes, called Juma- nes, painted the face, arms, and legs in ridiculous figures. Their arms were great bows, with arrows terminated with sharp-pointed stones, very hard, and wooden swords armed on botli sides with sharp-cutting stores, similar to the swords of the Aztecs. The latter they use with great dexterity, and could cut a man's body in two at a single blow. Their shields were covered with untanned bull- hide. Some of the nations lived in houses of stone four stories high, and walls very thick to keep out the cold of winter. Others slept under tents during the heat of summer, or lived in them all the year. There were found villages where luxury and comforts were noted. Tl ie houses w T ere whitewashed, and the walls covered with picfox The inhabitants used rich mantles with similar picture*, and subsisted on good flesh and corn- bread. Other tribes were somewhat more savage : they covered themselves with skins of animals, the product of the chase, and the flesh of the mountain bull was their principal food. Those nearest to the banks of the Del Norte, whose fields appeared well cultivated, obeyed chiefs whose orders were announced by public criers. In the pueblos of all the Indians were seen a multitude of idols, and in each house there was a chapel dedicated to the genius of mischief. They represented, by means of pictures, the sun, moon, and stars as principal objects of their worship. When they saw the Spanish horses for the first time they were no less astonished than the Mexicans, and were on the point of worshiping them as superior beings. They subsisted them in their most beautiful houses, and entreated them to accept the best they had. There were found in that great region abun- dant harvests of corn, flax similar to that of Europe, vines loaded with grapes, and beautiful forests filled witli buffaloes, deer, stags, and every species of game." HISTORICAL SKETCH OP NEW MEXICO. 73 These flattering accounts of the province received from Espejo determined the Viceroy of Mexico to take perma- nent possession of, and colonize the country. For that purpose he sent a new supply of provisions and a re-en- forcement of troops to Espejo, under the command of Don Juan de Onate, toward the close of the sixteenth century.* Onate was a native of Zacatecas, and appears to have been a man of some note in his day. He con- ceived the idea of planting Spanish colonies in New Mex- ico ; but whether he moved in the matter before or after he conducted the re-enforcements for the protection of the missions I have not been able to determine. For this purpose he presented a petition, dated September 21st, 1595, to the Viceroy of New Spain, asking permission to colonize the country. He pledged himself to introduce into the country two hundred soldiers, horses, cattle, mer- chandise, and agricultural implements. As a remunera- tion for these services he demanded large grants of land ; the ennobling of his family ; a considerable loan of mon- ey, a fat salary, and to be furnished with arms and am- munition ; besides the permission to reduce the natives to obedience, which meant to make slaves of them. He also stipulated that the government should supply the colony with " six priests, with a full complement of books, ornaments, and church accoutrements." The pe- tition was granted, with the exception of some of his most extravagant demands, and in accordance therewith he introduced the colony into the country. The decree of the King of Spain, Philip the Third, is dated the * There is a discrepance in the records as to the time that Onate ar- rived in New Mexico. Padre Frejes, in his history of the conquest of the country, published in Mexico in 1830, states that Onate arrived there in the year 1595 ; Mariana mentions that he set out from Mexico in 1598 ; while De Larenaudiere, in his History of Mexico, published in Barcelona in 1844, states that he took possession of the country the last year of the sixteenth century — 1599. D 74 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. eighth day of July, 1602, and, among other things, spe- cifies that himself and his descendants shall hold and en- joy the rank of hidalgos. Five years were granted him to make the conquest of the country ; but if he should die in that time, or before he should have finished the conquest, his descendants were authorized to complete the same with its colonization. For three quarters of a century after the first perma- ment settlements were made, I have not been able to ob- tain any reliable history of the operations of the Span- iards. Several villages and missions were est a I dished, principally in the valley of the Del Norte ; and the set- ters turned their attention to the cultivation of the soil and the means of living, while the priests occupied them- selves in converting the natives to Christianity. The first mission is said to have been established at a place called El Teguayo, and up to the year 1608 as many as eight thousand Indians had been baptized. All the ter- ritory conquered from the natives was united in one prov- ince, and was at first called New ( Jranada, but after- ■ rd the name of New .Mexico was given to it. In the year 1611 Oriate made an expedition of exploration to- ward the east, and discovered the Cannibal Lakes, and also a red river which was called the Iliver of the Cadau- dachos, or that of the Palisade. The situation of these aikes is not known at the present day, but the river spoken of is probably the Canadian fork of the Arkansas ; and the name Palisade was given to it because of the deep rocky fissure it flows through, in some parts of its course, and which they must have seen. The Spaniards entered the country by the way of El Paso del Norte, and thence extended their settlements up the valley of the river toward the north. They were at first well received by the simple-minded inhabitants, for they were of an amiable disposition, and averse to HISTOKIQAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 75 war ; but when they found that the strangers desired to reduce them to a state of slavery, they rose in rebellion, and fierce and bloody wars were waged for several years before they were finally subdued. With that inordinate thirst for gold that marked the Spanish pioneer in all parts of the New World, those of New Mexico soon neg- lected agriculture and turned their attention to mining. Many valuable mines of gold and silver were discovered, and worked with considerable profit. The Indians were compelled to labor in the mines, where,, year after year, they dragged out a life more miserable than they had ever before experienced. This bad treatment sunk deep into the hearts of these people, and from generous friends it turned them into bitter enemies. The natives had other cause of complaint. It has always been the policy of the Spanish government to change the religion as well as the political institutions of every people whom they conquer. In accordance with this rule of action, as soon as Onate had established him- self in the country, he ordered the Indians to give up the faith of their fathers, to which they were deeply at- tached, and embrace that of himself and his followers — Catholicism. This was a compliance cruel in the ex- treme, but force obliged them to submit ; and in k short time they saw their ancient rites prohibited, their tem- ples of worship closed, and their heathen gods destroy- ed. They could not understand the religion of the white man, and considered it a great hardship to be obliged to profess what they did not believe. This, united with the physical sufferings they were compelled to endure in the mines, was more than they could bear, which caused wide-spread discontent, and made them ripe for rebellion. They made several attempts at revolt, but the watchful care of the Spaniards prevented any of them being car- ried into effect until the year 1680, when success, for a time, crowned their efforts. 76 NEW MEXICO AND HER ri^OPLE. In the latter year, a deliverer from the yoke of their hard task-masters came in one of their own number. An able and eloquent Indian, said to have belonged to the pueblo of Taos, named Pope, planned a general rising against the Spaniards, and united all the villages in its execution.* He pretended the gift of supernatural pow- ers, and made his simple-minded brethren believe that the devil had ordered all the whites in the country to be massacred. He was obliged to resort to great se- •y and much cunning to elude the vigilance of the !>aniards, but he was fully equal to the occasion. lie communicated with distant pueblos by means of knots tied Iii a rope made of the fibres of tin* palm-tree, which 9 carried from village to village by their tleetest run- ners. All their arrangements were made without ex- citing the suspicion of the Spaniards, and they were so rl'ul of 1 al that not a woman was admitted into their confidence. The time fixed upon for the rising was the tenth day of August, 1680, wdien an 'indiscrimi- nate slaughter was to be made of all the Spaniards in the countr Their secret, through treachery, became known to the nutlu two days before the time agreed upon. Two ^of the^fcn Juan Indians divulged the whole plan to Gov- ernor Otermin. and thus placed him upon his guard. As soon -as the rebels knew that their conspiracy had h exposed, they immediately flew to arm-. 1 Bring further ^elay would endanger all. The authorities took every possible means to place themselves in a posture of de- fense. The Spaniards in the north were ordered to re- pair at once to Santa Fe, and place themselves under the vtffders of the governor, while those in the south were * It is said that the pueblos of San Juan and Pozos remained faithful to the Spaniards, for which the former was afterward styled San Juan de los Caballeros, or San Juan of the Gentlemen. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 77 directed to rendezvous at Isleta. The capital was forti- fied, and all the inhabitants retired from the suburbs to the Plaza. The Indians did not delay the commence- ment of hostilities, but immediately marched upon Santa Fe, putting to deatli all the Spaniards that were not able to make their escape. On the thirteenth, a large body of savages were seen approaching the town, which they surrounded and placed in a state of siege. They yelled defiance to the Spaniards ; they said that the God of the Christian was dead, but that their god, the sun and moon, never died, and that they only awaited the coming of their confederates to commence the work of extermi- nation. The governor and authorities were alarmed, and en- deavored to conciliate the savages. Messengers were sent out with offers of peace and the promise of kind treatment in the future ; but the Indians treated all their overtures with contempt, and refused to make any terms- They told the messengers that they had brought with them two crosses, one painted red, which signified war, and the other white, which signified peace ; that they might have their choice, but if they should select the one that indicated peace, it must be upon condition that they retire immediately from the country. The Indians saw a day of deliverance and retribution for nearly a century of grievous wrongs at hand, and they were not willing to place themselves again in the power of their cruel mas- ters. Governor Otermin declined to accede to the con- ditions they imposed, but determined to attack them, and, if possible, defeat them before they received re-enforce- ments. He sallied out with his troops early in the morn- ing, and made an impetuous assault upon the enemy, ho received him with great bravery. The battle con- tinued all day, with considerable loss on both sides, when, toward nightfall, their allies, the Teguas and oth- 78 MEW MEXICO AND HEK PEOPLE. er tribes, were seen approaching the town, which in- duced the Spaniards to cease the combat and retire with- in their fortifications. The Indians were now in great force, and closely in- vested the place, shutting the garrison and inhabitants within their earthen defenses. The siege had continued nine days, and much suffering been caused among the Spaniards ; the enemy had cut off the supply of water, and their provisions were also becoming scarce. In the night the garrison made a sortie from the town, cut their way through the enemy, and caused them to fall back a little distance, partially raising the siege. The Span- iards the next day held a council of war, composed of the military and principal citizens, to determine what course they had better pursue under the circumstances. There was no hope of succor from below, nor a probabil- ity of their being able to withstand the repeated assaults of their numerous enemy: they therefore deemed it to be their duty to retreat to El Paso del Norte, and leave the capital to its fate. They therefore made the neces- sary arrangements to evacuate the place as soon as pos- sible, which they carried into effect on the twenty-first of the month, and took up the line of march for the south. The inhabitants followed the army on foot, and carried most of their baggage on their backs. Their sufferings on the march were very great, and it was with difficulty they could procure food enough to eat. As they ad- vanced through the country they found the pueblos de- serted and the farms laid waste, but no enemy opposed their march. They reached San Lorenzo, near El Paso, in the latter part of September, completely broken down by the hardships they had endured. As the Spaniards evacuated Santa Fe, the savages vvatched them closely from a little distance, but they did not attempt to molest them, probably rejoiced that they HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 79 were getting rid of them with so little trouble. When they held disappeared, the enemy entered and took pos- session of the place. They held great rejoicings in honor of the victory, accompanied with many of the rites of their heathen worship. They assembled in the Plaza, where they danced the Cachina, {heir favorite idolatrous dance, and paid adoration, to the devil as the supreme object of their reverence. The country being now freed from the Spaniards, the Indians every where re-estab- lished their ancient religious rites. The Christian churches, and the articles used in the Catholic worship, were destroyed, and the priests were either driven away or killed. Estufas were erected in every pueblo, and all their ancient customs, both civil and religious, were again placed in full force. They endeavored, as much as pos- sible, to obliterate every trace of their Spanish conquer- ors, and in every respect sunk back into all the idola- trous practices of their heathen ancestors.* Governor Otermin reported the rebellion in New Mex- ico to the viceroy, and asked for a re-enforcement to re- conquer the country. The desired aid was furnished, but was tardy in arriving ; and it was not until the month of November of the following year, 1681, that he was able to take the field against the enemy. He took * It is said that the priest stationed at Zuni neither was killed nor fled, but saved himself by abjuring his faith and turning Indian. That when the Spaniards went there at the time of the reconquest, about the year 1 GOO, they inquired for the Padre, who answered in person that he was there ; but, being dressed and painted like an Indian, they failed to recognize him, and asked him if he could write. He answered that he could, but had no paper. The Spaniards then passed up to him upon the rocky height where the pueblo then was situated a skin, upon which he made letters with charcoal. This satisfied them of his identity, when they demanded and received a surrender of the place. This is the tra- dition of the Indians, but is not correct, as I find, by an examination of the manuscript record of the times, that the Zunians killed their priest at the time of the rebellion. SO NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. up his march from El Paso on the eighth of the month, with a force of several hundred men, composed of Span- iards and friendly Indians. They continued up the val- ley of the Rio del Norte without meeting with any se- rious resistance until he arrived at the pueblo of Islcta, where he found a body of some three thousand Indians assembled to oppose his farther advance. By this time his provisions had nearly all been consumed ; the greater number of his animals were dead, and the weather was cold and the snow deep. He was surrounded by a nu- merous and savage foe, and was without the hope of as- sistance in this most trying emergency. Under these circumstances, a council of war was held and a retreat determined upon, and the army retired to El Paso, fol- lowed and harassed on their march by the Indians. Soon afterward Otcrmin was removed from office, and the reconqucst of the country was intrusted to Don Diego Baigas Zapata, who v >pointed the governor and commandant of the province. The contest was contin- ued, with varied success, for several v . the Indians making a mined resistance. In the year 1693, Bar- gas entered the country with a strong force, and, attack- ing pueblo after pueblo, finally whipped them into sub- mission. 1 thousand Indians had assembled in and around Santa Fe, which they made their head- quarters. He advanced against them with his whole nd after an obstinate battle, which continued the whole day, he drove them from the place, and entered and took possession of it. The Indians every where sued for peace, and for the time being seemed complete- ly subdued. In the year 1698 another revolution broke out, but, as it was only participated in by a few of the pueblos, it was soon put down by the energy of Bargas, and without much bloodshed, and thus the reconquest ;s rendered complete. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 81 CHAPTER IV. historical sketch of new Mexico — Concluded. Result of Rebellion of 1680. — Interval of Peace. — War with Ca- manches. — Conspiracy of 1814. — Nabajos killed at Jemez. — Expul- sion Law. — Revolution of 1837. — The Cause of it. — Plan of Rebels. — Authorities defeated. — Death of Governor Perez. — Cruel Conduct of Indians. — Rebel Governor. — General Armijo. — General Kearney marches for New Mexico. — Country conquered. — Revolution of 1847. — The Leaders and their Plans. — First Conspiracy 'discovered. — The People taking up Arms. — Revolution put down. — Territory organ- ized. — Organic Law. — Mexican Courts. — Baston de Justicia. — Fue- ros. — Will New Mexico become a Slave State? — History of State Government in New Mexico. The result of the Indian rebellion of 1680 taught the Spanish government a useful lesson, and which it had the good sense to profit by. It became evident that the natives must be treated with greater leniency, which course was finally adopted when the authorities saw there was no other alternative. Although they were, as formerly, compelled to embrace the Catholic religion, yet in other respects the yoke of the conqueror was rendered more easy; they were better secured in their social rights, the grants of land were confirmed to the pueblos, and they were not compelled to undergo the same severe labor in the mines as before. But while this state of things had a tendency to neutralize their hos- tility, it by no means rendered them entirely contented with the Spaniards as masters. After the re-establishment of the Spanish power in New Mexico, a period of nearly a hundred and fifty years rolled away without any serious disturbance be- ll 2 82 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. tween the two races. Now and then the murmurs of an approaching storm were heard in the distance, but by good management on the part of the government the troubled waters were (pi from time to time, and the apparent friendly relations were not disturbed. While peace was maintained with the I'ueblo Indian.-. there was hostility between the Spaniards and some of the wild tribes living in and around the territory almost up to the time the country fell into the hands of the Americans. Among others, the Camanehes, one of the most warlike and numerous of the neighboring tril kepi up a desperate war upon the country from the conquest oi 50 de B up to near the close of the eighteenth century. During this time several severe battle ought b a them, among which may be ntioned the action of Green Born, about the middle of the last century, and that of AY RUo />"// ( which took place in I The last and most desperate action v >ught at Rabbit Mar in 17£ The I manches were on their return from an expedition against the village of T'- ness of the present labor, and the nature of the produc- tions, will all have a tendency to exclude slave labor, and particularly so when it can be employed with so much greater profit elsewhere in the cultivation of hemp, tobacco, cotton, rice, and sugar. At the same time, the people have no particular dislike to the institution of negro slavery, and I do not believe they would hesitate, to introduce it, if found to be necessary to their agricul- tural prosperity. But if it should be introduced, my opinion is that the institution would never flourish with any degree of vigor, and that in a few years it would dually die out, as in the northern states of the Union. I will conclude this chapter by giving a brief account of the efTorts made in New Mexico, at the close of the war, to obtain either a state or territorial government for HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 109 i hat province, some portion of which forms an unwritten page in the history of the times. A movement of the kind was first induced by the letter of the Hon. Thom- as H. Benton to the people of California and New Mex- ico, advising them to found governments for themselves without waiting for the action of Congress. In the fall of 1848, William Z. Angney, Esq., a lawyer of very con- siderable talent, and late a captain in the army, com- manding a battalion of volunteers, returned from Mis- souri full of the idea set forth in Mr. Benton's letter, and endeavored to induce the people of New Mexico to fol- low the course he recommended. Colonel Washington, then the civil and military governor of the province, find- ing that an excitement was growing up upon the sub- ject, issued a proclamation, dated the 23d of November, 1848, commanding the inhabitants to abstain from " par- ticipating in or being movers of seditious meetings ;" after which public meetings ceased for a time, and all things went on quietly. In December of the same year, a convention, composed of delegates from all parts of the Territory, assembled in Santa Fe, and memorialized Congress for a territorial government, but none was granted during that session. The memorial was bitter- ly attacked in the Senate, because of the provisions it contained in reference to slavery, which was probably the reason it was not acted upon. New Mexico not having a representative in Washing- ton to look after the interest of the country, the people re- solved to send an agent there for that purpose. A move- ment to this effect was put on foot in May, 1849, which resulted in Hugh N. Smith, Esq., being sent to the fed- eral capital to watch over the affairs of the Territory, his expenses being borne by an association of private indi- viduals. This movement begat an opposition on the part of certain gentlemen, who coveted the position for 110 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. one of their own number, and they took immediate steps to counteract it. Those mainly instrumental in the mat- ter were Major R. H. Weightman, late a paymaster in the army, and Mr. Angney, before mentioned, who stir- red up the public mind, and held several meetings in Santa Fe upon the subject. Lieutenant Colonel Benja- min Bcall, the then military commandant in the absence of Colonel Washington, issued a proclamation for the election of delegates to a convention to assemble in San- ta Fe in September, 1849, for the purpose of adopting a plan lor a territorial government, and to elect a delegate to Congress to urge its adoption. A satisfactory plan was agreed upon, and Hugh X. Smith, Esq., was elec as delegate, who went to Washington, and remained nearly the whole session, but was refused his seat by a majority of four votes. In the mean time the country became greatly agitated as to the terms upon which California and New .Mexico should be admitted into the Union, the slavery question having been thrown in as a bone of contention. Texas also began to assert her claim anew to all that part of New Mexico east of the Rio del Norte; and to carry out this purpose, that state sent Spruce M. Baird, Est]., under the appointment of judge, into the Territory, to erect all that portion of the country into the county of Santa IV, and to extend the jurisdiction of the laws of Texas over it. The people of New Mexico being averse to Texas rule, they disregarded this assumed jurisdiction, and refused obedience thereto; and the mission of Mr. Baird being barren of consequences, he returned again to Texas. Early in the spring of 1850, Texas sent a com- missioner, Robert S. Neighbors, Esq., into New .Mexico, With instructions to divide the country east of the J del Norte into several counties of that state, and to hold elections in them for county officers. Upon the mission HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. Ill of Mr. Neighbors being known, it was loudly denounced in public meetings throughout the Territory, and a very strong opposition was raised against him and the objects he had in view. He issued a proclamation fixing time and places for an election, but nobody went to the polls, and the matter fell to the ground. About this time two opposite parties sprang up in New Mexico, one being in favor of a state, and the other a ter- ritorial government, which engendered a deal of excite- ment and ill feeling. Several large public meetings were held by the respective parties in Santa Fe. The state party took sides with Mr. Neighbors, while the territo- rial party, composed of the mass of the people, were op- posed to the dismemberment of the Territory by Texas. At one of these meetings the excitement ran so high that it almost led to bloodshed. The agitation of the ques- tion of a state government originated with the then na- tional administration. President Taylor and his cabinet desired to avoid the responsibility of acting upon the slavery question, which would be required of them if Congress should establish governments for the new ter- ritory acquired under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo from Mexico. Hence the desire, on their part, to induce the people of California and New Mexico to form gov- ernments for themselves, and, in so doing, to settle the vexed question, so far as they were concerned, in their own way. In the spring of 1849, James S. Calhoun, Esq., went to New Mexico, under an appointment as In- dian agent, but upon his arrival he declared that he had secret instructions from the government at Washington to induce the people to form a state government. For a time the plan of a state government received but little support, but in the course of the summer and fall an excitement was raised upon the subject, and both par- ties, state and territorial, published addresses to the peo- 112 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. pie ; the former "being headed by Messrs. Calhoun, Alva- rez, and Pillans, and the latter by St.Vrain, Houghton, Beaubien, and others. The matter continued to be dis- cussed without much effect in favor of the state organi- zation until the spring of 1850, when Colonel George A. M'Call arrived in Santa Fe from the States, upon a like mission as Calhoun. He informed the people that no territorial government would be granted by Congress, and that President Taylor was determined that New Mexico should be erected into a state government, in or- der to settle the question of slavery, and also that of boundary with Texas. The delegate in Congress, Mr. Smith, wrote home to the same effect; and tilings ap- peared very much as though the general government had left the people of the Territory to shift for themselves. In view of the present condition of political affairs — Congress neglecting to organize a territorial government on the one hand, and Texas threatening to dismember the country on the other, with the presence of military rule daily becoming obnoxious to the people — the terri- torial party at last yielded their preference, and joined in the advocacy of a state government. Accordingly, res- olutions to that effect were adopted at a meeting held in the city of Santa Fe on the 20th of April, 1850, and also requesting Colonel John Monroe, the civil and military governor, to issue a proclamation calling upon the people to elect delegates to a convention to be convened on the 15th of May following at that place. The delegates, elect- ed in pursuance of the proclamation, assembled in con- vention on the day therein mentioned, and remained in session for ten days, during which time they adopted, with great unanimity,, a Constitution, which had been drafted by Joab Houghton and M. F. Tuley, Esquires. It assm> ilated,in its general features, to the Constitutions of the new states of the Union; and, among other things, con- tained a clause prohibiting slavery, in order to meet the t HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW MEXICO. 113 views of the Mexican population. The Constitution was adopted on the 20th of June with little, if any opposition, and, at the same time, state officers were elected. The Legislature assembled on the 1st of July of the same year at Santa Fe, when they elected two senators in Congress, Francis A. Cunningham and Richard H. Weightman. At the state election Henry Connelly was elected gov- ernor, and Manuel Alvarez lieutenant governor. Dr. Connelly being absent in the States, Mr. Alvarez was acting governor for the time being, who, backed by the Legislature then in session and the newly-elected offi- cials, attempted at once to put the state government into full operation without awaiting its adoption and approval. This movement caused a lengthy and quite angry cor- respondence between Mr. Alvarez and Colonel Monroe, who forbade any assumption of civil power by the new officials. Among other things, the Legislature provided for the election of county officers, which Acting Governor Alvarez attempted to carry into effect by issuing writs of election, which Colonel Monroe also forbade by proc- lamation to the people, in which he declared all such elec- tions null and void. In consequence of this opposition on the part of the military authority, the elections were not held, and matters moved on for some months the same as before the state organization was effected. In the mean time Mr. Weightman, one of the senators elect, went to Washington to present the Constitution of New Mexico, ask for her admittance into the Union, and claim his seat. Upon his arrival, he found that the Com- promise Bill of 1850, in which was included the act or- ganizing a territorial government for New Mexico, had just passed Congress, and which at once took precedence of the state organization. The new territorial govern- ment went into operation the 3d of March, 1851, Mr. Calhoun being sworn in as governor. Thus originated, and ceased to exist, the state government of New Mexico. 114 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. CHAPTER V. m THE PUEBLO INDIANS. Pueblos most interesting (lass of Inhabitants. — Origin of Name. — Re- ligion. — Number of Villages. — Their Names. — Moqui Villages. — Different Nations ami Language*. — Tagnos Nation extinct. — Did the Spaniards ivclaini these Indians? — ( lhola and the People. — Tignex and Jemes. — ciriiv.- and the Buildings. — Pueblo Indians >ainr Peo- ple t lie* Spaniard- found in the Country. — First Decree of Charles V. — Subsequent Decrees. — Title of Indians to Land. — Ruins of Pue- blo-. — Al>o. — Quarra. — QUTfira. — Other Kuins. — Scarcity Of Water. — Cause of Villages deserted. — Wager of Battle. Who are the Pue- blo Indians? — Opinion of Mr. Gallatin. — Are they Aztecs? — The Question an interesting one. The most interesting class of the inhabitants of New Mexico are those known as the PuMo Indians. iThey are the descendants of the ancient rulers of the country, and are so called because they dwell in villages and sub- sist by agriculture, instead of living in lodges and de- pending upon the chase as the wild Indians of the mount- ains and plains. The word pueblo is the Spanish for village, and hence the origin of their name. They are semi-civilized, and in part have conformed to the man ners and customs of their Mexican neighbors, from whom they have drawn the little civilization they possess. The greater number of them have embraced the Christian religion, and w r orship after the forms of the Catholic Church. AYithin a few years this people have attracted consid- erable attention among the learned, who have made an effort to unravel the mystery that hangs around their or- igin and early history, as also to obtain a more correct THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 115 knowledge of their present manners and customs. The interest manifested in this primitive race will warrant me in devoting a few pages to them, in which I will give the reader all the information I have been able to obtain con- cerning them, derived from personal observation and oth- er authentic sources. The number of inhabited pueblos in the Territory is twenty-six, the majority of which are situated in the val- ley of the Del Norte, extending, from Taos in the north to Isleta in the south, some two hundred miles. In an- cient times they were much more numerous than at pres- ent, and the ruins of many are now to be seen in various parts of the country. Their names are Taos, Picoris, ' Nambe, Tezuque, Pojuaque, San Juan, San Yldefonso, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Cochiti, Isleta, Silla, Laguna, Acoma, Jemez, Zuiii, Sandia, and Santa Clara. Besides these there are the seven villages of the^ Moquis in the western part of the Territory, well toward the Rio Colorado of the west, which are the least known of all the pueblos. They have not had a priest station- ed among them since the revolution of 1680, and, being far removed from the Mexican population, they have re- mained to the present day in a very primitive condition, and retained most of their ancient manners and habits. When Cruzate visited the Moqiii country in 1692, he saw five inhabited pueblos, which were then called Agua- tubi, Gualpi, Jongopavi, Monsonavi, and Orayvi. Five of these villages now bear the names of Moqui, Oraybe, Una Vida, Cuelpe, and Towas ; the names of the other two I do not know, and, not having visited that country, I am not able to say how the situation of the modern agrees with that of the ancient pueblos. A few miles to the south of Isleta is what was once an Indian pueblo, but the inhabitants have intermarried with the Span- iards to such a degree that it has become almost merged 116 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. into a Mexican village. In Texas, a short distance be- low the southern boundary of New Mexico, and in the valley of the Del Norte, is a pueblo called Isleta of the South, but neither it nor Los Lentes is included in the twenty-six named as being in the Territory. In ancient times the several pueblos formed four dis- tinct nations, called Piro, Tegua, Queres, and Tagnos or Tanos, speaking as many different dialects or languages. The languages of the first three, the remains of former nationalities, are still extant, but the fourth, that of the Tagnos or Tanos, is said to have become extinct. The pueblos that still speak the Piro language are Taos, Te- zuque, Sandia, Isleta, and Isleta of the South; those that speak the Queres language are Santa Ana, Jemez, San Felipe, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, Laguna, Acoma, Pico- . and Silla. It is maintained by some that Zurii speaks the Piro language, and that four of the Moqui villages speak a dialect very nearly the same as that of the Na- vajos, while a fifth speaks that of San Juan, which is Tegua ; but as Cruzate, in his journal, places both Zuni and Moqui as belonging to the Queres nation, such des- ignation of them is most probably correct. In the days of their greatest strength this was the most powerful of all the Pueblo nations ; and in their conflicts with the Spaniards, Queres sent forth the most able warriors into the field, and had the most cunning prophets in the es- tufas. The Tegua language is still spoken by San Juan, Santa Clara, Nambe, Pojuaque, and San Yldefonso. The pueblos that once composed the powerful nation of Tag- nos have been harshly dealt with in the course of time, and it is not certainly known that even a remnant of this people now remain, although it is said that some of the western villages speak that language. The once popu- lous pueblo of Pecos, those on the Galestio, and others to the southward, were of this nation, but they have long THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 117 since fallen to decay, and time-stained ruins only mark the former homes of these dusky warriors. The distance from Picoris to the Moqui villages is about four hundred miles, and from Taos to Isleta of the South still farther, and yet these widely separated pueblos speak, each two, the same language, and, in all probability, are from the same parent stock. This identity of language, as evi- dence in favor of their having originally been one people, also supports the supposition that they were from some cause dispersed from a common locality, and obliged to seek new homes in distant regions. Most of the Pueblo Indians have picked up a smattering of the Spanish lan- guage, but their native tongue is always used in their conversation with each other. It has been and still is the opinion of many persons that the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico were reclaimed from a wild state and placed in villages by the Span- iards. This is an error, as can be shown by abundant evidence. They were living in villages long before Eu- ropeans landed upon the shores of America. The first Spaniards who penetrated into New Mexico found them in substantially the same condition as at the present day, and when Cortez entered Southern Mexico, he en- countered a race of men inhabiting that country almost identical with the Pueblo Indians in style of living, manners, and customs. The earliest and most positive testimony we have upon this subject, so far as New Mexico is concerned, we find in the journal of Castaiieda de Nagera, the chronicler of the expedition of Coronado of 1540, already referred to. He noted the provinces they passed through, with a description of the country, and the people, and all of interest that was seen during their march. This journal has been preserved, and now lies before me. In order to prove that the people then inhabiting New Mexico were the same race of men as 118 MOW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the Pueblos of the present day, I will make a few ex- tracts from Castaneda upon the subject. In Speaking of Cibola, the first province at which they arrived, he gives the following brief account of it : " The province of Cibola contains seven villages. The largest is called Muzaque. The houses of the country are ordinarily three or four stories high, but at Muzaque there are some which reach seven stories. The Indians of this country are very intelligent. They cover the natural parts ami the entire middle of the person with •es of stuff which resemble napkins; they are gar- nished with tufts and with embroidery at the corners, and aiv M d aruimd the reins. These natives have also kinds of pelisses of feathers or hare-skins and cot- ton st nil's. The women wear on the shoulders a sort of mantle, which they fasten around the neck, passing it under the right arm. They also make garments of ski very well dressed, and trick off their hair behind the ears in the shape of a wheel, which resembles the handle of a cup." • S j leaking of the villages of the province of Tignex, for- ty i 's to the north of Cibola, he says, "They are gov- erned by a council of old men. The houses are built in DDmon; the women temper the mortar and raise the walls ; the men bring timber and construct the frames. They have no lime, lmt they make a mixture of ashes, earth, and charcoal, which answers very well as a substi- tute; for, although they raise their houses four stories high, the walls are not more than three feet thick. They make great heaps of thyme and rushes, which they set on fire ; when the mass is reduced to coal and ashes, they 1 hrow upon it a great deal of earth and water, and mix all ; her. They then knead it in round masses, which arc I, and which they employ as stones; the whole is (hen coated with the same mixture. The work thus re- THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 119 sembles somewhat a piece of masonry." He also men- tions that contiguous to this province lay that of Jemez, seven leagues to the northeast, which also contained seven villages. The pueblo of Jemez is still in exist- ence, and contains several hundred inhabitants, and, from its location, is probably a village of the province of that name mentioned by Castaiieda. In the same valley are three or four other inhabited pueblos, and several in ruins. In giving a description of the same province, he re- marks, " The houses are well distributed and very neat. One room is designed for the kitchen, and another to grind the grain. This last is apart, and contains a fur- nace and three stones made fast in masonry. Three women sit down before these stones ; the first crushes the grain, the second brays it, and the third reduces it entirely to powder. Before entering, they take off their shoes, tie their hair, cover their head, and shake their clothes. While they are at work, a man, seated at the door, plays on a bagpipe, so that they work keeping time: they sing in three voices. They make a great deal of Hour at once. To make bread, they mix it with warm water, and make a dough which resembles the cakes called dubles. No other fruit than pine-nuts* are seen in the country. The men wear a sort of shirt of dressed leather, and a pelisse over it. In all this province was found pottery glazed, and vases of really curious form and workmanship." Farther toward the northeast the Spaniards came to the village of Cicuye, which is described as follows : "It is built on the top of a rock, forming a great square, and the centre is occupied by a public place, under which are vapor baths. The houses are four stories high, the roof in the form of a terrace, all of the same height, and on * Probably puiones, which are found all over the country. 120 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. which the circuit of the village may be made without iinding a street to obstruct the passage. To the first two stories there is a corridor, in the form of a balcony, on which they can circulate round the village, and under which they can find shelter. The houses have no doors below, but they ascend to the balconies within the vil- lage by means of ladders which may be removed. Upon these balconies, which serve as streets, open all the doors by which the houses are entered. Those which front upon the country are supported against those which open upon the court. These last are higher, which is very useful in time of war." The evidence here cited from the journal of Castane- held. — Weapons. — Dress. — Arts. — Food. — Not Cit- izens. — Sacred Fire. — The Serpent. — Tradition of the Eagle. — Green Corn Dance. — Vocabulary of Words. THE history of the Pueblo Indians presents many- points of interest, and as the subject is one with which the readers of our country are almost entirely unac- quainted, I will briefly narrate a few of the leading inci- dents connected with their early intercourse with the Spaniards. These facts are drawn from official docu- ments, and may be relied upon as correct. When the Spaniards first came to the country and made permanent settlements, now more than two centu- ries and a half ago, they found these Indians numerous and powerful, living peaceful and happy lives in their villages, and supplied with the comforts and necessaries of life. The Europeans overran and took possession of their mountains and valleys, and reduced the inhabitants from independence to a state of servitude ; the pleasures of their simple and primitive life were at an end, and they saw themselves, in a few years, "the hewers of wood * The reader will observe in this chapter some repetition of facts mentioned in Chapter III., which could not be well avoided, but was required in order to make each subject complete in itself. THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 133 And drawers of water" for a new and more powerful race of men. They were obliged to give up the faith of their fathers, which they had worshiped from time immemo- rial, and embrace the Catholic religion. They saw their cstufas closed, their articles of religious ceremony de- stroyed, and all their ancient rites entirely interdicted. This treatment begat a feeling of hatred toward the Spaniards, whom they began to regard as intruders in their country and usurpers of their lands, and deemed it their duty to expel them by force of arms. Neither the teachings of the priests nor the punishment inflicted upon them from time to time was able to extinguish the hostility that filled their bosoms, and they only awaited a proper occasion to take up arms and drive out the in- vaders. They made several attempts at rebellion before they met with success, their plans being either discovered by the watchful care of the Spaniards, or divulged by trai- tors in their own ranks. The first effort of the kind was about the year 1640, while Governor Arguello was at the head of affairs in the province. The immediate cause of this attempted outbreak was the whipping and hanging of forty Indians, who refused to give up their ancient religious worship and become good Catholics. The conspiracy was discovered and nipped in the bud. In the year 1650, while General Concha was governor, they made a second attempt of the kind, which likewise proved unsuccessful. This was placed on foot by the leading men of the pueblos of Ysleta, Alameda, San Fe- lipe, Cochiti, and Jemez. The time fixed upon for the rising was the Thursday night of Passion Week. The Indians were to rise while the Spaniards were in the churches engaged in religious exercises, and fall upon them by surprise, when all were to be massacred or driven from the country. A party had been sent out to L34 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. secure the horses of the Spaniards, to prevent their escape ; but, being arrested and examined by the order of the governor, the whole plot became known, and the ringleaders were secured. Those arrested were after- ward tried : some of them were hanged or otherwise put to death, and others were sold into slavery for a term of years. There were several other attempts at rebellion between the years 1640 and 1680, and although the In- dians were unsuccessful in every instance, they were not discouraged from making subsequent efforts to free them- selves from the yoke of the Spaniards. The first gen- eral conspiracy among all the pueblos of the country was thai put on foot while ( icneral Yillanueva was the govern- or and captain-general of the province, the head and front of which was one Estevan Clemente, the governor of the Salt Lake pueblo. 1 1 c was a man of note among the Indians, and aroused up his brethren to resistance. The plan of operations was about the same as those fia upon in the time of General Concha. The Thursday lit of Passion Week was again to be the time of ris- ing, and the Indians were to seize all the horses to pre- vent the escape of the Spaniards. The conspiracy was discovered in time to prevent its being earned into effect, and thus failed, as in former attempts. The first rebellion which met with even partial suc- cess was that which broke out in the year 1680, while Don Antonio de Otermin was governor and captain-gen- eral. In this attempt they were fully successful for a time, and not only succeeded in driving the Spaniards from the country, but maintained their independence for twelve years, in opposition to all the force the govern- ment could send against them. The conspiracy was placed on foot in the first place by the Taos Indians, who made an effort to unite all the pueblos in a common cause. The method of communicating information of THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 135 the proposed rising was simple in the extreme. Two deer-skins were taken, upon which were made drawings representing the manner of the conspiracy and the object of it, which were sent round to all the villages by trusty hands, with an invitation to join in the rebellion and as- sist in the expulsion of the Spaniards. All acquiesced in the plan except the seven villages of the Moquis, for which reason the matter was dropped for the time being. A second attempt was made the same year, soon af- terward, which led to successful results. (The leading spirits in this enterprise were Pope — by some said to have been a native of the pueblo of Taos, and by others a na- tive of San Juan — and Catiti, a Queres Indian. They were shrewd and able men, and knew well the means to take to rouse up their countrymen to resistance. Pope seized upon the superstition of his untutored brethren, and turned it to a good account. He shut himself up for a time in the estufa, and would neither see nor hold any intercourse with his companions. When he appear- ed again in the village, he informed them that he had held communion with the devil, and through him feign- ed to have received messages from the infernal regions. These revelations directed him as to the course he should pursue to meet with success. He was to unite all the pueblos in a common league against the Spaniards, and the method of giving them information was also pointed out. He was to make a rope of palm-leaf fibres, in which were to be tied a number of knots. This was to be for- warded from pueblo to pueblo by the swiftest runners, and each village that joined in the conspiracy was to un- tie a knot. The number of knots remaining in the rope when it should be returned whence it was sent would signify the number of days before the outbreak was to take place. The rope was sent round as the devil had directed, and all the villages to which it was carried 136 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. showed their approval of the plan by each one untying a knot. The organization was effected with the greatest secre- cy, and every possible means taken to prevent a discov- ery and insure success ; and they were so fearful their conspiracy might be divulged to the enemy, it is said they did not let a woman into the secret. Even those who fell under suspicion were put to death ; and Pope caused his own son-in-law, Nicolas Bua, governor of the pueblo of San Juan, to be killed, for no other reason than be- cause he was suspected of treachery by some of the con- spirators. The day fixed upon for the breaking out of the rebellion was the tenth of August (1680), and the poor Indians looked forward to its arrival as the period that was to deliver their necks from the yoke of the Span- iards. They had newly bent their bows, and tipped their arrows afresh to draw Christian blood, and with impa- tience awaited their day of deliverance. Treachery, in spite of all their precautions, lurked in their own ranks, and their whole plan of operations became known to the Spaniards. Fire days before the revolution was to com- mence, two Indians of the pueblo of Tezuque visited the Spanish governor at Santa Fe, and divulged to him the conspiracy, and thus he was placed upon his guard. The Indians were aware, the same day, that their plot was discovered, and, fearing that delay might endanger the whole enterprise, they resolved to take up arms im- mediately. They commenced the work of death that night, and killed all the Spaniards who had the misfor- tune to fall into their hands, being particularly hostile against the priests. The Ghristians were in dismay, but made the best disposition to defend themselves possible. Word was sent to all the settlements of the rebellion, with orders for the inhabitants to prepare themselves for the emergency. In a few days several thousand Indians THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 137 were in arms, and advanced upon Santa Fe, the capital, which they surrounded and placed in a state of siege. The place was closely invested for some time, and sev- eral actions were fought between the opposing parties, when the Spaniards evacuated the town, which the In- dians allowed them to do without molestation. The Pueblos immediately entered and took possession of the place. They dismantled the Christian churches, and de- stroyed the images and sacred vestments ; they estab- lished, in place of the Catholic religion, which force had compelled them to adopt, their heathen rites in all their relations ; they re-opened the estufas, which had been closed for years, and celebrated their success in the ca- china dance. This course was pursued in all parts of the country, and they endeavored, as far as possible, to obliterate all traces of the Christian religion. The defeated Spaniards marched to El Paso del Norte, undergoing many hardships on the way. The fugitive troops remained encamped near that place until the au- tumn of the following year, awaiting re-enforcements and supplies for a reconquest of the country. They arrived in October, and in the month of November Otermin took up the line of march for New Mexico, with an army of several hundred men and a good supply of provisions. He proceeded, in spite of deep snows and cold weather, which he encountered nearly all the way up the valley as far as the pueblo of San Felipe, where he met the en- emy in such force that he deemed it advisable to retreat, and so retraced his steps to El Paso. Several subse- quent efforts were made to bring the revolted Indians to subjection, but none of the commanders were successful until the Viceroy of Mexico sent Bargas into the country in 1692. He succeeded in reducing all the pueblos to terms, and by the year 1696 peace and quietness were re- stored to the whole province. He marched throughout 138 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the country with his victorious arms, and village after village submitted to the conqueror. During the contest Santa Fe was taken and retaken several times, and the poor natives exhibited a bravery worthy the cause in which they were fighting. From the close of the rebellion of 1680 to the year 1837 the two races lived in comparative peace with each other. The Spaniards abated some of the rigor they had hitherto practiced toward the Indians, and the latter were secured in the enjoyment of privileges they did not be- fore possess. In the latter year, as has been already mentioned, they again rose in rebellion, and advanced in thousands upon the capital. The troops were defeat- ed, the governor and leading officials put to death, and the government fell into the hands of the Indians. They retained it, however, for a few weeks only, when they were overpowered by the Mexican authorities, and again brought to subjection. Since the close of the war with Mexico they have remained at peace with our govern- ment, and seem pleased with the change of masters. They are friendly in their feelings toward the Americans, but have always manifested hostility to the Mexicans. The good-will they manifest toward our people is prob- ably produced, in some degree, by circumstances. It is said they have always had a tradition among them that a new race of men would come from the east to deliver them from the bondage of the Spaniards and Mexicans, and the Americans, coming from that quarter, may have led them to believe that we were their promised deliver- ers. When General Kearney took possession of the country in 1846, the Pueblo Indians were among the first to give in their adherence to the new order of things, and, with the exception of the Taos Indians taking part in the rebellion of 1847, they have never manifested other than the most friendly disposition. Upon several occa- THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 141 sions they have volunteered to assist our troops in chas- tising the wild tribes for depredations committed upon the settlements, and have always fought with a gallantry hardly second to the United {States troops. As guides and spies in Indian warfare they are invaluable, and they will follow a hostile trail with the keenness of a blood- hound, and that, too, even when the most experienced woodsman can see no signs of footsteps. The population of the Pueblo Indians at the present time is not more than ten thousand souls. They yet live in little communities entirely separate and distinct from the Mexican population, with their own local cus- toms and laws. Their villages are constructed of adobes, and in a style peculiar to themselves. In some in- stances the houses are small, and built around a square court-yard, while in other cases the village is composed of two or three large buildings contiguous to each other, which sometimes accommodate as many as a thousand or fifteen hundred people. They look much more like fortresses than dwelling-places, and if properly manned are capable of making a strong defense against small arms. The pueblo near the town of Don Fernandez de Taos, in the northern part of the territory, is the best sample of the ancient mode of building. Here there are two large houses three or four hundred feet in length, and about a hundred and fifty feet wide at the base. They are situated upon opposite sides of a small creek, and in ancient times are said to have been connected by a bridge. They are five and six stories high, each story receding from the one below it, and thus forming a struc- ture terraced from top to bottom. Each story is divided into numerous little compartments, the outer tiers of rooms being lighted by small windows in the sides* while those in the interior of the building are dark, and are prin- cipally used as store-rooms. One of the most singular 142 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. features of these buildings is the absence of any direct communication with the outside on the ground floor. The only means of entrance is through a trap-door in the roof, and you ascend, from story to story, by means of ladders upon the outside, which are drawn up at night, and the population sleep secure from attack from without. This method of gaining access to the inside of the house is common to all the pueblos, and was probably adopted in early times as a means of defense against the wild tribes by which they were surrounded. In the two buildings at Taos about eight hundred men, women, and children live together like one large family, and apparently in much harmony. It is the custom to have a sentinel sta- tioned upon the house-top, whose duty it is to give no- tice of the approach of danger. Each pueblo contains an estufa, which is used both as a council-chamber and a place of worship, where they practice such of their heathen rites as still exist among them. It is built partly under ground, and is consider- ed a consecrated and holy place. Here they hold all their deliberations upon public affairs, and transact the necessary business of the village. It is said to be their custom, when they return from a successful war expedi- tion, to repair to the e*tttfa, where they strip themselves of their clothing, and dance and Otherwise celebrate their success ; and that, upon some occasions, they remain there two or three days before visiting their families. The government of the pueblos is purely democratic ; and although they are in some instances subject to the laws of the United States and of the Territory, in most respects they are independent communities. Each vil- lage is entirely independent of the others, with its own local government and laws ; and there is no common bond of union between them. An election is held each year for a governor, alcalde, fiscal or constable, and a war THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 143 captain, and in all cases the majority of votes decides the contest. The governor is also called the cacique ; and immediately after his election he repairs to Santa Fe to the agent for the Pueblo Indians, to receive confirmation of office. The latter has no power of confirmation, but they come and announce their election as a matter of custom. They formerly presented themselves to the governor of the Territory, but since an agent has been appointed to watch over their interests, this official visitation is made to him. Upon such state occasions, his red excellency brings with him a silver-headed cane, his staff of office, and assumes as much dignity as a bona fide white gov- ernor. The process of confirmation simply consists in the agent taking the cane into his hands, and then hand- ing it back to the governor ; but under the Mexican government it was the custom, I believe, for the new in- cumbent to kneel before the governor of the Territory, to whom he presented himself, who confirmed him by some process of laying on of hands. The alcalde is the judiciary of the village, from whose court there is no ap- peal ; and the fiscal serves all legal process, and enforces obedience to their customs and laws. The war captain is their mighty man of Mars — he who sets their squad- rons in the field, and leads them on to victory. In the " piping times of peace" he is a mere nobody, and has neither power nor dignity of office wherewith to console himself; but when the "blast of war sounds in his ears," he is clothed with great authority. He then becomes "commander-in-chief of the army and navy" thereof, and is the champion of the tawny warriors both in the coun- cil-chamber and in the field. Besides the officers elected by universal suffrage, the principal chiefs compose a " council of wise men," whose duty it is to manage the internal affairs of the pueblo. 144 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPL Whenever any business of importance is required to be transacted, the governor assembles the council, his " con- stitutional advisers," in the estufa, where the matter is discussed and afterward decided by a vote of those pres- ent, the majority always controlling. Among other reg- ulations is the appointment of a secret watch, whose duty it is to prevent vice and disorder in the village, and particularly to have an eye on the young people, and see that they do not have improper intercourse with each other. If any act of this kind is discovered, the offend- are arraigned before the governor and council to an- swer, and if the case is clearly established they are com- ix lied to marry forthwith : but if the girl is of good character, and the man refuses to marry her, there is no force used, but they are sentenced to remain apart, under penalty of being whipped. Their strictness tn this par- ticular has done much toward preserving the chastity of their females. As heretofore mentioned, the Pueblo Indians have em- braced the Catholic religion, and at the present time I believe the Moquis are the only ones among whom there are neither transitory nor permanent priests. At an early day there were missionaries among the latter, who were either killed or driven away during the revolution, and their places were never afterward tilled. Although nominally Catholics, they still cling to many of their heathen rites, and mingle their pagan ceremonies with the forms of Christian worship. One of their ancient rites is called the cachina dance, to which they are much attached, and which they celebrate at certain seasons of the year with great rejoicings. This dance was sup- pressed by the Spaniards when they first made a con- quest of the country and forced their religion upon the natives, which the Indians considered so great a depriva- tion that it is alleged as one of the main causes of the THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 145 rebellion of 1680. Each village lias a church, where a Catholic priest officiates at stated periods, one priest serv- ing two or three pueblos where they are not a great dis- tance from each other. They pay tithes of all they pos- sess, which is a burdensome tax upon them. They are punctual in all the outward observances of the Church, but they scarcely understand more than the mere forms that are presented to the sight. They are said still to worship the sun, as was the custom with their heathen ancestors, and that every morning they turn the face to- ward the east, whence they look for the coming of Mon- tezuma. The land belonging to each pueblo is held in common by the inhabitants, but for purposes of cultivation it is parceled out to the several families, who raise their own crops, and dispose of the produce of their labor. Irriga- tion is necessary, and by careful tillage they can raise as fine crops as any produced in the Territory. They grow wheat, corn, beans, and vegetables and fruits. They have paid considerable attention to the cultivation of the grape, and some of the pueblos own large and val- uable vineyards. They make wine from the grapes, and also sell them in a ripe state in the neighboring Mexican towns. They raise stock, and some of the pueblos own considerable herds of horses, mules, oxen, and sheep. As a class, the Pueblo Indians are among the most orderly and useful people in the Territory ; they are in- dustrious, frugal, and peaceable, and generally live in harmony with each other and the surrounding Mexican population. There are no paupers or drones among them, because all are obliged to labor and contribute something to the weal of the community to which they belong. [heir weapons are the bow and arrow, and a few old guns. They are a brave people, and have oftentimes shown themselves more than a match for the wild In- G 146 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. dians. The only defensive armor they use is a rude shield made of raw bull-hide. When a dispute arises among them, it is generally settled in an amicable man- ner by the governor and his council, and it is very sel- dom they go into the courts of justice to seek redress. They are in a lamentable state of ignorance, and it is a very rare thing to find one who can either read or write. They are extremely superstitious, and are firm believers in witchcraft in all its variety. A little more than two years ago, the council and governor of the pueblo of Xambe caused two of the inhabitants of that village to be put to death in a most cruel manner, because they were accused of eating up all the little children of the pueblo. They are degenerating as a race, the principal cause being their constant intermarriage in the same pue- blo ; and it is a very rare thing that any of the young men seek wives among the neighboring villages. In this respect they seem to follow the example of the royal families of Europe, and their blood is losing its strength about as rapidly. As a class they are honest, and are generally free from drunkenness. They retain, in a great measure, their aboriginal cos- tume, and in but few instances have adopted the dress worn by the Mexicans. The outer garments of the men consist of a jacket and leggins made of deer-skins, tan- ned ; the leggins are worn by all, but many dispense with the jacket, and wrap up in a buffalo robe, which they gird around the waist. Some wear a blanket instead of the buffalo robe, and a few wear cotton shirts. The women wear leggins the same as the men ; but instead of the jacket or buffalo robe, they wear a handsome blanket or mantle over the shoulders, in such a manner as to leave both arms free. A shorter blanket, called a tilma, is worn in front, falling down as low as the knee ; and both the tilma and the blanket worn over the shoulders are THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 147 fastened by a girdle around the waist. They are of a dark ground, and woven in various figures of bright col- ors, and the leggins are ornamented with beads. Both sexes wear moccasins upon the feet instead of shoes, and go bareheaded. The hair is worn long, and is done up in a great queue that falls down behind. There is a vari- ance in the dress of the different pueblos, some approach- ing nearer to that of the wild Indians of the prairies. There is a marked difference between the costume of the northern and southern pueblos. They appear to have lost most of the few arts they possessed when the country was first discovered by the Spaniards. Then they manufactured some fabrics of cotton, and other articles of curious workmanship. They still make a coarse kind of blanket for their own use, but they devote the greater part of their time to the manu- facture of earthenware, which they sell in quantities to the Mexicans. It exhibits some skill, and is often adorn- ed with various devices painted upon it before it is burn- ed. This ware is in universal use in the territory, and there is considerable demand for it in the market. They also make vessels of wicker-work tight enough to hold water after they have been once saturated. They are formed of the fibres of some plant ingeniously plaited together, and some of the proper size and shape are used by travelers as canteens. Their food is simple and wholesome, and is the same found in common use among the Mexican population. It consists principally of tortillas, frijoles, atole, pinole, and chile, the method of preparing all of which will be described elsewhere. They are probably of aboriginal or- igin, and were adopted by the first Spanish settlers who came into the country. They make another quality of bread from maize different from the tortilla, the use of which is principally confined to the Indians, which is 14S NEW MEXICO AND HEK PEOPLE. called guayave. The corn is first ground on the metate, and then mixed with water into a thin paste, when it is baked before the fire upon flat stones heated for that pur- pose. The paste is laid on in exceedingly thin layers, and is almost immediately baked and peeled off, when a new supply is placed upon the stone. They are about the thickness of a wafer, and when a large number of them are baked, they are rolled together and form the guayave. The natives make great use of them when performing long journeys, and they will subsist for many days upon a few of these simple rolls. The Pueblo Indians are not recognized as citizens of the United States, or of the Territory of New Mexico, in which respect they are in the same condition as the wild tribes, but in other particulars they are placed in a more favorable position. The laws protect them in their persons and property, and they have the right to sue in courts of justice the same as citizens, for this purpose being created bodies politic by the territorial Legislature. They are also made amenable to the criminal laws of the Territory for offenses committed against one of their own number or against a citizen. An agent is appointed by the President to watch over their interests, and Congress has appropriated twelve thousand dollars to be expended in the purchase of agricultural implements for the vari- ous pueblos. The question as to whether the Pueblo Indians are citizens of the United States has been mooted and dis- cussed upon two occasions, and there are not wanting those who contend that they are entitled to all the polit- ical rights of the free white male inhabitants of the Union. This view of the case is manifestly wrong ; and where the evidence is so clear to the contrary, this opinion must have been embraced in the absence of a proper examina- tion of the subject. It is maintained by those who hold THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 149 the affirmative, that inasmuch as these Indians were cit- izens of the republic of Mexico before the United States acquired the territory, they became, upon the ratification of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, citizens of the United States. I will examine the question briefly. While Spain held the country, none but Spaniards or Europeans were recognized as citizens of the monarchy, all the mixed races being excluded. During the revolu- tion which resulted in the independence of Mexico, the revolutionists, in order to attach the masses to their cause, declared all the inhabitants of the country to be citizens, whether Europeans, Africans, or Indians. This doctrine, in words at least, appears to have been recog- nized in the plan of Iguala, the treaty of Cordova, and two or three subsequent decrees of the Mexican Con- gress, down as late as the 17th of September, 1822. But after the independence was established, and the federal Constitution formed, I know of no law or act of the gov- ernment that recognized them as citizens of the republic, but the contrary appears to have been the case. If the Pueblos were entitled to these rights, so were the wild tribes also, as the word "Indians" is used without any qualification as to class ; and if the authorities cited em- brace one portion of the race, they embrace all, which would include the Nabajos, Apaches, and Utahs. The truth is, that Mexico, after the revolution, never did con- sider the Pueblo Indians citizens, but they were always viewed as wards, subject to the control of the govern- ment. The land they occupied was only held by the right of possession, and they were expressly forbidden to sell, rent, lease, or in any manner alienate the same ; and as late as the year 1827, the Mexican Congress had to confirm the sale of a rancho belonging to the pueblo of Cochiti before the purchaser could obtain a title. The acts and decrees upon this subject are still in force in 150 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. New Mexico, wherein they do not conflict with the Con- stitution and laws of the United States. Now it is very evident that if these Indians had enjoyed an equality of civil rights with the other inhabitants of Mexico, as is alleged, they would have been allowed to dispose of their lands, as was the case with Mexican citizens. But, admitting that the Pueblo Indians were citizens of Mexico while under her jurisdiction, it by no means follows that they were made citizens of the United States by the operation of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. That document is very clear upon this point, and we need not go behind it to determine the question. The ninth article provides as follows, viz. : " The Mexicans who, in the territory aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican re- public conformably with what is stipulated in the pre- ceding article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States) to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States, according to the principles of the Constitution, and in the mean time shall be maintained and protect- ed in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction." Now no man who has eyes to read and sense to un- derstand can place a wrong construction upon this clause of the treaty without a willful intention to do so. The only class of persons in the acquired territory who can lay any claim to be admitted to the rights of citizens of the United States are those that belong to the race known as "Mexicans," who are specified as a class, with- out any reference whatever to their citizenship ; and, ac- cording to the tenor of the ninth article, their being cit- izens of Mexico at the making of the treaty does not THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 151 seem to have been a requisite to entitle them to the ben- efits of it in this particular, if they were "Mexicans" If the words Mexican citizens had been used, then a le- gal question might have arisen as to who were citizens of that republic «at the time the treaty was made ; but, under the present circumstances, no such question can arise, because the treaty designates "Mexicans" instead of Mexican citizens. This wording excludes every de- scription of persons except those specially named, unless by some modern political or judicial jugglery a " Mexi- can" can be changed into an Indian, or an Indian mould- id into a "Mexican." Such transformation would cast into the shade all the tricks of Herr Alexander or the Fakir of Ava. Even the "Mexicans" themselves did lot become citizens of the United States by virtue of the treaty with Mexico, who were not admitted as such mtil Congress judged the "proper time" to have arrived, >eing protected, in the mean time, in the enjoyment of leir liberty and property, and the free exercise of their religion. There is a condition annexed to this investi- ture of citizenship which can only be confirmed accord- ing to the principles of the Constitution ; and our courts lave held long ago that Indians are not citizens in the leaning of that instrument. This article of the treaty ras inserted by the Senate of the United States, and it is not likely that that body meant to confer rights upon the Indians acquired from Mexico which are denied to our native Indians. The Act of Congress, approved September 9th, 1855, establishing a territorial government in New Mexico, shows the construction Congress placed upon the treaty as regards citizenship. Under this act Indians are ex- cepted in providing for an apportionment of the inhabit- ants for representatives, and none are allowed to vote and hold office except " white male inhabitants," citizens 152 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ■ of the United States, including those recognized as citi- zens by the treaty with Mexico. These authorities seem clearly to settle the question, and deny the rights of citizens to all Indians, the Pueblos as well as the wild tribes ; but if Indians are citizens of the United States by virtue of the plan of Igiiala, the treaty of Cordova, subsequent decrees, and the treaty of Guadalupe, so are Africans, since whatever political rights these two races have in the territory acquired from Mexico are drawn from the same source and must be equal. Many curious tales are related of the superstitious customs of the Indians, among which I rind the follow- ing told of the Pecos pueblo. It is said that in the estufa the sacred fin was kept constantly burning, hav- ing been originally kindled by Montezuma. It was in a basin of a small altar, and, in order to prevent its be- coming extinguished, a watch was kept over it day and night. The tradition runs that Montezuma had enjoined upon their ancestors not to allow the fire to expire until he should return to deliver them from the Spaniards, and hence their watchful care over it. I lo was expected to appear with the rising sun, and every morning the Indians went upon the house-tops, and, with eyes turned toward the cast, looked for the coming of their monarch. Alas for them, he never came; and when the smoul- dering embers had expired, they gave up all hope of de- liverance, and sought new homes in a distant pueblo. The task of watching the sacred fires was assigned to the warriors, who served by turns for a period of two days and two nights at a time, without eating or drink- ing, while some say that they remained upon duty until death or exhaustion relieved them from their post. The remains of those who died from the effect of watching are said to have been carried to the den of a great ser- pent, which appears to have lived upon these delicacies THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 153 alone. Mr. Gregg, in speaking of this circumstance, remarks as follows : " This huge snake (invented, no doubt, by the lovers of the marvelous to account for the constant disappearance of the Indians) was represented as the idol which they worshiped, and as subsisting en- tirely upon the flesh of his devotees ; live infants, how- ever, seemed to suit his palate best. The story of this wonderful serpent was so firmly believed in by many ignorant people, that on one occasion I heard an honest ranchero assert that, upon entering the village very early upon a winter's morning, he saw the huge trail of the reptile in the snow as large as that of a dragging ox." The survivors of the Pecos Indians relate another tra- dition connected with the early history of their people. Upon one occasion, and before the Spaniards had settled in the country, a man and his little son went into the mountains to gather wood. The boy was startled at the sound of a voice, and asked his father who spoke to them, who replied that he did not hear any body, and they continued to pick up wood. In a few moments the voice was heard again, when the father looked up and saw a large eagle perched in the top of a high pine-tree. The bird now told the Indian that the king across the waters was sending people into the country to take care of the Pueblos, and that if he would come back to that spot in eight days, it could tell him when they would arrive. The eagle also directed him to inform his vil- lage what he had heard. When the Indian returned to the pueblo, he told the head men he had something to communicate, who assembled in the estufa to listen to him, when he related an account of the appearance of the eagle and what it had said to him. At the end of eight days he returned to the mountain, where he found the eagle awaiting him, which informed him that the men from across the waters would arrive in two days, and G2 154 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. that all his people must go to meet them, and welcome them to the country, which was accordingly done. This tradition is believed by the remnant of this pueblo, and they relate it with apparent pleasure as an important epoch in their past history. In reference to the legends of the Pueblo Indians, I would remark that they should be received with much allowance, particularly those that ralate to Montezuma. Among these people there exists neither the semblance of music or poetry never so rude, and it is at least questionable whether correct tradition can be preserved among those who have no knowledge of these two arts ; and I doubt whether the Pueblo In- dians ever heard of Montezuma until they came in con- tact with the early Spanish priests. At stated periods they practice various dances in their villages, which have been handed down from their hea- then ancestors. Some belong to their religious rites, and others do not. That known as You-pel-lay, or the green corn dance, as performed by the Indians of Jemez, is thus described in the journal of Lieutenant Simpson : " When the performers first appeared, all of whom were men, they came in a line, slowly walking, and bending and stooping as they approached. They were dressed in a kind of blanket, the upper portion of their bodies being naked and painted a dark red. Their legs and arms, which were also bare, were variously striped with red, white, and blue colors, and around their arms, above the elbow, they wore a green band decked with sprigs of pinon. A necklace of the same description was worn around the neck. Their heads were decorated with feathers. In one hand they carried a dry gourd con- taining some grains of corn, with which they produced a rattling kind of music ; in the other a string, from which were hung several tortillas. At the knee were fastened small shells of the ground turtle and antelopes' feet, and THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 155 dangling from the back, at the waist, depended a fox- skin. The musicians were habited in the common cos- tume of the village, and made their music in a sitting posture. Their instruments consisted each of half a gourd, placed before them with the convex side up, and upon this they placed with their left hand a smooth stick, and with their right drew forward and backward upon it, in a sawing manner, a notched one. This pro- duced a sound much like that of grinding corn upon a metate, a slightly concave stone. " The party were accompanied by three elders of the town, whose business it was to make a short speech in front of the different houses, and at particular times join in the singing of the rest of the party. Thus they went from house to house singing and dancing, the occu- pant of each awaiting their arrival in front of their re- spective dwelling." In conclusion of this subject, I give a vocabulary of words in the language of most of the pueblos, taken from the journal of Lieutenant Simpson. It will be seen that we differ a little in the classification of the pueblos as regards their nationality. My arrangement is based mainly upon the classification of Cruzate made in 1692, which I have no doubt was correct as then given. He spent a considerable time in the country, visited the vari- ous pueblos, and had a good opportunity of becoming acquainted with the Indians and their language. He divides them into four nations, and places Jemez, Zuiii, and Moqui as belonging to the Queres division and speak- ing the same language. The vocabulary of Lieutenant Simpson makes these pueblos speak different languages, which can not be the case unless Cruzate was in error, or that since his time these people have changed their languages, neither of which is probable. These villages in 1692 spoke the same language as his class marked (1), 156 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. as also did that of Old Pecos, now classed with Jemez, and I believe he has fallen into an error in separating them. The first three classes represent the nations of Queres, Piro, and Tegua, and, with the exception of the discrepance I have pointed out, his classification substan- tially agrees with that of Cruzate. As to the Indian names of the various objects he gives, I have no means of testing their correctness, as I have not had an opportu- nity of learning any of the languages mentioned. I take them, however, to be in the main correct. THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 157 o O < p o < i tA - i K &M H o CO C o 3 S3 bC GO s to § r-« / J O o rt® ts o3 i V s a |^ I O 03 03 *-, -t-> 03 is ay 03 I cj o C3 I 3 -3 o i 03 >-, i O • cS • 3 i , 3 cJ 0. ■ M o o —J I 3 T3 (-1 o © a 9 ► CD C3 o ,3 03 s ■ ■3 03 c3 i V. r>» .2*2 I" 7\2 ,3 N ^ '. 03 J, CJ -? C rt 3 ^j J. 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S ? « 1 if i © O I a o A CO - 03 i \ ~ --■ m a ; ■ — / 03 i rt I V 3 3* i ■ a ? 03 ■s 2 s ! - I 5 i 4 ^ £ jS .a jo ■ so .3 1 — 1 =* — - — "7 | T 4 i i 7 " p „ ja - - ^ _ - ~ e3 — — ill? ? 03 O => Xj ■ o o3 ■ i I a I f I .3 I c I 3 I I C J ! l-i •- ~ ~ - - — - - 5- I I 7 I f - - 1 H i a 03 - i — — E £ a 7 ed jr 5 1 £ 9 1» Is a I M i if 7 ' _ - ^ 03 •9 a 6 ? >a B d o ■ o I I ttC B ■ — v •5 1 I = / " - -JL -^ ■ A a. © CO j3 ^2 •— ^ — •- o JS U > o ^ ; ^ - O n i lib- ■ OS o ■ _ cS 3 2 S - "S-^ ~ E 3 5 xi 4 3 i 9 a t2 t2 - = : s " - : - ^ ■ I -3 O s I J= >-; 53 ■ J4 — - i ' J3 = - £ 9 ^ **- 3 © -2 ? >»c S x c « - 3 • r- [fl r * « CO B '-. 3 e: ^ ** VJ 1? © • 3 • » d 3 • — -J 3 O -2 © i? >» O O s, J c3=2« ^ — k2 -S ti o S3 5< - — « -r. 3 » © I K ^ ^ ul ~ x - THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 159 • © • •* • • es « I ! © CO 1 © -d © i d o 1 I ti • • o> -d • • 1 is O . a • i ^4 '. -d ■*-> i o d rd 1 1 i O 3 i g o o o 1 o p o -ta-no< ee. o Pn a CO a © co 307 . >v -U C8 O © »H Pcj^^^cooopqpq fa -s © ^ g ^ 2 >d ci< cj — ■■ fepq-^p^coco^P-iWPM CO o ^ T3 O 160 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. CHAPTER VII. SANTA FE, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLI Situation. — How built. — Houses. — Public Buildings. — Bight Bering. — Legislative Anecdote. — Burro. — Cock-fighting. — Mexican Family. — Furniture. — Tortillas and Frijoles. — Keception. — Manners. — Smok- ing. — La king. — Gambling. — Monte. — Senora Barcelo. Santa Fe, or, as it sometimes is written, Santa Fe de San JfyanciSCO, the city of the Holy Faith of Saint I i ancis, is the capital of the Territory of New Mexico, and has been the scat of government of the province since the Spaniards first settled the country. It is sit- uated in a valley on both sides of the small river of the same name, and about twenty miles east of the Rio del Norte, into which the former stream empties to the south- west. The town lies at the western base of a chain of high mountains, some of which are covered with snow most of the year, and which extend a long distance to the north and south. They are part of the great Rocky chain, and form a barrier that all must pass who enter the Territory from the east. The valley is mountain- locked on every side, but is more open toward the south- west, the direction we take to reach the valley of the Del Norte. A good deal of uncertainty and doubt hang over the first settlement of Santa Fe both as to time and persons. I was informed by an old resident of the place that six men who belonged to one of the early Spanish expedi- tions into the Floridas, and which was wrecked and broken up, wandered, in pursuit of game and adventure, SANTA FE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. / r 7 through what is now New Mexico, and were the ftrst Europeans who passed near where Santa, Fe stands. Thence they pursued their way toward the southwest, and met a body of Spaniards who were coming into the country from Southern Mexico. The six men here re- ferred to must have been Cabeza de Baca and his ship- wrecked companions, the survivors of the unfortunate expedition of Narvaez, as they are the only white men * known to have passed through the country previous to the expedition of Coronado in 1540—43. Independent of tradition, we have evidence extant that the country was permanently settled between the years 1580 and 1600, and that Santa Fe was one of the first points at which a settlement was made. It was the capital before the year 1680, as we learn from the journals of the Span- ish officers who served in the country, and particularly from that of Don Antonio de Otermin, who was at that time, and had been for some years, the governor and mil- itary commandant of the province. The latitude is 35° 41' north, and the longitude 106° west from Greenwich, and the elevation is more than seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. The city occupies very nearly the same site as the ancient capital of the Pueblo Indian kingdom. Here upon the surrounding hills these people had constructed several of their quaint-looking buildings, and when the Spaniards first came to the country they found this point the centre of their strength. In the vicinity of the town pieces of painted pottery are still found, and parts of two of the old buildings are standing on the west side of the river, on the road leading to San Miguel. The Indians resided here many years after the Spaniards made a set- tlement, but in course of time the pueblos fell into de- cay, the inhabitants seeking new homes in other parts of the country. The modern town of Santa Fe, like its 164 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. great namesake and prototype, Timbuctoo, is built of mud, and the inhabitants, with great truth, can call their houses "earthly tabernacles." The population, accord- ing to the census of 1850, was between four and five thousand, and may be set down about the same at tnTs time, but this number includes all the little settlements along the river up to the foot of the mountains. It is laid out with considerable regularity in the manner of all Spanish-built towns. In the centre is a public square or plaza, some two or three acres in extent, from the four corners of which lead the main streets, at right angles to each other. The streets are of medium width and whol- ly unpaved ; and but for the shelter afforded by the por- tales (the side-walks) in the rainy season, they would be- come almost impassable for foot-passengers. In the mid- dle of the Plaza stands a Hag-staff, erected by the mili- tary authorities some years ago, from the top of which the star-spangled banner daily waves to the breeze. The houses are built of adobes, or mud bricks dried in the sun, and are but one story in height ; and there are only two two-story houses in the place, neither of which was erected by the Mexicans. The walls are much thicker than those of a stone or brick house, and, being of a drier material, they are cooler in summer and warmer in winter than the former. The almost univer- sal style of building, both in town and country, is in the form of a square, with a court-yard in the centre. A large door, called a zaguan, leads from the street into the patio or court-yard, into which the doors of the va- rious rooms open. A portal, or, more properly, accord- ing to the American understanding of the same, a porch, runs around this court, and serves as a sheltered com- munication between different parts of the house. The roof is flat, with a slight parapet running around it, which adds somewhat to the appearance of the building : and SANTA FE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 165 the water which collects upon it is carried off by means of wooden spouts that extend into the street, and which look not unlike the guns of a small fortress looking through the embrasures. The only wood used about the roof is the sleepers, and the boards laid across them to. hold the earth, because of the high price of timber. They cover the sleepers with a foot or eighteen inches of dirt, which they pack down, and then besmear it with a top coating of mud to make it water proof. In time it becomes hard, and unless there should be a heavy fall of rain, it will turn water very well. Sometimes a sin* gle roof will weigh several tons, the load of dirt accumu- lating from year to year. This seems a very primitive way of roofing a house, but it is the best arrangement that can be made under the circumstances. When a roof begins to leak, it is repaired by putting a few sacks of dirt upon it ; and after a heavy dash of rain, it is usu- al to see every family upon the roof giving it a thorough examination, and carrying up fresh earth to mend the j breaches. The greater part of the year being dry, the mud roof answers very well, but it would soon be wash- ed down if as much rain should fall annually as is the case in other parts of the United States. Along the principal streets the houses have portales in front, after the plan of colonnades in some of the Euro- pean cities. They are of very rough workmanship, but are an ornament to the place, and a convenience to the inhabitants, as they afford a sheltered promenade around the town in the rainy season. A row of portales extends around the public square. The Plaza is the main thor- oughfare, as well as the centre of the business of the city, and fronting upon it are most of the stores and shops of the merchants and traders, and some of the pub- lic buildings. The public edifices in Santa Fe are few in number and of rude construction. The government 166 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLL. palace, a long, low mud building, extends the entire north side of the Plaza, and is occupied by the officers of the territorial government, and is also made use of for purposes of legislation. Near by, and on the street that leads out at the northeast corner of the square, is the court-house, where the United States, District, and Su- preme Courts hold their sessions. On the south side, and opposite the palace, stands the old Mexican Military Chapel, now in the possession of the Catholic Church, and in which the bishop of the diocese officiates. About •one square to the east of the Plaza is the parochial church, much improved within two years, and adjoining are con- venient buildings for a boarding-school for boys ; and on the north bank of the Rio Chiquito is situated the boarding and day school for girls, under the management of the Sisters of Charity. The building is a large two- story house, and was erected a few years ago for a hotel. Both the institutions were established by Bishop Lamy, and are in as flourishing a condition as could be expect- ed. They number forty or fifty pupils each, who arc in- structed in ancient and modern languages, music, draw- ing, and other branches of a useful and polite education. Three years ago the American Baptist Board of Home Missions caused to be erected in Santa Fe a small but neat place of worship. It is a combination of the Gothic and Grecian styles, built of adobes, and is quite an orna- ment to the part of the town where it is situated. The Odd Fellows have erected a new hall for their order, one square from the Plaza, in the street leading to San Mi- guel. On a vacant lot north of the palace, and near the American Cemetery, a new state-house is in course of erection, at a cost of near a hundred thousand dollars, which, when completed, will make a handsome and im- posing edifice, and of which the Territory stands in great need. Near by, and a little to the northeast, is the site SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 167 of the new Penitentiary, also in course of erection. Such i i mmf an institution is badly wanted, and the country abounds with admirable subjects for it. On a hill to the north- east of the town are the ruins of old Fort Marcy, built during the late war with Mexico, but which has not been occupied since the conclusion of peace. In addition to the two churches already mentioned, there is one on the west side of the Rio Chiquito, dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and a fourth on the street of San Miguel, in both of which service is held upon certain occasions. The city also contains one hotel, one printing-office, some twenty-five stores, numerous grog-shops, two tailoring establishments, two shoe-makers, one apothecary, a ba- kery, and two blacksmith's shops. The present military garrison of the place is one company of the third United States Infantry, whose barracks are just in rear of the palace, and it is also the military head-quarters of the department. Santa Fe has figured somewhat both in the ancieni and modern history of New Mexico. As has already been mentioned, during the governorship of Don Antonio de Otermin in 1680, it was besieged for several days by the Pueblo Indians, who had risen in rebellion against the Spaniards. The garrison and inhabitants, being un- able to defend the town, were obliged to retreat and let it fall into the hands of the Indians. The town was again attacked by the same people in 1837, and a second time they acquired possession of it ; but they held it for a few days only, when they abandoned it, doing no other damage than confiscating the goods of some of the Mex- ican officials who were most obnoxious to them. In the war with Mexico the American army directed their march upon Santa Fe, which was the first place they took pos- session of, where head - quarters were established, and whence operations were directed for the entire conquest of the country. 168 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. Having thus given the reader a brief general descrip- tion of Santa Fe, I will, in order to make him better ac- quainted with the localities of the place, and also the manners and customs of the people, ask him or her to accompany me in a perambulatory visit around the town , and take note of whatever of interest turns up on the way. "We- will commence our tour of sight-seeing on a clear summer's morning, and will imagine the place of setting out to be opposite the court-house. This build- ing is nearly or quite a hundred feet in length, some twenty-five wide, and one story high. It was formerly used as a store-house of the quarter-master's department, and was fitted up for a court-house all or the establish- ment of the territorial government. "We pass through the large double doors that open toward the street into the court room, some sixty feet long, and which is much better fitted up than any other one in the territory. The floor is laid with pine boards, and comfortable seats are provided for the jurors, parties, and witnesses. The many tons of earth that form the roof are supported by a row of square pillars extending through the middle of the room. The platform of the judge, built in the old pulpit style, is about midway of the southern wall, and on the side opposite to the place of entranc The bar for the attorneys occupies the centre of the room, imme- diately in front of the "justice seat," with room enough between for the desks of the marshal and clerk. These two officers have their office in the same building, and adjoining the court-room are rooms for the grand and petit juries. Having seen all the sights in and about the court- house, we turn our backs upon the casa de justicia, and continue our voyage of route. We enter the Plaza at the northeast corner, and immediately the eye ranges along the portal of the palace in front of which we are SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 169 now standing. It is not far from three hundred and fifty- feet in length, and varies from twenty to seventy-five in width. The portal or piazza in front is about fifteen feet wide, and runs the whole length of the building, the roof being supported by a row of unhewn pine logs. As I. have already mentioned, the building, from the founda- tion to the pinnacle of the roof, is constructed of mother earth, and of an age " whereof the memory of man run- neth not to the contrary." It was standing in 1692, but when built no one knows. At each end is a small adobe projection, extending a few feet in front of the main build- ing — that on the east being occupied by the post-office, while the one on the west was formerly the ca^ctbozo^ but is now partly in ruins. The first apartments we come to in going the rounds of the palace are the office of the secretary of the Territory, which we enter througli a quaint little old-fashioned door. The office is divided into two rooms : an inner one, in which the books and records are kept, and where the secretary transacts his oificial business, and an outer one, used as an ante-room and a store-room. The latter is divided by a cotton curtain, hanging down from the beams above, into two compartments, one of which is stored with the old man- uscript records of the Territory which have been accu- mulating for nearly three hundred years. The stranger will be struck with the primitive appearance of these ru- ins : the roof is supported by a layer of great pine beams, blackened and stained by age ; the floors are earthen, and the wood-work is heavy and rough, and in the style of two centuries a°;o. We next visit the chamber of the Legislative Coun- cil. Passing along under the portal, we again enter the palace about midway of the front, and, turning from a small vestibule to the right, we find ourselves in the room where a portion of the wisdom of New Mexico an- il 170 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. nually assembles to make laws. The room is a comfort- able one, with a good hard floor, and just large enough to accommodate the thirteen councilmen and the eight officers. The pine desks are ranged round the wall fac- ing inward, and the president occupies a raised platform at one end, which is ornamented with a little red muslin drapery. Figured calico is tacked to the walls to pre- vent the members carrying away the whitewash on their coats — a thing they have no right to do in their capacity of law-makers. The executive chamber is on the oppo- site side of the passage-way, into which we step, and find his excellency hard at work. This room is in keeping with the republican simplicity that marks the appear- ance of the whole establishment A few chairs, an old sofa and bureau, with a pine centre table, make up the furniture. Within the last year the luxury of an Amer- ican-made carpet has been indulged in, but before the advent of which the floor was covered by a domestic ar- ticle called gcrga, worth thirty cents per yard. This change is an evidence of pride in the executive. Bleach- muslin is tacked to the beams overhead for a ceiling, and a strip of flashy calico, about four feet wide, is nail- ed to the four walls. Next in order is the House of Representatives — la Camara de Iteperesentantes, the door of which opens upon the portal. This room differs in no essential par- ticular from the council-chamber except being about one 6alf larger, and having a small gallery separated from the body of the room by an adobe wall breast high, where the " unwashed" and " unterrified" sit and behold the operation of making laws with wonder and astonishment, •ut fail to discover whence comes so much wisdom as they imagine presides over the deliberations of this au- gust assembly. Before we leave the room, it may not be out of place to mention one or two incidents in the SANTA FE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 171 history of early legislation in New Mexico. Upon one occasion, during an election for officers of the House, the vote was being taken for engrossing clerk, when one of the members, when his name was called, came forward to the speaker's chair and said, u Que quieres usted de ?ni, senor f" (What do you want with me, sir ?) He was told that his name was called that he might vote on the question before the House, when he returned to his seat. In a few minutes his name was called again, when, as before, he demanded, " Que quieres usted de mi, senor V He was again instructed as to what was re- quired of him, and a second time took his seat. His name was now called a third time, when, as before, he came forward and demanded why his name was called so many times. At this stage of the proceedings, a friend caught the obtuse member by the coat-tail, and directed him for whom to vote. Upon another occasion, when a vote was being taken viva voce, a member, an American, who felt no interest in the question, replied to the call of the clerk, " Blank." The next member called was a Mexican, who, supposing that his predecessor had voted for a bona fide person, and having confidence in his choice, replied, " Yb voto para Senor Blank tambien" (I also vote for Mr. Blank). These circumstances are said to have occurred at the first session of the Legislature, but there has been an improvement since that time in this particular. Leaving the hall of the House, we enter the territorial library, which opens into a small vestibule leading from the portal. We find ourselves in a room not more than fifteen feet square, filled with books from the floor to the beams overhead, ranged around the walls on shelves, and numbering some two thousand volumes. They embrace the standard text-books on the various branches of com- mon and civil law and equity, the reports of the United 172 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. States and the state courts, and the codes of the various states and territories, besides a number of congressional documents. The judge, other United States officers, and members of the bar have access to the library, and can take out books to keep a limited time, after they shall have been registered by the librarian, and being respon- sible for their safe return. Opening into the same ves- tibule is the office of superintendent of Indian affairs, which, with another room adjoining, used for a store- room, occupies the west end of the palace building. Near by is a large vacant room, appropriated to the use I of the Indians when they come in to see the superin- tendent on business, at which times they are fed by the i nment. In passing under the portal to the western end of the palace, we encounter the market on our way, where the country people sell the meats, fruits, and vegetables they bring to town. The supply is scanty enough, and hard- ly sufficient to meet the limited demand of Santa Fe. it consists principally of mutton, an occasional porker, red peppers, beans, onions, milk, bread, ch< and, dur- ing the proper season, grapes, wild plums, and wild ber- ries. In the winter, Indians and others bring in, almost daily, fine venison and wild turkeys, and now and then the carcass of a large bear is exposed for sale, all of which are shot in the mountains a few miles from the town. The various articles are brought in on burros, or carried on the backs of the Pueblo Indians ; and it is often the case that one of them will come several miles with less than a dollar's worth of marketing. The meats are hung upon a line made fast to two posts of the por- tal, while the vegetables are put on little mats or pieces of board on the ground, beside which the vender will sit and wait for customers with a patience that seems to rival Job : and if they do not sell out to-day, they are SANTA FE — MANNEES AND CUSTOMS. 173 sure to return with the same stock to-morrow. The cul- tivation of vegetables in New Mexico, except beans, has only been attempted to any extent and variety since the United States acquired the territory. Onions and beets thrive well, and grow to an enormous size, but there is something in the climate or soil adverse to the growth of potatoes, which, at the present time, can only be raised in a few localities. I do not know that Mexicans have yet attempted to cultivate them. They are scarce, and high in price, ranging from four to six dollars per bush- el. The hay and grass market, if the traffic in these arti- cles deserves to be thus spoken of, is on a narrow street at the southwest corner of the Plaza. During the sum- mer and fall the rancheros come in from the country ev- ery morning with newly-cut grass or hay, each with a bundle of about twelve pounds tied up in a blanket and carried on a burro. The bundles are ranged side by side along the side of the street, and are sold at twelve and a half cents each, cash upon delivery, without the blanket. Continuing on our round of sight-seeing, we cross the Plaza to visit what was formerly known as the Military Chapel, and on our way we observe a thing or two that arrests our attention. We see before us an uncouth lit- tle animal, quite a stranger to an American who has just entered the country, with a large load of wood strapped to his back, and urged along in a slow trot by a sharp- ened stick. His ears vouch for his relationship with the ass, and the name he bears is burro. In every particu- lar he appears to be patience personified, and has been as highly favored with genuine ugliness as any species of the animal kingdom. They are small in stature, with a head wholly disproportioned to the body, with a pair of ears that should belong to a first class mule. But their virtues more than make up for their homeliness ; they are the most useful animals in the country, and their 174 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. services could not be dispensed with. They cany the marketing of the peasant to the towns to be sold, and bear their master home again ; they carry the wife and children to church on Sundays, or whithersoever they de- sire to go ; and if the country belle wishes to ride into Santa Fe on a shopping tour, she mounts her burro with- out saddle or bridle, and ambles off to town. They arc capable of long fasting and much fatigue ; they bear the most unkind treatment with the resignation of a martyr, and after a hard day's work will make a comfortable sup- per on thorn or cedar bushes, and their happiness is com- plete with a heap of ashes to roll in. They are made to serve innumerable useful puipo md not only fulfill the duties of horses and mules in other countries, but are used instead of all sorts of wheel carriages, from a coach and four to a wheelbarrow. They are the universal hackney of the country people, who, when they mount the burro, instead of sitting on the back, sit astride the i*ump abaft the hips, and guide the docile beast at pleas- ure with a sharpened stick. When New Mexico shall have become a state, the faithful burro should be en- graven on the coat of arms as an emblem of all the car- dinal virtu A few steps farther on our way we encounter a crowd of people who have formed a ring on the Plaza, and ap- pear to be witnessing some amusement. If we take a peep within the circle, we will see that cock-fighting en- gages their attention. This is a national and favorite amusement with the Mexican people ; all classes indulge in it more or less, from the peon in his blanket to the rico in his broadcloath, and the priesthood are not en- tirely free from participating in this elegant pastime. The young bloods of the towns train their chickens for the ring with as much care and assiduity as gentlemen of the turf bestow upon their favorite horses ; and while SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 175 in course of training, you will see them tied around the houses by a little cord to one leg, or they will be allow- ed to walk about with hopples. Sunday is the favorite day for this pastime, when the best chickens are trotted out and pitted in the ring. We leave the cock-fighters to their amusement and pass on to the chapel, which we enter through a front door opening upon the Plaza. The building is in the form of a cross, about a hundred feet long and nearly as many in width. Two plain towers rise up in front a few feet above the roof, and on the latter are suspended two bells, which are rung by boys ascending the roof and pulling the clappers from side to side. The style of construction differs from the true Gothic cross in that the transept runs north and south instead of east and west. The appearance of the building, inside and out, is prim- itive and unprepossessing. The altar is in the south transept, and is very plain. The ornaments are few, and not of a costly kind. The wall behind the altar is inlaid with brown stone-work, wrought in the United States, representing scriptural scenes ; and a few old Spanish paintings hang upon the walls. The choir is over the north transept, and is reached by ascending an old lad- der. A tin chandelier is suspended over the centre of the cross, and engravings of a few saints are seen in va- rious parts of the house. The roof is supported by large, unpainted pine beams, ornamented with a kind of brack- et where the ends enter the wall. We leave the church and pursue our way. We next call Upon a Mexican family, in order to obtain some knowledge of the manners and customs of the people in their social intercourse. A few steps bring us to the house of a friend, and we stand before the large door that leads into the patio, knocking for admittance. While the old portero is coming to inquire who is there and to 17 b' NEW MEXICO AND HEK PEOPLE. let us in, I will say a few words more about the houses and their mode of construction. It will be borne in mind that the material is simple earth in its raw state, and that all, whether in town or country, are built in the form of a square, with a court-yard in the centre. The style of building was borrowed from the East, and is as ancient as the time of Moses, and was essential here in early time because of the hostility of the Indians. The roof is called azotea la puerta del zaguan. An adobe is about six times the size of an ordinary brick, and they cost, delivered, from eight to ten dollars the thousand. Neither skill nor practice are required in order to make them. A piece of ground is selected for the purpose, upon which water can be turned from an acequia, and the earth is dug up and mixed until about the consisten- cy of mortar. Each adobe maker has a frame the prop- er size, which he tills with the soft mud, strikes off the top evenly, when he empties it out upon the ground to dry in the sun. The adobes are very seldom laid in lime and sand, but with the same kind of mud they are made of. In time the walls become quite solid, and houses are in use, built in this manner, which have stood for nearly two hundred years ; but they would not last long in the States, amid the great storms that prevail there. By this time the porter has made his appearance at the door, where we have been standing some two or three minutes. There is great dread of robbers among the people, and they will not always admit you before you are known. The porter, therefore, as a matter of pre- caution, salutes us in the first place with Quien es? (Who is it?) to which we respond, Amigos (friends), when he opens the door sufficiently wide to see who we are, and permits us to enter. Being now assured that we are not robbers, he conducts us across the patio, and ushers us SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 177 into the sola, or reception-hall, where we remain seated until the family come in to welcome us. While they are making their appearance — which may be some min- utes, if the hour is afternoon, and they have not arisen from their siesta (afternoon nap) — we will, in imagina- tion, make an excursion around the house to notice the locus in quo, as a lawyer would say, or, to speak more familiarly, to observe the manner in which it is furnished and the style thereof. The internal arrangement of a Mexican house is as different from that of an American as the building itself. The style is essentially Spanish, blended with which are observed many traces of the Moors, their early ancestors. As has been remarked be- fore, all the rooms open into the patio, except some which communicate directly with the sala and with each other. It is a very rare thing to see a board floor in a Mexican house, the substitute being earth, cheaper in the first place, and more easily repaired. A coating of soft mud is carefully spread over the earth, which, when dry, makes a firm and comfortable floor. The common cov- ering for the floors, when they are covered at all, is a coarse article of domestic woolen manufacture, called gerga, which answers the purpose of a carpet. The in- side walls are whitened with calcined yezo or gypsum, which is used instead of lime, but it does not adhere to the walls with the same tenacity, and comes off upon every article that touches it. To prevent this, the rooms are lined with calico to the height of four feet, generally of bright colors. The coating of mud and yezo on the inside of the house is generally put on by females, who make use of their hands and a piece of sheep-skin with the wool on for that purpose, instead of brushes and plasterers' tools. The ceiling is never plastered, but in those of the wealthier classes the beams that support the roof are H2 178 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. planed and painted in various colors, and sometimes an artificial ceiling is made by tacking bleached muslin to them. In some sections of the country, small round sticks are laid from beam to beam in herring-bone style, and painted red, blue, or green ; but it is only a choice room that is ornamented in this manner. The tire-place is built in one corner of the room, and occupies a small space. The mouth is somewhat in the shape of a horse- shoe, not generally more than eighteen inches or two feet in height, and the same in width at the bottom. The back is slightly concave instead of being a plane surface, and the little circular hearth in front is raised a few inches above the level of the floor. The use of and- irons is unknown, the wood being placed on end against the back of the fire-place. These small fire-places ap- ar to give out more heat than the larger ones in use in American houses, and, being in a corner of the apart- ment, they occupy less space. I do not remember to have ever seen shovels or tongs in a Mexican house. When the house becomes dingy, if outside, they besmear it with a new coating of soft mud : or it* inside, the walls are again daubed with yezo, followed by a coat of fresh mud on the floor. This renovation suffices instead of the semi-annual house-cleaning which causes American housewives so much annoyance. The furniture, as well as the manner of arranging the same, differs materially from the style in the States. w chairs or wooden seats of any kind are used, but in their stead mattresses are folded up and placed around the room, next to the wall, which, being covered with blankets, make a pleasant seat and serve the place of sofas. This is an Eastern custom, and was undoubt- edly borrowed from the Moors. At night they are un- rolled and spread out for beds ; and it is customary for the whole family to sleep in the same room at night that r SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 179 they sit in during the day. * Bedsteads are almost un- known, and if the mattress is raised at all above the floor, it is placed on a low wooden frame. Bureaus and other furniture of that description, in such common use in American houses to contain the clothing of the family, are seldom seen among the Mexicans, their place being supplied by an increased number of trunks and anti- quated chests. In the houses of the wealthier classes a few chairs and cumbrous settees are found, generally made of pine, but among the peasantry such articles of luxury are unknown. This economy in articles of fur- niture was an absolute necessity in early times, caused by the almost entire absence of mechanics in the coun- try ; and such as they possessed were handed down from generation to generation as heir-looms in the family. At the present day, although there are American mechan- ics, but few of the people have adopted our style of fur- niture, but cling to that of olden times. Every article of this description sells at a price enormously high, and ordinary pine furniture costs more than that made of mahogany in the Atlantic States. The females in par- ticular, prefer the easy colchon — folded mattress — to the straight and stiff-backed chairs and settees ; and fre- quently they spread a single blanket in the middle of the floor, upon which they sit at work and receive visitors. The kitchen utensils are equally meagre in their ap- pointment. They cook almost universally in earthen vessels, which bear the general name of tinaja, and it is a rare thing to see any other description of culinary ar- ticles. I have never seen a stove in a Mexican house. The sola is the largest room about the establishment, and in the colder parts of the country it is only used during warm weather, when, for the time being, the fam- ily literally live there, lounge among the colchons during the day, receive their visitors, sleep at night, and hold 180 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the baile. The family room is adorned with a number of rude engravings of saints, among which the Virgin of Guadalupe is always conspicuous. It has been stated elsewhere that the tortilla, a thin cake made of corn, is one of the principal articles of food among all classes of the people. The duty of making them has devolved upon the women from the earliest times, and they pride themselves upon the skill and ra- pidity with which they can prepare them. AYliile we are in the kitchen, should we extend our adventures in that direction, we will see the manner in which the tor- tilla is made. The corn is boiled in water with a little lime, to soften the skin so that it can be peeled off, when they grind it into a paste upon an oblong hollowed stone, called a meta The operator kneels down behind it, and takes in both hands another long round stone like an ordinary rolling-pin, between which and the metate she mashes the corn. To bake, the tortilla is spread upon thin sheets of tin or copper, and in a few minutes they are ready for use. They are quite palatable when warm, but when cold are almost as tasteless as so much shoe-leather. This, with the bean called ffjjole, makes the staff of life of all classes of the population. In Southern Mexico it is the custom for women, with small portable furnaces on their backs or strapped to a burro, to travel the streets of the large towns making and vend- ing tortillas and frijoles to the passers-by. By this time the siesta of La Senoy y a has come to an end, and she makes her entrance into the sala where we have awaited her coming. The people of all classes re- ceive their friends with much genuine affection, and it is customary to embrace each other when they meet. Our hostess upon this occasion, if perchance I am on inti- mate terms with herself and family, will encircle me with her fair arms, or, in common parlance, salute me with SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. . 181 what is vulgarly called a hug, while you, who are a stranger, must be content with a shake of the hand. To make this distinction between a person and his friends is certainly aggravating to him who falls in the vocative, but a short acquaintance will place the outsider upon an equally pleasant footing. If all the family should make their appearance, each one in turn will embrace you, which is by no means an unpleasant performance when the pretty daughters are a party to the operation, but it is much less agreeable to be hugged in the brawny arms of the father and brothers. This custom is universal among all classes, and even the filthy beggars in the streets meet and embrace each other with an affection truly laughable. The Mexicans are distinguished for their politeness and suavity, and the lepero, covered with abominations, often exhibits a refinement of manners and address that would well become a prince, and which they as well prac- tice toward each other as toward strangers. In their houses they are particularly courteous, and in appear- ance even outdo the most refined code of politeness. It is customary for them to assure you that you are in your own house the moment you cross their threshold, or to place themselves entirely at your disposal. If you ad- mire an article, the owner immediately says to you, "Tomele Vmd., Senor, es Buyo" (Take it, sir, it is yours). But in these flattering expressions the stranger must bear in mind that the owner has not the most remote idea that he will take him at his word — that he will ei- ther command his household, lay his personal services un- der contribution, or carry off whatever pleases his fancy. We have already gone through with the hugging and kissing, and are now seated in the presence of our fair hostess. One of the first acts of courtesy of the mis- tress of the house is to invite you to smoke. She car- 182 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ries about her person a small silver tobacco-box, in which she keeps the noxious weed, and also has at hand a little package of corn-husks, one of which she fills with the fine-cut tobacco, rolls it up into a cigarrito, lights it, and hands it to you to smoke. The American cigar is rarely used by the men, and never by the females, both substituting the article here named. The cigarrito is made by each person as he requires them, who always has on hand for that purpose his box of tobacco and package of husks. Gregg, in his "Commerce of the Prairies," says upon this subject, " The mounted vaque- ro will take out his guagito (his little tobacco-flask), his packet of hojas (or prepared husks), and his flint, steel, etc., make his cigarrito, strike his fire, and commence smoking in a minute's time, all the while at full speed : and the next minute will perhaps lazo the wildest bull without interrupting his smoke." Smoking is habitual with all classes, not excepting the most lovely and re- fined females in the country. The habit is bad enough in men, but intolerable in women. The cigarrito seems to be an abiding presence, being handed round at the dinner-table as a refreshment, and served up in the ball- room ; and it is common to see ladies smoking while they are engaged in waltzing and dancing, and some even indulge the luxury while they lie in bed. In Southern Mexico the ladies use a pair of golden tongs to hold the dgctrrito while they light it, and the coal of fire is brought by a servant on a small silver salver. In the more southern cities of Mexico, next to provid- ing the guest with the means of smoking, chocolate and sweet bread are served up, the former being a delicious article of domestic manufacture, and the latter a superior quality of sponge-cake. During our stay, the mistress of the establishment and her daughters will endeavor to make the time pass as agreeably as possible. They are SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 183 great talkers, and we will have enough to do to maintain the negative side of the question, now and then throwing in a word, in order to draw out the colloquial powers of our fair companions. When we come to take leave, the same ceremony is used as at the arrival, and you are passed around the family circle to receive an embrace from each member. This custom is as much a matter of course as that of shaking hands among the Americans, touching noses among the Chinese, or grunting among the North American Indians ; and the most modest lady in the land has no scruples about giving and receiving such salutation. The whole family accompany us to the door, and wait there until we have fairly made our exit, instead of turning us over to an impudent lackey, as has become th.Q fashion in the States. Among the elite of Spanish society, they are more ex- act in the observance of etiquette and formalities than the rather primitive people of New Mexico. In speak- ing of leave-taking, the Honorable Joel R. Poinsett makes the following remarks : "Remember, when you take leave of a Spanish grandee, to bow as you leave the room, at the head of the stairs, where the host accompanies you ; and, after descending the first flight, turn round, and you will see him expecting a third salutation, which he re- turns with great courtesy, and remains until you are out of sight ; so that, as you wind down the stairs, if you catch a glimpse of him, kiss your hand, and he will think you a most accomplished cavalier." This is not an overdrawn picture of Spanish politeness, and frequently have I made the same parade in leaving the house of Mexican gentlemen. At each stage of the above-de- scribed leave-taking, it is customary for the host to say ddios, the last of which is waved to you from the win- dow after you have entered the street. We are once more in the street, and have resumed our 184 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. round of sight-seeing. We next bend our steps to the gaming-houses, as they are part of the social system of the country, or, to use the language of another, gam- bling " ia impregnated with the constitution in man. woman, and child. w This vice seems to be a national amusement among the Mexican race, and nearly all in- dulge in it to a greater or less degree. In Southern it is more prevalent than in New Mexico. There the saint- ly priest does not deem it in derogation of his holy call- ing to gamble, and he is a frequent visitor at the monte tabic. They also indulge in bull-baiting and cock-iight- ing. So thorough] this vice ingrafted into the pop- ulation, that I have frequently i children often yean IgB playing can: pennies with as much apparent interest as professional gamblers. In New l£l \ieo, gam- bling, in its vari- revailstoan alarming extent among all classes of the people; but within three or four yean a reformation has taken place among the priesthood in this particular. It is licensed and protected by the la of the country, hence no one thinks it disreputable to p a -•ambling-house when thus sanctioned and fre- quented by the most able citizens. The princi- pal game is ?nonte, played with cards, in which chance has more to do with the winnings and losings than in any other game. In San c is alw one or more public gambling-houses, where gaming is carried on day and night, and every day in the week. The modus operandi of gaming is thus described. The proprietor of the house takes out a license, and re tables to gentlemen of the profession, who set up a bank and commence operations. Sometimes three or four t bles will be in full blast in one room at the same tii and in the course of an evening thousands of dollars will change hands. We will enter one of these places, and watch the thing in motion. We see little crowds of SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 185 men, in various parts of a long room, collected around the tables. If we approach nearer we will observe that one person sits behind the table, who is the banker, and deals the cards. The table is covered with a green or red cover divided into four squares, and as the cards are drawn one is thrown upon each square. The betters place their money upon their favorite cards, in sums ac- cording to their will or means. The money being staked, the cards are now drawn, either by the banker or another person, and when the result is announced, each one is paid the amount of his winnings, when the pack is again shuffled for a new game. While the cards are being drawn, it is interesting to watch the parties in interest ; each eye and mind is intently fixed upon the game, and often a breathless silence reigns until the result is known, when the fortunate ones rake their gains to them, and the losers depart or prepare to try their luck again. In former times females were frequent visitors at gam- bling-houses, and lost and won their doubloons at monte and other games with a sangfroid truly masculine. A change for the better has taken place in this particular, and the fairer portion of creation are now seldom seen at the gaming-table except at the public fairs, when they indulge a little for amusement's sake. A few years ago, quite a celebrated female, known as Sefiora Dona Ger- trudes Barcelo, led the van in gambling in Santa Fe. She was a Taosite by birth, but extended her adven- tures to the capital, where she established her head- quarters. Here she struck the tide that " leads on to fortune," and for a considerable time was known as the most expert monte dealer in the city. Her wealth leav- ened the social lump, and gained her admittance into the most fashionable and select circles, and she soon became one of the upper tendom of the city. She died about the year 1851, and was buried with the highest honors 186 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. of the Church, at an expense of upward of sixteen hundred dollars for spiritual services in the burial alone, including the grave. The bill was duly made out by the Bishop of Santa Fe, with his name signed thereto, and was presented to her executors and paid. Among the items were los derechos del obispo (the rights of the bishop), one thousand dollars ; los posos, each fifty dol- lars, which means that each time the procession halted on its way to the burial, and the bier was placed upon the ground, the Church made a charge of this amount : and the other charges were in proportion. In the spring of 1856 a young .Mexican gentleman was bulied in Santa le according to the rites of the Catholic Church, and a friend afterward banded me a copy of the bill the officiating priest presented for the es, which, though considerable in amount, is quite oiial.le compared to that previously mentioned. Aj a matter of curiosity, I append an exact copy of the bill of viz. : Doblcs (tolling the bells) $10 00 lepnlcro (the grave) •"<> 00 La cnu alta (the grand cross) ] 00 La caps (high ma-- vestmenti 3 00 La aqua U-mlita (holy water) 1 00 Los ciriales (candlesticks) 1 00 El incenaario (vessel tor Incense) 1 00 Las mi bag-places) <>0 i'.l entierro (the interment) •"><» 00 La misa (majs) 20 00 Kl organo (use of the organ) L5 00 Los cantores (the chanters) 6 00 El responsn del oratorio (the response of the orator}-) 10 Mas al diacono (the deacon's fee, additional) 1<> i>0 U 00 It must be borne in mind that these charges are solely the dues of the Church for the religious services of the burial, and the bills are made out in mercantile form and duly presented for payment. From this showing, SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 187 it is an expensive matter to die and be buried in New Mexico, and appears to cost quite as much as it does to live. There is no doubt about the right of the Church to charge for the burial service all the people are willing to pay, but we may fairly question the propriety of mak- ing such simple and necessary religious rites so expens- ive, the effect of which must be any thing but beneficial to the parishioners. It is an abuse in the Church that has grown up in the course of two hundred and fifty years of unlimited sway in the country, but which should not be indulged in in this enlightened age. Facts of this kind are a strong argument in favor of the abolition of the system of tithing in New Mexico, and in stead giv- ing the priests a fixed salary, as is the case in other parts of the United States. Religion and the attending rites should not be made a luxury only to be enjoyed by the rich, but all its offices and consolations should be within the reach of the poorest in the land. We have now finished our tour of sight-seeing, hav- ing taken a peep at all the most notable things in Santa Fe. We will retrace our steps to the point whence we started, where we will part company, at least so far as physical perambulations are concerned, but I will ask you to continue with me mentally to the end of the vol- ume. 188 NEW MEXICO AND HEK PEOPLE. CHAPTER YIIL MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE — Continued. Correr el Gallo. — El Coleo. — Costume. — Mounted Caballero. — II i Furniture. — Education. — Agriculture. — Soil. — Acequias. — How "Wa- ter distributed. — Land cultivated. — Mode of Cultivation. — Plow. — Productions. — Pasturage. — Sheep Grazing. — Goats. — Sale of Ani- mals. — Pack Mules. — Arrieros. — Lazo. AhOHG the country people there are various primitive sports, some of which afford much amusement to both the lookers-on and the parties engaged. They are not as much indulged in, however, as formerly," and are grad- ually going out of use. That known as Correr el gallo, running the cock, is thus described by Gregg: "One of the most attractive sports of the rancheros and the peasantry, and that which more than any other calls for the exercise of skill and dexterity, is called Correr resence of two witnesses, stating the price and describ- ing the animal, and also to rebrand it with the brand re- versed. Fine and imprisonment is fixed by the act as the punishment for counterfeiting a brand. If a person has in his possession an animal thus marked, and has neither a brand nor a bill of sale, he will be obliged to prove his ownership if it should be claimed by a third person. Under the old Mexican law, a great deal of im- position was practiced upon strangers in case the venta or sale-brand had not been put upon animals when they changed owners. It is not an uncommon thing in South- ern Mexico, when a fine horse is seen without the venta upon it, for some one to hunt up a branding-iron that will match the old marks, and then lay claim to the an- imal ; and, in such cases, they most generally succeed in making their claim valid. I have remarked elsewhere that the greater part of the transportation in the country is carried on by means of pack-mules, on account of the badness of the roads and the absence of wheeled carriages. The mule and the burro are of as much service to the people of New Mex- ico as the camel to the Arab. The pack-mules, with their loads of near three hundred pounds each, travel in 208 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. droves of several hundred, and sometimes thousands ; and their hardy endurance enables them to cross rugged mountains and sandy deserts, where it would be almost impossible for horses to convey burdens. The loads are carried on pack-saddles of a peculiar shape, made for the -urpose, and, in the language of the country, are called parejo. They consist of a wide leather pad, stuffed vith hay or grass, which fits across the back of the an- imal, and extends some distance down the sides. They are secured with a wide bandage of sea-grass or leather, and are drawn as tight around the mule as can be borne. The packages, sometimes one and at others two upon each animal, are bound upon the pack-saddle with ropes of grass or raw-hide. Each load is called a carga. When there is but one package it is fastened on the top of the saddle, but when there are two they are secured one upon each side. The train of pack-mules is gener- ally led by a steady old animal with a bell around the neck, and is called the mulera ; the train is called an iajo, and those who conduct it and take care of the an- imals are called nrr'icros or muleteers. There is gener- ally one man to about every ten mules ; the train is con- ducted with much order and system, each arriero having liis particular place and a specified duty to perform. During the march all the muleteers are busily em- ployed. The packs constantly require adjusting, the bandages which secure them becoming loosened ; and very frequently the animals become fatigued and lie down, when they have to be helped up, as they can not rise th the load on without assistance. A usual day's travel of an atajo is twelve or fifteen miles, and the mules are not unloaded until they stop for the night. The arriero* load and unload the mules with great dex- terity, and one who is master of his business can adjust the pack in a few minutes. When they have finished SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 209 the day's travel a convenient camping-place is selected, when the mules are relieved of their burdens, and turned out to graze under the care of the subanero, always be- ing accompanied by the old mulera, which keeps them from wandering away. The packs and saddles are piled up in a row upon the ground, and, when required, are so arranged as to form a kind of inclosed camp, to afford protection against the Indians. If it should rain, they are covered with a grass-cloth, carried along for that pur- pose. This mode of transportation is less expensive, and nearly as rapid as upon wheels. The muleteers are generally mounted upon good horses, which enables them the more easily to manage a large mule-train. The people of New Mexico are fine horsemen, as the most usual way of traveling is mounted, and boys are taught to ride from their infancy. The arrieros and vaquevos can be classed among the most accomplished horsemen in the world, and can not be excelled by the Tartars and Cossacks of the Don. The inhabitants of Southern Mexico are also exceedingly fine riders. When riding at full speed, they will stoop from the saddle and pick a pocket-handkerchief from the ground without checking the horse ; and they will also, in the twinkling of an eye, turn their horse upon his haunches when going at full speed, and ride off at the same gait in an opposite direction. The muleteers and cow-herds are remarkably skillful in throwing the lazo. This consists of a long rope, made of horse-hair or raw-hide, with a running noose at one end, and the other made fast to the pommel of the saddle. With this is their favorite mode of catching the animals that stray away from the herd, and when one of them makes chase after a truant beast, with his un- erring lazo he is sure to be made captive. The noose is thrown over the horns or neck, and so certain is the aim that they rarely miss, even when both animals are going 210 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. at full speed. As soon as the noose has dropped, the horseman gives the lazo two or three turns around the pommel of the saddle, and stops his horse suddenly, which seldom fails to throw the captive. In this manner they capture the wildest horses upon the plains, and make prisoner and subdue the fiercest bulls. The lazo is more or less in use among all classes of the country people, and practice with it grows up with them from childhood. The little boys take to it a: is American children incline to the gun, and be- gin to use it at a much more tender age. I have fre- quently been amused to see the boys trying their " pren- tice hand" on' the geese, chickens, and turkeys that live around the house ; and many a time have I seen an old gobbler, strutting with all his state and pride, suddenly brought to a dead halt by the lazo of some mischievous little urchin catching him around the legs. The pigs, ducks, and other domestic creatures come under their annoyance as legitimate and appropriate prey. The peo- ple sometimes employ it as a weapon of attack in their encounter with their enemies. They have been known to noose Indians around the neck or body, and afterward drag them at full speed over the rough ground until so much stunned that they could dispatch them at pleasure. In their fights with bears and other wild beasts they often make the lazo do good service, and many a fierce in- habitant of their mountains and plains have thus been made prisoner and dispatched without the aid of powder or ball. SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 211 CHAPTEE IX. mannees and customs of the people — Concluded. Mechanic Arts. — Carts. — Silversmiths. — Domestic Manufactures. — Se- rapes. — Gerga. — Tinajas. — Mexican People. — Intermarriage with In- dians. — Character. — Courage. — Morals. — Vice. — Cause of Prostitu- tion. — Carrying Weapons. — Beggars. — The Beggar and Bull. — Re- ligion. — Superstition. — Saints. — Diezmos. — Marriage Fees, etc. — Revenue of the Bishop. — Priests. — Corruptions of Church. — Peonism. — Law upon the subject. The state of the mechanic arts among the New Mex- icans is very low, and apparently without improvement since the earliest times. There are a few carpenters, blacksmiths, and jewelers among the natives, but, if ever so well skilled, it would be impossible for them to ac- complish much with the rough tools they use. The gold and silver smiths excel all the other workmen, and some of their specimens, in point of ingenuity and skill, would do credit to the craft in any part of the world. Nearly all the lumber used for cabinet-making and building is sawed by hand, and carried to market on burros, two or three sticks or boards at a time, and sold by the piece. The heavier scantling is dressed with an axe, and sold in the same manner. Before the Americans occupied the Territory saw-mills were unknown, and their place was entirely supplied by hand-labor ; but since that time two or three mills have been erected, which do a good busi- ness. A few flour-mills have also been built, and the grain is better ground than formerly. In building they have no idea of architectural taste, but they construct their houses in the same style as their ancestors — rath- er comfortable, but very homely affairs. 212 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ' All the implements used in husbandry are of the rud- est description, and until within a few years the hoes and spades were made of wood. I do not recollect to have ever seen a wagon of Mexican manufacture. The vehi- cles in common use for farm purposes, and for hauling produce to market when burros and pack-mules are dis- pensed with, are called carretas^ a rude cart, made in the style of two centuries ago among the first settlers. If exhibited in the States they would attract as much at- tention as the hairy horse or the sea-serpent. They are generally made without iron, being fastened together with strips of raw-hide or wooden pegs. The wheels are fre- quently solid pieces of wood, being a section of a large cottonwood-trec, with a hole through the centre for the axle. Sometimes they consist of three parts, the middle one with a hole through it, and the two sides, segments of a circle pegged on to the first. An undressed pole of the proper length is fastened to the axle for a tongue. The body of the carreta consists of a frame-work of poles, much like a crockery-ware crate, which is made fast by being tied to the tongue and axle. The machine has no bottom, and, when necessary to prevent the load falling out, a bull-hide is spread down. These carts are uni- versally drawn by oxen, and sometimes three or four yoke are hitched to one at the same time. The ox-yoke is in keeping with the vehicle, and consists of a straight piece of wood laid across the head of the oxen behind the horns, lashed fast with raw-hide, and is secured to the tongue in the same manner. For the peasantry of the country these primitive carts answer every purpose, and on feast and holy days you will often see the whole family pleasuring in them, or driving to the nearest town to attend mass. The wheels are never greased, and as they are driven along they make an unearthly sound, which echoes through the mountains far and near, being SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 213 a respectable tenor for a double-bass horse-fiddle. Some of the wealthiest proprietors have purchased American- made wagons of late years, and only use the clumsy cart for ordinary purposes around the farms. Among the ricos there are a few old-fashioned Spanish carriages, cumbrous and uncouth vehicles, which are drawn by four or six mules, with outriders and postillions. When a Mexican travels he carries with him both bed and board, and encamps on mountain or plain where night overtakes him. He and all his attendants go armed, which is a precaution highly necessary in whatever part of the coun- try you travel. In New Mexico there are no public houses by the wayside in which the traveler can find rest and food for the night, and unless he is able to reach some village where there are friends, he is obliged to en- camp out. In some of the towns Americans have open- ed places of " entertainment for man and beast," where a few can find tolerable accommodations at New York prices. Before the public house in Albuquerque hangs a sign-board, on which is painted, in large letters, " Pa- cific and Atlantic Hotel," being considered the half-way house between the two oceans. There is no capital invested in domestic manufactures, which do not exist as a separate branch of industry. The few articles that are made are of a coarse texture, and are manufactured in families. The leading fabric is a coarse woolen blanket called serape, which is made to some ex- tent for domestic use and sale. At times a considerable trade is carried on in it with the neighboring Mexican States and the Indian tribes. It forms an important article of clothing among the peasantry, and many of the better classes use it instead of cloaks and overcoats. A few of a finer texture, in imitation of the serape saltil- lero, are also manufactured, some of which sell for forty and fifty dollars each. They are woven in bright and 214 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. handsome colors, and are quite beautiful. The serape is a leading article of domestic manufacture in Southern Mexico, and the costume of a caballero is hardly consid- ered complete without one. Mier, on the Rio del Norte, in the State of Tamaulipas, is famous for this article, whence they are sold into all parts of the country. The New Mexicans also make an article of wool, called gerga, a stout and coarse twilled stuff; it is woven in checkers and stripes, and is much used for carpeting, and also for clothing among the common people. This has become quite an article of traffic between the merchants and peasantry, and as it is made with little expense, the lat- ter derive considerable profit from the trade. It is re- tailed in the stores at from twenty-five to forty cents per vara, and is manufactured for less than half that sum. The few articles of domestic manufacture are made whol- ly of wool, or nearly so, very little cotton being used, and neither flax nor hemp having yet been introduced into the country. . Their spinning and weaving apparatus is exceedingly rude, and illy suited to the purpose. A ma- chine, if it can be so called, known as a huso or rnal- acate, is in common use ; the spindle is kept whirling in a bowl with great dexterity, while the operator draws the thread and weaves the fabric. The peasantry also make earthenware for domestic use, and cany considera- ble quantities of it to the towns to be sold. It consists principally of jars — tinajas — which are light and porous, and well adapted for refrigerators for cooling water. In some respects the New Mexicans are a peculiar and interesting people. They are of Eastern origin, and in general possess all the vices of those whose homes are washed by the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, whence a branch of their ancestors originally came. When the Moors were expelled from Spain, they left be- hind them, as a legacy to the people by whom they had SANTA FE — MANNEES AND CUSTOMS. 215 been conquered, many of their manners and customs, which, during their residence in the country, had become firmly ingrafted into society. They had intermarried with the Spaniards, and thus formed a mixed race, in whose veins flowed the blood of both ancestors. Among the early adventurers who came in quest of gold and fame into Mexico were many who had sprung from this union of the Moor and Spaniard, and whose manners and customs assimilated, to a considerable degree, with those of their Moslem ancestors. A portion of that gallant band of men who assisted Hernando Cortez in the sub- jection of the Aztec empire, or those who followed in his footsteps, in the course of time found their way into New Mexico. A thirst for further conquest, coupled with re- ligious zeal, invited them thither, a distance of two thou- sand miles from the seat of Spanish power in America. They streamed up the valley of the Del Norte, and form- ed settlements upon the banks at the most favorable points that presented themselves, where they also estab- lished missions to convert the native heathen, and mili- tary posts for defense, and became themselves permanent settlers. The Good Book as well as Nature taught them that "it is not good for man to be alone," and so they considered the propriety of taking partners to share their exile and hardships. In this domestic emergency there was but one alternative ; their own fair countrywomen, "the dark-eyed maids of Castile," were thousands of miles away, and could not be obtained for wives, and they were therefore compelled, by force of circumstances, to look to the daughters of their Indian neighbors for help-meets. Tjiis course was adopted, and all the set- tlers and gay cavaliers who were in want of the gentler. sex to smooth the pathway of life and keep their houses in order took to their bed and board Indian maidens. Here was a second blending of blood and a new union 216 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. of races ; the Spaniard, Moor, and the aboriginal were united in one and made a new race, the Mexicans. . The new people who sprang from this intermarriage between the conquerors and the conquered were dark and swarthy in appearance, and so have remained, through the change of generations, for nearly three hundred years. Among the present population there is found every shade of color, from the nut-brown, which exhibits a strong pre- ponderance of the aboriginal blood, to the pure Castilian, who is as light and fair as the sons and daughters of the Anglo-Saxon race. Of the latter there are only a few families among the ricos who pride themselves upon not having Indian blood in their veins. The great mass of the population are very dark, and can not claim to be more than one fourth or one eighth part Spanish. The intermixture between the peasantry and the native tribes of Indians is yet carried on, and there is no present hope of the people improving in color. The system of Indian x slavery which exists in the country conduces to this state of things. The people obtain possession of their chil- dren by purchase or otherwise, whom they rear in their families as servants, and who perform a life-time servi- tude to hard task masters and mistresses. "When they grow up to man's and woman's estate, many of them marry with the lower class of Mexicans, and thus a new stream of dark blood is constantly added to the current. Tawny skins are seen in all ranks in society, and some of the most intelligent and wealthy of the native popu- lation exhibit the most enduring traces of their Indian origin. From these causes there exists an amalgamation in color that is found in no quarter of the world except in the Spanish portions of the American continent. In stature they are below the medium height, both male and female, but are well made, with sound consti- tutions, and are graceful and athletic. They have, with SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 217 but few exceptions, black hair and dark eyes. The fe- males exhibit, in some instances, the features of the In- dian, high cheek-bones and thick lips, and many of them possess considerable personal beauty. Their fine eyes, small hands and feet, and graceful carriage, are distin- guishing traits. The males have generally finely-devel- oped chests, and possess much more personal strength than is generally conceded to them. As would natural- ly be the case, a people so various in their origin as the Mexicans, and in whose veins flows the blood of three distinct races, would present a corresponding diversity of character. They possess the cunning and deceit of the Indian, the politeness and spirit of revenge of the Spaniard, and the imaginative temperament and fiery im- pulses of the Moor. They have a great deal of what the world calls smartness and quickness of perception, but lack the stability of character and soundness of intellect that give such vast superiority to the Anglo-Saxon race over every other people. They have inherited a portion of the cruelty, bigotry, and superstition that have mark- ed the character of the Spaniards from the earliest times. These traits seem constitutional and innate in the race, and the more generous and enlightened sentiments that characterize the present age appear not to have pene- trated the veil that shuts from the human heart the no- blest impulses of our nature. The fault, no doubt, lies in some measure with their spiritual teachers, who have never instructed them in that beautiful doctrine which teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Their want of tolerance and their cruelty may also be excused to a degree, because of their impulsive nature, and the easy sway their superiors have always exercised over them, and to whom they have ever yielded the most im- plicit obedience. I believe the Mexicans have been unjustly accused of K 218 NEW MEXICO AND HEK PEOPLE. cowardice as a race, and denied the attributes of personal courage that belong to every other people. In looking at the source whence they sprung, we see no reason why they should not possess all the physical virtues that be- long to the human race. In former times the Spaniard was justly celebrated for his gallantry and courage, for proof of which we need only cite his conquest of a large portion of the two Americas, in which he encountered every hardship that falls to the lot of a soldier. In those days the Spanish infantry was among the best soldiery in the world. The history of the Moorish battle-fields establishes the courage of that race beyond a doubt ; and the manner in which the American Indians have ever resisted the approach of white settlers settles the ques- tion as to them. Hence we find the blood of three brave races uniting in their veins, and there is every reason why they should possess the ordinary amount of courage. In the late war between the United States and Mex- ico, the rank and file of the Mexican army, in many in- stances, exhibited a bravery that would have done honor to any troops in the world ; and upon the frontiers of w Mexico, in their conflicts with the Indians, the peasantry have frequently behaved in the most gallant manner. That which has given the appearance in the lield of cowardice has been a lack of confidence in their officers, which begat a want of reliance in themselves. The great body of the population have ever been an op- pressed and down-trodden people, and have never re- ceived from their superiors that kind of treatment which fosters courage. At home, their manhood has been al- most crushed out of them ; and when led to the field, they had no interest in the contest, and nothing to fight for. They had been so long taught to believe them- selves an inferior race, and destitute of manly attributes, that they came to believe this their condition, and ceased SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 219 to have confidence in themselves. With American of- ficers to lead them, they will make excellent troops ; and they possess a power of endurance under fatigue which excels most other people. An evidence both of their patriotism and courage came under my observation. In the month of January, 1855, the governor of the Territory called for a battalion of mounted volunteers to assist the regulars in chastising the Indian tribes who were in hostile array, and in a very few days more companies offered their services than could be accepted. They served for a period of six months ; and it is the unanimous testimony of the United States officers who were on duty with them, that in all the conflicts with the enemy they exhibited a courage equal to, and power of endurance greater than, the troops of the line. They were ever among the foremost in the fight, and were noted for their good order and discipline ; and I am justified in saying that a desire to serve the country sent them into the field, since the greater part of them had nothing to lose from Indian depredations. The composition of the Mexican army is such that, under the most favorable view of the case, the conduct of the soldiers should not be made a criterion of their valor. The ranks are filled up by what Kendall calls the "involuntary volunteer system," which is pretty much the same as the impressment system in England. Recruiting officers are sent out into the country, who seize the peasantry, take them by force from their homes, and march them under a strong guard to the rendezvous. They are enlisted by force, kept in service by force, have nothing to fight for, receive little or no pay, and, of course, there is no inducement to exhibit bravery. Such was the mode of recruiting for the Mexican army a few years ago, and I presume no change has taken place in this particular. The officers are inferior to the men, be- 220 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ing the creatures of those in power, who in a great num- ber of instances receive their commission as a reward for having pampered to the vice and peculations of their su- periors. Officers of this class can not possess an elevated standard of honor, and have no reputation to make. With such leaders, the rank and file can not be expected to make good soldiers. While the Mexicans lack the courage and enterprise of our own people, they neither possess their turbulent and uneasy spirit. They are a peaceful and quiet race of people, and in their general disposition are rather mild and amiable. They are prone to order, and riots and kindred disturbances are almost unknown among them. They are temperate in their habits, and it is seldom that one becomes an habitual drunkard. When their pas- sions are not aroused by anger they are universally kind, and in an intercourse of some years with them I have never received other than the most polite treatment from all classes. They bear a deadly hatred toward their en- emy, and will manifest it whenever the opportunity of- fers. If they obtain an advantage over an enemy, they will oppress him beyond measure, and deem it a virtue ; and, in return, they look for the same treatment when they are brought under in the wheel of fortune. They possess great talent for intrigue and chicanery, but lack stability and firmness of purpose. With all their faults, they are easily governed if they are treated with kind- ness and justice. I regret that I am not able to speak more favorably of the morals of New Mexico, but in this particular the truth must be told. Probably there is no other country in the world, claiming to be civilized, where vice is more prevalent among all classes of the inhabitants. Their ancestors were governed in this matter by the standard of morality that prevailed in Southern Europe and along SANTA FE — MANNEES AND CUSTOMS. 221 the shores of the Mediterranean, where morals were never deemed an essential to respectability and good standing in society, and laches in this respect had no visible effect upon their social position. The people of New Mexico have inherited all the vices of their ancestors, which they have continued to practice to this day. They have never received any moral training, in the American sense of the word, and have been allowed to grow up from infancy to manhood without being taught that it is wrong to indulge in vicious habits. The standard of female chastity is deplorably low, and the virtuous are far outnumbered by the vicious. Prostitution is carried to a fearful extent ; and it is quite common for parents to sell their own daughters for money to gratify the lust of the purchaser, thus making a profit from their own and their children's shame. It is almost a universal prac- tice for men and women to live together as husband and wife, and rear a family of children, without having been married. One thing which has greatly conduced to this condition of life in times gone by was the high price of the marriage fee. The peasantry could not afford to be married according to the rites of the Church, and as no other ceremony was legal, they were, in a measure, driven into this unlawful and sinful intercourse. This irregu- lar mode of life is also encouraged by the matrimonial system practiced, which results in illy-advised matches, which, in a large number of instances, drives the parties to a separation, when one or both assume an illicit con- nection. It is the custom for married men to support a wife and mistress at the same time, and but too frequently the wife also has her male friend. A gentleman of many years' residence in the country, and who has a thorough acquaintance with the people, assured me that such prac- tices are indulged in by three fourths of the married pop- 222 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ulation. The marriage vow is held sacred by a very few, and the ceremony is more a matter of convenience than any thing else. The custom of keeping mistresses appears to be part of the social system, and the feelings of society are in no manner outraged by it, because the public opinion of the country sanctions it; and what seems to argue an exceedingly liberal code of morals is the fact that the standing of neither party is injured in the community in which they live, but they seem to maintain the same degree of respectability as though they did not thus violate the rules of propriety and de- cency. This mode of life is practiced openly and with- out shame. The parties keep up a regular domestic establishment, receive their friends, and appear together in public, as though their union was sanctioned by the holy rites of marriage, and blessed by the laws of God and man. There are two or three causes for the almost univer- sal looseness of morals among the native population, the principal of which is the entire absence of that necessary moral training which children receive in the States. In times gone by the Church conduced much to this state of things ; a majority of the priests themselves lived in open prostitution, and the most abandoned characters re- tained their standing in the Church, if they were regular at the confessional, and paid the customary dues without fail. The organization of society is such that a large number are driven into this mode of life by sheer pover- ty. There are no employments to which indigent fe- males can resort to make a respectable living, as in the States. All domestic labor is performed by Indian slaves, and women can find no occupation in housework for their own maintenance. Thus, when their parents die, and they are thrown upon their own resources for support, they have but the alternative of starving or SANTA FE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 22 o adopting this degraded mode of life, which, not being con- sidered in the least disreputable, neither driving them from society nor injuring their prospect of a subsequent marriage, is most generally embraced. In other respects society is not as refined as would be desirable. I have already mentioned that gambling is almost universal, and is considered a gentlemanly and respectable calling. The practice of carrying deadly weapons is nearly as com- mon, and most of the inhabitants go armed at all times : they wear knives or pistols girded around them during the day, and sleep with them under the head at night. The merchant behind the counter waits upon his cus- tomer with a six-shooter or a big knife at his side ; and when the lawyer goes into court to try a cause, he too is armed to the teeth. These "peace-makers" also accom- pany the owner to the ball-room and the evening party ; and even when they enter the house of God on the Sab- bath they go better prepared to resist assassins than to worship their Maker. There is some necessity to wear arms, but not to the extent practiced, and the conse- quence is that many unfortunate affrays take place. In all Spanish countries beggars abound in large num- bers, who appear to form an estate of the social system. They are quite numerous in New Mexico, but much more so in Southern Mexico, where they swarm in crowds in all the large towns and cities, and beset your steps with appeals for alms whithersoever you turn. The mendi- cant race are known by the name of Xt7nosneros, who are the most wretched and repulsive people imaginable. They are covered with abominations from head to foot, and their whole appearance indicates the most abject poverty. In some parts of Mexico Saturday is set apart by custom as the day for almsgiving, when you will see the profession out in full strength. There is a deal of system in their begging, and they exhibit a perseverance 224 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. that could not fail to bring them great success in any- honest pursuit. Each one has his favorite set of ori- sons, which he sings at the top of his voice, and which call down untold blessings upon the heads of those who contribute to them. Begging is not always adopted and pursued from necessity, as the last resort before starva- tion, but in many instances is followed as a regular pro- fession. Children from their earliest infancy are trained up to this way of life, and duly initiated into all the arts and mystery that belong to the calling. Instances have been known of parents maiming their children in order that they might be more able to move the feelings of almsgivers ; and these poor little mendicants are sent into the world to beg a living for the lazy parents who re- main at home. In the city of Mexico, where they abound in thou- sands, I have frequently seen a whole family upon the same street corner. Some have customary stands, where they may be seen year after year, with sightless eyes and outstretched hands, imploring alms of the passer-by in the name of God, until death relieves them ; and then, when the father is gone, the son is ready to take his place. Sometimes they feign decrepitude, and other in- firmities which incapacitate them for labor, and on hands and knees drag themselves from door to door during the day, and at night they enjoy the fruits of their labor in some quiet corner. Such rascals now and then get pick- ed up handsomely. Gregg tells an amusing story of a fellow of this character in Chihuahua, who experienced a remarkable recovery of the use of his limbs after being an apparent cripple for many years. He was in the daily habit of sliding around the town on a begging tour, and had, to all appearances, entirely lost the use of his lower extremities, but was otherwise a hale, hearty man. He was looked upon by the citizens as an object of pity, SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 225 and many a dime found its way into his supplicating hand. One day, when on his customary rounds, he was sitting in the street imploring alms in the most piteous manner, when a furious bull came tearing down the street in the direction where he sat, and without the least dis- position to pay any respect to the mendicant, who must either beat a retreat or be run over. He resolved upon the former, and, forgetting his decrepitude, he sprang to his feet and took to his heels in a manner that would have done honor to Gildersleeve. This closed his pro- fessional adventures in that locality. In Mexico the law makes no provision for paupers, hence all the aid they receive is from the generosity of the public. As a race, the people of New Mexico are extremely superstitious, and which prevails to a greater or less de- gree among all classes, the intelligent as well as the most ignorant. They have an abiding faith in saints and im- ages, and with the mass of the inhabitants their worship appears no more than a blind adoration of these insensi- ble objects. Some of the most intelligent of the better class look upon these bits of wood as all-powerful in ev- ery emergency ; and upon the occasion of a fire in Santa Fe a few years ago, a prominent Mexican gentleman was anxious that one of the wooden saints should be brought from the church to quench the flames. The second sum- mer of my residence there, there was a severe hail-storm in the month of June, when the people, in order to pro- tect their crops, stuck up crosses in their fields ; and it is no uncommon thing for them to have their fields bless- ed by a priest after the seed is put into the ground, in order that they may bring forth good crops. Upon one occasion, when visiting a family, a member of which was quite ill, a number of friends came in with a small im- age of a favorite saint, altar, and other necessary appara- tus. They were placed in the middle of the room, when K2 226 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. a few coals of fire were brought from the kitchen and put in the vessel that contained the incense, which ignited and filled the room with its odor, the whole party the while performing some ceremony that I did not under- stand. I left them in the midst of their semi-heathen incantations, neither being able to appreciate the service nor being willing longer to witness what I looked upon as a senseless and unmeaning performance. The sick person recovered, and I have no doubt another miracu- lous cure was placed to the credit of the dingy little im- age. The number of saints in the religious calendar makes up a long array, and to all the leading ones par- ticular days are devoted, and observed with appropriate ceremonies. The Virgin of Guadalupe, who heads the list, appears to be the key-stone of the whole system of worship in Mexico* As another evidence of the superstition of the people, I need only mention their general belief in witchcraft and every other kind of sorcery, which is not confined alone to the most ignorant portion of the community. In the year 1853 a man was arrested in Taos for this imagined offense, and bound over by an alcalde to answer at the next term of the United States District Court. When the cause came up for trial it was at once dismissed, and the prosecutor was made to understand that there were no such offenses under our laws. Subsequently two In- dians of Nambe were put to death for a similar offense. These facts exhibit a fearful amount of superstition in the middle of the nineteenth century, when knowledge, in every department of learning, is making such rapid strides toward universal intelligence. The religion of New Mexico is that of the Roman Catholic creed, which was introduced into the country at the time of the first conquest by the Spaniards, and lias prevailed up to the present time, without opposition from SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 227 other sects, except by a few Protestant missionaries, who have been located there since the Territory came into the possession of the United States. When first establish- ed, it was with all the rigor practiced in Old Spain, and the Indians were forced "to come quietly to the ac- knowledgment of the true Christian faith, and listen to the evangelical word" at the point of the bayonet and under blows from the halberd. Under the Spanish and Mexican governments no other religion was tolerated, and the rites of the Church were administered with a de- gree of bigotry and fanaticism almost incredible. The natural consequence of this undisputed sway for near three centuries was the growth of many and serious abuses, some of which have remained to this day, and call loudly for redress. I have nothing to say about the peculiar tenets of Catholicism, whether the belief of those who profess this religion is right or wrong, the creed true or false, because this is a matter which lies wholly between the professor and his Maker, and with which I have nothing to do. Every man is responsible for his own religious belief, and it would be exceedingly unjust for me to arraign others before the bar of public opinion for what I might consider heresy. But, while I have nothing to do with the religion itself, I deem the abuses that have grown up under it, and are still practiced, just and rightful subjects of animadversion. One of the greatest abuses that belongs to the Church is the system of tithes, which still remains, and to the Church is contributed one tenth of the worldly increase of the people for the maintenance of the priests, repairs of the buildings, etc. There is no legal enactment to sustain the system and compel payment, and, as far as the law is concerned, the contributions are voluntary ; but, nevertheless, it exists in full force. It falls heavily upon the poor people, who are obliged to give a tenth of 228 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. all the yearly increase of their flocks, and herds, and whatever else they raise, while the rich compound their tithes, and are let off by paying a comparatively small sum of money. * The people are beginning to understand that the Church can not collect these diezmos by law, and in some instances they have refused payment. This is the first step toward a reformation in this particular, and, in the course of time, an entire change will be made in the mode of paying the priests, and each person will be allowed to give such an amount as he can afford and feels disposed to contribute. I was informed by a for- mer mayor domo of the Bishop of Santa Fe* that the tithes of the whole Territory which come to his hands amount to about eighteen thousand dollars annually. Wo. receives one half, the other half being divided into two parts, one of which goes to the various parish priests, while the balance is appropriated to the repair of the churches. In the county of Santa Fe, in which the bish- op resides, he receives his tithes in kind, but in other counties his half is sold and the money paid him. They are collected by an authorized agent, who receives about fifteen per cent, for collection. Notwithstanding the large revenue the bishop receives, he does not spend it in sumptuous and extravagant living, but appropriates a large portion in repairing the churches and other relig- ious buildings in Santa Fe. His establishment is mod- est in its appointments, and by no means in keeping with his income. Another abuse that should be remedied is the high price of marriage, baptismal, and burial fees that the Church exacts from the people. In the case of marriage the high rates have heretofore prevented lawful wedlock, and driven a large portion of the population into licen- tiousness. They were not able to pay the fees demand- ed by the priest, and no civil officer had power to unite SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 229 people in matrimony. In former years it was more ex- pensive to die than to live ; and poor parents have been known to abandon their dead children because they conld not afford to pay the cost of interment by the Church. The regular fees for marriage and burial service have in some instances been known to be as high as four and live hundred dollars, the price always being regulated by the length and kind of ceremony, and, in the case of bur- ial, by the number of masses said for the repose of the soul. It sometimes costs the poor peasant the greater part of his worldly store to have his children baptized. This ceremony becomes a matter of great solicitude with the mother, since those who are not baptized are sup- posed to dwell in Limbo when they die, while those who receive this rite of the Church are placed in the regions of eternal happiness. The fees for these respective rites have been decreased somewhat, but are yet too high for the public good ; and a further reduction, particularly as regards marriage, would have a tendency to lessen illicit intercourse between the sexes. In no country have the evils of celibacy in the clergy been so clearly made manifest, and such great harm done to the cause of religion. Until within a recent period, the priests of New Mexico were noted for their corrup- tion and profligacy, and instead of being teachers in mor- als they were leaders in vice. Their lascivious pleas- ures were quite as public and notorious as their priestly duties, and there was hardly a priest in the country who did not rear a family of illegitimate children, in direct vi- olation of his holy vows and the laws of religion and morality. I am pleased to mention that a reformation has taken place in this particular since Bishop Lamy has been at the head of the Church in New Mexico. One of his first acts in assuming the duties of the bishopric was to dismiss those who had been the most notorious 230 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. in their transgressions, and to replace them with better men. I am personally acquainted with several of the new incumbents, and believe them to be men of spotless reputations and blameless lives. Notwithstanding this improvement in the morals of the priesthood, there is a margin left for further reformation, which must be made before the Church can be at all purified. Among other practices that have been abolished is the procession of the Host, at least with the parade and show that accom- pany it in Southern Mexico ; and when the holy sacra- ment is carried to be administered to a sick or dying per- son, it is done in a quiet manner. Of late, an important step has been taken toward a fur- ther reformation in the Church, and which, in time, will have a good effect. The bishop has directed that the confessional and communion be denied to all females who are known to lead immoral lives ; and such are not bur- ied according to the rites of the Church if they die while in sin and before confession. Still, many of the old cor- ruptions of the Church remain in full force, and either no attempt has been made to cure them, or the remedy, if applied, has failed to have the desired effect. The vice of prostitution has become so prevalent that the whole moral frame-work of society is rotten and undermined, and a great revolution of feeling must take place before the evil can be remedied. The priesthood have an im- portant work before them, and they should join with one voice and mind, and teach their parishioners that such practices are contrary to the precepts of their religion and the doctrines of Christianity. Even to this day, in the sacred processions of the Church upon feast and saint days, the most abandoned characters are allowed to unite and bear a leading part, and the " ten virgins" have been personated by the most vicious females in the city. While vice is thus openly smiled upon, we can not ex- SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 231 pect that much reformation will be made in the morals and religion of a people. In speaking of the vice and immorality of New Mex- ico, I must not be understood as including the whole population in the same category. Amid so much that is corrupt, there are some as pure in mind and morals as can be found in any country, and who are as much alive to all the amenities and proprieties of life. Many of the mothers and daughters are as virtuous as can be found in any section of our extended and happy land, and the fathers, sons, and brothers as high-minded and honora- ble men. The vices that prevail are constitutional and national — more the result of habit, example, and educa- tion — or, rather, the want of it — than from natural deprav- ity. We should bear in mind that such have been the habits of the Spanish race from time immemorial, and charity should induce us to make a reasonable allowance for their infirmities. They should be compassionated rather than shunned because of their degraded condition, and an efficient effort should be made to raise them to the standard of enlightenment that is found in other sec- tions of our land ; and they should be none the less kindly welcomed to our great political brotherhood be- cause they do not bring with them all the virtues and wisdom possessed by our own people, who have been reared under a purer code of morals and a wiser system of laws. We claim that our free institutions make men better, wiser, and happier ; then let us endeavor, through their agency, to work out the regeneration of the people of New Mexico, morally, socially, and religiously, and the triumph will be a greater one than any we can achieve upon the field or in the cabinet. Another peculiar feature of New Mexico is the system of domestic servitude called peonism, that has existed, and still exists, in all the Spanish American colonies. 232 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. It seems to have been an institution of the civil law, and in New Mexico is yet recognized by statute. The only practical difference between it and negro slavery is, that the peones are not bought and sold in the market as chattels ; but in other respects I believe the difference is in favor of the negro. The average of intelligence among the peones is lower than that among the slaves of fhe Southern States ; they are not so well cared for, nor do they enjoy so many of the blessings and comforts of do- mestic life. In truth, peonism is but a more charming name for a species of slavery as abject and oppressive as any found upon the American continent. The statutory law recognizing its existence in the Ter- ritory is dignified with the title of " Law regulating con- tracts between masters and servants." This is all well enough on paper, as far as it goes, but the statute is found to be all upon the side of the master. The wages paid is the nominal sum of about five dollars per month, out of which the peon has to support himself and family. The act provides, among other things, that if the servant does not wish to continue in the service of the master, he may leave him upon paying all that lie owes him ; this the poor peon is not able to do, and the consequence is that he and his family remain in servitude all their lives. Among the proprietors in the country, the master generally keeps a store, where the servant is obliged to purchase every article he wants, and thus it is an easy matter to keep him always in debt. The master is re- quired to furnish the peon with goods at the market val- ue, and may advance him tw r o thirds the amount of his monthly wages. But these provisions, made for the ben- efit of the peon, are in most instances disregarded, and he is obliged to pay an enormous price for every thing he buys, and is allowed to run in debt beyond the amount of his wages, in order to prevent him leaving his SANTA FE — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 233 master. When parents are, as the statute terms it, " driven into a state of slavery," they have the right to bind their children out as peones, and with this begin- ning they become slaves for life. When a servant runs away from his master, the latter goes before a justice of the peace, or some other civil magistrate, and takes out a " warrant of the debt," which authorizes the arrest of the peon in any part of the Territory. One of the most objectionable features in the system is, that the master is not obliged to maintain the peon in sickness or old age. When he becomes too old to work any longer, like an old horse who is turned out to die, he can be cast adrift to provide for himself. These are the leading fea- tures of peonism, and, in spite of the new name it bears, the impartial reader will not be able to make any thing- else out of it than slavery. 2o4 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. CHAPTER X. ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. First Sight of Santa Fe. — Fonda. — Home-sick. — Rev. L. Smith. — Warm Welcome. — Toilet. — Secretary of Territory. — Governor Meri- wether. — His Adventures. — Prisoner in Santa Fe'. — Discharge. — Trip to Rendezvous. — Winter Quarters. — Strange Indians. — Great Medicine. — The Indians see him. — Fright. — Encounter with In- dians. — Prison fell down. — Sworn into Office. — Mr. Cardenas. — Mrs. Wilson. — Indian Outrages. — How Indians should be governed. — Meeting of Le_ r i-lature. — Log-rolling, etc. — Organization of the Houses. — The two Houses in Session. — Former political Condi- tion, etc. The first sight of Santa Fe is by no means prepos- sessing. Viewed from the adjacent hills as you descend into the valley, whence it falls the first time under your glance, it has more the appearance of a colony of brick- kilns than a collection of human habitations. You see stretching before you, on both sides of the little river of the same name, a cluster of flat-roofed mud houses, which, in the distance, you can hardly distinguish from the earth itself. But a traveler just off the Plains generally leaves the wire-edge of his fastidiousness behind, and feels re- joiced at the prospect of finding quarters even in a mud house, which he soon pronounces quite a comfortable af- fair ; so true it is, " How many things by season seasoned are, To their right praise and true perfection." The wagons drove in front of the fonda, and the pas- sengers, with bag and baggage, were turned over to the custody of " mine host," who stood at his threshold, in the best possible humor, to receive us. 'Tis true, the I ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 237 establishment was not of the first order — hardly equal to the "Astor" or "St. Nicholas" — but, withal, it seemed an admirable change to us who, for nearly a month, had been exposed to the discomforts of the Plains. We had hardly been shown to our rooms before dinner was an- nounced, when we were conducted to the dining-room, where we found a table spread with all the necessaries and some of the luxuries of life. I can speak for my- self, and say that I did full justice to the repast, and in good earnest broke the fast that half rations had imposed upon us the latter part of the way. On being set down, " a stranger in a strange land," I do not deny that I had the feeling common to all in a similar situation, and for a time that heart-malady call- ed home- sickness made a lodgment in an unoccupied corner of my heart. To a greater or less degree, this feeling will seize upon all comers from the United States when they place foot in Santa Fe for the first time. The whole aspect of things is so entirely different from what they have been accustomed to : a foreign language sa- lutes their ears ; a strange race of men gape at them without a particle of sympathy, and the mud city, with its dirty streets and no less dirty population — all pre- sents such an uninviting picture to the stranger, that, in spite of all he can do, he will feel a little " down in the mouth." But reaching this place under the circum- stances, after a trip of nearly a thousand miles across an inhospitable and almost barren region, has a tendency to remove many of the unfavorable impressions a traveler receives upon his first arrival. The change from con- stant exposure and danger to comparative comfort and security is so sudden, and, withal, so much to one's mind, that it begets a favorable opinion of this modern Tim- buctoo, and in a short time he finds himself reasonably well reconciled to his new home. But if it was not for 288 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the circumstances under which the traveler first enters Santa Fe, he would be tempted to leave again in disgust ere the sound of his footfall had died away in the streets. As good fortune would have it — and it is always good fortune to know somebody in a strange place — I had an old friend in Santa Fe in the person of the Rev. Louis Smith, stationed there as a Baptist missionary. He had been sent out by the Baptist Board of Home .Missions nearly three years before, and during this time he had been laboring faithfully in this new field, but with little success. The tares seemed to choke down all the wheat that was disposed to spring up under the new and improved culture, and thus far he and the other husbandmen who had labored in the field had scarce been able to gather a single sheaf into the garner. As soon after dinner as possible, I wended my way to the house of Mr. Smith, all unshaven and unshorn, hoping to be able to announce my own arrival. In this di- lapidated condition, I presented myself at his threshold and knocked for admittance. A servant answered the summons, and in a moment I was in the presence of Mrs. Smith, her husband not being in at the time. At first she could hardly realize that the person who stood before her was a genuine old friend instead of some ap- parition who had dropped down from — she knew not whence. But it took but little trouble to satisfy her upon this point, when she gave me a welcome to her house and home that was full of meaning, and which went in a straight line to the heart, driving away at once all the legions of home-sickness that had dared to gather there. Her greeting was far from being of the modern school of salutation, so stiff and formal as to fairly drive the milk of human kindness from one's bosom, for such new-fangled notions had not yet penetrated into that dis- tant region. While we w^ere seated, chatting of the ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 239 days of " old lang syne," her husband came in, who re- ceived me no less kindly and warm-heartedly, and which fully came up to that beautiful faith he professes and makes his daily walk and practice. He extended his welcome fully to meet the requirements of Christian hospitality, and invited my companion and myself to partake of his bed and board until we should be able to arrange our own quarters. This was something tangi- ble and real, the substance instead of the shadow, and like sensible persons, and without the least circumlocu- tion, we availed ourselves of the kind offer. The first and most urgent duty, after the greetings and a few moments' conversation with my old friends, was that of getting rid of the dust of travel, and appear- ing once more in civilized habiliments, for which purpose we wended our way back to the fonda. After roughing it so long upon the Plains, it is no easy task to make one's toilet, as every gentleman knows who has taken off a crop of beard that has ripened and gone to seed. With a due degree of perseverance, this duty was finally accomplished, and your humble servant was once more metamorphosed into a respectable-looking individual. The whole performance was much more a matter of ne- cessity than pleasure, as every one is aware who has been obliged to undergo the same operation. We now removed ourselves and baggage to the hospitable house of Mr. Smith, where we made our home for the present. In the afternoon Mr. Smith chaperoned me out into the town to see the sights and make the acquaintance of some of the good people. On our way up the street we halted at the counting-room of the Honorable W. S. Messerve, the Secretary of the Territory, to whom I was introduced. At that time Mr. Messerve was a leading merchant in Santa Fe, where he had been established in business for some years, and made a large fortune. He 240 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. is a Massachusetts man by birth, but spent many years in Mexico. He is a man of fine talents, and possesses a fund of wit and humor that never becomes exhausted. In comparing notes, we found we had met before, and by mutual consent dated our first acquaintance back to the month of June, 1847, during the war with Mexico, when we encountered each other upon the banks of the River San Juan. Crossing the Plaza, we wended our way to the government palace, where I was presented to his excellency, David Meriwether, Governor of the Territory, by whom I was received with all the kindness and frank- ness to be looked for in a Kentuckian. Governor Meri- wether is a Virginian by birth, but, with his father's fam- ily, removed to Kentucky in 1805, since which time he has made that state his permanent home. He was ap- pointed Governor of New Mexico by President Pierce in 185'), and entered upon the discharge of his duties in August of the same year. It is not my intention to write a biography of this gentleman, but I can not re- frain from giving a few of the incidents of his early life, which, coupled as they are with adventure, can not be otherwise than interesting to the reader. Having the desire of adventure so common to the youth of our country, in the year 1818 he entered the American Fur Company, and in their employ spent three years in hunting and trapping upon the plains and wa- ters of the Far West. His life was a continued scene of adventure and hardship, in which practical school he fin- ished his education and graduated for the pursuits of life. In the year 1819 he was sent w4th a party of Paw- nee Indians to endeavor to open a trade with New Mexi- co, in order to exchange their furs and other goods for bullion, and to obtain permission to hunt and trap upon the streams. They had advanced as far west as the Canadian fork of the River Arkansas, when they were at- ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 241 tacked by a party of Mexican troops, most of the Indians killed, and himself and negro boy made prisoners. They were conducted to Santa Fe, about a hundred and twen- ty miles farther west, the then capital of the province, and brought before the Spanish governor, by whom he was accused of being a spy of the United States, and was thrown into prison. At that time there was some difficulty between our government and that of Spain in reference to the Floridas, and the authorities looked upon Americans with great jealousy. He was repeatedly brought before the governor and closely questioned as to his motives in coming into the country, with the design, as it appeared, of entrapping him into some hostile admis- sion, in the absence of any evidence against him. The only medium of communication was a Catholic priest who spoke French, which language young Meriwether partly understood. He was confined in a filthy prison' adjoining the palace, while the negro boy was secured in some other part of the town. Pie was kept in confine- ment about a month, when one day he was sent for by the governor, who told him that the difficulties between the United States and Spain were adjusted, and that he had permission to return home. To be thus turned loose upon the world at the ap- proach of winter, in a strange land, and separated a thou- sand miles from the nearest American settlement, was being placed in a worse condition than while in prison. When arrested, he and his servant were both well arm- ed, and mounted upon fine horses, but their captors had stripped them of every thing but the clothes upon their bodies. Young Meriwether sought an interview with the governor, and represented to him their condition: that to be driven into the mountains without any arms to kill game was certain death, and he had better kill them at once and shorten their misery. This appeal had some I, 242 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. effect ; and although their own property was not restored to them, he gave each one a mule, an old gun, and a few charges of powder and lead. They were not permitted to leave the country by the same route they had entered it, hut were sent by the way of Don Fernandez de Taos in charge of a corporal and two men. The escort ac- companied them some little distance above that place, when they suddenly left them and returned to Santa Fe\ Our adventurers were now in no very enviable posi- tion. The weather was cold, the mountains covered with snow, and they found themselves turned adrift iii an unknown country. They had many hundred miles of inhospitable plains and mountains to traverse, and had two almost useless guns and a small supply of ammuni- tion to kill game and defend themselves from hostile In- dians. But there was no time to be lost in contemplat- ing their unfortunate situation. Before taken prisoner, he had appointed a place of rendezvous, where such of the Indians as might be able to make their escape were directed to go and await his coming. He now took a direction for that point, as well as he was able to do without a guide or a knowledge of the country, being guided by the sun during the day and the stars at night — killing game as they went, at the risk of bringing hostile Indians upon them by the report of their guns. After traveling several days across the mountains that lie on the eastern confines of New Mexico, in constant fear of being attacked, and suffering from the cold, they reached the place of rendezvous, and found three Pawnee Indians waiting for them. The meeting was a pleasant one to all parties, and they remained there a few days making the necessary preparations for the continuance of their journey. They resolved to seek some good location upon the head-waters of the Arkansas, where they would remain until spring, and then return to the settlements. ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 243 They took tip the line of march from the rendezvous, and, after traveling in a northerly direction for several days, they came to a cave, upon the head-waters of the Arkansas, that promised to answer their purpose of a winter residence. It .was a large cavern in the side of a hill, and the rocks from above projected over somewhat in the shape of a portico. They set to work, and made the place as comfortable as possible. They divided it into two compartments by suspending before the en- trance to the rear a buffalo robe, and they placed poles against the projecting ledge, which, covering with brush and dried grass, made another comfortable room. In the inner room they stored all their most valuable ar- ticles, and the outer served them as a place to build their fire and do their cooking. They killed their mules, which, with the buffaloes they occasionally shot, kept them in a supply of meat. Their greatest fear was in be- ing discovered by hostile Indians, and they took constant precaution to prevent their whereabouts being known. Time hung heavily upon their hands, as they were afraid to venture away from the mouth of the cave unless they were compelled to do so in search of food. Among other expedients to kill time, young Meriwether amused him- self in fashioning a stone to resemble a man's face, and upon which he stretched a piece of skin. When the skin was dried, he took it off, cut holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth, and thus had a respectable-looking mask. When finished, he laid it away in the cave, without imagining the valuable service it would be able to render him be- fore the winter was past. One day nine strange Indians came to the cave, whom they suspected very strongly of some hostile intentions, and were therefore uneasy while they remained. They were anxious to look at every thing in and about the premises, and, after having seen all there was in the outer 244 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. apartment, one of them desired to know what there was behind the curtain. It was very desirable to preserve the inner part of the cave from the eyes of the strangers, and, as they were not able to do so by force, they had to resort to stratagem. Young Meriwether now bethought him of his mask, and, feeling certain that he would be able to make it serve him a good purpose in the emer- gency, replied to the inquiry of the Indians that they kept their Great Medicine behind the curtain. This ex- cited the curiosity of the visitors the more, and they de- manded to sec him right away, as they wanted to know whether he looked like their medicine-man. He endeav- ored to satisfy their curiosity in various ways, but noth- ing would do but a sight of him. Finally, he told the Indians that he would go in and consult the Great Med- R6, and if he should be willing to be seen by stran- gers, he would return and admit them. Once behind the screen, he arranged his plans to give the Indians a good fright. He fixed the skin mask upon the point of a rock, and, putting a lighted candle within it, returned to the outer apartment. He told them that if they should see fire and smoke coming out of his eyes, nose, and mouth, it was a sure sign that the Great Medicine was very angry, and they must look out for themselves. They were to be admitted one at a time. The skin screen was carefully drawn aside to let one in, who entered ; but, seeing the fire and smoke streaming out of the holes in the mask, he took for granted that the Great Spirit was in a towering rage, and about to devour the whole of them, and therefore took to his heels, yelling like a de- mon, followed by all his companions. Thus they rid themselves of these ugly visitors, and probably this little stroke of ingenuity was the means of saving their lives. They were afraid, however, that the Indians might re- turn with others to see the white man's medicine, and ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 245 to whom the harmless mask might not appear so terrific, and therefore resolved to break up their camp and seek a more secure location. They took up their march that evening through deep snow, with their packs upon their backs, and traveled all night and the next day before they halted to encamp. Before they laid down to sleep, the mask, with a candle inside, was placed on the point of a high rock, so that, in case the strange Indians should follow upon their trail, they would first be saluted by the Great Medicine they so much feared. Thence they continued their journey, and reached a trading-post in safety, at which they spent the remainder of the winter. After this adventure the governor and a party of trap- pers had a more serious encounter with some Indians of the Plains. Upon one occasion, when returning from a trapping expedition loaded with packs of furs, they es- pied in the distance a number of mounted Indians com- ing toward them. He and his men made for a grove of timber near at hand, where they tied their animals, and, taking off their packs, formed with them a kind of breast- work, in order to make a good defense if it should be- come necessary. These arrangements being made, and the little garrison having received instructions to hold the camp at every hazard, Meriwether, with a few horse- men, set out to meet the Indians. Both parties approach- ed at full speed, the respective leaders being some dis- tance in advance of their men. The Indian chief came up with his lance at a rest, while Meriwether rode toma- hawk in hand ; and when within proper distance, the for- mer made a lunge with his lance, which the latter struck down with his hatchet, but not with sufficient force to prevent it piercing his thigh and giving him a severe wound. The shock jostled the Indian, and, before he could recover his position, the negro boy rode up to him, and, with a single stroke of his hatchet on the head, kill- 246 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ed him. The chief having fallen, the other Indians turn- ed and fled. As soon as Meriwether was wounded he fainted and fell to the ground, from loss of blood, and when he came to he found himself lying beside his dead foe. The trappers resumed their march in a few days, and reached their trading-post without further molesta- tion. For this gallant act of the negro boy in saving the life of his master he was set free as soon as they re- turned to Kentucky. When Governor M. was a prisoner in Santa Fe, he was confined in a room at the west end of the palace ; and the same evening he arrived there to assume the execu- tive duties of the Territory, the roof of the room fell in L This the people, with their superstitious notions, inter- preted into a favorable omen. It is worthy of note to say, in conclusion, that he who was a poor and unknown boy, and a prisoner in a foreign land, should, in the course of years, return with the power of the United States at his back to rule over the same people who had held him in captivity, and to administer laws in the very building in Which he had been confined. Such incidents arc not unfrequent in the \ ii .-issitudes that mark the life of the public men of our country. I was sworn into office on Monday, the 28th instant, and held myself in readiness to look after the interests of the government, if perchance it should have any need of my services. My predecessor had taken his leave before my arrival, and upon entering on the duties of the office of United States Attorney I found neither books nor papers to take charge of, and, before I was done with it, was satisfied that it was about as barren of emoluments. It is a sinecure barring the riding the circuit, and consists in the name, which sounds well, and a commission bear- ing the signature of the President, and the great seal of the United States attached. ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 247 A few days after I arrived I made the acquaintance of the Rev. Benigno Cardenas, formerly a Catholic priest in the Territory, but within a few years a proselyte to Protestantism. He is a man of learning and abilities, and at one time occupied a high position in the Church. He now belongs to the Methodist denomination, and is laboring in the southern part of the Territory, where he has gathered a small flock. Some years ago he became involved in a religious difficulty with Bishop Zubiria, who, for a real or pretended cause, suspended him from the discharge of his spiritual functions, and placed him beyond the pale of the Church. Feeling that justice had not been done him in the decision of the bishop, Mr. Car- denas was determined to seek redress from the supreme head of the Church, and for that purpose he made a pil- grimage to Home, and laid his complaint before the Pope. After his case had undergone the necessary examination by the pontiff and his advisers, he was reinstated in the Church, and was furnished with the necessary document- ary evidence to establish the fact upon his return home. He exhibited proof of his justification when he returned, but declined to enter the Church again, because, in the mean time, his religious views had undergone a change. His object in going to Rome was to recover his standing in his own Church before asking to be received into an- other, which being established, he immediately renounced the faith of his fathers, and began to teach the more lib- eral doctrine of Protestantism.* * Since the above was written, Mr. Cardenas has dissolved his con-' nection with the Methodist denomination, and made application to be received back again into the Catholic Church. The ceremony of re- ception into the Church, and a recantation of his Protestant heresies, took place at Albuquerque the 24th day of February, 1856. He was compelled to submit to the humiliation of receiving lashes upon the back, covered only with his shirt, which were laid on by the hands ct* the Vicario. After this he was fully pardoned and restored to the com munion. 1*48 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. About this time there arrived in Santa Fe an Amer- ican woman, Mrs. Jane Adeline Wilson, lately rescued from the Camanche Indians, with whom she had been captive about one month. She was taken some distance to the east of El Paso, Texas, on her return to her friends from an unsuccessful attempt to go to California with her husband and father-in-law. She succeeded in mak- ing her escape, and after wandering about the Plains for some time, was found by a party of Mexican traders, who brought her into the settlements. She mainly owed her safety to a Pueblo Indian of the village of San Yldefonso, whose conduct was such as to entitle him to all praise. She was young, modest in appearance and conduct, and quite intelligent. She remained in Santa Fe until the next spring, when she was sent to her friends. The narrative of her sufferings, written down at the time from her own lips, made one of the most affecting recitals I have ever read, and the fortitude she displayed, for one of her tender years, under so many trying cir- cumstances, was quite sublime. Imagine a young and delicate female for the period of about a month in the hands of one of the most savage of our North American tribes of Indians, and compelled to submit to the most cruel treatment ever inflicted upon a human being. They made her their absolute slave ; and, not satisfied with compelling her to perform the most menial offices, they would cmelly beat her if her overtasked strength failed her. And then, at other times, as if to make her degra- dation more complete and her sufferings more acute, they would set upon her a human fiend of her own sex, who delighted in tormenting her with a refined cruelty that can not be surpassed. Conceive a woman placed upon : he back of a wild mule without saddle or bridle, and be- i ause she can not manage the restive beast, to have her head stamped into the ground by an infernal savage ; ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 249 behold her almost naked, marching under a burning sun, over mountains and across prairies, amid briers and thorns which tear her flesh at every step ; and then, af- ter she had eluded her fiendish captors and made her es- cape, we see her wandering alone for many days without food and without shelter, every moment in danger of be- ing recaptured, with the wolves following her footsteps when she ventured to a spring to drink, and scratching around her place of concealment at night. Let the read- er call to mind these bodily sufferings, and add to them the terrible anguish of mind she must have endured, and yet but a faint idea of the hardships she was compelled to undergo can be imagined. For a strong man to bear up under such trials seems almost incredible ; but when we know the sufferer was a young and tender female, and about to become a mother, her escape seems miracu- lous indeed. Such outrages are of much too frequent occurrence in the distant land of New Mexico. But a few pages back the reader will call to mind the case of poor Mrs. White, who was taken in a somewhat similar manner ; but she was not so fortunate as to make her escape, and both her- self and child suffered death at their hands. She was treated with equal cruelty, no doubt, but the grave has closed over her sufferings, and they must remain unknown to the world. When Governor Meriwether was on his way to New Mexico, two young Spanish girls made their escape from the Kiowah Indians and joined the train he was traveling with, whom he afterward forwarded to their homes in Chihuahua, whence they had been stolen near- ly two years before. They made their escape in the fol- lowing manner : One day they were sent out by the In- dians to herd the animals, when, on ascending a hill, they espied in the distance an American train winding across the prairies just west of the Arkansas. They immedi- L2 250 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ately mounted horses and started for the wagons. Be- fore they reached the train they turned the animals loose and drove them back, and continued their way to the camp on foot, where they arrived soon after dark. They reported themselves to Mr. M 'Carry, the conductor of the train, and from whom they received the kindest treat- ment. The next day some thirty or forty Indians over- took the train and demanded the girls, but Mr. M 'Carry denied all knowledge of them, having previously conceal- ed them in the wagons so they could not be seen. The Indians seemed determined not to give them up, and even made an attempt to search the wagons, when the team- sters took down their arms and showed fight. One old squaw, whose slave one of the girls had been, was in the act of getting into a wagon, when Mr. M'Carty laid her sprawling with a stroke from the butt end of his whip. The following day the train of General Garland was over- taken, and the rescued captives delivered to the governor. They related about the same account of suffering as that narrated by Mrs. Wilson. They mentioned an American woman with a small child whom they had seen in captivity, and who was obliged to submit to the same kind of inhuman treatment. They said that one day, while traveling, one of the Indians seized the child, threw it up into the air, and caught it upon the point of his lance as it came down. The rest of the band amused them- selves in the same manner, and thus they passed the child around among them upon their lance-heads until the dead body was pierced like a sieve. Yet, with such abundance of evidence before our eyes of the savage cru- elty of these Western Indians, there is a class of people in the United States whose hearts are constantly over- flowing with sympathy for these inhuman fiends. This mawkish feeling of pity for the "poor Indian" has ex- isted long enough, and it is quite time the people should ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 251 come to view them in their proper light. They are the Ishmaelites of the Plains, whose hands are turned against every white man, woman, and child, and they should ho chastised in the severest manner instead of receiving pity from their crack-brained sympathizers. The govern- ment at Washington has been a little remiss in chastis- ing them for their numerous outrages, and they have learned to despise instead of fear our power. The only mode of governing these savages is by fear of punish- ment — the " moral suasion" of powder and lead, as their flinty hearts are not capable of appreciating kinder treat- ment. At this time there are hundreds of captives among the Indians of the Plains and those that inhabit the mountains of New Mexico, principally women and chil- dren. They make slaves of the former, and train the latter for warriors. Now and then a captive escapes, but the great majority spend a lifetime with them, and drag out a most miserable existence. Monday, December the fifth, was the day fixed by law for the meeting of the Legislative Assembly of the Ter- ritory, and for a week before that time the members had been coming in from the various counties, and arrang- ing themselves in quarters for the session. Those who were candidates for office in either House and their friends began the system of electioneering so prevalent in other sections of the Union ; and the few days that intervened between the arrival of the members and the meeting of the Assembly were spent in wire-pulling, log-rolling, and all the other strategic movements known in modern pol- itics. Juntas were held in the four quarters of the city of the Holy Faith, and the merits of the various candi- dates for place in the two honorable bodies were discuss- ed and canvassed with as much apparent gravity as though the fate of the Republic depended upon the se- lection they should make. It was early determined that 252 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the weal of the Territory would be eternally sapped should a single Whig obtain place in either branch of the august assemblage about to convene ; and it was therefore resolved, pro bono publico, that none of that kidney should be allowed to lap up a drop of the pap that was likely to drop from the Democratic table. Thi? once resolved upon, the patriots breathed deeper and freer, and unanimously pronounced the country saved. In the second place, it was a matter quite difficult to determine who should be the lucky Democratic aspirants. As is usual, each member had his man, and some of them half a score, who must be served — good loyal Democrats they were — with their success was closely allied the fu- t urc well-being of the party — at least they all said so, ;md some of them ought to be believed. Not only did men urge the claims of respective candidates, but the various sections of the Territory made demands that must be satisfied, and that without delay. Rio Ariba (the country up the river) laid claim to the lion's share in the distribution of patronage, because this region pro- fessed to be the strongest in the Democratic faith. At this the Rio Abajo (the country down the river) bristled up wonderfully, and was quite shocked at the exorbitant demands of the Rio Aribaites. Thus the contest waxed and waned, and the whole middle region of the continent appeared to be immeasurably interested in the decision of these important questions. As neither party would give ground an inch — what bravery was there ! — it was finally concluded that, in the scramble for place, there should be a " free fight, "with the full understanding that not a single Whig should be allowed to poke his nose within the sanctuary of either House in an official shape ; this was Democratic ground entirely, and these political ki heathens" had no business to be intruding therein. The eventful morning of the fifth — a day big with thr ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 253 ate of many a new aspirant after legislative honors — at length dawned, and slowly the time of meeting drew nigh. At the hour of 10 A.M. the American flag was run up on the staff in the middle of the Plaza, and at the same time the two branches of the Legislative As- sembly came together in their respective chambers in the government palace. They were temporarily organized by. the election oijpro tern, chairmen, when the members pre- sented their credentials, and were afterward duly sworn in by the Honorable John S. Watts, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory, and took their seats. In the afternoon they proceeded to an election of offi- cers, and completed a permanent organization of the two houses. Each chamber selected an American as speak- er, and the balance of the offices were equally divided between the two races. The following day the members of the two Houses as- sembled in the Hall of Representatives to listen to the reading of the governor's message. A joint committee proceeded to the executive chamber, and escorted his ex- cellency to the hall of the House, where he was received by the members rising and saluting him as he entered. When silence was restored, the governor read the mes- sage in English, after which the chief clerk read it in Spanish. It was a plain and business-like document, and contained many suggestions of vital interest to the Territory. The spectacle here presented, in the fourth session of the Legislative Assembly of New Mexico, was rather pleasing, and furnished food for some interesting reflec- tions. This was a new people in the art and mystery of legislation, who, in a great measure, had yet to learn their duties in the modus operandi of making laws. Be- fore the country came into the possession of the United States the people were ruled with a rod of iron, without 254 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. government and laws except in the shape of arbitrary decrees that emanated from a single individual. They possessed no political rights in our sense of the word, and were governed more like a flock of sheep than men. The so-called parent government at the city of Mexico had a semblance of written laws and political institutions for the control of the states and provinces ; but, when the same came to be reduced to practical operation, they were generally confined to the breast of the fortunate in- dividual who chanced to fill the executive chair for the time being. For many years General Manuel Armijo governed New Mexico pretty much in accordance with his own individual predilections ; he was the Legislature as well as the executive — the judge and jury in all cases whatsoever — and united the whole government within himself. The form was certainly extremely simple, and, while ho administered it, equally forcible. The people were robbed of their earnings under this one-man sys- tem, and were also kept in ignorance and superstition, because in such condition they made more willing slaves. Under the circumstances, it is not strange, then, that when they first came to enjoy the privileges of freemen, and began to make laws for themselves, they should feel to a degree embarrassed, and find themselves lacking that kind of knowledge essentially necessary for the discharge of these high functions. But, for beginners in the sci- ence of legislation, these representatives cut quite a re- spectable figure, and played their part with considerable credit to themselves and their constituents. They con- ducted the business of the two Houses with decorum and regularity, and at times it occurred to me that the dig- nity with which their proceedings were marked might with great propriety be held up as an example to Con- gress. The business is transacted in the Spanish lan- guage, and each House is entitled to an interpreter and ARRIVAL IN SANTA FE. 255 translator for the convenience of those who are not con- versant with both languages. In their discussions they appeal to the Constitution and laws of the United States as their political landmarks, and in all their proceedings manifested a disposition to keep within proper limits and be loyal to the federal government. There is one feature seen in either house that strikes a stranger as exceedingly modern and out of place, which is the smok- ing of the members during business hours. They sit in their seats and puff away at their cigarritos while the House is in session with as much nonchalance as though they were in the Plaza. The practice is looked upon as a personal privilege, and, since all indulge, no notice is taken of it. 256 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. CHAPTER XL WINTER IN SANTA FE. Feast and Saint Days. — Guadalupe's Day. — Legend of her Advent. — The Story of the Indian. — The Festivities in Santa Fe. — Festivities at Guadalupe Hidalgo. — The Crowd. — Church on the Rock. — Serv- ices within. — Church of Guadalupe — Its Richness. — Holy Well. — Baile. — Appearance of Room. — Dancing. — "Creature Comforts." — Arrival from California. — Supreme Court. — Mode of Administering Justice. — Entertainment. — Address. — Dedication of Church. — Arri- val of Mail. — Anxiety. — Reading of Letters. In New Mexico, as is the custom in all Catholic countries, feast and saint days in the Church are ob- served with strictness and proper religious rejoicings. The celebration of such anniversaries appears to be a leading article of their faith, without which their Chris- tianity goes for naught, and their prospect of future hap- piness slim indeed. On the twelfth day of December the good people of Santa Fe ceased from their labors, and went up to their churches to do honor to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the country. It was made the occasion of festivities by all classes of the population. This day is the anniversary of her appearance, which, according to the tradition of the Church, took place more than three hundred years ago, and, by their showing, in the most miraculous manner. The legend of her advent runs as follows : In the year 1531, an Indian named Juan Diego was passing by the mountain of Tapeyac, near the city of Mexico, when the most holy Virgin appeared to him, and directed him to return to the city and tell the bishop to come out there and worship her. The Indian went WINTER IN SANTA FE. 257 as he was directed, but the bishop refused to admit him to his presence, not having faith in the miracle. In passing by the same spot a few days afterward, she ap- peared to the Indian a second time, and commanded him to return again to the bishop, and say to him that " Mary, the mother of God," had sent him. The bish- op still refused to admit the messenger to his presence, being incredulous as before, but directed him to bring some token of the annunciation. The Virgin made her appearance the third time two days afterward, and di- rected the Indian to ascend the mountain and pluck roses therefrom, which he should present to the bishop. Now the mountain is a great mass of rock, without a particle of vegetation upon it ; nevertheless, when he as- cended it, he found beautiful flowers growing there, which he gathered and threw into his tilma, a kind of apron worn by the inhabitants of the country. He returned to the city and presented himself before the bishop, when, upon opening his tilma, instead of finding the roses he had plucked from Tapeyac, he beheld upon it an image of the holy Virgin. The bishop was struck with aston- ishment, and no longer doubted the miracle ; and it is said that the identical tilma is preserved to this day in the church which bears her name. She took the name of the town near which she ap- peared to the Indian, and was canonized as the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Church made her the patron saint of the country, which position she has ever maintained, and it is as bad as rank heresy in a Catholic to disbe- lieve in her miraculous appearance. With the Mexi- cans she is all important, and they believe she exercises a great influence over all the affairs of life. With the mass of the population she appears to be the only iden- tity in religion — the Alpha and the Omega — the begin- ning and the end of all their faith and practice. She is 258 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. appealed to upon all occasions, and her name is given to nearly a fourth of the females in the country. Her im- age is conspicuous in all the churches, and is also quite as common in the drinking and gambling saloons as are those of General Jackson and Tom Thumb in American bar-rooms. Upon this occasion the festivities commenced the even- ing of the seventh instant, and lasted through the week until the twelfth, which time was very generally ob- served as a holiday. At dark a row of bonfires were kindled on the south side of the Plaza, in front of the church, and along the middle of some of the principal streets. The wood was dry and resinous, and the flames sent a bright illumination throughout the town. Crowds of people collected around the fires and amused them- selves in various ways until the bells tolled for vespers, when they repaired to the Military Chapel, where appro- priate religious services were performed by the bishop, assisted by all the attending clergy. Similar ceremo- nies were observed on the evening of the twelfth, which closed the festivities. While the American army occupied the city of Mex- ico in the winter of 1847, 1 witnessed a grand annual cel- ebration in honor of this saint at the place where she is said to have made her appearance. In order that the aile-going people providing themselves with egg-shells tilled with Cologne water, and other sweet-smelling ar- ticles, which they break over the heads of their friends as a matter of fun, and the operation is looked upon as a capital joke. I had not been long in the room, and in the recess of dancing, when I observed three pretty girls coming toward the place where the governor and myself were sitting, with countenances beaming with fun, as though they were bent on some mischief. They approach- ed within touching distance, and before we had time to stand on the defensive, or were even aware of their ob- ject, smash ! dash ! went the egg-shells over our heads in quick succession, and down our faces streamed the to de Cologne, Like the episode of the boys and the * A favorite Spanish waltz. RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 317 frogs, the current of fun seemed to run in one direction, and on this occasion there was no question about the young ladies having it. Satisfied with their gallant ex- ploit, they marched composedly back whence they came, and quietly took their seats. This looked very much like storming the citadel. There is a twin custom upon such occasions, which is, that you may kiss the fair assailants, provided you can catch them and inflict the penalty before they regain their seats. But in this instance they were out of harm's way before I had time to take any steps toward so del- icate a performance, or even the deluge of Cologne per- mitted to open my eyes. As there was no help for such a misfortune, I submitted to my fate with the most com- mendable resignation, wiped away the flowing Cologne, and straightened up my drooping shirt-collar. I now thought of making a campaign into the enemy's country, by way of retaliation for the foray just related, and be- gan to look around to see how the land lay. I had no difficulty in singling out one of the three who had just paid us a visit, and accordingly made my arrangements "to carry the war into Africa." Armed and equipped as the custom in such matters required, I marched bold- ly up to the point of assault, and, in a manner that should become a gallant knight, broke the egg-shell over her head, much to the detriment of sundry lace furbelows, and she, too, was soon afloat in a sea of Cologne. I had not the pleasure of any further acquaintance with the fair maiden than the rather abrupt introduction forced upon me just before ; but want of ceremony seemed not to make any difference, and she bore the operation like a heroine, and welcomed the egg-shell with a musical esta bueno — it is good. During the course of the even- ing a second deputation of beauties paid me a visit for a similar purpose ; but by this time I had become some- 318 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. what initiated into the baile customs of Lent, and re- ceived the sweet-scented assault as kindly as could be. These little episodes do not in the least interrupt the dancing, which goes steadily on the while, and the mer- ry-makers seem hardly conscious that a drop of Cologne is wasted upon the occasion. The musician occupied a platform in one corner of the room a little raised above the floor, and the dancers, when not participating in the amusement, were seated on benches ranged around the wall. From some cause, the old guitarero, the leader of the orchestra, did not this evening, as usual, accompany the instrument with his voice, chanting his impromptu verses, and, unless his reputation had gone before him, no one would have judged him to be the poet laureate of the village. The first evening of our arrival in Taos, at the ball we attended for a few minutes, when this old musician saw the gov- ernor in the room, he made him the subject of his most eloquent verses. The substance of his eulogy was that he had known and played before many governors in his day, but that the one then present was a little ahead of them all, and was just the greatest governor that had ever been in New Mexico. Such a complimentary notice could not be overlooked nor go unrewarded, and his excellency had to pay a fee according to the terms of the panegyric. AYhile at Taos, I saw for the first time and made the acquaintance of Kit Carson, the celebrated mountaineer. I was standing in front of Major Blake's quarters, when I saw a small-sized, modest-looking person approaching, who, I was told, was the famous mountain-man of whom I had heard so much. He is about five feet eight inches in height, rather heavy set, and a little bow-legged ; he is a mild, pleasant man in conversation, with a voice al- most as soft as that of a woman. He has brown eyes a/ id dark hair, with a face somewhat hard-featured from RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 31 9 long exposure among the mountains. He was dressed plainly, and his whole personal appearance was entirely different from what I had imagined this celebrated trap- per and hunter. There is nothing like a fire-eater in his manners, but, to the contrary, in all his actions he is quiet and unassuming. His has been a romantic, roving life, and his personal history embraces as much of wild adven- ture and hair-breadth escapes as that of any man in the Union. He has been fairly cradled among the Rocky Mountains and upon the desert plains that lie in the heart of the American continent, and is familiar with the fast- nesses of the one and the trackless pathways of the oth- er. He has endured all imaginable hardships with a steady perseverance and unflinching courage. A history of his adventures would make one of the most interest- ing volumes ever presented to the public. The court adjourned Saturday morning, and as I had nothing more to detain me, I made preparations to return to Los Luceros, whence I must go the following Monday morning to Chamita to attend the court at that place. The governor and myself started off in advance of the balance of our party, who were not yet ready to leave town. We missed our way riding out of Taos, and for more than an hour were wandering through the valley, crossing arroyo after arroyo, and uncertain in what di- rection to turn, when at last we struck the main road, and journeyed on without interruption. We were soon overtaken by three Mexicans, who traveled with us, whose accession was quite welcome, inasmuch as the road was considered dangerous, being within the track of the Jicarilla Apache Indians. We lunched beside the same stream, near La Cieneguilla, and then commenced the passage of the mountains. We found the road less dif- ficult than before. The weather had moderated mean- while, and thawed away much of the ice and snow ; we )20 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. made the ascent without difficulty, and by the middle of the afternoon had safely descended into the valley of El Embudo. The day was more propitious than before, and as we crossed ridge after ridge, we caught sight of some views among the distant peaks not altogether un- pleasing. Looking to the southwest, we had occasional glimpses of the Del Norte, like a small thread of silver glittering in the sun and winding its lone course through the narrow openings in the mountains. I had better opportunity on my return to notice more particularly the mountains, and amid the almost uni- versal desolation that presented itself, I saw some things that were interesting. They exhibit many signs of hav- ing, in past time, undergone great changes. In some places there are the remains of large craters of extinct volcanoes, with scoria and lava lying round about; at other points were strong indications of eruptions, where the primary formations had been thrown up upon the surface. At one place clay slate — an early formation — had been disrupted, and the strata now lie at every pos- sible angle to the horizon. Some of the highest peaks are covered with boulders great and small, besides other water-washed stones, which indicate a previous sub- mergence, or else these stones were cast up by volcanic action from a lake beneath. I k-re is a rich and interest- ing field for the skillful geologist, and as yet wholly un- explored. In the immediate vicinity of El Embudo there are found some curious sandstone formations, caused by the action of the rain and atmosphere, and similar to those near La Canada. On the right of the valley, passing south, stands a natural sandstone pillar, near a high ledge of the same material. It appeared about forty feet in height, circular, at least six in diameter, and from the road resembled a piece of chiseled work. The main ledge RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 321 has been worn away at least fifty feet from the pillar, and there it stands, solitary and alone, like a giant sen- tinel watching over the destiny of the quiet little valley that spreads around. From this point the road runs through deep arroyos some two or three miles until you arrive at the little turn of La Holla, at the head of the valley of the Del Norte. Here this stream, one of the longest in America, is not much larger than a bubbling brook, and clear as crystal, and not until it has flowed more than a hundred miles through a loose and rich soil does it assume that thick, muddy appearance, which makes it distinguished above all other rivers on the con- tinent. Looking south from the highest point of the mount- ains as we crossed near La Holla, we obtained a fine view of the valley for some miles. It was almost the close of day, and right in front, like a ball of crimson and gold, the sun hung suspended near the mountain top, over which it reflected a thousand rays as it was about to bid the world good night. The glistening river flowed on at the base of the rugged mountain range, and the noise of water, falling over ledges of rocks in the stream, came up to us in soft murmurs, like nature's own music. Dotted here and there down the valley were the rustic houses of the rancheros, and an occasional cluster marked a small hamlet. Since we had passed up, the people had commenced preparations for the spring crops, and some were yet at work in the fields. The acequias had been opened for irrigation, and here and there, like veins on the bosom of mother earth, we could trace the little silver-like threads of water meandering through the fresh- ly-plowed ground, carrying life to the newly-sown grain. The dead silence around impressed the scene favorably upon the mind, and gave evidence of the close of the busy week, and the approach of that day of rest when 02 322 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. both saint and sinner can cease from his labors. We rode leisurely down the valley, and just before dark ar- rived at the rancho of Mr. Clark, where we were again welcomed with his accustomed hospitality. RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 323 CHAPTER XIV. riding the circuit — Continued. Leave Los Luceros. — Farmers afield. — Chamita. — Public Houses. — The Pontius Pilate. — The Pilate Family. — Painted Faces. — People and Court-house. — Dinner. — Bed-cover and Table-cloth. — Court in San- ta Fe. — Interesting Cases. — Murder for Witchcraft. — The Accused. — Testimony. — Acquittal. — Perjury Case. — Treaty of Guadalupe in- volved. — How the Question arose. — Record offered in Evidence. — Decision of the Court. — Author's Opinion. — Importance of the Ques- tion. — Trip to San Miguel. — The Town. — Texan Prisoners. — Ac- commodations. — Return to Santa Fe. — Go to Pefia Blanca. — The Mesa. — Residence of Mr. Baca. — Dinner. — Food of Mexicans. — Spanish Mill. I remained at Los Luceros until the following Mon- day morning, and passed a quiet and not unpleasant Sab- bath under the hospitable roof of Mr. Clark. The gov- ernor left for Santa Fe early on Sunday, where he ar- rived safely the same afternoon. During the day the judge and the balance of our party arrived from Taos, and remained at the rancho until the morrow. The distance from Luceros to Chamita, the county- seat of Rio Ariba, where court was to commence the next day, is twelve miles, and we were under way for that point early Monday morning. We forded the river opposite the rancho, and after following down the stream for some distance, we turned to the west and struck across the sand hills. In the river-bottom the farmers were afield preparing the earth for seed-time ; some were let- ting the water on the ground from the acequias, and oth- ers were engaged with hoe or plow breaking up the soil. In the space of thirty acres I counted as many plows in motion, true patterns of the homely implement used in 324 NEW MEXICO AND II EU PEOPLE. the time of Moses and the Prophets, and almost " with- out note or comment." Each one was drawn by a pair of raw-boned oxen made fast by the horns, and in slow and measured tread they moved across the field to the gentle pricking-up by a villainous looking goad. We crossed ridge after ridge for about two hours, when, from the top of a high sand-hill, we espied our place of desti- nation, a dirty little mud village built in a straggling manner along the eastern shore of the Chama River. De- scending from the heights, we rode through a sandy bot- tom for about a mile, in sand nearly knee-deep to the horses, when we arrived at the town. We found Chamita great in public houses, both in name and the quality of the accommodations, and hence were not obliged to throw ourselves upon the tender mercies of a single establishment. Their names were all scriptural, being called the Pontius Pilate House, Cen- turion Hotel, and Herod limine, and each had earned something of a reputation for the manner in which they provided for the guests that chance or necessity threw in their way. Being a stranger to the virtues of these sev- eral places where travelers are usually " taken in," I had no choice between them, but followed the lead of the judge, and gave my patronage to him of the Pontius. The host was on the qui vive, and received us as we dis- mounted at the corral gate ; our animals were given in charge of a peon, when the master led the way into the house. We entered through a low door, and, traversing a narrow passage, were ushered into a room about twelve feet square. We found three other persons already quar- tered in it, but as there was no other vacant room in the house, we had to accommodate ourselves there as well as possible. The furniture was meagre, consisting of three small beds, a bench, and one chair, all of which carried with them the prestige of great age; and a small win- RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 325 dow, with panes of foliated gypsum, let in a few rays of light from the west. In this little crib of a place five full-grown men were obliged to quarter, and the reader may be well assured there was but little room to spare. As a matter of course, the arrival of strangers in the house raised a sort of hubbub among the inmates, and all the Pilate family, old and young, male and female, were agog to see what offered new. Peeping out of a door which led into the narrow passage-way were the hostess and her daughter, who in personal appearance fully sus- tained the reputation of the establishment. They had their faces besmeared with the crimson juice of the ale- gria plant, and looked most frightful and disgusting. A thick coating covered the whole face, which gave them the appearance of wearing masks, with the eyes, nose, and mouth uncovered. This was the first exhibition of the kind I had seen, and it struck me as such a filthy and singular custom, that I was not slow to inquire the cause of it. Afterward I noticed the same in all parts of the Territory, and found it to be a common and cher- ished practice among the village and country beauties. It is done for the purpose of protecting the skin from the sun, and they will remain in this repulsive condition two or three weeks upon the eve of a grand baile or feast at which they may desire to appear in all their freshness and beauty. The cream of the matter is, that in most instances the complexion of the wearer is about the color of seasoned mahogany, and upon which all the sun from the north to the south pole could make no impression. Besides alegria, they make use of clay and starch in the same manner, and at times you will see these three col- ors displayed upon the visages of as many members of the same family. Perchance this belle of Chamita had been doing penance in a smeared face for several days, in order to appear in her most witching charms during 326 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the session of the court ; and who knows but that am- bitious thoughts had crept into her maidenly heart, and that she even hoped to be able to captivate one of the Gringos who might quarter at the Pontius Pilate ? Hoy/ do my fair countrywomen like this improvement in a lady's toilet ? Having laid claim to a squatter's right in the little room allotted for our quarters, and deposited there our baggage, we set out for the court-house, as it was about the hour when the administration of justice should be- gin. A trudge through deep sand for nearly half a mile brought us to the spot, where we found a considerable number of people awaiting the coming of the court. A majority of those assembled were wrapped up in blankets that had served them for bed and bedding the night be- fore, while a few of the better class wore coats. When the judge drew near, every hat was doffed in the twink- ling of an eye, and a most profound salutation made. The court-house was entirely void of accommodations, being a private house rented for the occasion at the rate of one dollar per day. Court was duly opened, but in a few minutes adjourned for dinner. At about two o'clock in the afternoon five hungry men were seated around the little deal table in the travelers' room at the Pontius Pilate House, patiently waiting for the food the host had promised to wayfarers. Present- ly the maid of all work, who had been christened after the Virgin of Guadalupe, made her appearance, trencher in hand. How well the dinner was in keeping with the house ! The bill of fare consisted of two small plates of boiled rice, about two pounds of badly-cooked meat, half way between a stew and a boil, a little bread, vil- lainous coffee, and muddy water. We fell to work in good earnest, and, as keen appetites do not stand upon ceremony, we made the food before us disappear with RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 327 wonderful rapidity. It was always a weakness of mine to know the name of every article of food placed before me, more especially when the dish is new and strange. In this instance I could not make out to which of the animal creation the meat belonged, and propounded the query to my neighbor, who gave it as his opinion that it was the tender part of a young puppy. This might, under ordinary circumstances, have been a damper upon the appetite, but now it had no other effect than to lay an embargo upon whistling, and stop discussion upon dogs while we were eating. Each man was furnished with a knife, but, there being an inadequate supply of forks, we were obliged to borrow and lend this useful ar- ticle of table furniture. In the afternoon court was again in session, but, as there was no business to employ my time, I amused my- self, while sitting upon a log in front of the house, mak- ing a drawing of a Mexican plow that stood near. From the primitive simplicity of this implement, it might have come out of the ark, and in early times turned up the vir- gin soil of Palestine. When bedtime arrived our host and hostess made the necessary arrangements to provide us with bed and bed- ding for the night. Three of our number took posses- sion of as many little beds, the fourth taking to a mat- tress upon the floor. As bad luck would have it, or, more properly speaking, no luck at all, I was the last to be supplied with bed-clothing, and, by the time the host reached my corner, he had neither sheet, quilt, nor blan- ket. I felt a little curious to know how he would sup- ply the deficiency, and provide me with the necessary covering. It occurred to me that, as I was the repre- sentative of Uncle Sam, perhaps I was to be provided with extra accommodations in the " spare room." The ingenuity of our host, however, quickly remedied the 328 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. difficulty, and that, too, in a manner I little expected. Casting his eyes first at my unprovided bed, and then around the room, as much as to say, " What can be done for this man ?*' his countenance at last brightened up at a happy thought that struck him. He immediately put his new revelation into effect by going to the table and stripping off the cover, which he deliberately spread upon my bed, and left the room. Here is seen the misfortune of being the last one served, and the force of circum- stances made me submit to " Hobson's choice — that or none." I have no doubt the poor man thought he was doing me a favor, and, taking that sensible view of the case, I wrapped myself up in the table-cloth and lay down to sleep. The next morning I was somewhat ex- ercised in mind to know how he would supply the place of the table-cloth, never imagining that he would make my poor bed-cover do double duty. The host, however, entertained no such scruples, for, at the proper time, the identical cloth was taken from the bed and transferred to the table where it belonged, and " Thus it contrived the double debt to pay, A sheet by night — a table-cloth by day." This episode terminated my residence at Chamita, and, 1 laving no further duty to discharge, I returned to Santa Fe the same afternoon, where I arrived about five o'clock. The United States District Court commenced in San- ta Fe the following Monday morning, the twentieth in- stant. There was a long criminal docket, but of the whole number of cases there were but two of any inter- est, one being an indictment for the crime of murder, and the other a case of perjury. The murder case presented some new features, such as are rarely met with in mod- ern times. Four Indians, of the pueblo of Nambe, were indicted, during the term, for the murder of two of their own number. It was proved, on the trial, that the two BIDING THE CIRCUIT. 329 murdered men had been accused of the imaginary offense of witchcraft, which consisted in eating up all the little children of the village, and their accusers alleged that they saw them pulling the bones of their victims from their mouths and nostrils. The village assembled in council, upon the charge being made, to adjudge the case and award the punishment. They condemned the ac- cused to death, and, at the hour of twilight the same day, they were conducted a little way beyond the border of the village and shot. They were made to kneel down, side by side, by the constable of the pueblo, and were both killed at the same fire. Four only were indicted, because the participation of these in the killing could be more clearly shown than that of the others. The scene at the trial was rather an interesting one. The accused were arraigned about twilight, and the struggle between the expiring light of day and that from the candles gave a dusky and indistinct appearance to every thing in the court-house. They sat side by side within the bar, clothed in blankets and leggins, and with painted faces. They seemed fully impressed with the novelty, as well as the danger, of their situation. The room was densely crowded with Americans, Mexicans, and some Indians, eager listeners and lookers on. The defendants severally pleaded not guilty, and put them- selves upon "God and the country for trial." The ma- jority of the witnesses sworn and examined were In- dians, and their evidence was given to the court and jury through the medium of two interpreters, being first ren- dered from the dialect of Nambe into Spanish by an In- dian of the pueblo of San Juan, and then into English by the regular interpreter of the court. The most im- 1 portant witness for the Territory was the governor of the pueblo, the following being the most material portion of his testimony : 330 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. " The four men (defendants) came and reported to me that they had killed Louis Romero and Antonio Tafolla, in accordance with the order of the pueblo. It was done in the beginning of this month (March). They only said they had killed them ; did not see them after they were killed. They were killed not quite a league from the pueblo, in a north direction. They killed them at twi- light. I saw them going out with the deceased ; they had a shot-gun. Juan Diego carried the gun. I saw them when they came back to report to me. They were killed by order of the pueblo and the head men of the pueblo. I am the governor of the pueblo, and Juan Diego is the fiscal (constable) of the pueblo. It was the duty of the fiscal to execute the orders of the pueblo ; they commanded him to kill these two men. The bad acts spoken of were that they were detected in the act of witchcraft and sorcery : they had eaten up the little chil- dren of the pueblo. It has always been our custom to put a stop to and check bad acts. We have not exer- cised this custom of killing witches since the Americans came here, because there had not been such doings be- fore. This act was done by the command of myself and the whole pueblo." This simple-minded Indian thus confessed the whole matter, as though the killing of the two men was a mat- ter of duty instead of a crime ; and his conduct is evi- dence that himself and the whole of the pueblo believed these two men were really witches. The defendants were acquitted because the venue was not clearly proved, as the killing took place upon or near the line between two counties, and it could not be shown upon which side of the line it occurred. This case showed a re-enactment of the scenes of Salem, in the heart of the continent, and* in the middle of the nineteenth century. The other case, that of perjury, involved some new and RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 331 interesting points, and brought in question the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the United States and Mexico. In the eighth article of that instrument there is a clause which provides that all Mexicans living in the territory ceded to the United States might, if they desired it, retain the rights of Mexican citizens by mak- ing their election to that effect within one year after the ratification of said treaty. There is nothing said as to the manner in which this election should be made, and the whole matter appears to have been left to the gov- ernments to prescribe, or to the persons interested to de- cide upon. In accordance with said provisions, Colonel Washington, in the spring of 1849, while acting as civil and military governor of the Territory, issued a procla- lation calling upon all those who desired to make their election to do so in the manner therein pointed out. They were directed to appear before the probate judges of their respective counties on or before the first day of Tune following, and then and there to make their elec- tion in writing to retain the rights of Mexican citizens >r lose the privilege. The clerk of the Probate Court was required to attach a certificate to the record in which the names were enrolled, and to send the same to the Secretary of the Territory, who was directed to have them published, and to send a copy to each county. The law was substantially complied with in these particulars, a large number availing themselves of this privilege. Here the matter ended for the time being. At the fall elections in 1853, many whose names were found on this record as having elected to retain the rights of Mexican citizens offered to vote, and, upon being challenged, swore that they were citizens of the United "States. Several of those who voted under these circum- stances were afterward indicted for false swearing, and •upon the trial of the first case called, out of some forty 332 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. in all, these questions came up. The record was offered in evidence to prove that the defendant was a Mexican citizen, and that in swearing at the polls that he was a citizen of the United States he had perjured himself, and became liable to the pains and penalties in such cases made and provided. The court, after listening to lengthy arguments upon both sides, overruled the offer, declared the book not a legal record, and of course not evidence — that the proceedings on the part of Colonel Washington were illegal and without authority, and that those who had made an election in this manner had not parted with their rights as citizens of the United States. This decision disposed of the indictments pending, all of which were not. pros*d. One reason given by the court for this decision was that the record of Santa Fe county had been signed by a deputy clerk instead of the clerk of the Probate Court himself, as the proclama- tion required. This was the case, but in our opinion it does not materially alter the question. This disposition of the question of citizenship took a large number by surprise, even those who were parties in interest, and some considered it no better than judi- cial heresy. Tl ic two contracting powers undoubtedly intended that those who desired to do so might retain their ancient allegiance, and as no mode was pointed out by which this was to be accomplished, it is only reason- able to suppose that the particular manner of making the election was to be left to the persons who were interest- ed, so that it should be done in some public and notori- ous way. A large majority of those who made this election considered that by so doing they retained all the rights of Mexican citizens, and acted accordingly. In evidence of the good faith on their part, several of them afterward came voluntarily into the District Court and made formal application to become naturalized. This is« BIDING THE CIRCUIT. 333 evidence that they considered themselves aliens, and it may be inferred that the court was of the same opinion, because, if they were already citizens, they could not avail themselves of our naturalization laws. Before the court, in the argument in question, I maintained, on the part of the Territory, the legality of the election, and argued that a notorious and public act of this kind, done under the sanction of a treaty, although neither power had prescribed a particular form of said election, was valid to all intents and purposes, and should be rec- ognized by the court. Thus, by this decision of the court, at a single stroke, several hundred people, who were aliens of their own free will, were raised to the dig- nity of citizens of the United States, nolens volens, and a solemn treaty stipulation rendered inoperative. The wording of the treaty itself seems to determine the question. It provides that the class of persons re- ferred to shall retain their rights as Mexican citizens if they shall make the election within a limited time. Now person can not retain what he has already parted with ; md if the Mexican population had become citizens of the United States immediately upon the ratification of the treaty, their former rights would have been entirely gone, and, in order to possess them again, they would have to be regained instead of retained. This provision of the treaty seems clearly to indicate that, during the period of a year, the right of citizenship of the Mexican popu- lation living in the acquired territory would, as it were, remain in abeyance ; and, instead of being clothed with either American or Mexican nationality, they were can- didates for either the one or the other, according as they might elect to remain Mexican citizens, or, by not mak- ing an election, show their intention, and in reality be- come citizens of the United States. The limitation men- tioned was for the purpose of allowing them time to de- 334 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. termine whether they would part with their old or as- sume a new nationality ; and, until they had done one or the other, the question of citizenship was undecided, and they were free to make such decision in the premises as they might desire. If the two contracting parties had deemed that some prescribed form was requisite to carry out the provision of the treaty, it is not likely they would have failed to perform their duty in so important a par- ticular. The fact that neither government took any steps to determine the form of such election would seem to argue that they deemed the parties interested the best judges of the manner in which they should make the same. As the question here involved is of grave import, it would be well to have it settled by the highest judi- cial tribunal in the country. Citizens should not be al- lowed to part with their allegiance except in the most solemn manner, nor should aliens be permitted to enter our political sanctuary except through the channel point- ed out by the Constitution and laws of the United States. The next place at which the District Court was held was in the town of San Miguel, the county seat of the county of the same name, fifty miles east of Santa Fe. The judge and members of the bar, six or eight persons in number, left town on Sunday, the second of April, mostly mounted and well armed, on account of recent Indian depredations in the part of the country through which it was necessary to pass. We took the Inde- pendence road, and passed through the Apache canon, elsewhere described, stopping by the wayside now and then to rest the animals, or take a shot at the small game that crossed our path. About midway of the canon a general halt was made, to wait until the wagon which contained the judge and the rations should come up ; and in the mean while a council of war was held as to the propriety of lunching at that point, which was decided in BIDING THE CIRCUIT. 335 the affirmative by a unanimous vote. When the eat- ables arrived the attack was made upon them in due form. The supply of bread and meat was spread upon the ground — a couple of newspapers answering the pur- pose of table-cloth — supported on either side by a jar of pickles and a flask of "red eye." Water was obtained from a small spring close by, but the quality was not such as to be recommended to those who pass that way. The repast finished, we resumed the road, nor drew rein again until we arrived at Pecos, where we stopped for the night with an American who has squatted upon a piece of public land. As we rode up to the Hotel de Pecos, for such the road-side cabin was duly christened by one of our num- ber, " Pete," the landlord, stood ready to welcome us. Our animals were turned over to the care of his male help, while the host conducted us into the establishment. The cabin contained two small rooms, about ten feet square, with a little back kitchen ; but a traveler should never judge by the size of a house of the number likely to find accommodations, for upon this occasion it seemed, like a Philadelphia omnibus, never quite full. The first arrival numbered seven persons, which was soon follow- ed by the marshal and his deputy ; and, I presume, if as many more had presented themselves, the good-na- tured host would have found accommodation for all, even had he been obliged to suspend some from the bsams of the cabin. We had no fault to find with the manner in which we were lodged and fed ; and among the luxuries set before us were Irish potatoes, a vegetable found upon few tables in the country. The evening was passed, as was usual in riding the circuit, in conversation, singing songs, and in telling anecdotes, and at an early hour we sought the humble beds the host prepared for us. We were in the saddle the following morning at eight 336 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. o'clock, but not before we had partaken of a substantial breakfast. We followed the bridle-path over an arid plain, under the brow of a high mesa which stretched along upon our right. On the left the view was bound- ed by ranges of mountains, whose rugged peaks shot far up into the clear blue sky. We halted about midway of the distance to lunch beside a little spring that flowed out between the crevices in the rocks, where we disposed of the remnant of yesterday's meal. Just before reach- ing this spot we passed the Apache trail, when the mar- ket-price of good white scalps fell as much as fifty per c lit. in value, and we increased the speed of our horses several knots an hour. Wc who were mounted reached San Miguel about twelve o'clock, but the wagon did not arrive until nearly two. The whole distance from Santa Fe the country is mountainous and barren, and we pass- ed but three houses on the way. San Miguel is an adobe town of about a thousand in- habitants, situated upon the west bank of the Rio Pecos, a small but beautiful stream, which empties into the Del Norte a long way to the south. The river is skirted by a valley varying from one quarter to a mile in width, and, being dammed at various parts, irrigation is ren- dered comparatively easy, and also less expensive than in some sections of the country. As this was the time of planting the spring crops, the people were busy at work in the fields, some breaking up the ground with their wooden hoes and plows, while others were putting in the grain, or trailing the little currents of water from the ace- quias through the fields. This is the place where the Texan prisoners were first confined after their capture, and whence they were marched for the city of Mexico. The spot was pointed out to me where Howland and two others were shot, at the southeast corner of the Plaza. Three others of the prisoners, one of whom was Kendall, RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 337 were also led out to the place of execution, and the file of men who were to settle their final account was already drawn up, when they were rescued by- the kindness and intrepidity of a Mexican gentleman named Gregorio Vi- gil. He threw himself between the Americans and the soldiers, and forbade the latter to fire upon unarmed men. He was then a man of influence, and this conduct pre- vented the execution and saved them from death. He still resides in San Miguel, in reduced circumstances. Such magnanimous conduct should be held in grateful remembrance by every American. San Miguel not be- ing supplied with public houses for the accommodation of travelers, those who were obliged to be in attendance upon the court had to quarter round the town upon the citizens. I considered myself fortunate in obtaining a seat at the table of a German trader in the place, and- rented a room to sleep in on the opposite side of the Plaza. We paid two dollars a day for our food, which, for the price, should have been much better than it was ; nevertheless, it was a decided improvement upon the fare of the Pontius Pilate House at Chamita. The standard dish was stewed mutton, followed by boiled rice, and now and then a compound which the cook, in the innocence of her heart, meant for stewed chicken, but which was a slander upon the divine art of the cuisine. We had no substantial ground of complaint, and, upon the whole, found ourselves much better provided for than we had expected. The court continued in session five days, but the busi- ness transacted was of minor importance. The public buildings, as in the other counties I had visited, I found in a very dilapidated condition, and void of all accommo- dations for the administration of justice ; and it was a matter of congratulation that the weather was dry, so that we experienced no inconvenience from the leaking P 338 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. propensity of the court-house. The only pastime I ob- served in the evening was gambling, of which the inhab- itants seemed passionately fond. Monte was the favor- ite game, and considerable sums were lost and won. We returned to Santa Fe on Saturday, where we ar- rived about sundown. During our absence matters and things had assumed quite a warlike appearance on ac- count of the active hostilities then going on between the troops and the Apache Indians. General Garland and staff had come up from Albuquerque, and for the present established the head-quarters of the department at Santa Fe. Troops and munitions of war were being forwarded to the seat of hostilities in the north, and both the civil and military authorities were making preparations to carry the war on vigorously. I remained in town until the Monday morning follow- ing, when I started for Pena Blanca, where the court for the county of Santa Ana was to meet that day. The distance is twenty-five miles, and I started with a sin- gle companion. We followed the main road some six miles, when we turned to the right into a bridle-path, a nearer way for horsemen. A ride of an hour and a half brought us to a mesa that lay in our route, at least two hundred feet above the valley. The slope rises at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and is covered with loose blocks of amygdaloidal trap rock, as black as night and hard as adamant. This mesa system is one of the remarkable features in the physical formation of New Mexico, and worthy the attention of the scientific. In this case, while riding over a plain, you come to another plain that rises up before you some two hundred feet, with an ascent so steep as to be impassable except at one or two points, and in all parts of the country we find such formations. The overlying rock of the slope is different in character from any other seen in that vi- ■nity. BIDING THE CIRCUIT. 339 We dismounted and led our horses up the zigzag path, when, once upon the top, we mounted again and rode onward. The plain above is some five miles in width, and almost as level as a board. The atmosphere was as clear as a bell, and there seemed hardly any limit to the distance we could see with the naked eye. We gal- loped across the plain, and as we approached the west- ern side the valley of the Del Norte opened to our view, and in the distance we could see the river glittering in the sun. We found the opposite side of the plain bound- ed by the same slope as where we had ascended, but of greater length, and steeper. The descent was both dif- ficult and dangerous, and in some places it required great care on the part of our animals to descend without fall- ing. Here there are three separate slopes before we reach the valley below, being separated by small plateaux of a few hundred yards in width. Having arrived safely at the foot of the last descent, we mounted and rode forward to our place of destination. Peiia Blanca is but an insignificant Mexican village, built in the valley of the Del Norte, about half a mile from the river bank. Two or three large landowners reside here, and have respectable dwellings, while the balance of the houses are the rude mud huts of their peones. I made my quarters at the house of Don Tomas Cabeza de Baca, one of the ricos of the place, who lives surrounded with a throng of peones somewhat after the manner of the feudal lords of the Middle Ages. Dis- mounting at the main entrance of the corral which in- closes the whole establishment, I resigned my horse to the care of a servant, and followed the lead of Don Tomas into the dwelling. Crossing a large court-yard, we as- cended a flight of steps to the second story, and landed upon a portal looking toward the placita. Thence we passed through a large hall into a smaller room, which, 340 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. I was politely informed, was at my disposal. The apart- ment was a plain one. A single bed stood in one corner, and several mattresses were rolled up along the wall for seats ; a rough pine table and bench stood at the foot of the bed, and the earthen floor was without carpet or rug. Along the south front of the building extends a portal overlooking a large garden and vineyard, affording a fine view of the valley and the river. It was about noon when I arrived, and I had hardly finished my toilet when dinner was announced. The moal was a true Mexican dinner, and a fair sample of the style of living among the better class of people. The advance guard in the course of dishes was boiled mut- ton and beans, the meat being young and tender, and well flavored. These were followed by a sui generis soup, different from any thing of the kind it had been my for- tune to meet with before. It was filled with floating halls about the size of a musket bullet, which appeared to be a compound of flour and meat. Next came mut- ton stewed in chili (red peppers), the dressing of which was about the color of blood, and almost as hot as so much molten lead. This is a favorite article of food with the Mexicans, and they partook of it most bounti- fully. I tasted all the dishes that were placed before me, out of respect to the host, and in so doing laid aside all epicurean scruples, and the fear of being burned up alive. We were again served with stewed beans, and the repast was concluded. As I have already stated in a previous chapter, the two main articles of food with the Mexicans are stewed beans, called frijoles, and a thin cake made of corn, call- ed tortillas. The beans are boiled in the first place, sometimes with ashes to take off the hull, and then stewed with lard or tallow, and, when well seasoned with red peppers, are fit for use. Thus prepared they arc RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 341 quite palatable, and strangers soon acquire a taste for them. The corn for the tortillas is boiled, with a little lime in the water, until the outer husk or shell is peeled off, when it is ground upon an oblong stone called a me- tate, a domestic utensil handed down from the aboriginal inhabitants. The meal is then properly mixed and sea- soned, and cooked upon small sheets of iron or copper. They are baked very thin, and always served up hot. These two articles are invariably eaten together, and as- sist to put each other out of sight. A piece of the corn- cake is torn off, doubled up in the shape of a scoop, and then filled with beans, when both are swallowed togeth- er, thus eating your spoon at each mouthful. Another dish peculiar to the country is the atole, made of corn- meal, and very similar to the mush in common use in the States. Besides those already enumerated, there are other dishes, some of which have come down from the ancient inhabitants of the country. The chili they use in various ways — green, or verde, and in its dried state, the former being made into a sort of salad, and is esteem- ed a great luxury. They have also a dish called olla podrida, composed of various kinds of meats boiled up together, and which form a sort of omnium gatherum in the culinary art. At their meals they drink water, cof- fee, or chocolate, but are more moderate in the use of these beverages than the Americans. The chocolate is peculiarly fine, and excels that prepared in the United States. Among the peasantry it is almost a thing un- known for the family to sit at a table and take their meals. They generally gather around the fire-place, with their beans and com-cake in their hands, and seldom make use of knife, fork, or spoon. Court continued at Pena Blanca only two days, and but little business was transacted, and we returned to Santa Fe on Wednesday morning. In my rambles 342 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. around the village I came across an old-fashioned Span- ish grist-mill, the first one of the kind I had seen in the country, which was something of a curiosity in a small way. The building was not more than ten or twelve feet square, with one run of stone, turned by a small tub-wheel by the water from a neighboring acequia. The upper stone was made in the form of a basin, with a rim around it some four inches wide, and fits down over the lower stone, made fast to the floor, and is about eighteen inches high. The grain is mashed by the rev- olution of the upper stone, and the meal falls down into a box built around the lower one. The hopper was made of bull-hide, and fastened to the beams overhead. The old miller was hard at work in his little mill, and I have no doubt he considered his simple apparatus the nerfection of machinery. HIDING THE CIRCUIT. 345 CHAPTER XV. riding the circuit — Continued. Passion Week. — Processions. — Leave Santa Fe for Albuquerque. — The Canon. — Stop at Algadones. — Grape and Wine Culture. — Vintage. — The Country. — Market-people. — Arrive at Albuquerque. — The Town. — Court. — Dinner-part v. — Leave for Tome. — Stop at Mr. Baird's. — Dr. Connelly. — Arrive at Tome. — The Town. — Host and Dinner. — Court. — The Grand Jury. — Baile. — Start for Socorro. — Sand Storm. — La Hoya. — Supper. — Leave La Hoya. — Cross the River. — Limitar. — General Armijo. — Appearance of the Room. — Leave Limitar. — Smith's Adventures. — His medical Experience. — Arrival at Socorro. — Accommodations. — Mexican Family. I remained the balance of the week in Santa Fe after my return from Pena Blanca, which afforded me an opportunity of witnessing the ceremonies of Passion Week. This season, so universally observed in Catho- lic countries, commenced on Saturday, the ninth instant, and, with the mass of the people, the entire week was kept as a holiday, the time being divided between amuse- ments and the church. During this period the religious fervor is aroused to a higher point than at any other season of the year. The day most observed with pomp and parade is Good Friday, or Viernes Santo. The aft- ernoon before a large assemblage collected in the Paro- quia, or parish church, where appropriate services were celebrated by the bishop, whence a long procession aft- erward issued, which marched around the Plaza and through some of the principal streets. A large wooden cross, carried upon the shoulders of four greasy fellows, and to which was nailed an image of the Savior, headed the procession. It was surrounded by a band of women P2 346 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. with candles in the hand, intended to represent the ten virgins. In addition, there was a goodly array of carved images, including the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalen, and Saint John. After making the circuit of the town, they returned to the church whence they had started. The following day, being Good Friday, another procession started from the parish church, but somewhat different in its appointments from the previous one. It was pre- ceded by a man mounted on a horse, intended to repre- sent a centurion, who was surrounded by a Roman guard armed with spears, forming as villainous-looking a group as I had seen for a long time. The horse was led by i wo grooms, dressed in the same garb as the guard, who, to make him prance and show off in good style, pricked linn constantly with short goads. Then came the dead body of Christ in an open coffin, on which were a num- ber of small wooden images, with the usual accompani- ment of saints and priests, and, while they marched, a •hoir of boys sang sacred music. The exercises closed with service in the church, and a torch-light procession in the evening. I can not refrain from bearing testimony against these religious processions. The image of the Savior, and oth- ers of a similar character that held a prominent place in the exercises, were disgusting to the sight, and failed to t-reate in my mind other feelings than those of pity for the worshipers of these unmeaning bits of ill -carved wood. Sume of the virgins were known as among the most notorious females in town, but character seemed no requisite to fill a prominent place in the exercises. These parades are not seen in the States, and the sight of such an exhibition in the streets of our large cities would shock the feelings of all religious denominations. It is one of the practices of a darker age that still clings to the worship of the people of New Mexico; but I sin- RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 347 cerely hope the bishop will cause such public display of saints and images to be discontinued among the other reforms he may bring about in the Church. I left Santa Fe on Sunday morning, the sixteenth of the month, for the town of Albuquerque, where the first session of the District Court in the third judicial district was to commence the following day. Our party num- bered eight persons, composed of members of the bar, marshal, and servants — mostly mounted. I was detain- ed near an hour after the others had started, and was obliged to ride at a rapid gait the first few miles to over- take them. About the time I came up with them my horse stumbled, and threw me several feet headlong into the road, and with force sufficient to cause me to see sev- eral full-grown moons and stars of the first magnitude. The distance from Santa Fe to Albuquerque is about seventy-five miles, south, and most of our road lay down the Valley of the Del Norte. The first fifteen miles we traversed a plain, level and dry, which brought us to the canon of the Rio de Santa Fe, six miles in length. This is a narrow passage between opposite mesas, in some places at least two hundred feet deep, through which runs the little River of Santa Fe, seeking an outlet into the Del Norte. The same mesa bounds the canon on the right that we crossed on the road to Pena Blanca, but here the slope is almost perpendicular. In some points, after rising up at an angle of sixty degrees for about a hundred feet, the side of the mesa starts into a perpen- dicular rampart, formed of vertical rows of stone like ar- tificial masonry. Where the formation is an ash-colored clay, disposed in layers, the action of water and the at- mosphere has caused it to assume many interesting ap- pearances, and at one place the part just visible above an intervening point resembles the entablature of a Gre- cian portico, which distance mellows down into nearly 348 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. perfection of outline. We lunched midway of the canon, and grazed our animals upon the few blades of grass that grew among the boulders. Debouching from the canon, we entered upon another mesa, which we crossed, and then descended into the \ 'alley of the Del Norte near the Indian pueblo of Santo Domingo. The village lies a little way off the main road, on the bank of the river. The houses are two sto- ries high, built of adobes, with the usual form of terrace. The roof, supported by pine logs, is nearly flat, covered with bark and dirt. Like the other pueblos, the houses are entered by ascending to the roof by means of a lad- der in the first place, and then through a hole left as a sort of companion-way to the rooms below. The estufa is built in the usual form, and is entered through a trap- door in the roof. Leaving Santo Domingo a little to our right, we con- tinued down the valley. A few miles below we passed the pueblo of San Felipe, situated upon the west bank of the river. Near the present village are seen the ruins of the old pueblo, upon a high bluff bank some two hundred feet above the water. On either side of the river runs a chain of hills, those on the west side ex- i< nding inland in extensive mesas. The valley is most- ly uncultivated, except here and there a few acres sus- ceptible of irrigation. In front of us we could trace the serrated ridges of the Saudia Mountains, yet several miles to the southeast. Before sundown we arrived at the little village of Algadones, where we found quarters for the night, with fare at a reasonable price. When we came to saddle up the next morning, we found that our horses, during the night, had broken out of the corral, and we could now see them making for the mountains as though the Evil One was after them. A party of mounted peones were sent in pursuit, who, after HIDING THE CIRCUIT. 349 a considerable chase, succeeded in heading them off and bringing them back. We rode out of town at half past six, and held our way down the valley, with thirty miles before us for the morning's travel. The first village we passed through was that of Bernalillo, owned and inhab- ited principally by the Pareas, an old and wealthy Span- ish family. Here the valley widens, and a greater amount of land is under cultivation, which, from appearance, is tilled with more than usual care. The acequias were in good order, and the means of irrigation abundant. The improved mode of farming observed here may be attrib- uted to the introduction of American implements of hus- bandry within a few years. At this place we enter the vine-growing region of New Mexico, which extends down the Valley of the Del Norte to some distance below El Paso. Throughout this ex- tent grapes of a superior quality are cultivated. When pulled fresh from the vine the flavor is very fine, and they are thought to be equal to those imported from Spain and the Mediterranean for table use. It is im- possible to tell how much wine is made yearly, as there is no means of arriving at the quantity, but it will reach several thousand gallons. It is manufactured altogether for home consumption, and very little, if any, finds its way into the United States — at least, it never gets into the market. It is a good article, and is said by those who are judges to be superior to many of the wines that are imported from Europe. That made in the Valley of El Paso has become quite celebrated, and is thought to be a better article than is manufactured elsewhere. The mode of cultivating the grape is different from that pursued in the United States, but whether such treatment is required from the nature of the vine I am unable to say. The vine is not trailed on frames, as is usually the case elsewhere, but is kept trimmed close to 350 NF.W MEXICO AND HEK PEOPLE. the ground. In the spring of the year, the branches which have grown out the past year are cut off close to the parent stock, which is rarely more than four feet high. The vines are thus trimmed annually. They are set out from the cuttings, which are laid down in narrow trenches four feet apart, and one end is allowed to pro- trude through the earth about six inches. They begin to bear the third year after they are planted. In the fall of the year, and before frost sets in, the main stock covered with earth, as a protection against the cold weather of winter, but which is removed as soon as the spring opens, and preparatory to trimming* In the neigh- borhood of Bernalillo, and at various other points down the valley, we saw numerous vineyards, some of them several acres in extent, and in all the vines looked thrifty. There are two kinds of grapes grown in New Mexico, the Muscadel and a common grape, both of which are aid to have been brought from Spain. The former is a iight red, and the latter about the color of the native ipe found in the United States. They are small- er and sweeter than the Isabella grape, and are more juicy. Two kinds of wine are made from them, white and red. In the Rio Abajo the vintage begins about the lenth of October, but earlier at El Paso. The grapes are picked from the vines and carried to the vats, where the juice is pressed out of them. The vats are made of bull-hide while green, and, to keep them in shape while drying, they are filled with dirt, which is thrown out when they have become thoroughly dried. The top is covered with the same material, perforated with small holes, upon which the grapes are thrown as they are brought from the vineyard, and trod into a pulp by the feet of the peones, the juice running into the vat below. The pulp that remains is made into excellent vinegar. The vats are then covered with plank, the cracks being HIDING THE CIRCUIT. 351 smeared well with mud to keep out the air; and the juice is allowed to remain thus sixty or seventy days, when it has become wine, and is drawn off into casks, and put away for sale or use. These grapes are said to produce a better article of claret wine than that import- ed from France, but the want of bottles to put it in, and the absence of facility to send it to market, prevent its manufacture in any quantity. I believe these grapes could be cultivated with success in the vine-growing re- gions of the United States, and I hope that some one interested in the culture will try the experiment. Instead of being planted upon the hill-side, as is the case in most vine-growing countries, they are cultivated in the bot- toms, close to the streams, where they can be irrigated. No climate in the world is better adapted to the vine than the middle and southern portions of New Mexico, and if there was a convenient market to induce an ex- tensive cultivation of the grape, wine would soon become one of the staples of the country, which would be able to supply a large part of the demand in the United States, instead of importing it from Europe. While writing of grapes and wine, we have been slow- ly pursuing our way down the valley toward our place of destination. The country appears to improve as we advance southward, the hills recede farther from the river, more land is under cultivation, and the mode of farming appears in advance of that in the northern part*, of the Territory. In some few places the old plow, of Jewish memory, has been thrown aside, and a more mod- ern implement introduced in its stead; but they still patronize oxen, which drag their lazy bodies along the furrows at the slowest possible speed. As we passed through the Indian pueblo of Saudia, the young Indians were running about the village naked, amusing them- selves shooting with the bow and arrow and kindred 352 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. sports, while their industrious fathers were at work in the fields. We next made the Mexican village of Los Ranchos, formerly the county seat of Bernalillo, which extends along the road about half a mile, and is com- posed principally of large farm-houses. It is in the midst of a tolerably good agricultural country, and con- siderable attention is paid to the cultivation of the vine. Soon after passing the Ranchos we caught a glimpse of the church steeples of Albuquerque, four or five miles to the south, which we held in view until we arrived there. As we neared the town wc met a crowd of coun- try people returning from market — Mexican rancheros and Pueblo Indians. Some were on foot, trudging along under a load of articles they had purchased with the pro- ceeds of their marketing, and others were astride the ever faithful burro, which they urged forward by an in- cessant thumping of the heels, and a little gentle prick- ing with a sharpened stick. We entered the dusty streets at a gallop, when our party separated to their respective places of accommodation. I found comfortable quarters in the building used as the military head-quarters of the department. Before I left Santa Fe, Major Nichols, assistant adjutant general of the army, tendered me the use of his rooms while I should remain in Albuquerque, and gave me a letter of introduction to Mr. David Garland, which contained the ^request that he would place them at my disposal. Dur- ing the week I passed there I received many kind atten- tions from Mr. Garland, my host, to whom I yet feel un- der obligations. The town of Albuquerque is venerable with age, whose settlement dates back about two hundred and fifty years, to the time the Spaniards first obtained a foothold in the country. It is situated a few hundred yards from the river bank, and in one of the most productive regions RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 353 of the country — the Rio Albajo — where is found a large portion of the wealth of the Territory. In times past it received much importance from being the head-quarters of the Armijo family, for many years the first in point of influence in the country. The name of the founder of the town has not come down to us, but it is supposed to have been named after one of the dukes of Albuquerque, who was viceroy of Mexico soon after its conquest, prob- ably the same who commanded the Spanish forces in France in 1544 as the ally of Henry the Eighth of En- gland. The population is not more than fifteen hundred, a few families only being the descendants of the ricos of other days. The town is irregularly laid out and badly built. In the centre is a plaza of some two or three acres in extent, and into which the principal streets lead. The houses are generally grouped about without order, and the best are but indifferent mud buildings, some of the more humble ones being partly in ruins. As a place of residence it is far less pleasant than Santa Fe. At some seasons of the year high winds prevail, when the sun is almost obscured by the clouds of fine dust that is whirled through the air, and which finds an entrance into the houses through every nook and cranny. Then there are flies and musquitoes, which swarm in and out of doors in untold millions, which neither day nor night allow man or beast to live in peace. The weather is oppressively warm in the summer season. The water used for all purposes comes from the river, and is so muddy that you can not see the face in it until it shall have settled several hours. The difference in altitude between this town and Santa Fe is nearly three thou- sand feet, which accounts for the diversity of climate in the two places. The army depots are located here, which causes a large amount of money to be put in circulation, and gives employment to a number of the inhabitants. ~>4 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. I had no more than time, after my arrival, to dispense with a little of the dust of travel, and make the neces- sary ablutions, before my presence was required in court, then about to open the session. I took my way to the eastern edge of the town, and in a modest-looking mud building found quite a throng assembled, and the judge upon the bench. The court at this place continued in session during the week ; but as the details of legal pro- ceedings can not be otherwise than wearisome to the reader, I will not claim the attention to their recital. There were five separate indictments found for the crime of murder, which does not speak well for the morals of the county. One little circumstance I will mention, which shows the actor to have been either a fool or a knave, or a little of both. A man was indicted for stealing fifteen mules, and as he could not be then tried, he was direct- ed to confer with his attorney about giving bail for his appearance at the next term. He treated the whole mat- ter as a good joke, and hardly thought it worth while to look for security for his future appearance. He said he understood the whole matter, and knew well why they had placed his name upon the books of the court : they wanted somebody as defendant in the case, and had only used his name for the sake of convenience, but that they might as well have chosen some one else. The poor fel- low did not appear to realize the position he occupied, but most likely came to his senses after he was convict- ed and " sent below" for two or three years. The dullness of a week's hard work in the court-room was somewhat enlivened by a dinner given by Mr. Gar- land in the mess-hall at head-quarters, and which was attended by the court, members of the bar, and officers of the army on duty at that post. As all such assem- blies are in duty bound to be, it was a "feast of reason and a flow of soul." The usual quantity of witty things RIDING THE CIRCUIT. ' 355 were said, and the customary attention paid to the deli- cious viands, both from respect to the gentlemanly host and in obedience to manly appetites. Each succeeding dinner-party being an exact type of its " illustrious pred- ecessor" in all essential particulars, and as most of my readers, at some period in their life, have been present at such an entertainment, they will be good enough to im- agine the whole proceedings, and thereby save me the trouble of writing them down. From Albuquerque we continued down the valley to Tome, the county seat of Valencia county, the next point at which the District Court is held. I started for that place about the middle of the afternoon of the twenty- third instant, Sunday, in company with Judge H., my old traveling companion. The day was clear, but one of the strongest winds of the season was blowing up the river, almost fierce enough to lift us from our horses. The valley increases in width as we advanced, but in that section it is mostly adapted to grazing purposes. About sundown we arrived at the rancho of Mr. Baird, where, by previous invitation, I tarried all night, while my com- panion continued on to Peralta, a few miles farther down. Several other gentlemen, on their way to court, arrived before dark, and also remained over night at the rancho. We were all treated with genuine Southern hospitality, and passed a pleasant evening with our host and hostess. We took an early start the next morning, as we had a ride of thirty miles to make before reaching Tome. Our course lay nearly due south along the bank of the river, which here rolls toward the Gulf of Mexico in a deep and muddy current. On the eastern side runs a ridge of rocky hills, bare of vegetation, while on the west the country is more level, with mesas extending back from the river. Numerous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle were feeding upon the excellent pasture ;>56 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the valley here affords, under the charge of shepherds and herders. With each flock there was one or more of the invaluable shepherd-dogs common to the country, some of which appeared to discharge their duties with a? much intelligence as their biped companions. We pass- ed a few ranchos, an occasional hacienda, and one In- dian pueblo, that of Isleta. A few miles from Peralta we came to the residence of Doctor Henry Connelly, ai i American, who has resided in the country ever since 1828. His house is a large establishment in the old Spanish style, and the buildings for his peones and oth- er purposes which surround it make up quite a little vil- lage. He has acquired wealth and influence, and is at this time a member of the Legislative Council. About a mile below Doctor Connelly's we passed what is known as the bosque, a large tract of fine timber, mostly cotton- wood, something very rare in New Mexico. Wood is exceedingly scarce all over the country. The valleys are generally bare of it, and that found upon the mount- ains consists of a growth of scrub pine called pinon. The country is said to have been well wooded when the Spaniards first settled it, but in many parts it has been entirely cut off, and in some instances without leaving even a tree for shade. Cottonwood principally grew in the valleys along the water-courses. Some time before we reached our place of destination we could see the green trees that shade the Plaza of Tome, and the spire of the church above the level of the valley. It was about noon when we arrived, and I found comfortable quarters awaiting me at the house of a fair widow, having been secured through the kindness of Judge Benedict. The court being already in session, I had only time to dismount and lay off pistols and spurs, when I was obliged to go thither. I wended my way to a small one-story mud building, where I found his HIDING THE CIKCUIT. 357 honor in the act of instructing the grand jury in the mo- dus operandi of presenting offenders to the kind consid- eration of the court. The room was long and low, and had a platform slightly elevated at one end for the judge, a small table for the members of the bar and clerk, and three benches for the rest of the world. The light of heaven that was shed upon the proceedings struggled manfully through two small and dirty windows, and partly dispelled the gloom within. I remained in court until the adjournment for dinner, when I repaired to my quarters, and while the cook is giving the finishing touch to the red peppers and fried beans about to be served up, I will introduce the reader to the town of my where- abouts. Tome, the county seat of Valencia county, is a village of not more than four hundred inhabitants, with the us- ual number of burros and dogs. The situation is rather picturesque, and in this particular compares favorably with any Mexican town in the country. The valley spreads out several miles between mountain ranges that bound it on both sides of the river. The soil appears naturally fertile, and, wherever cultivated, produces good crops. The Plaza is shaded and ornamented by a num- ber of fine old cottonwood trees. The hand of Time has lain heavily upon Tome, and a change has come over its appearance. In former days it was one of the most prosperous towns in the Rio Abajo, and was the scene of annual festivals, when hundreds of people from far and near flocked thither for purposes of religious wor- ship and amusement, and feast and fun were kept up for several days. In the course of time, the hostile Nabajos made descents upon the town, and carried many of the inhabitants into captivity. From this period we may date its decline. The people deserted their houses for a more secure home, the trade fell off, and the religious 358 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. festivals were no longer celebrated there. The best buildings have tumbled down and gone to decay for want of a keeper, and the grass is growing green in many a yard where happy hearts once sported. Of late years the place is looking up a little, but it is still dilapidated in appearance. By this time the cook has completed the preparations for dinner, and the viands are smoking upon the table. We found the eatables at the house of our fair hostess superior in quality to those placed before us in the gen- erality of Mexican houses, and the cooking was more aft- er the American manner of doing such things ; and then it was something of a relief not to see the omnipresent unk, And kicked the bugger in." Arrived upon the opposite bank, we paid old Charon his fee, saddled up our dripping animals, and rode away to Limitar, where we stopped for dinner and siesta at the late residence of General Manuel Armijo. General Armijo was the most distinguished man that New Mexico has ever produced, and for many years be- fore the Americans occupied the country he held the . hest position in the Territory. His rise from the low- est obscurity to great distinction among his countrymen is one of those rather romantic occurrences that mark the course of every people. He came up from the low- ermost round in the ladder of Fame, and, solely by the force of his native genius, eclipsed all his compeers in the race. His origin was so humble as to be almost unknown. AYhen a boy he tended sheep and goats upon the mountains, and grew up a j>"*for, without edu- cation and without friends. It is said of him by some of his countrymen that, when a shepherd, he would steal the sheep and goats of his employers, and in some in- stances would sell them to their owners two and three different times. In this manner he is said to have ob- tained a start in the world, and his talent helped him to the goal. He taught himself to read and write long after he had grown up to man's estate. He was the governor and commander-in-chief of the province at the time the American army entered the country, but he gave up his power without a struggle. He died in RIDING THE CIKCUIT. 363 the winter of 1854, leaving considerable wealth behind him. The mayor domo of the establishment received us in the court-yard and conducted us into the house, where we were welcomed by the owner of the establishment, a son-in-law of the deceased general. As is customary with a Mexican gentleman, he placed every thing at our disposal, but we well understood that nothing farther was donated to us than accommodations for ourselves and horses. We were ushered into the main sala, where serv- ants soon made their appearance with water for the neces- sary ablutions and the accompanying toilet fixtures. The room exhibited a singular mixture of modern ele- gance and barbaric taste. In one corner stood an elegant canopied brass bedstead, after the most approved Parisian style, while in close contact was another clumsily made of pine and painted a dirty red ; heavy wooden benches seemed misplaced beside velvet -covered chairs and a beautiful Turkey carpet ; and the time-stained wooden beams that supported the roof were reflected in twenty gilded mirrors that hung around the room. Dinner was served up with more than the usual style of the country, and the respective dishes" were as palatable as could be desired. Besides water and coffee, we had native wine and whisky upon the table. After dinner was concluded we all indulged in a siesta, which is as much in the pro- gramme of good manners at a gentleman's house in a Span- ish country as genteel behavior in the drawing-room. We resumed the road for Socorro at three o'clock in the afternoon, and reached that place about sundown. The balance of our party had overtaken us at Limitar, and we were also joined on the way by the marshal and his deputy, which increased our number to a respectable cavalcade. The marshal's deputy was a member of the Smith family, who relieved the tedium of the ride by 364 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. the relation of some of his experience as a soldier in the country during the war. He stated that when the troops first came into that section of the territory in 1846, there was but little money among the country people, and that the circulating medium between them and the soldiers was buttons, which, being yellow and bright, had more value in the eyes of the simple peasantry than silver coin. When the soldiers wished to make a purchase, they would cut a button off their jackets and file off the eye, when it would pass current in all trading operations. The officers, discovering how easily the soldiers made their purchases, resolved to follow their example. One day a boy brought something into camp that Captain B., of the dragoons, wished to buy, but as money had no value in the eyes of the seller, at a considerable sacrifice he cut three or four buttons from a handsome fatigue jacket, and offered to the boy in exchange for his arti- cles, but he refused to receive them because they were not as large as the buttons of the soldiers. The poor captain turned away in disgust, having mutilated his handsome jacket without gaining his point. Now and then our friend Smith tried his hand at the healing art, and, being quarter-master-sergeant of the regiment, he always used horse-medicine in his practice. He was known among the peasantry, with whom his prac- tice lay, as Doctor Simon. Upon one occasion he ad- ministered a stiff dose of saleratus and vinegar to an old woman for the rheumatism, and, strange as it may seem, she got well under his treatment. Her friends looked upon the cure as a most miraculous one. A few days after, her son visited the camp with a present of oggs and chickens for Smith, as a reward for curing his mother. He inquired for " Doctor Simon," but was con- ducted through mistake to Doctor Simpson, the surgeon of the regiment, whom he told that he had brought him HIDING THE CIRCUIT. 365 something for doctoring his mother. The doctor, not being in the secret, denied curing the woman, but the boy insisted that he had, and that the medicine he had given her had " biled up." The interpreter here explain- ed that the "Doctor Simon" alluded to was Smith, the quarter-master-sergeant, who was sent for ; and when he told them that the medicine that " biled up" was salera- tus, all were surprised that the poor woman had not given up the ghost under the treatment. He divided the dona- tion of chickens and eggs with Simpson, whose practice he had infringed, and was informed that in time to come he must not extend his professional services beyond the four-footed beasts for whom he was especially licensed. In Socorro I took my meals at the house of Mr. Con- ner, an ex-Mormon, but lodged in another part of the town. The marshal and myself occupied the room to- gether at a rent of fifty cents a day. It was a small and uncomfortable affair, with one door and one window, and before the latter dangled a dirty rag instead of glass. The floor was the bare, damp earth, and the furniture consisted of a small pine table, a rude bench, and two mattresses : the ornaments were a couple of family saints, a small piece of looking-glass set in tin, and a few paper rosettes stuck upon the wall. The remainder of the building was inhabited by two families, one occu- pying the wing across the court-yard, while the other lived in the sola. One evening I entered the sola to light my candle, and found the poor family seated upon the bare earthen floor eating their supper, which consist- ed of atole, without bread or meat. The room was cheer- less in the extreme, and they did not appear to possess a single comfort of life. They were surrounded with filth, with hardly enough clothing to cover them, and yet in this condition live the great mass of the people of the country. H66 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. CHAPTER XVI. riding the circuit — Concluded. Socorro and Situation. — Court. — Mad Calf. — Religious Meeting. — Warm Spaing. — Start for Las Cruces. — Crabb's Ranch. — Fray Cris- tobal. — The Journey of Death. — Remain in Camp. — Cross the Jor- nada. — Halt at Etobledo. — Doiia Ana. — Mr. Thompson. — Fort Fill- more. t<> Kl Paso. — Arrive at El Molino. — Situation. — Judge Hart. — Valley off Kl Paso. — Wine, etc. — Pacific and Atlantic Rail- road. — Town of Kl Paso. — Vi>it the Town. — Its Beauty. — Dinner. — Leave Kl Molino. — Stop at Fort Fillmore. — Major Backus. — Court in Las Cruces. — La Mc-illa. — Anecdote. — Music. — Start homeward. — Arrival in Santa IV. — Author's Experience on the Circuit. — Ad- vantages of the Trip. The town of Socorro is situated upon the west side of the Del Norte, on a bluff bank some two hundred feet above the river. The name, in English, means succor, and is said to have been so called from the following circumstance: During the rebellion of 1680, a party of Spaniards, retreating down the valley, hard pressed by the Indians, here met troops from El Paso coming to their assistance, and in commemoration of the event, the town afterward built upon the spot was called Socorro. The population is about five hundred, and at that time the family of Mr. Conner were the only Americans in the place. The valley, in the neighborhood of the town, is productive, the pasturage is unusually fine, and good crops are raised. The inhabitants are favored with good clear water, and are not obliged to resort to the muddy river. About three miles distant is a somewhat remark- able warm spring that comes from beneath a range of hills, and immediately below falls into a pool which forms a fine place for bathing. m I F 5> \, RIDING THE CIRCUIT. The court continued in session at this place until F. day without transacting any business of ncc >r interest. The court-house was in better in most of the other counties, and the sitmi more pleasant. The front looked out upon the in the rear was a beautiful vineyar >vh d an abundant supply of delicious grape * » in the county, nor had there ever bf i stirring occurrence during the we mad calf one evening upon the VI a crowd of men and boys yelling like so i tended to stone the poor anim- re- vented from carrying their cnfcjj it. i was afterward told, by a resident of the p] t the next morning the calf was killed* and the flesh distrib- uted through the place for food. The members of the bar invited Mr. ( ,, the converted Catholic priest heretofore mem to preach during the week, and on Wednesday he held forth in the court-house. The sen anish, and he had a respectable audience asJttlL mostly Mexicans. The bar oro-aniz' >' -solve!- to a choir, and during the exercises sang three hy . >f which was that delightful old Church ttme, "How tedious and Wasteless every word of which found i t, and car- ried me back to my boyhood d y revived a holy recollection of the best of n d not heard the hymn for year? t in a strange land, and under the hich brought it forth, awakened that had lain dormant for years* The evening I rode out to the warm spring an' lzlt waters. The pool is some t*i ■■ wide, and eight- 370 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. een inches deep. The temperature of the water is about that of new milk, and it is said to possess some medic- inal qualities that render bathing in it conducive to health. This spring supplies the town, and by the time it arrive* there becomes cool and pleasant to the taste. There are several warm springs in New Mexico, some of which are n-\edicinal in a high degree; and if in the States, and they couJd be conveniently reached, they would prove a fortune to tlit* owners. ( >ne, in the neighborhood of Las Vega celebrated as effecting remarkable cures in cases of chronic rheumatism, and invalids occasionally resort thithi The next point south of Socorro at which the District Court sits is the town of Las Cruces, the county seat of Dona Ana county, ti'ie distance between the two places lx?ing one hundred and liftv miles. Our party numbered six persons, who i obliged to continue south, the bal- ance returning north. A Ve all intended going down on the east bank of the river ; but the water being too high for Judge Benedict to cross in his buggy, he and three others traveled on the ^ bank, while two of us crossed to the other The naail-party came along about the time we were ready to .start, and we took the oppor- tunity of traveling in their company for greater security. We crossed the river by fording, and joined them as they were hitching up. Tnexe were seven persons, all told, including three passengers — six Americans and one Mexican. It was about noon when we left camp, and we drove that afternoon, twenty-five rniles to the rancho of Mr. Crabb, where we stopped for the night. Our road, as usual, lay along the bank of t. he river, sometimes through fertile bottoms, and at others among the sand-hills. We found accommodations; at Mr. Crabb's. A few nights before, a party of M.escalero Apache Indians at- RIDING THE CIRCUIT. r. I 371 tacked his corral and carried off his stock, which us to keep a close watch upon the anima day we drove to Fray Cristobal, sixteen fast, passing on the way the ruins of ' years ago this place was a flourishij the inhabitants were driven away by have never returned. All the way the country is mostly barren, and we Fray Cristobal is a simple campii as the young traveler would most he arrived there, a respectable-si could find entertainment for ma is named after an old Francisc country many years ago, and the resemblance of the prof outline of his face. The ac striking likeness to the hul be recognized by every or On the west bank of the riv< lower point of the Jorna Forts Craig and Thorn an occasional rancho. Fray Cristobal is the nor nada del JJfuerto, or the I stretch of country, which ext< to the south. It is almost R water except the little foxm< is bounded on each side bv om Soco tie hou and )oi. e nit ;mim the gp a ice, must point. and the j posts, Barbara, and on the west shutting only vegetation i It is, properly not unlike tl thirty miles, ward the we runs almost dur F the Jbr- ■in, a barren .ldred miles i and without er a rain, and ountains, that the river. The and a few weeds. •c< . and the shape is [The wiJch is from five to >9 a long detour to- crosses the Jornada sert has ever been the 372 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. read of travelers, and many a one lias entered upon it aifcd never been heard of afterward. It was formerly the ran»; of the Mescalero Apaches, who in some instances cut ote whole trains. In the winter season it is visited by terrific storms of wind and snow, and sometimes both men and animals are frozen to death before they can cross : i. In the warm season it is very usual to make the drive in the night, particularly if the holes do not contain w-ater, as it is easier for the animals. Our present camp-ground being at the mouth of the Jornada, the necessary preparations are made for crossing it : the water-kegs are tilled, animals well rested, and the wagon examined to see that every thing is in good traveling condition. AVc remained in camp from eleven in the morning until five in the evening, resting beneath the fine old cot- tonwoods, while the axlfcmals pastured upon the luxuri- ant grass that covered the river bottom. Having com- pleted our arrangements, we left camp and commenced the passage of the Jornada. The road for the first five miles gradually ascends until it reaches the plain, where it becomes smooth and hard., and superior to any turn- pike I have ever seen. ht was beautifully clear, and in the soft .atmosphere of that southern latitude the stars shone out with great bril liancy. Every thing rest- ed in profound quiet, and no noise was heard i>ut the clatter of our ho and the rumbling sound of the wheels upon the hard road. The mountains could be distinctly traced in the moonlight, and but for their serried peaks, to remind us tliat we were upon terra firma, it would have required no great stretch of the im- agination to believe ourselves at sea. A tall soap- weed grows upon the Jornada, which more than once in the night I mistook for Indians. They are about the height of a man's head, with a bushy top, and are well calcu- RIDING THE CIRCUIT. itto lated to deceive the unwary traveler. We made sixty miles of the distance by three o'clock in the morning,"" when we halted and turned our animals out to graze for a couple of hours. I made my bed on the leeward side of a bush, and, in spite of the chilliness of the atmos- phere, I slept soundly until I was awakened by the con- ductor to continue the ride. We hitched up between five and six, and completed the balance of the distance to the river by eleven, stopping meanwhile to breakfast beside a hole that contained a few barrels of filthy stuff we were obliged to call water. We halted to dine and graze our animals at Robledo, the southern terminus of the Jornada, where we remain- ed until four in the afternoon, and then drove into Dona Ana,. We stopped here for the night. The stage drove into a large corral (in plainer English, cow-yard), and, as there was no public house in the village, or other place where travelers could find accommodations, we spread our blankets among the mules, and slept as soundly as though we had been provided with more sumptuous quar- ters. This is a modern-built Mexican town, with a pop- ulation of some five hundred ; the river bottom here is broad and fertile, and well watered and cultivated. At Doiia Ana resides Mr. P. M. Thompson, a young man of enterprise, whose life is full of romance. He is a native of New Jersey, where his friends still reside ; but, at the age of twelve years, he ran away from school at Morristown, and joined Black Hawk's Indians about the close of the war between them and the United States. He was adopted into the family of White Hawk, a broth- er of the chief, and in all respects was brought up as an Indian ; his face was painted, and he was taught the use of the bow and arrow, and other accomplishments of the red men. He remained with them until the war with Mexico, when, being in Saint Louis upon a visit, he en- 374 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. listed in the army and went to New Mexico, where he was afterward discharged. We drove the next morning to Las Cruces, where the stage stops to change the mail. This was properly the end of my journey, but, as a week would intervene before the meeting of the court, I con- cluded to continue on to El Paso, forty miles below. I tarried at Las Cruces but a few moments, when I re- sumed the road in company with one of the passengers, who bestrode a mule belonging to the stage. Four miles brought us to the silver-smelting furnace of Mr. Stephen- son, where we stopped a few minutes to examine the works, and look at some of the specimens of the precious metal obtained from the ore, when we mounted and rode to Fort Fillmore, four miles farther on. Fort Fillmore is a large and pleasant military post, and is intended to garrison a battalion of troops. The form is that of a square, the quarters of the officers and men inclosing the open space within on three sides, while the south is open toward the river. The buildings are adobes, but comfortable. A farm at that time was at- tached to the post, since discontinued, on which were raised vegetables for the troops. There is also a well- selected post library for the use of officers and men, which is an evidence that the government does not over- look the mental wants of her soldiers. The post was garrisoned by three companies of the third United States infantry, under the command of Major Backus, an officer of experience and merit. I was received by the officers with the politeness that always characterizes them. Among others, I met Dr. S., surgeon at the post, the son of a distinguished citizen and valued friend of my native state, whose acquaintance I made with more than ordinary pleasure in that distant region. We left the fort for El Paso about eleven, in advance of the mail, as we were desirous, of arriving there that RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 375 evening. The country is uninhabited until you arrive within four miles of the Pass, where you find three or four houses by the road side. There is evidence of for- mer settlements along the valley, but the fields have gone back into a state of nature, the buildings tumbled down, and the acequias filled up, the whole having been laid waste by the Indians some years ago, and never reset- tled. A few miles below the fort we passed the battle- field of Bracito, where Doniphan fought a severe action with the Mexicans during the war. At four we stopped an hour upon the river bank to graze our animals. It was nearly sundown when we reached Frontero and en- tered the sand-hills. Here the country becomes very hilly and barren of verdure, except a few cactuses and a sparse growth of stunted pines and mesquite. The sun went down while we were winding among the hills, and we were left to finish the journey in the dark. Slowly traveling the tortuous course of the hilly road, we de- scended again into the river bottom, and between eight and nine o'clock we arrived at the hospitable mansion of Judge Hart, who made us feel at home the moment we had passed his threshold. Our wearied animals were given into the care of the mayor domo, while their no less tired riders were taken charge of by our host. By the time we had made our toilets supper was announced, of which we partook with unusually keen appetites. After supper we retired to the library, and passed some time in most agreeable conversation. During the evening several gentlemen came in for the purpose of organizing a Masonic lodge, but as neither my companion nor myself had ever been initiated into the mysteries of the order," we were not al- lowed to participate in the ceremony. Our host excused himself to attend his brethren, and we, at the same time, claimed the privilege of amusing ourselves in our own 376 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. way, and therefore went to bed. In spite of the Bear proximity to the place where the mystic rites of the or- der were being enacted, I had no troubled dreams of spooks or fieiy gridirons, nor saw the ghost of the mur- dered Morgan ; but the God of Sleep, with gentle kind- ness, sat upon my weary lids until the sun had climbed far up into the heavens the following morning. El Molino (the Mill), the residence of Judge Hart, is rather romantically situated upon tlie east bank of the Del Norte, three miles above the Mexican town of El Paso, and a short distance below where the river forces its passage through the mountains. The house is built in the .Mexican style, is large and convenient, and within were found every luxury and comfort of home. At this point there is good water-power, which he has taken ad- vantage of and erected a large flour-mill. Judge Hart is a native of Kentucky, and settled at this point at the close of the war, in which he served as. an officer. Mrs. Hart is a Mexican by birth, a Chihuahuanian, but of fine Spanish blood, and is a lady of refinement and intelli- gence. I laving something of a literary turn, he has col- lected together a good selection of books, and there, re- moved from the great and busy world, he spends his time between business and the pursuit of letters. I awoke refreshed, and, after a substantial breakfast, felt in a condition to follow whithersoever our host might lead in the pursuit of amusements or sight-seeing. To- ward noon we rode down to Magoffinsville, three miles below, to pay our respects to Mr. M., the proprietor, whom I found living quite in nabob style in a large Spanish-built house, that reminded me somewhat of an old mansion of the feudal ages. Fort Bliss had lately been established here, and, for want of barracks, the offi- cers and men were quartering in the buildings of Mr. M. The present garrison was four companies of the RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 379 eighth infantry, under the command of Lieutenant Colo- nel Alexander. Here begins the somewhat celebrated Valley of Paso del Norte, which extends south thirty or forty miles, until the mountains again close down upon the river. The width varies from a half to three miles, and at a few points it is wider. The land is fertile, well irrigated, and produces fine crops. It is particularly productive in wheat, and it has been estimated that this narrow strip of land, lying on both sides of the river, would produce, under proper cultivation, enough to support a million ot inhabitants. The valley would grow the grains and veg- etables, while the hills and mountains would supply good pasturage for numerous flocks and herds. The climate is delightful, and even excels that of New Mexico. It is a region of perpetual spring and summer, and most of the tropical fruits and plants flourish as though it was the land of their nativity instead of their having been transplanted from a still more genial clime. The grape, in its variety, grows in great abundance, and vineyards, from which delicious wines are made, are scattered all along down the valley. In writing upon this subject, De Bow, in his Industrial Resources of the South and West, says, " The most important production of the val- ley is grapes, from which are annually manufactured not less than two hundred thousand gallons of perhaps the richest and best wine in the world. This wine is worth two dollars per gallon, and constitutes the principal rev- enue of the city. The El Paso wines are superior in richness, and flavor, and pleasantness of taste to any thing in the United States, and I doubt not that they are far superior to the best wines ever produced in the Val- ley of the Rhine or on the sunny hills of France. Also a great quantity of the grapes of this valley are dried in clusters, and preserved for use during the winter. In 380 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. this state I regard them far superior to the best raisins that are imported into the United States" Grapes and wines are the most valuable productions of the valley ; but next to the cereal grains in point of usefulness may be mentioned the lechuguilla, a plant that grows upon the almost barren mountain-sides among the stunted pine and cedar trees. The blades are very fibrous, and, when pounded, washed, and scraped, are manufactured into ropes and many other useful articles. If the proposed Atlantic and Pacific rail-road should be constructed through Texas, El Paso will be an im- portant point on the route, and it will be the means of settling this whole valley with an enterprising popula- tion. The place of crossing is just below the mill of Judge Hart, which is said to be the most eligible point for the purpose upon the river. The 3Kxican town of El Paso del Norte, in the State of Chihuahua, is situated upon the western bank of the river, and nearly opposite Magoffinsville. It was settled some two hundred and fifty years ago, and was original- ly the seat of a Spanish mission. There is a difference of opinion as to the origin of the name it bears. Some maintain that it was so called because here the river passes the mountains, while others contend that it was because the fugitive Spaniards passed to this place from the north in 1680, when driven out of New Mexico by the Indians. The former is probably the correct origin of the name, as the town was founded many years before this rebellion took place. The settlements extend down the valley some ten or twelve miles, and the population is estimated at six thousand. The houses are so much in- terspersed with vineyards, orchards, and cultivated fields, that it presents more the appearance of a succession of plantations than a town. The Plaza, as the more com- pact portion is called, is near the head of the valley, ^^m _: I J N ■ ■■ BIDING THE CIRCUIT. 383 where is situated the old cathedral, custom-house, and other public buildings, and where the trade of the town is carried on. Just below the point where the river pass- es the mountains a dam has been thrown across the stream, in order to turn the water into a large acequia, which runs the length of the valley, and irrigates the gar- dens, fields, and vineyards. El Paso is the centre of a considerable trade with the northern states of Mexico, Texas, and New Mexico, which is principally carried on by means of pack-mules. I remained during the day and night the guest of Mr. Magoffin, and was never treated with greater politeness and kindness. The next morning I went over to El Paso with a party of gentlemen to see the town. We rode down to the ferry, when Ave stripped the saddles and bridles from our horses, which we put into the boat, and made the animals swim across. Safely upon the other side, we saddled up again and rode into town, the custom-house officer at the landing allowing us to pass without examination. These officers are accommodating fellows. The duty upon silver taken from Mexico to the United States is about eight per cent., but the mer- chants manage to get it across for about one half by making a private arrangement with the officer, who is always ready to "turn an honest penny." Each man has his price, and if one sum will not buy him another will. As we rode through the town I was struck with the charming appearance it presented. On every side were vineyards, flower gardens, orchards, and shrubbery, loaded with foliage, flowers, and fruit, and little canals carried water along nearly all the streets, and through the gardens and yards, adding to the pleasantness of the scene. Fruit-trees of all kinds, singly and in groves, were growing on every hand. The buildings are ordi- nary adobe houses, but such was the beauty and pictur- 384 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. esqueness of their surroundings that they appeared much more pleasant than mud houses ever seemed before. When to these natural beauties we add nearly every del- icacy and luxury that the heart of man can crave, and a climate that rivals that of Italy, it can easily be con- ceived that, as a place of residence, it is almost an earthly paradise. "We stopped at the only public house in the town, and remained to dine. The landlord was a Ger- man or a Swiss, and is said to have been one of the cooks of Charles X. of France ; but whether or not he learned the profession in a royal kitchen, his cuisine upon this occasion was quite incomparable, and far ex- ceeded my expectations. His soup, meats, and other dishes, of which there was a variety, I have seldom seen surpassed in the first hotels in the United States. If cooks wore ennobled nowadays, he should certainly be dubbed Master of the Kitchen, and be allowed to wear a golden spit at his button-hole as a badge of his rank. Upon this side of the river I found every thing purely Mexican, and even the near proximity of the Americans, without the advantage of their institutions, had failed to start the inhabitants from the Rip Van Winkle sleep in which they have slumbered for centuries. I imagined that I could see a difference, even in the donkeys and beggars, between those of El Paso and the same race of quadrupeds and bipeds who inhabit the soil of New Mexico. A small guard of soldiers was stationed in the town to aid the government officials in carrying into ef- fect the mandates of his serene highness. We returned to the Texas side of the river before sundown, when, making my adieus to the kind host at Magoffinsville, I continued up to El Molino, and again became the guest of Judge Hart. I took my departure from El Molino on Saturday, the thirteenth instant. I was favored with the company of RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 385 a party of officers returning to Fort Fillmore ; we num- bered eight persons, including the wife and daughter of Colonel Alexander. The day was clear and pleasant, and we made the distance to the fort by four in the aft- ernoon, without hinderance on the way. I remained at the post until the following Monday, quartering with Dr. S. With the exception of those who have their wives with them, the officers formed a common mess, and appeared to live on the most agreeable terms with each other. I dined with Major Backus and family on Sunday, and made the acquaintance of his wife and daughter, whom I found to be pleasant and intelligent persons, and who had shared the major's camp and gar- rison life in New Mexico for three years. The troops turned out on Sunday morning for inspection and parade, and the band discoursed sweet music at different times during the day. On Monday morning I rode up to Las Cruces, to give my attendance at the United States District Court, which was to begin its sessions that day. The county seat of Dona Ana is a modern -built Mexican village, and, in Yankee style, stretches mostly along one broad street, with a population of about a thousand souls. On the opposite side of the river is the famous Mesilla Valley, which has caused such a hubbub in the political world. It lies along the west bank of the Del Norte, some thir- ty odd miles from north to south, with a width of from a quarter to two miles, being bound on the west by a range of barren mountains. The glowing accounts that have been written about the beauty and fertility of La Mesilla are not sustained by the reality, and were gotten up by those who were entirely ignorant of the subject. The population is much less than represented. At the first election held after the Gadsden purchase the number of votes polled was two hundred and thirty-five, and at the R 3b < 5 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. Congressional election in 1855 the number was between five and six hundred, making the population, at the highest estimate, not more than about twenty-five hund- red. But a small portion of the valley is cultivated, and that by means of irrigation, the water being brought from the river in acequias. In point of fertility, the soil is about equal to the remainder of the Territory; but I would not exchange a good Pennsylvania farm of a thou- sand acres for the whole valley for agricultural purposes. The term at Las Cruces was a slim affair, so far as matters of interest were concerned; yet there were enough unimportant cases to occupy the time of the judge until Friday afternoon. Two indictments were standing upon the criminal docket for offenses committed in the Mesil- la : but as this valley was not then considered as belong- ing to us, and within the jurisdiction of our courts, these cases were disposed of in a summary manner. Before this territory (LaMesilla) was reacquired under the Gads- den treaty, it was a source of constant annoyance to our authorities. The villains who found a home there would slip across the river, commit offenses, and return before they could be apprehended ; and the rascals from this side would flee to the other after the commission of a crime — and both were equally safe, there being no treaty between us and Mexico for the rendition of fugitives from justice. During our attendance upon the court, the judge, bar, and officers found accommodations at the public house of a Mr. Bull, where, for two dollars and fifty cents a day, we got tolerably good living. In the interval of business many amusing anecdotes were related, one of which, told by Judge B., is too good to be lost. In the county of S., in the State of Indiana, the two associate justices were, upon one occasion, holding a term of court, when a mo- tion was made to dismiss a case, or, in common legal par- RIDING THE CIRCUIT. 387 lance, to throw it out of court. This brace of modern Lycurguses listened to the argument of counsel pro and con with the gravity of a badger, and, after it was con- cluded, made up their minds that the case should be thrown out of court, and, in accordance therewith, one of these worthies directed the clerk to throw the papers out of the window. After court adjourned on Friday evening I rode down to the fort and passed the night there. The command- ing general of the department had arrived during the aft- ernoon, and, as the sun was about going down, the band came upon the parade and played some delightful airs in honor of his presence. This is one of the most delight- ful seasons to listen to music, and he who can not ap- preciate the " concord of sweet sounds" at such a time must be a much greater scamp than the Bard of Avon writes him down. I returned to Las Cruces the next morning, and the same afternoon we turned our faces homeward. Our party was now a dozen strong, being joined at Dona Ana by the mail and a Chihuahua merchant traveling north, where we slept the first night. The second day we made about eighty miles on the Jornada, and at three in the morning we lay down to sleep upon the cold, hard earth for a couple of hours, while our animals rested and grazed. I had a severe chill during the time, but it was not strong enough to keep apart my heavy eyelids. The Journey of Death safely passed, we continued up the valley of the Del Norte without accident, and arrived at Santa Fe on the twenty-sixth day of May. Thus I completed the judicial circuit of the Territory. The distance is nearly a thousand miles, and the coun- try we traveled mostly composed of barren mountains and sandy plains, and in many parts traversed by hos- tile Indians. The accommodations were meagre enough, 38 s NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. unless we had the good fortune to stop with an Amer- ican family, or to partake of the hospitality of the offi- cers of the army, and several times we had to lie in the open air. I saw enough to be satisfied that the office of United States Attorney for New Mexico is no sinecure, and one trip should satisfy any reasonable man, unless he has an overweening desire to become a modern Wan- dering Jew, or a new-fangled Don Quixote traveling hither and thither in search of legal or other adventures. The trip afforded me an excellent opportunity to see the country and the people, and also to observe how our ju- dicial system works among a population just tasting of its effects. Every thing convinced me that they are an orderly and respectful people, and I have observed bet- ter decorum among them in the court-house than I ever noticed in the States in the most intelligent community. In every instance I was treated with great kindness, and hardly saw an instance of rude behavior during the whole of my absence. TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 389 CHAPTER XVII. TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. Excursion to Nabajo Country. — Leave Santa Fe. — Cross the Del Norte. — Foraging. — Route. — Appearance of Country. — Arrival at Laguna. — The Pueblo. — Montezuma. — Mr. Gorman. — Appearance of the God. — Quivera. — Chained Pig. — Current of Lava. — Formation of Country. — Agua Azul. — Back-bone of Continent. — Fatiguing Drive. — Camp at the Laguna. — Sandstone Formation. — Trap Rock. — Ar- rival at Fort Defiance. — Situation of Fort. — Laguna Negra. — Time for Council fixed. — General Garland arrives. — Council with Indians. — The Indians. — Treaty formed. — Distribution of Presents. — Scram- ble. — Some Account of the Nabajos. — Dress. — Character. — The Women.— Government. — Tradition of Origin. One of the most interesting excursions I made in New Mexico was a visit to the country of the Nabajo In- dians in the summer of 1855, who inhabit a region that lies between the rivers Colorado and San Juan, about two hundred miles west of Santa Fe. Governor Meri- wether had been appointed sole commissioner to make treaties with the various Indian tribes of the Territory, and upon this occasion he went into the Nabajo country to treat with them, whither I accompanied him in the capacity of private secretary. We left Santa Fe on the afternoon of the fifth of July, and encamped for the night at Delgado's Ranch, fourteen miles from town. Our party numbered five persons, the governor, his son, myself, and two servants. General Garland had made arrangements to accompany us, but, being detained by official business, he did not join us until after our arrival at Fort Defiance. We stopped the second night in the bosque (wood) near Algodones, MO NEW MEXICO AM) HER PEOPLE. and the next morning drove into Albuquerque in time to dine. We remained here until the noon of the next day, partaking of the hospitalities of Captains Rucker and Gibson, U. S. A., when, learning that General Garland would not be able to overtake us, we concluded to move on, even at the risk of traveling the whole distance with- out an escort. It was near mid-afternoon when we resumed the road. We drove down the Del Norte three miles to the gov- ernment ferry, where we crossed to the west bank of the river. 'Die ferry is kept by an old Mexican in the em- ploy of the quarter-master's department at twenty-five dollars per month, but who is allowed to charge for fer- rying over citizens. The means of crossing was a rick- ety old scow, that could accommodate but one wagon at a time. The passage was somewhat difficult on account of the high wind, but we made the opposite shore in safe- ty. We drove about two miles down the river, when we turned to the west, intending to drive to an acequia we supposed ran at the foot of the sand-hills that bound the valley, and encamp. We traveled until about dark, but, rinding no water, we retraced our road, and made our camp for the night within a mile of a small Mexican vil- lage we had passed soon after we left the river. We were a mile from the river, which distance we had to drive the animals and carry the water we used for drink- Ing * I was deputed to go on a foraging expedition, and for that purpose returned to the village. I went from house to house, making diligent inquiry for those articles neces- sary to supply our larder, but received several no Aai's (there is none) before I was able to find the objects of my search. I purchased enough eggs to fill my pock- ets, three half-grown chickens, and a good-sized log of wood for fuel. As I rode back to camp, with the chick- TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 391 ens dangling from my saddle-bow and the wood upon my shoulder, I looked not unlike some modern Eobin Hood returning from a foray. The lateness of the hour and the weight of our eyelids vetoed cooking, and so we lay down to sleep after partaking of a cold snack. We broke up camp at five o'clock the next morning. As we were about hitching up, our animals treated us to a stampede, which detained us an hour. From the river bottom we ascended a gradual slope of some four miles to a sandy and undulating mesa, over which we traveled in a direction nearly northwest. By noon we had made about thirty miles, when we halted to lunch and graze near a small sulphur spring. Our camp was in a little dell, inclosed by rocky headlands, in some places showing almost a perpendicular escarpment of rock. Many large rocks lie upon the surface, mostly of a fine sandstone, formed in strata of not more than half an inch in thickness, and placed in as regular layers as though they had been laid by human hands. Nothing could be clearer than their formation in water, according to the modern geological theory, but how they came upon these high headlands, many miles from any stream, I do not pretend to know. We left the mesa before we had traveled half the distance, and entered a valley which had the appearance of having been the bed of a lake. The northeast side, near which ran our road, showed evident signs of having been wash- ed by a large body of water. The rock is a soft lamin- ated sandstone, full of holes and small caverns. Near the top, about where the old water-line appears to run, it has been scooped out underneath, until the upper part forms an overhanging ledge, much the same as we no- tice in a rock-bound coast upon which the waves inces- santly break. The water appears to have subsided to about half its depth and there remained stationary some time, as a second ledge has been formed about midway 392 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. of the slope. The opposite side of the valley was too distant to be examined, but, from the glimpse I was able to obtain of it, the formation appeared different, the slope being overlaid witli trap rock. The small river Gallo runs through the valley, but at this season of the year is almost dry. We took the road again at five, and traveled ten miles, when we encamped for the night near the bank of the little river. We found a few stagnant pools in the bed of the stream, the water being almost strong enough to turn the stomach of an elephant. We afterward discov- ered that a crystal spring flowed near us, which at that time would have been more delicious than the nectar of the gods. Near our camp were living a Mexican fam- ily, perched in a rude hut upon the rocky bank of the Gallo. A few patches of corn in the valley, and a small flock of goats and sheep, made up their worldly goods and means of living. When we awoke in the morning, we had the satisfaction of knowing that the mules be- longing to the baggage-wagon had stampeded during the night, and gone to parts unknown. Their tracks in the sand showed that they had turned their faces homeward. The teamster was dispatched in pursuit, while two men were left in camp to await his return, the governor and myself continuing on our way. Up to this point we had traversed almost a desert country, as dry as powder, sandy, and bare of trees. The only stream we crossed was the Puerco, now without a drop of water in its bed, but at some seasons of the year one of the most rapid and dangerous rivers in the country. In a drive of five miles from the camp we came to the Indian pueblo of Laguna, where we unhitched and re- mained until the baggage-wagon came up. As we en- tered the village, the inhabitants were getting in motion for the day; some of the young maidens were in the TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 393 pens milking the cows and goats, while others, with earthen jars upon their heads, were carrying water from the stream. Being athirst, I followed the steps of the water-carriers to the holes in the bank of the creek, but found the water a brackish, nauseous compound, hardly fit for man or beast ; but, instead of drinking the stuff, I visited the goat-pens, and purchased a cup of new milk fresh from the fountain-head. On the opposite side of the town there is a clear and beautiful spring which boils up from beneath a sand-bank. Before Mr. Gor- man's family came to live at the pueblo, the Indians would not touch the water, alleging as a reason that they knew the devil was in it, because it boiled up so. See- ing that Mr. Gorman's family used it with impunity, they concluded they might possibly be mistaken about Old Nick being in it, and commenced to use it them- selves, which they have ever since continued to do. Mr. Gorman is a Baptist missionary, and has resided at the pueblo some two years and a half. They have elected him a member of their community, with all the rights and privileges of a full-born Indian. He sits with them in the estufa in council when affairs of state are discussed, and preaches to them on the Sabbath in the village church,* and, upon the whole, he is exercising a good influence over this simple-minded people. The pueblo of Laguna stands upon a rocky knoll on the west bank of the Gallo, and at the distance of a few hundred yards presents rather a picturesque appearance. The population is reckoned at about a thousand souls. It is built without order, and the houses are generally small ; none of them are more than two stories high, and the upper story recedes from the lower, so as to form an uncovered terrace. They are generally of mud, though a few are built of stones. The rooms are small, low, and badly ventilated, and a few small pieces of foliated R 2 394 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. gypsum set in the thick wall admits the light. The en- trance is by means of ladders from the outside to the roof, when you descend into the interior through a small hole just large enough to admit an ordinary sized person. They pull the ladder up after them on to the roof or ter- race, and thus render themselves secure from intruders. The rows of houses are separated by narrow lanes. In the centre of the village is a small plaza, surrounded by two-story houses, with three narrow places of entrance, within which they hold their dances and feasts. They dress pretty much the same as the other pueblos ; but, according to custom, a large number of the children were running about naked. This is a modern pueblo, and is said not to be more than two hundred years old, and one of the head men gave me the following account of its first settlement : That, a long time ago, their ancestors were at the point of starvation where they then lived, and that four men were sent out to seek a place for a new home. In their search they arrived at the place where Laguna now stands, where they found good water and fertile land. They returned and gave the information to their people, and in a short time they changed their residence, and the whole of them removed to this point. It is also said that, at the time of the rebellion of 1680, the inhab- itants fled to Zuni to escape the fury of the Spaniards. The children of Mr. Gorman have acquired the Indian dialect so as to speak it with almost the same fluency as their mother tongue. Taking Master James, about twelve years of age, with me as interpreter and guide, I wended my way to the pueblo on a tour of sight-seeing. We first went to the house of the cacique, which we en- tered by ascending an outside ladder to the terrace, across which we passed into the building. In the room were seated several Indians upon the floor, all employed in some useful occupation. The cacique himself was paint- TEIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTEY. 395 ing a new tinaja (earthen pot), which he was covering with numerous rude figures in black and red. None of them rose from the floor to welcome us, but gave the usual guttural salutation and continued at their work. Young Gorman chatted with them a few minutes, when we bade them good-by, and climbed down the ladder into the street again. Having expressed a desire to see their god Montezu- ma, my young guide led the way to the house wiiere the famous deity is kept. This is the most cherished, and probably the only one still retained of all their ancient heathen gods. It is greatly in vogue in a dry time, when it is brought forth from the sanctuary, and, with dancing and other rites, they invoke it in favor of rain, but whether it has ever been able to bring refreshing showers to the parched earth is a question open to dis- cussion. We picked up one of the head men on the way, who accompanied us. We ascended a ladder a:* before, and entered a small and badly-lighted room, where we found a shriveled-up old Indian, entirely naked, except a small cloth about his loins and moccasins upon the feet. Master James made known the object of our visit, and told him we were not Mexicans, and would neither injure nor carry away the god, which assurance was necessary, as none of that race are permitted to look upon it. A conference was now held between the man that accompanied us, the old keeper, and an old hag of a woman who had come in in the mean time, and in a few minutes we were informed that we could see Mon- tezuma. The old woman was dispatched to bring it in, who returned after a short absence, carrying something in her arms, wrapped up in an old cloth, which she placed carefully upon the floor. The cloth was then removed, and their favorite god stood before our eyes. I was much disappointed in its appearance, it being a much 396 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. ruder affair than I was prepared to see. I had expected to see something in imitation of man or beast, but there was presented to our sight an object that neither resem- bled any thing upon the earth, in the heavens above, or in the sea beneath, and I felt that it could hardly be sin- ful in the poor ignorant Indians to fall down and wor- ship it. The god Montezuma is made of tanned skin of some sort, and the form is circular, being about nine inches in height, and the same in diameter. The top is covered with the same material, but the lower end is open, and one half is painted red, and the other green. Upon the green side is fashioned the rude representation of a man's face. Two oblong apertures in the skin, in the shape of right-angled triangles, with the bases inward, are the eyes ; there is no nose, and a circular piece of leather, fastened about two inches below the eyes, represents the mouth ; and two similar pieces, one on each side, oppo- site the outer corners of the eyes, are intended for the cars. This cornpletes the personnel of the god, with the addition of a small tuft of leather upon the top, which is dressed with feathers when it is brought out to be wor- shiped upon public days. The three Indians present looked upon it with the greatest apparent veneration, who knelt around it in the most devout manner, and went through a form of prayer, while one of the number sprin- kled upon it a white powder. Mateo, the Indian who ac- companied us, spoke in praise of Montezuma, and told us that it was God, and the brother of God. After con- templating this singular spectacle for a few minutes, we withdrew, quite astonished at what we had seen. Who would have believed that within the limits of our Union, in the middle of the nineteenth century, there was to be found such a debased form of heathen worship ? We were entertained most hospitably by Mr. Gorman ■KT*r*> -. TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 399 and family, with whom we tarried until about twelve, noon, when we resumed the road. We drove thirty miles that afternoon, and encamped for the night at the Hay Camp, on the hanks of the Gallo. We followed up the valley of this stream, the country presenting the same general appearance of having once been submerged in wa- ter, in some places the surface being covered with nu- merous water-washed boulders. We halted at the small Mexican town of Quivera, or Covero, long enough to fill our water-kegs and replenish our failing stock of pro- visions. A half-grown pig, chained in the cavity of a large rock, appeared to have the best quarters in the vil- lage, and in personal appearance he was by far the most . respectable-looking inhabitant of the place. Leaving the village, we entered upon an extensive plain, barren ex- cept near the town, where a few fields of grain and veg- etables are cultivated by means of irrigation. Upon our right loomed up old Mount Mateo, with heavy clouds now and then clustering around his bald peak, threaten- ing to drop down rain upon the traveler beneath. In ten miles we came to the Gallo, which we crossed, and con- tinued up the south bank until we reached our place of camping. Soon after crossing the stream we struck a very remarkable lava formation, probably one of the most curious in the world. It appears to have come down the valley in a broad stream of liquid fire until it became cool and ceased its flow. It follows the general course of the stream, and is many miles in length. In some places some obstruction appears to have dammed it up, at which points the stream has widened. The lava is as black as ink, and in appearance as fresh as though it had just cooled and ceased running. It came from the north- west, and some miles beyond this point are the remains of an old crater, from which this current of fire must have flowed. 400 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. The sides of the valley differ in no essential particular from the description already given. The strata are ex- posed toward the summit, and the opposite sides have such a uniformity of formation as to argue having been forced asunder. Here the action of fire predominates, and the basin does not appear to have been filled with water to a greater depth than about thirty or forty feet. At this height the rocks are water-washed, and those of a soft sandstone have been hollowed into caverns, and some rounded into boulders. The strata have been dis- rupted in some places, but mostly lie horizontally. The alcalde of Laguna joined us during the evening, having been sent by the governor of the pueblo to guide us to the fort. The interpreter of the Nabajo Indian Agency, also came into our camp during the night, and accom- panied us the balance of the journey. We broke up camp at five and a half o'clock the next morning, and continued on up the valley of the Gallo. During the day we saw lava of a much older date than that already mentioned, and of an appearance entirely different. We stopped at Agua Azul (blue water), twen- ty miles from the Hay Camp, to lunch and graze the ani- mals. Here we found good grass, and purchased a sheep of a Mexican herder, which we cooked for dinner. Thence we traveled that afternoon thirty miles farther to a small laguna, where we arrived about ten o'clock at night. We had intended encamping at a spring twelve miles beyond Agua Azul, but, having passed it undiscovered, we were obliged to continue on to the next water. About sun- down we crossed the great backbone of North America, the ridge that divides the waters of the Pacific and At- lantic, and began to descend the western slope. At this place the rise to the culminating point from either side is so gradual that you are hardly aware when you have reached the highest point of the ridge, and, to as- TEIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 401 sure yourself of the fact, you have to look at the direc- tion of the water- courses. Toward the west we could see the reflection of the setting sun upon the clouds away below us. Our afternoon drive was exceedingly fatiguing, and the animals became so much wearied before we reached the camping-ground that it seemed doubtful whether they could hold out until they arrived there. Our two guides went ahead to search for the water, and signal us if they should find it. After a while we saw, far ahead, a small red light, resembling a bloody star, which seemed to re- cede as we advanced, like the deceitful Will-o-the-Wisp. Finally it appeared to stand still, then grew larger, and at length we made it out to be a fire which the guides had kindled upon a rocky knoll to direct us to the wa- ter. We reached the laguna weary and worn, and, after a hasty supper, we laid down to sleep, with the wolves around us howling a lullaby. Our route to-day lay through valleys and depressions in the mountains ; on the right the headlands are bold and abrupt, while on the left they have been worn down into gentle slopes, cover- ed with a growth of cedar-trees. We were on the road by sunrise the next morning, and made the fort by nine the same evening — distance about fifty miles. The country gradually descends as you go west, and the water flows toward the Pacific. In the valleys we saw wild sage and a little short, dry grass growing, and some of the hill and mountain sides are covered with small cedar-trees, but, with this excep- tion, the whole country is a barren waste. About five miles from the fort, and at the entrance of the valley that leads up to it, is seen rather a curious formation of sand- stone. There is a whole colony of large pillars and cones, some of which are more than a hundred feet high, with smooth sides, and more or less tapering to the top. 402 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. We enter the valley through what resembles a natural gateway, between opposite sandstone ridges, that do not approach nearer than three or four hundred feet of each other. It is probable that this was once a continuous ridge, which, by some great convulsion of nature, was forced asunder. At one point the broken crags resem- ble a ship under sail. About half way up the valley to the fort there rises up an immense mass of trap rock, to the height of at least two hundred feet, which resembles, at a distance, the spires and minarets of an old cathe- dral or mosque blackened with age. The reception from Major Kendrick, the commander of the post, and his of- ficers, could not have been more kindly bestowed, and gave us the assurance that we were entirely welcome. Fort Defiance is built in the heart of the Nabajo coun- try, to keep that numerous tribe of Indians in awe. The location is one of the most eligible ones that can be found in all that region, being at the mouth of Cahoncito bonito (pretty little canon), a favorite spot with the Nabajos, and near fertile valleys and good water. The canon is about half a mile in length, with almost perpendicular rocky sides, which in one place are four hundred feet in height. The bottom is not over three hundred feet broad, level and grassy, and a small stream of water flows through it toward the fort, being fed from two springs near the head of the canon. This post was built some years ago by Major Backus, since much improved by Major Kendrick, and at this time was garrisoned by three companies, one of light artillery and two of infantry. The quarters of the officers and men are built around a large parade, some three hundred by two hundred yards, covered with a fine coat of grass. Some of the buildings are of mud, and others of pine logs, and all comfortable enough, barring occasional leakage in the rainy season. The officers' quarters are upon the north side, and front »PK» TEIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 405 upon the parade. The stables of the artillery horses are a little to one side, on the west ; they are roomy and comfortable, and the horses are cared for in the best man- ner. Besides the battery of six-pounders, there are also six pieces of mountain howitzers. Every thing about the post appeared in fine order, and bore evidence of good and wholesome discipline. The next morning after our arrival at the post a par- ty of us rode up to Laguna JVegra, fourteen miles, to see the Indian agent, and learn when he could have the Red Men assembled for council. We made the distance in three hours, keeping up the valleys, and saw little of interest on the way. At one point in the route there is a singular formation of trap dike, such as is seldom seen. In a narrow valley there rises up an immense mass of red sandstone, through which runs a perpendicular sec- tion of trap not more than four feet in width, and which appears as though it had been placed there by a mechan- ic. The trap dike can be traced some distance on either side of the valley, like a belt extending across the coun- try. Laguna JVegra (black water) is a pretty little sheet of water among the mountains, and is one of the places much resorted to by the Nabajo Indians. The water is of a dark hue, but cool and deep. We found Agent Dodge with his tent pitched upon an eminence overlook- ing the lake, and around were about a hundred Indians, some engaged in their usual sports, and others quietly sitting upon their horses. The governor held a short talk with the head men, and Monday, the sixteenth of the month, was fixed upon as the time for meeting them in council, and forming the proposed treaty. The chiefs promised to have their warriors present at the appointed time, the majority of them then being among the mount- ains within a short distance. We dined with the agent. 406 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. A dirty squaw, who seemed to be the mistress of the kitchen, baked a corn-cake in the ashes, roasted the side of a sheep on a stick before the fire, and made a pot of coffee. These we ate sitting upon the ground, and, as soon as we had done, our red brethren took our places and finished the repast. We returned to the fort the me afternoon. General ( J arland, with Captain Ewell's dragoons, reach- ed the fort on Saturday afternoon, the fourteenth, and was received by a salute from the field battery. The next day the whole garrison was paraded under arms, and re- wed and inspected. The following morning, Monday, the sixteenth, being the day fixed upon for the Indian council, the governor, two or three officers, and myself proceeded to the lake under escort of the dragoons. Be- fore we arrived there a large number of Indians met us and accompanied us in, the throng increasing in num- bers as we neared our destination. We pitched our tent near the shore of the lake, and the dragoons were pick- eted close by. At one o'clock we assembled in council. A small space, intended for the chiefs and Americans, had been inclosed with cedar boughs, but the crowd rush- ed in, and by the time we had taken our seats it was crammed full. The crowd of Indians upon the ground was very great, being estimated at two thousand, all mounted and armed warriors except a few women and children. As a general thing, they were tolerably well dressed, mostly in buckskin. Before any talking was done, tobacco was passed round to the head men, who quickly made themselves cigarritos, and went to smoking with great gravity and gusto. The Indians of New Mexico never use the pipe, but smoke an ordinary Mex- ican cigar instead. Order having been restored in some degree among this democratic rabble, the council proceeded. The govern- TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 407 or, through the medium of two interpreters, told the In- dians that he had been sent there by their Great Fa- ther in Washington to hold a talk and make a treaty with them, in order that we might live in peace and friendship with each other. He then explained the terms of the treaty he desired to make with them : that they were to be confined within a certain district of country, while the balance of their land was to be ceded to the United States, for which they would receive annuities in goods for some twenty years ; that they would be com- pelled to live in peace with the whites and neighboring Indian tribes, and to cultivate the soil for a living, etc. When the provision for the rendition of those guilty of crime was mentioned, one of the chiefs remarked that it had always been their custom, and that they would pre- fer to continue it, to pay for offenses committed instead of giving up the offenders. They were told firmly, in reply, that such was not our manner of doing business, and that no terms of the kind would be agreed to. In conclusion, they were requested to consider upon what had been said to them, and to give their answer in the morning. When we returned to our camp we found it surrounded by hundreds of Indians, and some dozen or more greasy fellows were occupying our tent, and smok- ing in a manner ridiculously cool and independent, but they soon made tracks after our arrival. The sergeant of the guard on duty had attempted to drive them out before our return, when one fellow drew an arrow upon him, but, sooner than have a collision, he had allowed them to remain in quiet possession of the tent. The majority of the Indians remained on the ground over night, and were fed at the agency. In the evening there was a rumor in camp that the bad men of the tribe in- tended to attack us during the night, but we viewed it as an idle tale, and lay down to sleep with the same 408 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. feeling of security as though there had not been an In- dian near us. The night passed quietly away, and we awoke safe and sound the next morning. The Indians were seen gathering together in great numbers as the morning wore away, and soon there were as many assembled as yesterday. They were galloping to and fro along the valley in tens, and twenties, and fif- ties, and on the border of the lake, half a mile distant, large groups were collected together, as though engaged in deliberation. Our camp was again surrounded by hundreds, who would sit so immovable upon their horses that man and beast seemed but one animal. Early this morning a delegation of Indians from the pueblo of Zuni came into camp, as they alleged, to see the governor, but really upon a begging expedition. They were accom- panied by the governor, and also the officer whose duty it is to look after the sun and moon, the latter being necessarily an owlish-looking individual. His office is doubtless a sinecure, but, if such a one existed under our government, with a fat salary attached, it would com- mand the first talent in the repubhe. The general, with the light battery, arrived in camp about nine, and took up a position near us. The council opened about noon. During the morning the chiefs had been in conference with their people, con- sidering the propositions made to them the day before. Having determined to accept the terms offered, some twenty of them came to our camp and announced the fact, and said they were ready to proceed with the busi- ness. They took their seats in a circle upon the ground, appointed one of their number spokesman for the whole, and then lit their cigarritos for a smoke. About the opening of the council, the head chief, named Sardllas Largas, sent his medal and official staff to the governor, with a message that he was not able to govern his peo- TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 409 pie, and desired to resign his office. His resignation was accepted, and the assembled chiefs were requested to select a man to fill his place. The choice fell upon Manuelita, a good Indian, and who was duly invested with the dignity of office. He would not receive the staff the other chief had surrendered, nor allow the med- al to be suspended from his neck by the same string, giving as a reason that his people had a superstition about such things, and that, if he should receive them, he would soon lose his influence over the tribe. His ex- planation of the matter was deemed satisfactory, and the governor gave him his handsome steel cane, and supplied the medal with a new string. Being ready to proceed to business, Manuelita, in the name of his people, told the governor that his talk of the day before was good, and that they were all agreed to the terms he proposed. The treaty was now read, and interpreted to them article by article; but when they came to the fourth, Manuelita said his people claimed a much larger district of country, and that they were in the habit of going to the mountain of Polonia, outside of the reservation, to worship the spirits of their fathers, and that some were averse to giving up this sacred spot. The governor explained to them, from Park's map, that this mountain would fall within the country reserved to them, with which they were satisfied. They desired permission to get salt from the Salt Lake near Zufii, which was conceded to them. After the various articles had been read, interpreted, and agreed to, they were duly signed by the chiefs, and witnessed by the officers and a few other Americans present. After the conclusion of the council, a considerable amount of presents was distributed among the Indians, when a scene of confusion took place that was highly amusing. The chiefs told the governor that they would s 410 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. make a proper division of the goods if he would turn the same over to them, which was accordingly done ; but, instead of dividing them among the Indians, they threw them into the crowd pell-mell, when a general scramble took place. The reader can imagine the scene, when a n agon-load of goods is thrown among near two thousand wild horsemen, and each one bent upon getting all he ii. What riding and pitching there was! Here you would see a fellow, with a piece of muslin, riding toward ihc mountains at full speed to hide his prize, and two or three others in hot pursuit, with their knives flashing in the sun. The fugitive being overtaken, a severe strug- gle takes place for the spoil. The muslin has become i m wrapped and stretched to its full length, each party tugging to obtain the lion's share, when, as the oppor- tunity offers, each horseman cuts off as much as he can, and gallops away with his well-earned prize, after leav- ing the original possessor but a small portion. Some were seized and made to disgorge by main force, while others effected a safe retreat with what they obtained in the first instance, and returned to the scene of contest for more. Others were unhorsed in the struggle, and both parties contended on foot until one or the other proved victorious. Brass kettles, knives, tobacco, muslin, looking-glasses, and various other articles changed own- ers with a magic quickness, and always nolens volens, as far as the late holder was concerned. When the contest was over, some were almost loaded down with goods, while others, less fortunate, were empty-handed. How like a commentary upon life was this struggle of the wild Nabajo horsemen for a few dollars' worth of pres- nts ! Before the Indians left the ground, the light ar- tillery performed various evolutions, much to the aston- ishment of the natives. We remained in camp that even- ing, and returned to Fort Defiance the next morning. TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 411 In many respects the Nabajos are the most interest- ing tribe of Indians in our country, and their history, manners, and customs are not unworthy an investiga- tion. They appear superior in intelligence to all the oth- er North American tribes, and differ from them in their habits and traditions. They live in the very heart of the continent, and from time immemorial have roamed over both the Pacific and Atlantic slopes. They have ever been known as a pastoral and peaceful race of men, and live by raising flocks and herds, instead of hunting and fishing. They own some two hundred thousand sheep, and more than ten thousand head of horses, and at times one single chief is worth as much as fifteen thousand dollars in stock, owning thousands of sheep and hundreds of horses. They raise corn, wheat, beans, pumpkins, melons, peaches, wild potatoes, etc. They sometimes grow as many as sixty thousand bushels of corn in a single season, and the present year (1855) they are supposed to have five thousand acres under cultiva- tion. They number about twelve thousand souls, and can muster twenty-five hundred mounted warriors. They are industrious and laborious, and the men, women, and children are generally kept employed. They manufac- ture all their own wearing apparel, and make their arms, such as bows, arrows, and lances ; they also weave a beautiful article of blankets, and knit woolen stockings. They dress with greater comfort than any other tribe, and wear woolen and well-tanned buckskin. The skin breeches come down to the knee, where they are met by blue stockings that cover the lower half of the leg ; the breeches fit tight to the limb, and the outer seams are adorned with silver or brass buttons. The coat reaches below the hips, with a hole at the top to thrust the head through, and open at the sides ; it is made of wool, wov- en in bright colors, and is fastened around the waist by 412 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. a leather belt, highly ornamented with silver when the wearer can afford it. They wear numerous strings of rine coral, and many valuable belts of silver, and gener- ally appear with a handsome blanket thrown over the shoulder in the style of a mantle. The Nabajo Indian is seldom seen on foot, a horse be- ing as indispensable to him as to an Arab of the desert. They manufacture their own saddles and bridles, bits, stirrups, etc., as also the looms on which they weave their handsome blankets, which are quite an ingenious affair. It is a noted fact that they treat their women with more respect than any other tribe, and make companions of them instead of slaves. A Xabajo never sends his wife to saddle his horse, but does it himself if he has no peon. The modern doctrine of " Woman's Rights" may be said to prevail among them to a very liberal extent. The women are the real owners of all the sheep, and the men dare not dispose of them without their permission ; nor do the husbands ever make an important bargain with- out first consulting their wives. They admit women into their councils, who sometimes control their deliberations ; and they also eat with them. They are mild in dispo- sition, and very seldom commit murder ; but they con- sider theft one of the greatest human virtues, and no one is thought to be at all accomplished unless he can steal with adroitness. Their form of government is so exceedingly primitive as to be hardly worthy the name of a political organiza- tion. In this respect they are far behind the other tribes of the country. The democratic doctrine prevails among them, and the will of the majority always governs. They have no hereditary chief, but one is elected from time to time, who surrenders his authority at pleasure, when a new one is chosen in his stead. There are a few rich families in the tribe, who form the aristocracy, and pos- TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 413 sess a little additional influence, but neither age nor rank commands the same respect as among other tribes. In their councils they are little better than a tumultuous rabble, and lack the dignity and decorum we generally see among Indians. The tradition of their origin is that, a long time ago, they came up out of the water a great distance to the north, and they believe that when they die they will return into the water whence they came. They have another tradition by which they account for the Nabajos being a more numerous race than the whites. They say that in the beginning a beaver dug a great hole in the earth, out of which came seven Nabajos and five white men, and therefore they believe they are the most numerous people. Very conclusive reasoning ! 414 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. CHAPTER XVIII. trip to the nabajo country — Concluded. Religious Belief of the Nabajos. — Woman in the Sun. — Houses. — Super- stition. — Form of Marriage. — Appearance. — Who are the Nabajos? — Speculation. — Mr. Gregg'.- < Opinion. — Arc they Aztec or Toltec? — Author's ((pinion. — Canon of Chelly. — Vocabulary of Words. — The Moquis. — Position. — Their Manufactures. — Houses. — Character. — Albinos. — Zufii. — Situation. — Inscription Rock. — Leave Fort Defi- ance. — Stampede. — Arrive in Santa I-V. — New Mexico. — Gold Mines. — Richness. — Diggings. — Siher. — < >ther Metals. — Wealth of Coun- try. — Education. — Expense of Living. — Trade. — Value of Goods in- troduced. — Circulating Medium. — Americans in the Country. — Im- provement of the People. — Conclusion. The religious belief of the Indians is somewhat un- usual for Indians. Their god is a woman, who they believe places the sun in the heavens every morning, and they say that the moon is carried around the sky upon the back of a mule, whose ears they can plainly see. They have a number of prophets, who profess to receive reve- lations from the woman who has charge of the sun, and which, at stated periods, they communicate to the peo- ple. They also prophesy as in olden times, and thus exercise a considerable influence in the tribe. They have certain fast-days, during which they neither eat nor drink, but strictly observe the practice of total absti- nence. Their habitations are a kind of lodge, made of poles and grass in a very rude manner, and the reason they give for not living in houses is, that when they first came up out of the water, they left this matter with the women, who preferred to live in lodges. When a person dies in a lodge, they pull or burn it down ; and when a TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTEY. 415 man quarrels with his wife, which is seldom the case, he generally kills some person in his grief. They have a superstitious dread of approaching a dead body, and will never go near one when they can avoid it. They also have a great antipathy to a hog, and they will neither eat the flesh nor allow one to come into the nation. Their form of marriage ceremony is peculiar and prim- itive. When a man and woman desire to become " bono of one bone and flesh of one flesh," they sit down on opposite sides of a basket, made to hold water, filled with atole or some other food, and partake of it. This simple proceeding makes them husband and wife ; but the contract sits so lightly upon them that they have the privilege of separating and seeking new companion? the next day. The husband, at the time of marriage, makes a present of horses to the bride's father, and she takes him home to live with her. In person they are a little above the medium height, and well made ; their complexion is a dark brown, but they have not the same high cheek-bones as the Indians of other tribes. They have several native blacksmiths, who work in iron with considerable skill. The rich men own a number of peones, generally Mexican captives, whom they employ in tending their flocks and herds. Some of them marry into the tribe, and from choice remain with them all their lives. Every thing connected with their religion is of the most primitive and crude belief imaginable, and I have serious doubts whether they have any tangible con- ception of a Supreme Being, nor have I been able to learn that there is any word in their language which means God. The reader has probably queried ere this as to ihe origin of these Indians, so far in advance of all the other nomadic tribes in the arts and civilization. Were I dis posed to indulge in speculation alone, I might, with some 416 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. degree of plausibility, claim them as the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Their tradition that they came up out of the water a long way to the north — being a peaceful and pastoral people — drawing their subsistence from flocks and herds, instead of hunting and fishing, as other tribes ; their aversion to the flesh of the hog ; that when they die they will return into the water whence their fathers came, instead of believing in the usual heaven of Indians — good hunting-ground and an abundance of game ; their having prophets, who prophesy and receive revelations ; and their strict observance of fast-days, when they abstain from eating and drinking, and also their keenness in trade. Furthermore, their better treat- nt of women, their greater skill in the mechanic arts, and improved personal appearance, all point them out as a superior race of Indians. It has long been the received opinion with many learned men that the lost tribes of Is- l crossed from Asia at Behring's Strait and spread over the continent of America ; and the only thing wanting to sustain this hypothesis was the failure to find satisfac- tory evidence among our Indian tribes to fix them as the descendants of the fugitive Israelites. In this view of the question, the evidence in favor of the Nabajos is stronger than can be adduced in behalf of any other tribe or people. Speculation aside, who are probably the Nabajos ? Mr. Gregg, in his excellent work upon New Mexico, gives it as his opinion that they are the remnant of the Aztec race which remained in the north when that peo- ple migrated toward Anahuac. Among the reasons he advances in support of this position are their superiority in the manufacture of blankets, cotton textures, and em- broidering in feathers. Their blankets are unquestion- ably a fine article, and they excel in making them be- cause they have particularly cultivated this branch of TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 417 industry ; but they neither work in cotton, nor have I ever seen a particle of plumage-work among the many hundreds of them with whom I have come in contact. Humboldt fixes the country of the Nabajos as the re- gion inhabited by the Aztecs of the twelfth century ; but there is nothing found among them at the present day, nor seen in the ruins that remain in their country, that will compare favorably with the mechanical skill of the Aztecs. If they once inhabited villages, why have they become a wandering race, living in rude huts, and how came they to lose the knowledge of constructing large edifices, which is the case if their ancestors lived in the villages whose ruins now cover the country ? If the Nabajos have any connection with the ancient races of Mexico or Central America, they must be of Toltec in- stead of Aztec origin. If the stream of migration had flow- ed from the northwest through New Mexico, as is main- tained by some, we would find traces of them scattered along their line of march to the starting-point. But such is not the case. There are a few ruins of ancient vil- lages on the north bank of the San Juan, but in all the regions to the north of that, as far as I have been able to learn, there is no evidence remaining that such a peo- ple ever passed over the country. From that river south- ward their line of migration can be traced by occasional ruins. This would seem to argue in favor of their Tol- tec origin, and that in ancient times they migrated from the south toward the north ; and the reason of their ruins exhibiting less mechanical skill than that found among the Aztecs is probably because they* changed their loca- tion before that people reached such a high state of civ- ilization. In opposition to this pro and con testimony as to ie origin of the Nabajos, my own opinion is that they are only a branch of the great Apache family, that have S2 i 418 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. inhabited the territory from 'time immemorial. The ru- ins found in the country in which they now live are undoubtedly the remains of the villages of Pueblo In- dians, whose inhabitants have either become extinct or changed their location. We find much evidence among the records of the early Spanish governors of the exist- ence of former pueblos, whose location at the present day is almost unknown. As late as 1692, the pueblo of Pecos contained a thousand inhabitants, but it has long since fallen into decay, and the remnant of the pop- ulation have united themselves with another community. In the old documents in the secretary's office at Santa IV, whenever any mention is made of the Nabajos, they are invariably spoken of as the "Nabajo Apaches," and do not appear to have been known under any other name ; and the Pueblos wen always so designated in contradistinction to the wild Apaches, who led a wan- dering life. When Coronado passed through the coun- try in 1540, he did not see any other Indians than the Pueblos until he reached the plains between the mount- ains and the Arkansas, from which we may infer that the wild Indians did not then inhabit the country in which they now have their homes, but were subsequent- ly driven in from the plains by a superior enemy or some other cause. I regret that I had not leisure to examine the ruins found in various parts of the Nabajo country, and other interesting objects to be found there. The principal re- mains of ancient pueblos are found in the Valley of the Bio Chaco, a southern tributary of the San Juan. Some of the ruins are quite extensive, with chambers in a tol- erably good state of preservation, and exhibit skill in the mechanic arts superior to that possessed by the Na- bajos at the present day, and which are undoubtedly the remains of some of the pueblos which Coronado's people TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 419 visited or make mention of. One of the most wonderful exhibitions of Nature to be found in the country, or any where else in the Union, is the Canon of Chelly, which is a natural passage through a mountain range twenty- five miles in length, and from one hundred to five hund- red yards in width. The sides are of solid rock, nearly perpendicular the whole length, almost as though they had been chiseled by the hand of art, and in many places they are five hundred feet high. There are numerous lateral branches which are less stupendous. A small stream of water runs through a portion of it, and in it are numerous cultivated fields and orchards of the Na- bajos. There are also the ruins of pueblos within the canon. There are several other smaller canones, but they sink into insignificance when compared with that of Chelly. In conclusion of my notice of the Nabajos, I give a vocabulary of a few of the words in most common use among them. The spelling of the syllables is, of course, entirely arbitrary, but I have endeavored, as far as pos- sible, to make them represent the true sound of the words. Their language has never been reduced to writ- ing, and therefore we can do no more than approximate to the proper pronunciation in English. The list of words here embraced was furnished to me by Captain H. L. Dodge, the agent for the Nabajos, and a young In- dian named Armijo, a son of one of the principal men of the nation, and may be relied upon as mainly correct. Vocabulary of upward of sixty Words in JVabajo and English, Thlie one. Na-che two. Tah three. Tee four. Ich-la five. Has-ta six. Sotz-sitz seven. Sa-pe eight. Nas-ti nine. Nez-na ten. 420 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. Cla-za-ta eleven. ■wheat. Na-che-ze-ta ... twelve. Pah-li-ki dollar. Tah-za-ta thirteen. Pah bread. fourteen. Tu-aj water. fifteen. governor. sixteen. sunrise. Sotz-sit-za-ta.... •nteen. brother. hteen. Eh-ki white shirt. Nas-ti-za-ta nineteen. white. twenty. black. Tah-teen thirty. Clit-so yellow, red. teen fortv. fifty. saddle. sixty. Clee-ma-sas-tah bridle. Sotz-sitz-teen.... seventy. candle. iity. big dog. ninety. prairie dog. one hundred. pantaloons. Tooh wat Claj-ek-la-ki .... A-ja-l:ui-siques. white drnwPiN jrel air. how do you do? day. good-bv. motlier. good mom in father. good evening. Clee hoi Ja-da-nairan .... where do you live ? Na-ta corn. ptain. are vou well., mv friend? woman, man. Tah-tol-geh what is the name Ta-na of this place ? About a hundred miles west of the Nabajos, and upon the great tableau between the rivers San Juan and the Colorado Chiquito, are found the seven villages of the Moqui Indians. They are about midway in the wilder- ness between the Rio Colorado of the west and the Del Norte. A bute or mesa, with a flat top, rises up several hundred feet, upon which the Moquis have built their villages. The sides of the mesa are nearly perpendicu- lar, and the top can only be reached by means of a stair- y out in the rock. Around the base lies their arable * land, where they cultivate grains, fruits, and vegetables, and pasture their flocks and herds. During the day they attend their crops, and watch their sheep and goats in TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTEY. 421 .he valley below, but when night approaches they retire up to their villages, where they rest secure. They are a mild and peaceful race of people, almost unacquainted with the use of arms, and not given to war. They arc strictly honest. They dress in cotton and other gar- ments of their own manufacture. The females are said to be good-looking and of symmetrical persons ; they are neat and cleanly in their habits, and well treated by the men. The latter do all the work in the fields, while the former attend alone to the labor within doors. Their manufactures in woolen, cotton, leather, basket-work, and pottery exhibit considerable skill. The women have a peculiar style of dressing their hair, and the rank and condition of each may be known by the manner in which she wears it. The married women wear it done up in a club at the back of the head, while the virgins part it in the middle behind, and bring it round to either side, some- thing in the form of a rosette, and nicely smoothed and oiled. The houses are built much in the same manner as those of the other pueblos, some being constructed of stone and mortar, and others of mud ; they are two and three stories high, and comfortable. They cultivate by means of irrigation, and their crops sometimes fail by reason of the mountain streams giving out ; but, to avoid a famine, they always keep on hand a considerable sup- ply of provisions. They are kind and hospitable to strangers, and when one approaches their villages they watch his movements from the tops of the rocks and houses. Now and then their more warlike neighbors, the Nabajos, come sweeping down upon them, and drive off their flocks. They offer but little resistance, but, gathering up all the movables they can carry, they re- treat to their strongholds upon the mesa height. Among them are a few albinos, with perfectly white hair and 422 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. light eyes, while the complexion of the balance is about the same as the other Pueblo Indians. The Moquis have had but little intercourse with the American or Spanish population of New Mexico, and re- tain their aboriginal manners, customs, and religion. It is supposed by those who have examined the subject with the most care that they are the remains of the prov- ince of Tusayan, which was visited by a portion of the command of Coronado in the winter of 1540-41, on their way to the great canon of the Eio Colorado. From the investigation I have bestowed upon the question, I am of the opinion that Moqui is identical with ancient Tu- sayan, for which conclusion reasons are given more at length in a previous chapter. Some sixty miles to the south-southeast of Fort De- liance is situated the pueblo of Zuni, on a small tribu- tary of the Colorado Chi quit o. The village contains some fifteen hundred inhabitants, and in all essential par- ticulars does not differ from the other pueblos in the Territory. The houses are two and three stories high, and terraced, and the streets are narrow. It contains a Catholic church. The inhabitants cultivate the soil, raising a good deal of grain, and they possess numerous flocks and herds. There are several albinos in the vil- lage. The present town is in the valley, but the old pueblo was built on the top of a high mesa, almost inac- cessible from below. A few miles to the east of Zurii is a noted quadrangular mass of white sandstone, known as Inscription Rock, which has attracted much attention. It is nearly a mile in length, and more than two hundred feet in height. On the north and south faces are numer- ous inscriptions in Spanish of the names of persons who passed that way, with the dates. Some of them are deeply and beautifully cut into the plane surface of the rock, and reach back as far as 1606, two hundred and TEIP TO THE N ABA JO COUNTRY. 423 fifty years ago. They are cut upon the vertical faces, about the height of a man's head from the ground. Upon the top of the rock are the ruins of two pueblos, the size and shape of which, with the dimensions of the rooms, can be distinctly traced, and many pieces of painted pottery are lying round about. The inscrip- tions generally contain a short memorandum of the ob- ject of the visit, having been made either by travelers exploring the country, Spanish soldiers on the march to conquest, or by the early Franciscan friars penetrating the wilderness to convert the native heathens to the liv- ing God. What a field for sober reflection this rock presents to the mind, with its inscriptions, hieroglyphics, and ruined villages ! It is a mute but eloquent histori- an of the past. We left Fort Defiance to return home on the after- noon of Wednesday, the eighteenth of July, and traveled through the rain twelve miles before we encamped. We halted about sundown in a boggy valley, where we sank shoe-top deep in mud at every step. As we had about arranged our camp for the night, the mules and dragoon horses, near a hundred in number, became frightened at some imaginary scarecrow, and stampeded in the most approved style, and made their way back to the fort. A party of soldiers were sent in pursuit, who returned with the truant animals about three o'clock the next morning. Fortunately, none were injured, but all were greatly jaded. The rain continued to fall in torrents, and, take it all in all, it was one of the most uncomfort- able nights I ever remember to have passed in camp. The next morning the clouds broke away soon after sun- rise, and it remained clear the balance of the day. That evening we encamped at the laguna. During the day we passed, near the Ojita, one of the finest natural mead- ows I have ever seen. It must have contained several 424 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. thousand acres, and was covered with a heavy growth of grass resembling barley. The next day we lunched at Agua Azul, and encamp- ed for the night at the Gallo. As we drew near the Gallo we saw a number of Indians about the valley whose conduct created the suspicion that they were re- turning from a marauding expedition, and had stolen property in their possession. When they got sight of us they began catching up their animals and flocks, and made for the mountains. Captain Ewell, with a detach- ment of dragoons, was sent in pursuit, but found, when overtook them, that they were a party of Sandoval's Nabajos, who were about leaving the watering-place as we drew near. The next day we encamped near the Sulphur Spring) five miles east of Laguna. We halted a while at the pueblo, and partook of the hospitalities of Mr. Gorman and family ; and the governor held a talk with delegations of Laguna and Acoma Indians, to en- -leavor to reconcile a long-standing difficulty between them. The following morning our party divided, the general and escort proceeding to Los Lunas, while the governor and myself continued the direct route homeward. That night we encamped on the west bank of the Del Norte, a high wind preventing us from crossing. Wc passed over the next morning with no other mishap than my horse tumbling overboard into the river. Thence we continued up the Valley of the Del Norte, and arrived in Santa Fe on the afternoon of the twenty-third instant. New Mexico, with all her barrenness of soil and un- derbidding aspect to the stranger and new settler, is not itirely void of attractions. She has within her limits resources which, if properly developed, would vastly in- crease her importance to the rest of the Union, and add greatly to her wealth. If Nature has denied to her TKIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 425 bounties lavishly bestowed upon portions of our beloved country, she has provided other gifts, which in some measure serve as a recompense in place of those with- held. I allude to her mineral wealth, which consists of gold, silver, iron, copper, and coal. The old Spanish records state that the leading object of the first adven- turers into New Mexico was their thirst for gold, based upon the stories they had heard of the richness of the country. In those days a desire for the yellow metal was such that, in the search for it, men were willing to endure all manner of hardships and sufferings. The ex- pedition of Coronado was mainly induced by the accounts that Baca and his men gave of the abundance of gold that could be obtained. One of the causes of the revolution of 1680 was the cruel treatment the natives received in the mines ; and, after the expulsion of the Europeans, it is said that they filled up the most valuable mines, some of which remain unknown to this day. In various parts of the country are found old abandoned mines, which have not been worked within the memory of man. Gold abounds in several localities, but the mines that have been worked with most success, and are supposed to be the richest, are in the Placer Mountains, thirty miles southwest of Santa Fe. In the same region are washings which have been worked for some years, and a large amount of gold taken out. The mines at El Placer are said to have been accidentally discovered about thirty years ago, when work was immediately commenced in them. Mr. Gregg says that, from 1832 to 1835, when mining operations were the most flourishing, from sixty to eighty thousand dollars per annum were taken from them, and that, from the first discovery up to 1844, they yielded about half a million of dollars. There has been but little work done in them since the war with Mexico. The three mines that have been worked at the Placer 426 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. are known as the Ortiz, the Biggs, and the Deavenport mines. The shaft of the Ortiz has been sunk more than two hundred feet, and produced, with the rude labor be- stowed upon it, about one dollar to the hundred pounds of ore, not much more than one third of the gold being- extracted. The Biggs mine is within a few feet of the Ortiz, but the shaft has neither been sunk so deep nor in so skillful a manner, and therefore not worked to as much advantage. These two mines are on the same lead. They were descended by means of pine logs witli notches cut for the hands and feet, and all the ore raised was carried up on the backs of men. The work was dangerous and laborious, and but little progress could be made. The ore is quartz, but easily crushed. The third mine, the Deavenport, is within a mile of the other two, lower down the same ravine, and of a different char- acter. The ore is dug out of the side of a mountain, is easily obtained, and the supply is inexhaustible. There is no vein or lead, as in ordinary mines, but an immense mass or quarry of gold-bearing rock lies in the mount- ain side. In most places it crops out at the surface. The ore is more easily crushed than the former, and ev- ery pound gives more or less gold, and frequent pockets of loose eartli are found which yield with exceeding rich- ness. The ore of this mine is hardly as rich as the other two, but the facility with which it can be obtained renders it more valuable. These mines, when in operation, were worked by the, old-fashioned Spanish toroner, the rudest of all mining machinery, which consists in nothing more than two larsre flat stones attached to a horizontal beam, and drawn round by a mule upon a bed of flat stones. The process of grinding the ore, as well as that of amalga- mating, was slow and imperfect, and not more than one third of the gold could be obtained. Yet, with this prim- TRIP TO THE NAB A JO COUNTRY. 427 itive mode of working, the mines have always more than paid expenses, and in some instances considerable clear profit has been realized. With modern machinery and skillful management, they could not fail to yield a large revenue over and above the expenses, and would be a money- making operation. Wood is abundant and con- venient ; water is scarce a part of the year, but a small expense would remedy this, and give a plentiful supply at all seasons. Labor is cheap, and any number of workmen could be obtained for about one half the wages paid in the States. All of these mines are richer than many of those in Virginia and Georgia that are worked with considerable profit. In the winter of 1855, the owner of the Deavenport mine put up two toroners, which he worked ten days, and obtained very nearly two hund- red dollars' worth of gold, about one half over and above the expenses. The weather was extremely cold, and the water had to be heated before amalgamation would take place. I saw the gold that was obtained, which was sent to a gentleman in the States interested in min- ing operations. These three mines were examined in the fall of 1834 by Mr. William Idler, of Philadelphia, a man of science and much experience in gold mining, who pronounced them all rich, and that they would pay well if properly worked. The diggings known as the New Placer, where gold is taken out by washing, are on the opposite side of the same range of mountains. In 1844 a piece of gold was found there which weighed at the Mint the value of $1213, and other pieces have weighed as many as three and four pounds when taken from the earth ; and I have seen several lumps in almost a pure state that weighed within a fraction of three quarters of an ounce after all the dirt was washed off. The gold of New Mexico is worth about nineteen dollars at the Mint, being of a finer 428 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. quality than that obtained from California. In addition to these mines and diggings, gold has been discovered in the mountains near Saudis, at Abiquin, near El Embu- do, near the mountain pass of Sangre de Cristo, and in many other parts of the country. Near the Placer Mountains the whole eartli seems impregnated with the precious metal ; and I have never seen a handful of sur- face dirt taken from the neighborhood of the mines that would not yield more or less gold by careful washing. From information and observation, I believe it to be one of the richest gold-bearing countries in the world, and capital only is wanting to make that Territory another lifornia. I vex is found in various parts of the country. The most valuable mines that have yet been explored are in the county of Dona Ana, near the little town of Las Cru- ces, which have been worked to some extent. The ore is obtained from a ran^c of mountains to the east, where it can be extracted with ease and at small expense, and has been pronounced exceedingly rich. Silver is also found in the Saudia Mountains. Besides the precious metals, copper, iron, lead, coal, and some zinc are found in the country. Some of the copper contains gold in sufficient quantities to pay for the extracting. The lead is much blended with copper and other hard metals. Iron ore has been discovered in various localities, but I am not aware that it has ever been manufactured. The coal is hard, burns well, and is found cropping out upon the surface in various places. Salt lakes are numerous in New Mexico, but the largest are not more than a few miles in circumference. The salt is deposited in immense cakes, and is obtained by scooping it up from the bottom. The dry season is the best time to gather it, and after being dried in the sun it is ready for market. Nearly all the salt used in the Ter- TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 429 ritory is obtained from the lakes. They are common to all citizens, and are resorted to at certain seasons of the year to obtain a supply of this necessary article. Min- eral and warm springs are found in several parts of the country, some of which possess high medicinal qualities, as has been already mentioned. Yeso (gypsum) abounds in many places, and is used for whitewashing instead of lime, though limestone is abundant. It is found in foli- ated blocks of numerous layers, which, being separated, are used for window-glass by the country people. These minerals compose the natural wealth of the country, and, in the absence of all commercial advantages, must be the basis of its future prosperity. To develop them to any considerable extent would be a laborious and expensive task under existing circumstances, and, in- deed, it can hardly be looked for at present. The remote situation of the country, difficulty of access, and the few advantages it possesses combine to keep capital and en- terprise away from New Mexico. Compared with other Territories, there are few inducements for emigrants to go there to seek new homes. There is but one thing that can possibly open a new era in the prosperity of New Mexico, which is the building of a rail-road through the Territory to the Pacific. It would give a new impetus to all her interests, and do more to develop her resources than all other causes combined. Compared with the rest of the Union, New Mexico may be called a desert land, and a large portion of it is almost as unfitted for agricultural purposes as the plains of Arabia. In appearance it is the most ancient country I have ever seen, and looks as though it might have been worn out long before the rest of our earth was made. The mountains are mostly barren, barring a stunted growth of pine-trees ; the plains are almost as sterile, and the small fertile valleys are like angels' visits, "few 430 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. and far between." The minds of the people are as bar- ren as the land, with as little hope of being better culti- vated. Congress has donated two sections of land in each township for school purposes ; but so large a por- tion of the country consists of rocky mountains and bar- ren plains that there is a poor prospect of the donation ever yielding much for the cause of education. In lieu of the land, Congress should make an appropriation in money, as an education fund, to be expended in such manner as they might direct — the principal to be proper- ly invested, and the interest arising from it only to be expended. At the session of the Territorial Legislature of 1855 and '56, an act was passed establishing a com- mon-school system, which, it is hoped, will work some good. It will raise a tax of some thirty thousand dol- 3, and provides for at least one school in each precinct of the Territory. The law is defective in many particu- lars, but it exhibits a desire, on the part of the people's representatives, to do something to enlighten the minds of the rising generation. The mere expense of living is greater in New Mexico than in any other section of the United States, and prices are generally much higher than in California. Many ar- ticles of food, and every description of clothing, are brought from the States in wagons, a distance of nearly a thousand miles from the frontiers of Missouri. The trains arrive out in the summer, from June to August, and the wagons are usually drawn by oxen, six and eight yoke making a team. The trip is made in from forty- five to sixty days, and'a large number of wagons usually travel together, for the sake of protection from the In- dians. The usual freight is nine and ten cents per pound. There is no insurance upon the goods thus transported, because of the great risk. Some trains return to the States the same season, while others, which belong to TRIP TO THE NABAJO COUNTRY. 431 the merchants, winter in the Territory, and go in early the next * spring. The goods are mostly delivered at Santa Fe and Albuquerque, whence they are sold to the traders and distributed through the country. The value of the merchandise thus brought into the country in a prosperous season, including the freight paid, can not be less than seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and it may reach a million. The circulating medium of the country is gold and silver, and neither copper nor bank- notes are known in trade. A great quantity of silver dollars and doubloons come from Mexico, and much gold finds its way across from California. The merchants generally make their remittances to the States in drafts obtained from the disbursing officers of the general gov- ernment, which is a great convenience, and attended with less risk. The Americans in the Territory do not exceed five hundred, exclusive of the troops, and are found in all parts of the country. They are engaged in every branch of business, and exhibit the energy always manifested by our countrymen wherever met with. It may be ask- ed whether the native Mexicans have been benefited by the country coming into the possession of the United States, and having our institutions extended over them. From my observation, I believe they have been improved in both a social and political point of view. They live under certain and written laws, and are protected in the enjoyment of all their rights, instead of trusting to the caprice of an irresponsible individual as before. There is a decided improvement in the style of dress and mode of living ; they wear a greater quantity of American goods, and tea, coffee, and sugar are becoming more com- mon in use among the peasantry. Many are dispensing with the serape (blanket) as an every-day garment, and are wearing coats instead ; and buckskin is giving way 432 NEW MEXICO AND HER PEOPLE. to woolen and cotton goods, and moccasins to leather shoes. There is also an improvement in the mode of building, and their houses are made more comfortable than before. I am now about to draw the volume to a close, and take leave of you, my readers. I have endeavored to give you a faithful picture of New Mexico as it now is, with its vices and its virtues. I have written nothing in malice, because I have no such feelings to gratify ; and my only desire is to present a correct knowledge of the country and the people. Some of the sketches show a dark picture in a moral point of view, but they are nev- ertheless true. Let us hope that a brighter day may soon dawn upon this distant and benighted portion of our happy land. THE END. / TURN ) CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 202 Main Library 3078 >AN PERIOD 1 HOME USE 2 3 5 6 1L BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS enewals and Recharges may be made 4 days prior to the due date. ooks may be Renewed by calling 642-3405. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW LIBRARY USE ON * lECEIVFD Mflv 2 3 19& 1 J 1969 gmcu iATioN oe> t ' ' "tlBWjLATION DFPT [AAY : ■ 1 -1 SENT ON ILL — ' — — m 1 2 vis CIRCULATION JEFi B£ CBV£0 m 23^98? pr.UL - PT MAR Ofi 1990 JAN 1 8 1SS5 A , C. BERKELEY W** jg5L RAA NO. DD6 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORI^ BERKELEY, CA 9«, YB 26742 GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELEY B000702M4fi s,'.:. £ i MMHBfltlyHBI^Hi •f.e . ; ■. '■ : ' ) • i j I ■ 5 ' Hi 1 ; , H '-i ' ': ">\ J >t*t ■ t\' ■ i •■'■■-: . I . . . • - - • !i. -.'.■;: . ! till .»«>'■ iFW ■PTTWiIlllt ill Wl Tl -'*?»:'., 1SSB R3 4 • % 1- i' l H'i f 1*1 " » Hi ill* j'l i -•IU' *^J ! 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