iramiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ llll M1IIIIK THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID NEW MEXICO, THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS "SEE AMERICA FIRST" SERIES Each in one volume, decorative cover, profusely illustrated CALIFORNIA, ROMANTIC AND BEAUTIFUL By George Wharton James $5.00 OLD PANAMA AND CASTILLO DEL ORO By C. L. G. Anderson $5.00 THREE WONDERLANDS OF THE AMERICAN WEST By Thomas D. Murphy $5.00 ON SUNSET HIGHWAYS (California) By Thomas D. Murphy $5.00 TEXAS, THE MARVELLOUS By Nevin O. Winter $5.00 ARIZONA, THE WONDERLAND By George Wharton James $5.00 COLORADO: THE QUEEN JEWEL OF THE ROCKIES By Mae Lacy Baggs $5.00 OREGON, THE PICTURESQUE By Thomas D. Murphy $5.00 FLORIDA, THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT By Nevin O. Winter $5.00 SUNSET CANADA (British Columbia and Beyond) By Archie Bell $5.00 ALASKA, OUR BEAUTIFUL NORTHLAND OF OPPORTUNITY By Agnes Rush Burr $5.00 HOUSEBOATING ON A COLONIAL WATER- WAY (The James River, Virginia) By Frank and Cortelle Hutchins $2.50 PANAMA AND THE CANAL TO-DAY By Forbes Lindsay $3.00 A number of additional volumes are in preparation, including Our Wonderland of the East, Maine, Georgia, The Great Lakes, Louisiana, etc., and the " See America First " Series will eventually include the whole of the North American Continent. THE PAGE COMPANY 53 Beacon Street Boston, Mass. The Water Maiden at Laguna. (See page 400.) From a Painting made expressly for the author by Lucille Joullin. NEW MEXICO THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS The History of its Ancient Cliff Dwellings and Pueb- los, Conquest by the Spaniards, Franciscan Missions ; Personal Accounts of the Ceremonies, Games, Social Life and Industries of its Indians ; A Description of its Climate, Geology, Flora and Birds, its Rivers and Forests ; A Review of its Rapid Development, Land- Reclamation Projects and Educational System; with full and accurate accounts of its Progressive Counties, Cities and Towns. BY GEORGE WHARTON JAMES AUTHOR OF "California, Romantic and Beautiful," "Arizona, the Wonderland," etc. With a map and fifty-six plates of which eight are in color THE P A G E CO M P A N V BOSTON * PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1920, By The Page Company All rights reserved First Impression, March, 1920 THE COLONIAL PRESS C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A. \J TO JESSE WALTER FEWKES CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY With whom I have often foregath- ered around campfires in New Mex- ico, surrounded by the glamour of ancient peoples, pre-historic dwell- ings, aboriginal art, and present day Indians, and for whose kindly inter- est in my humble and unpretentious literary work I am deeply grateful. BY WAY OF FOREWORD This is the third of the books on the States of the American Southwest that I have been privileged to write for this See America First series ; California, Romantic and Beautiful, being the first, Arizona,, the Wonderland, the second. When I announced this third volume, my friends asked : " You surely cannot write as enthusi- astically about New Mexico as you have done about Cali- fornia and Arizona?" Yet I knew I should find it equally easy. It was here that I came over thirty years ago, broken in health and spirits, and gained the renewing impulses and courage that ultimately won for me a fuller enjoyment of life than I had ever had before. With my roll of bedding I was ready to sleep on station-platform, when deposited, solitary and alone, often in the dead of night, from the irregularly running trains. I was free to wander off at my own sweet will, making my bed under pinion tree, cliff, or on sandy plain, wherever my patient burro might bring me. The sleeping out of doors under the stars; the ineffable charm of the cool, delicious nights after the days of hot, scorching sunshine; the baths of glorious colour that flooded me, body, mind, and soul, in the sunrises and sunsets; the experiences in sand-storm, wind-storm, hail- storm, snow-storm, and lightning-storm ; the envelop- ment of whirling sand-spirals; the excitements and dan- gers of fording the treacherous quicksands of the streams ; the bathing in their thick, ruddy, muddy waters ; the thrills of swimming across the Rio Grande, when it vi By Way of Foreword was at the flood and its banks were falling in with " vol- leying and thundering ; " the narrow escapes from drown- ing in the wild waters ; the fording of refractory mules, horses and burros across its turbulent flood ; the discom- forts of being caught in storms and compelled to sleep out in the snow, or rain, or — worse still — the suffocat- ing clasp of the hot sand-storm; the near swallowing-up of our wagon in unsuspected beds of quicksand; the watching of the conversion of the dry, sandy desert, in a few hours, into a flooded area through which we plunged as through a marsh; the seeing of a roaring torrent, with wild, dashing breakers, come down the dry washes that had appeared as if water had been strangers to their banks ever since the days of Noah's flood ; — memory re- counts them so rapidly that not only cannot the pen write them ; even the tongue trips and plays traitor to its wonted fluency when it attempts to recount the sights, scenes, ex- periences, and moving events that have transpired, and of which I have been part, in New Mexico during the past thirty years. I feel that I can truthfully say I have had a thrill, a deep emotion, a stirring of the heart, a quick- ening of the pulses, an intellectual enlargement, a scenic feast and a spiritual uplift for every one of the 122,503 square miles of New Mexico. Think what that means ! If Philip James Bailey measured life aright when he wrote, We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial, We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives, Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best, then the thoughtful can imagine what New Mexico has meant, still means, to me. The peace, the rest, the com- By Way of Foreword vii fort, the joy, that have flowed into me, body and soul, on its mesas, and in its mountains, its canyons, and valleys, forests and deserts, among its historic scenes, and when fellowshipping with its Indians, its solitudes and its wild, rollicking cowboys. When I was so young in life's experiences that I felt there were such things as " fates that pursue," and life seemed a horrible nightmare, when men and women shunned me for that which I was not, I fled them and sought refuge in the solitudes of desert and canyon. There, often for weeks at a time, I saw no one but In- dians, or the birds and four-footed wild things that neither shunned me, nor were afraid of me. There I regained poise and that outlook on life that ultimately has brought peace, serenity and joy. Hence I love New Mexico with undying affection that those merely physi- cally born within her borders can never feel. For here my real spiritual birth occurred. Before, having ears I heard not ; eyes, I saw not. Now I hear, see, taste, feel and know, somewhat, and am On The Way to larger, fuller, wider experiences. Were I a poet-rhapsodist it would be no effort, nay, it would be a joy to compose a rhapsody of thanksgiving to this so-called Arid Land. No lover has sung the praises of his mistress with more exuberant enthusiasm than I could put, honestly and sincerely, into my song of New Mexico. To the average newspaper-reading American the name, New Mexico, brings up little more than thoughts of a disagreeable fight in Congress about two would-be states — itself and Arizona. They see President Roosevelt urging that they cease striving to be admitted as two states, and swinging his famous big stick in a vigorous endeavour to reunite them as they used to be in Spanish viii By Way of Foreword and Mexican days. He found he could as easily ac- complish this as he could unite oil and water, or Lloyd George combine into one coherent political state the Catholics and the Orangemen of Ireland. Yet if that average American would study New Mexico he would find it as I have done, a country of many sur- prises, wonders and delights. It is a land of sunshine, solitude, silence, serenity, saints, sinners, salubrity, sand, scoriae, scorpions, snakes, seduction, squabbles, segrega- tion, shame and sacrifice. It is a natural sanitarium, a land of sandy slopes and sapphire skies, a land for the savant and the saunterer, the serious and the saucy, a scenic saturnalia regno, a place where past, present and fu- ture are hand in hand, where antithesis reigns supreme, ancient and modern civilizations jog elbows, and where the present sits in the very lap of the prehistoric. It is a v land where the religion of one class of the people mani- fested itself in " the Delight-makers," and of another in the " Penitentes ; " — the former people whose sole duty as religionists was to make people laugh by their jokes, jests, and clownish acts; the latter a band of religious fanatics who whip themselves with cruel cactus-thongs until blood streams down their bodies. Both classes still exist in Nezv Mexico to-day. It is a land of rich fertil- ity and of hopeless barrenness; where irrigation has been practiced for centuries, even long before Columbus sailed from Spain on his voyage of discovery, and, on the other hand, of sandy plains, rocky mesas, lava-strewn areas where foothold even is denied to man. Here are snowy peaks which companion scintillant stars more vivid and larger than stars known east of the Rockies, and which rest on mountain shoulders richly clad in a marvelously varied silva, under whose shade silver streams dash and sing, splash and roar on their way to be lost in the By Way of Foreword ix deserts of the plain, where prickly mesquite and buck- brush, thorny yucca and cactus, and pale, bloodless ver- dure eagerly drink up such few drops as still remain. I have purposely given much space to the strange and superstitious life of the Indians and Mexicans of New Mexico, yet I would not thereby have the intelligent reader gain a wrong impression of the modern New Mexico. These things do exist, exactly as the many writers quoted, and I, myself, state. Yet they are not so obtrusive and insistent as to demand the attention of passing travelers. Indeed the converse is the rule. One might live in New Mexico for a score of years and never see them. They must be hunted for, waited and watched for, if one wishes to see them in their native simplicity. Even then, as I think I have shown clearly, not every person has the wit or tact to enable him to remain and witness what is about to transpire. While Albuquerque is but a few miles from villages where the Mexicans are penitentes, and believe in witchcraft, and a few score miles from Acoma, Zuni and Isleta, Indian villages where witches are hung and the strange kivna performances are still carried on, Albuquerque itself is as modern and progressive as Los Angeles, California; Day- ton, Ohio, or Marshalltown, Iowa. It is these surround- ing facts that give the piquancy, uniqueness, thrilling vividness of surprise and contrast to life in the modern cities of New Mexico. One with an artistic soul has called New Mexico — not inappropriately — the land of High Colours and High Places. While to the unknowing the colours of the paintings reproduced in this book may seem bizarre and exaggerated I must assert, in sober earnestness, that they no more than suggest the reality. Colours abound, radiate, vibrate, throb, delight, entrance, bewilder and By Way of Foreword confuse. Some who see them for the first time, become bewildered and confused, for, coming from the soft-toned east and middle west, they can scarce believe their own eyes. " Striking " is scarcely a forcible enough word. These colours sometimes almost stun one who is un- used to them, just as Wagner's, Strauss's, Brahms's, Rachmaninoff's or Dvorak's music at first stunned those who were wedded to the quieter, gentler forms. And the high places are equally fascinating and allur- ing. New Mexico is the land of lands for mesas, fiat- topped mountains, and elevated plateaus. Off towards Arizona, in the northwest, are towering monuments and buttes, walls and castles, domes and turrets galore. The Navahos revel in them and, as we shall see, the Zunis and Acomas either live or used to live upon their level wind-swept areas. Black Mesa, on the Rio Grande, is historic, for here great battles were fought between Spaniard and Pueblo, and the Mesa Encantada — Kat- zimo — the Enchanted Mesa, has become famous the world over owing to the controversies that have raged about it. Tucumcari is named after a rocky mesa nearby, which used to be one of the retreating places of the Apaches. New Mexico has been a great land of controversy, a mental battle ground, where doughty champions of many kinds have fought, won, or been worsted in the defense of their ideas. A score of combatants have contended for their rendition of the route of Coronado ; almost as many have fought as to which " city " was the one of the " Seven Cities of Cibola " where Stephen the negro lost his life. We have argued, and possibly will con- tinue to argue, as to whether the Franciscans really bene- fited the Indians or not; and in recent numbers of Old Santa Fe hot and bitter controversy has raged over such By Way of Foreword xi questions as to whether the friars had complete bibles or not. To this day it is hard to tell whether General Carleton was efficient or not ; and who can sort out, from the mass of conflicting opinion, whether the Apaches and Navahos were " fiends incarnate " or " noble aborigines who have been fearfully wronged by the white man." The question is not settled yet as to whether the Texas Expedition to Santa Fe in 1841 was an unwarrantable and indefensible attempt to seize territory from a friendly republic, or an honest attempt to meet the wishes of many people of New Mexico who desired to sever their relation- ship with Mexico. Scores of pages have been written to prove that Cabeza de Vaca went into New Mexico, and that Santa Fe is the oldest city in the United States. Even the location of the room in El Palacio, in Santa Fe, in which Lew Wallace wrote Ben Hur has been a matter of controversy, and the loud words in the bitter discussion as to whether Katzimo, — the Enchanted Mesa, — was really the original home of the Acoma Indians still send their echoes throughout the land. Who doesn't know of the fierce controversies that have raged as to the origin and final disappearance of the Cliff-Dwellers, and to this day it is not settled whether we are justified in spelling Navaho with an h or a j. Even the names of the moun- tains have been the subject of controversy, and some of us call a certain mountain San Mateo, — a name given centuries ago, — while others call it Mt. Taylor, after the redoubtable president of that name, while those who be- lieve in retaining the original names given by the Indians, would call it — it is impossible to write it — after the tongue of the Navaho. " Where is the Gran Quivera?" used to be a question that would speedily start a fight, and who owns the Sanctuario — the old Franciscan Mission at Chimayo where the marvelous happenings of Lourdes, xii By Way of Foreword in France, are said to be duplicated, — is still a question in the minds of many. Even the spelling of the name of the city of Albuquerque is a matter of controversy. The old records show that the name of the duke, after whom the city was named, had one " r " more than is now used, and wrote and spelled it Alburquerque — as does Editor Twitchell of the Old Santa Fe magazine and the best- posted historian of the state. To this day the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congre- gationalist will assert that the confessed illiteracy of the New Mexico of twenty, fifty and more years ago was owing to the Catholic priesthood's deliberate purpose to keep the people in ignorance, and the devout Catholic will heatedly resent the imputation and defy the imputator. As for the healthfulness, salubrity, social advantages, business qualifications and the like of Santa Fe as against those of Albuquerque — it is a case of Frank Stockton's Lady and the Tiger, and the outsider, drawn into the argument, rejects one horn of the dilemma to be impaled immediately upon the other. And these are a few only of the controversies that have raged in New Mexico, and in some of which I have glee- fully had my part. It is contended by some that debate quickens the intellect — we know it oftentimes sharpens the temper — and if this be true then we might augur well for the intellectual future of the state. Few states in the Union show such marvelous con- trasts as does New Mexico. They are startling and dra- matic. For instance, one coming into the State on the Rock Island road and over the El Paso and South West- ern will ride for scores of miles over an elevated plateau country, almost devoid of verdure, heavily covered with snow in winter, and scorching in the fierce rays of the sun in summer. There are few vivifying brooks, creeks, By Way of Foreword xiii or rivers and little or no grateful shade of trees. Except for scant pasturage for cattle and sheep the land seems useless, and many a passenger exclaims " God-forsaken ! " and, pulling down the car-shades, seeks forgetfulness and the more rapid passing of time in sleep. On the other hand, many prominent and leading artists of the American world find in Taos and its environment one of the most beautiful of spots, richly alluring and satisfying. Entering from the northeast on the Santa Fe an en- tirely different country is seen. One crosses the well- wooded Raton Mountains before he descends to the plains. A somewhat similar experience is had in coming over the Denver and Rio Grande from Colorado, while in the south coming from the west, the El Paso and South Western and Southern Pacific have an entirely different kind of desert country to reveal. North of El Paso, out westward from Alamogordo, are miles and miles of gypsum sand, which, in the brilliant sunlight, appears ex- actly like snow; while out from Laguna, by McCarthy's, and Bluewater, in the region of Mount San Mateo, and south from Grants for miles, lie the forbidding lava-beds that look like the spewings of some fiery region of black despair. As early as 1880 Bandelier affirmed the superior ad- vantages of New Mexico as a field for archaeological and ethnological study. He said : It is the only region on the whole continent where the highest type of culture obtained by its aborigines — the village community in stone or adobe buildings — has been preserved on the respective ter- ritories of the tribes. These tribes have shrunk, the purity of their stock has been affected, their customs and beliefs encroached upon by civilization. Still enough is left to make of New Mexico the ob- jective point of serious, practical archaeologists; for, besides the living Pueblo Indians, besides the numerous ruins of their past, the xiv By Way of Foreword very history of the changes that they have undergone is partly in existence, and begins three hundred and forty years ago, with Coronado's adventurous march. There is no attempt in this volume to give a complete history of New Mexico. That were too extensive an undertaking and the field is already well occupied. My purpose is to give in readable guise a broad and general idea of the State as a whole, or, at least, of its more im- portant and arresting features. I have desired to suggest to the interested reader the great importance New Mexico had in the development of the Pacific States. Arizona and California, originally, were merely side issues connected with this, the main ob- ject of the explorer's attention. The history of New Mexico is the history of the be- ginning of civilization in the western part of the United States. It is of such vast importance that two large vol- umes are required merely to catalogue its Spanish Ar- chives. For, as its name implies, it was regarded as a new Mexico, and Coronado and his conquistadores fondly hoped to find therein the gold, silver and precious things that had enriched Cortes in Mexico, Pizzaro in Peru, and dazzled the old world. How strangely small, insignificant and even absurd are the things that lure men to change the course of history. It was a myth, a will-o'-the-wisp, that allured Coronado to the exploration of New Mexico, — a mere crazy tale that rumour had set afoot years before ; just such a ru- mour as sends men to-day speeding hither and yonder to find gold. Mexico and Peru were the " Klondikes " that had dazzled the eyes of all Europe by their prodigal and fabulous wealth. The stories that spread over Spain, Mexico and elsewhere about the tons of golden and silver vessels, the abundance of precious stones, etc., of Monte- By Way of Foreword xv zuma and the Incas made men crazy with cupidity and they were ready and eager to fly in any direction that suggested a duplication of the experiences of the envied Cortes and Pizarro. The myth that started the explorers into New Mexico was that " somewhere " up in that region where the buf- falo roamed were seven cities, richer in gold and all that man lusted after than anything that had yet been dis- covered./ The report of Marcos de Nizza, who was sent out to verify the rumours by Mendoza, the Viceroy, who hoped to outdo Cortes in his discoveries, did not lessen the excitement. /iThe soap-bubble was still growing, still daz- zling with its brilliant iridescence. It was Coronado's expedition that pricked it and its disappearance into thin air was so startlingly rapid that it took the Spaniards years to get over it. It practically killed Coronado for it may truthfully be said he died of a broken heart, a dis- illusioned, disappointed man./ All that the Spaniards found were seven Indian pueblos — villages built of adobe, or rude pieces of rock plastered over with adobe — whose people lived in aboriginal sim- plicity, who had neither gold, silver, precious stones, nor anything of great value. They knew nothing of mining, though they had picked up a little turquoise, and a few garnets and peridots. Refusing to believe that his bubble had burst and dis- appeared so utterly, Coronado pushed his way into Kan- sas. There, convinced against his will, he turned back, and at that moment to the great world of endeavour he practically died. Myths of fabulous treasure, however, die hard, and in the hope that the country would still justify the first stories told of it later explorers came — again to be dis- appointed. A new element, by now, began to assert itself. xvi By Way of Foreword This was an age of religious zeal and activity never be- fore or since surpassed. The monkish orders of Spain were as frenzied in their zeal to save the souls of the heathen aborigines as the explorers were to get gold. Hence with all bands of the latter that started out on their gold hunts came friars — Franciscan, Jesuit, Carmelite, Dominican — eager to gain the priceless reward of the spirit, ambitious to win the approval of their God by lead- ing the souls of the natives into the fold of the church. Then began another invasion — that of the mission- aries. Churches, convents, monasteries sprang up like magic on every hand. The fervour of these men seems incredible. Eager to become martyrs they dared death daily by forcing their religion upon jealous natives, and such was their fiery energy and dauntless courage that they succeeded in convincing the Indians — against their will and desire — that they must help build the temples of worship desired by the newcomers. This was the period when the Mission Churches of New Mexico arose, ioo to 150 years earlier than those of California. Simul- taneously villas or towns were started — San Gabriel, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, — for the Spanish and Mexican colonists, who still clung to the old tradition or myth and fondly hoped they might find the wealth their predecessors doubtless had overlooked. Between them — friars and colonists — they succeeded in arousing in the hearts of the Indians a hatred so intense, fiery and unsuppressible that the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 ensued and violent death stalked through the land. On that dread day of Santana, 1680, the Indians, led by the zealous patriot, Pope, arose almost to a man — and woman, for the women shared in this bitter hatred — and fell upon every " long-gown," every white man and woman they could reach. By Way of Foreword xvii Scores were slain, Santa Fe was besieged and Governor Otermin, with a band of clinging, terrified refugees, fear- fully fled down the Rio Grande to near where El Paso now stands and breathlessly waited for help. It came in time, and under Diego de Vargas the In- dians were first cajoled and then whipped into submis- sion. From that time, until the Mexicans asserted their independence, the Pueblos of New Mexico were regarded as loyal to Spain — lukewarm, perhaps, yet not actively hostile, transferring their allegiance in perfunctory fash- ion to the republic of Mexico, and, on the arrival of Kearny, in 1846, to the United States. It must be noted, however, that there were other In- dians, besides the Pueblos, such as the Apaches and Navahos, who were not inclined to accept the sovereignty of Spain, and who looked with a greater or lesser degree of contempt and scorn upon all attempts of the friars to change their religion. Their attitude plainly was that of the more modern skeptic who, on being informed that unless he believed what the church taught, would as- suredly be damned, promptly replied that " he would be damned if he did." They were insolent, defiant, incor- rigible and unconquerable. Missionaries and colonists had brought into the land horses, cows, sheep and innu- merable seeds for fruit trees, vegetables and grains. With a speedy appreciation of the value of the former these wily nomads began to levy unauthorized contribu- tions upon the flocks and herds of the colonists and those of the Indians who had become Christianized and counted as "the faithful." A state of perpetual war, therefore, might be said to exist, the Apaches, Navahos and a few of the tribes swooping down upon the Spaniards and Mexicans and their possessions, in season and out, and being in turn slain singly or massacred in droves, when- xviii By Way of Foreword ever the tide of fortune turned in favour of the whites. It was during these fighting days that the Navaho woman learned the art of blanket-weaving — which she had always known in a very crude and primitive fashion — with the wool from the sheep of the Spaniard, and to this fact, combined with the Navaho man's discovery that roast sheep and ox were more satisfying than the flesh of rabbits and the like, is undoubtedly owing most of the depredations committed by the nomad Indians upon the Mexicans. In these conflicts considerable skill and generalship often were displayed, and thus came into existence a mass of stories, told with great gusto around the herders' and cowboys' campfires, and before the open fire-places of the Mexican homes, of deeds daring and thrilling, of narrow escapes and bloody achievements, of which later writers have made good use. In these Spanish and Mexican days, too, great grants of land were given to Americans and other foreigners as well as those who used the Castilian speech (pure or other- wise). These were afterwards the subject of much harassing legislation, mainly because of a misunderstand- ing as to the reasons, etc., the real motive, behind the grants. It is well that this motive be understood, for, while it was just, potent, and reasonable in that day, it does not exist in ours, and, therefore, many wise people of to-day argue it never did exist. No intelligent reader of history can forget that when the Spaniards took New Mexico land was of little value. They had found a new world many scores of times larger than the whole of that part of the old world claimed by them. They could neither use nor protect it. Two hun- dred years later when the Mexicans drove out the Span- iards the new owners were confronted with the same By Way of Foreword xix problems. They wanted to retain some kind of hold upon it, yet foes without caused fears within, especially as there were foes within as well as without. Land, par- ticularly when it was upon the Mexican frontier adjoin- ing territory of the United States, was always adjudged insecure. The Mexicans knew the land-grabbing, coun- try-swallowing habits of the aggressive Anglo-Saxon, hence they felt that if, by granting such land to men who would use and hold it against all comers, they would not only retain their sovereignty over the land, but would place an effective buffer between themselves and a people whom they strongly mistrusted. Then, too, Navahos, Apaches, Utes, Comanches and others, were ever war- ring upon them, and it was a help and a comfort to feel that some redoubtable Indian fighter was at hand to arrest these aggressions and occasionally " take a rise " out of the aggressors. It can be seen, therefore, that it was a wise policy on the part of the Mexican Government to make these grants. They led to the founding of colonies, to the extension of the boundaries of civilization, and set up barriers against the inroads of the savages and the encroachments of their enterprising and active neighbours across the border. What to them meant a few acres, a few thousands, a few hundreds of thousands of acres, of land ? They were glad to give it to any in whose loyalty and courage they had belief that they would help to hold it. And, when the Mexican Government ceded New Mexico and California to the United States, it must never be forgotten, as Frank Springer eloquently and forcefully argued before the United States Supreme Court, that the Mexican Government expressly stipulated that its previ- ous grants of land should be acknowledged and protected. Of course the seizing of the country by General Stephen Kearny, in 1846, caused considerable excitement, though xx By Way of Foreword there was practically little bloodshed consequent upon the act. Kearny's arrest of Fremont, later, in California, produced an immensely greater ripple in American thought than did the annexation of the whole of New Mexico (including what is now Arizona). In one of the chapters I have endeavoured to show what a wonderful " playground " New Mexico is for the United States. But I have merely touched the high lights of the subject, as will be apparent to all who know the country. Yet I cannot too strongly commend this phase of the subject to those who are looking for change, to whom doctors say : " Travel ; go somewhere for a change." There is no place in the world that will better repay a serious visit of a few months spent in wandering up and down its square miles. For what is change of air, change of scene, change of work? Few people ana- lyze the reason why these changes are so beneficial. Is it not that they bring a change of thought, of mental atti- tude, of outlook? The man whose every moment has been devoted to his business, his clerks, his store, his office, his factory, his mill, is now away from them. He sees birds and bees, buds and blossoms, mountains and canyons, rushing, roaring rivers, tuneful cataracts, dash- ing sprays, whirling rapids, fleecy clouds in the bluest of blue skies, men and women tramping — hiking they now call it — up trails, or riding horse- or burro-back for far- away mountain peaks. He is out in the sun, in the fresh air. He puts on his old clothes, or a suit of khaki bought for the occasion, and feels the freedom of a soft shirt, and of a collar that has none of the compression of a harness. He goes out bareheaded, and becomes as brown as a berry, new muscles come into play; he breathes deeper than he has done for years. At first it makes him dizzy, and tired, but he eats like a hired man and sleeps By Way of Foreword xxi like a baby, rolls in the dirt like a tramp and looks as healthy and rugged as a hobo. His brain becomes clearer and he thinks better. He loses his headache and back- ache, and that old stomach trouble that has worried him for years disappears. His liver no longer gives him twinges and those stiff joints begin to work easier. He drinks the pure mountain water by the gallon, and that yellow tinge in the eyes and on his skin disappears. His breath becomes pure; he no longer wakes up in the morning with a dark brown taste in his mouth, and his friends, seeing him walk, comment on his rejuvenated appearance. These, and more, far more, are the physical changes discernible and apparent in him as a month is passed by, and the longer he stays the better he feels. But these changes are by no means the most important. His mind becomes as clarified with the scrubbing of the scenery, as his lungs do with the pure air. His sensi- bilities tingle and dance with the invigoration of the scenic tonics as his blood dances with the increased sup- ply of oxygen. His whole mentality becomes saner, more controlled, less under the dominion of things outside of him, just as his nerves have come under his own control. New and vivid mental impressions of joy, of health, of vigour, of vim fill his hours with optimism; his whole inner nature is stirred, moved, refreshed, shaken-up, re- stored. With Edwin Markham he shouts in exuberant joy: I ride on mountain tops, I ride; I have found my life and am satisfied. No one knows better than I the inadequacy of my sketchy picturing of this great State in all its alluring phases. If, however, I can lead a few people of intelli- XX11 By Way of Foreword gence each year to break loose from the traditional and conventional routes of travel and give themselves the joy of roughing it in New Mexico, I shall receive such gratitude from them — even though it be only by wire- less — that I shall be fully satisfied. ^^^^ Pasadena, California, 1920. CONTENTS [AFTER PAGE By Way of Foreword v I. Why " The Land of the Delight Makers "...... i II. The Explorations and Subjugations of New Mexico 8 III. The Homeric Epic of New Mexico . 20 IV. The Great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 . 24 V. The World's Greatest Autograph Al- bum, Inscription Rock ... 34 VI. My Adventures at Zuni . . 51 VII. Among the Witches .... 80 VIII. Hunting with Indians in New Mexico 98 IX. Acoma, the City of the Cliffs . . 124 X. Katzimo — The Enchanted Mesa . 178 XI. The Arts and Industries of the Indians 186 XII. The Religion of the Indians . . 195 XIII. Indian Songs and Music . . . 220 XIV. The Native Architecture of New Mexico ...... 244 XV. The Pueblo of Taos .... 257 XVI. The Antiquities of New Mexico. Its Ancient Dwellings — Its Mission Churches ..... 266 XVII. The American Passion Play . . 269 XVIII. The Mountains of New Mexico . . 302 XIX. The National Forests of New Mexico 322 XX. The Bird Life of New Mexico . . 334 XXI. The Flora of New Mexico . . . 340 xxiii XXIV Contents CHAPTER XXII. The Influence of New Mexico upon Literature .... XXIII. The Influence of New Mexico upon Art : The Taos Society of Artists XXIV. Ancient and Modern Methods of See ing New Mexico XXV. New Mexico as the Nation's Play ground ..... XXVI. Education in New Mexico . XXVII. The University and Special Schools of New Mexico .... XXVIII. The Art Museum of Santa Fe XXIX. Irrigation in New Mexico . XXX. Albuquerque, The Commercial Metrop olis of New Mexico . XXXI. The Population of New Mexico . Bibliography .... Index ..... 347 373 403 409 414 421 428 444 45° 458 461 463 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Water Maiden at Laguna (In full color). (See page 400) .... Frontispiece The Pueblo of Isleta ...... xi MAP OF NEW MEXICO 1 A Carlsbad Home ...... 5 The Old Franciscan Mission at the Pueblo of Zia (In full color) ...... 16 The Old Mexican Ovens at San Lorenzo . . 31 El Morro — Inscription Rock .... 34 The Pueblo of Zuni from across the River . . 56 Man and Boy, Zuni ...... 59 We-wha, the remarkable Zuni character who visited President Cleveland .... 63 We-wha at the Grinding Trough in her house at Zuni ........ 64 Zuni Dick and his Brother making shell bead necklaces ....... 68 The Pillars known as " The Caique's Son and Daughter," on Taiyoallane, near Zuni . . J2 Zuni Nick, soon after he was tried as a Wizard 86 Melita, the day after she was rescued from Hanging as a witch ..... 92 Pueblo Indian, with throwing stick, ready for a Rabbit Hunt ....... 98 From the author's Collection of We-ma-he, or Prey Fetiches . . . . . . .110 The New Mexico Desert Region in Winter (In full color) 113 XXV xxvi List of Illustrations PAGE The Cliffs of Acoma, showing the Old Francis- can Mission ....... 126 A Street in Acoma ...... 130 The Governor of Laguna . . . . 137 Interior of the Old Franciscan Mission at Acoma 154 The Pueblo of Laguna ..... 160 Dance at the Fiesta de San Esteban at Acoma (In full color) . . . . . . .170 Katzimo, or The Enchanted Mesa, from the North ........ 178 Pueblo Indians Making Pottery . . . 192 Pahos, or Prayer Sticks ..... 207 Manuelito, the Last Great Navaho Chief . . 214 Preparing for a Dance, Zuni .... 225 A Dance at Laguna ...... 239 The Old Mission Church at Zuni . . . 245 The Mission Church at Cochiti, before, and after, " Restoration "..... 250 " Christ on the Cross," in the Morada at Taos . 262 The Penitente Cross at San Mateo . . . 274 The Self-whipping of the New Mexico Peni- tentes (In full color) ..... 282 The Author attempting to carry a typical Peni- tente Cross ....... 288 The Carreta delMuerto used by the Penitentes at Taos ........ 292 A Summer Camp in the Santa Fe National Forest 307 San Mateo Mountain — also called Mt. Taylor 310 Bear Canyon, in the Sandias . . . .318 A Goat Ranch in the Lincoln National Forest 328 Santa Fe Lake, Santa Fe National Forest A New Mexico Wild Turkey The Guardian of the Desert (In full color) Palo Verde — Mesquite — Desert Flora A New Mexico " Vocalist " . The " Ocatillo " . • . 332 335 340 344 368 394 List of Illustrations xxvii The Sentinels of the Desert — The Mirage — The Snowy Range ..... The Pepper Stringers (In full color) A Pueblo Indian Funeral Procession at Isleta 400 Quaken Aspen Grove, Cloudcroft Indian School, Laguna .... " The Cathedral of the Desert " : Museum and Auditorium, Santa Fe (In full color) Elephant Butte Dam ..... Section of the Main Canal, Carlsbad Project Church of San Felipe de Neri PAGE 396 399 412 418 428 446 448 453 An Albuquerque Residential Street . .. i9 . 456 n n NEW MEXICO, THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS CHAPTER I WHY " THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS " To rightly choose a title for any book is generally a work of difficulty, of much earnest search and deep cogi- tation. Yet in this case the title came readily. One of the most fascinating books ever written by a deeply seri- ous student of Archaeology is the novel of Adolf Bande- lier — The Delight Makers. In it he builds up for us, — from his intimate knowledge of the documentary history, the wealth of gathered tradition, and his familiarity with the life of their immediate descendants, — the social, re- ligious, and tribal life of the prehistoric cliff-dwellers, the Tyuonyi — that strange race, which much conjecture and guesswork has involved in clouds of deep and impene- trable mystery. Known to the Spanish population as the Rito do los Frijoles, it was left for Bandelier to discover to the world the wealth of cliff-dwellings its canyon walls contained. They are now visited annually by thousands. To teach the unscientific world the significance of these cliff-dwellings was Bandelier's intense desire, and to ac- complish this he hit upon the plan of the popular novel. Doubtless had he been alive to-day he would have been " unscientific " enough — in the profundity of his insight l NEW MEXICO, THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS CHAPTER I WHY " THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS " To rightly choose a title for any book is generally a work of difficulty, of much earnest search and deep cogi- tation. Yet in this case the title came readily. One of the most fascinating books ever written by a deeply seri- ous student of Archaeology is the novel of Adolf Bande- lier — The Delight Makers. In it he builds up for us, — from his intimate knowledge of the documentary history, the wealth of gathered tradition, and his familiarity with the life of their immediate descendants, — the social, re- ligious, and tribal life of the prehistoric cliff-dwellers, the Tyuonyi — that strange race, which much conjecture and guesswork has involved in clouds of deep and impene- trable mystery. Known to the Spanish population as the Rito do los Frijoles, it was left for Bandelier to discover to the world the wealth of cliff-dwellings its canyon walls contained. They are now visited annually by thousands. To teach the unscientific world the significance of these cliff-dwellings was Bandelier's intense desire, and to ac- complish this he hit upon the plan of the popular novel. Doubtless had he been alive to-day he would have been " unscientific " enough — in the profundity of his insight 2 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers into human nature — to use " movies " for the same pur- pose. Here is his own statement : I was prompted to perform the work by a conviction that, however scientific works may tell the truth about the Indians they exercise always a limited influence upon the general public ; and to that public, in our country as well as abroad the Indian has remained as good as unknown. By clothing sober facts in the garb of romance, I have hoped to make the " Truth about the Pueblo Indians " more accessible and perhaps more acceptable to the public in general. He called his novel The Delight Makers from the clowns who performed their antics and buffoonery for the delectation of the prehistoric dwellers in the cliffs. These delight-makers were of the oldest inhabitants, but, also, they were prophetic of the later comers to New Mexico, and more particularly of the land itself. Hun- dreds of thousands of students of the life of the past have visited, and will visit, New Mexico because of its wealth of archccologic and ethnologic material. Those who are interested in the home-building Pueblo Indians, their quaint legends, their pathetic struggles to retain their an- cient religion, their slow demoralization by contact with the whites, will go in ever increasing numbers to their New Mexico homes so long as a spark of the ancient civilization and a handful of its representatives remain. While scenically New Mexico lost its most wonderful part when Arizona was sliced from its western side, it still retains enough to be a peculiar wonderland within itself. Acoma is still the incomparable cliff-home of the sky ; Zuni, with its Thunder Mountain, and its archaic people, the lodestone to the seeker after the quaint and curious, as well as the picturesque and sublime. No lava-fields in the world can surpass those viewed from the summit of Mt. San Mateo and the cliffs of Cibolleta. There is but one Inscription Rock in the world. The Navaho Indians " The Land of the Delight Makers " 3 are equally interesting with any other tribe in existence and their Fire Dance, their Ship-Rock, Canyon de Chelly, and a thousand and one scenic spots on their reservation await the coming of the hundreds of thousands who will ultimately visit them. The Pueblos of the Rio Grande still stand to excite the imagination of other visitors as they did that of Marah Ellis Ryan, who there wrote her Flute of the Gods. The old Spanish palace and the Mis- sion Church of San Miguel, in Santa Fe, remain, with their stories of the Pueblo uprising of 1680, and Ben Hur and Lew Wallace. Taos, with its great community houses, still remains the northernmost outpost to which Pueblo Indian civilization reached. The Enchanted Mesa — Katzimo — still stands in the pure blue of the New Mexico sky, luring visitors to seek to gain its sum- mit as did Professor William Libbey, of Princeton, and wage a wordy war about it as did the climber and the redoubtable Teuton of Western Letters — Lummis — as to whether it was really the home of the ancient Acoma. Villegra's epic poem, giving the history in Spanish verse of the conquest of the cliff-city of Acoma by Zaldivar, will still thrill thousands — hundreds of thousands — as the years go by, with its vivid word pictures of the dread- ful fight on the penyol height. The penitentes still exist and in their moradas perform those strange rites that re- call the days of our Lord's passion, and then come out into the open, and upon their small Calvarios, reenact the scene of the dire tragedy of Calvary of two thousand years ago, after flagellating themselves until blood streams down their lacerated backs. The Spanish Mis- sion churches of New Mexico still remain, some of them one hundred and fifty years older than those of Califor- nia, and while not so pleasing and striking architecturally, they confessedly possess far more historic interest. 4 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers And so I might ramble on by the hour, just as the whim seizes, recalling the delight-making reminiscences that occur as I think casually of the New Mexico over which I have traveled in the past thirty-odd years. And I would not ignore the lure of its invigorating climate that invites to the healthfulness of the open-air life and gives back vigour and strength to the hundreds of thousands who have lost them in their mad and pathetic chase for wealth, or a livelihood, in the crowded cities of the East and Middle West. Its sunshiny, pure atmosphered, for- est-sloped area brings delight in that it aids materially in restoring the weak, anemic, and sick to vigorous health. The conditions invite one into the open. Individually they call also in vivid chorus and orchestra, but all with the same theme : " Come out into the open! Let us fill your lungs with the purest of sun-laden, balsam-charged air. Let us induce you to walk, to exercise, to ride, to golf, to motor, to row, to swim, to climb, and thus brush the cobwebs from the brains and muscles, strengthen the body, vivify and quicken the legs, and, better than all, free the spirit, and give new life, vim, ambition, activity to the will ! " For this is what New Mexico actually does to the health-seeker, and thus fills him with the new delight of joyous, happy, exuberant living. Under such conditions despondency is put to rout, the blue devils are slain, gloom and despair are unknown, and even the con- firmed hypochondriac becomes infected with radiant joy, and laughs, " and sings, and shouts in the fields about," while he totally forgets his imaginary wrongs and ills. Then it has ever been a delight to the stock man. New Mexico, with its immense mountain ranges, long sloping foothills and vast grazing areas, seemed especially adapted for cattle, and from Raton to Gallup, Taos to Deming, it is known the United States over as one of the largest " The Land of the Delight Makers " 5 beef-producing States of the Union. Sheep, too, and goats, are the chosen stock not only of Navahos and Mexicans — who own them in herds of many hundreds, and even thousands — but of many shrewd white men who have amassed large fortunes from their wool, mut- ton, and pelts. If money-producing mines cause delight then New Mexico is a delight maker in this field, for it has been rich in productive mines ever since the days when Espejo and his men discovered valuable ores and found the In- dians well versed in the art of mining turquoise. In Soc- corro County is its State School of Mines, and on the Santa Fe sidings at Gallup hundreds of carloads of coal, just mined, can be seen, about to be hauled to California and other Western points, and as far east as Kansas. Is there any limit to the delight experienced by the farmer who sees barren and arid land subject to the vivi- fying influence of water, secured by judicious conserva- tion of the flood streams, or by tapping the inexhaustible underground flow of hitherto unknown sources ? Deming and its surrounding Mimbres Valley, in two or three dec- ades, has built up from nothing to a thriving city of 4,000 inhabitants, and a region smiling with fertility and dotted with the homes of a healthy and prosperous and happy people. Below Elephant Butte dam, like a giant link of sausages, lie the fertile areas of Palomas, Rincon, the upper and lower Mesilla, and the El Paso Valleys, all of them brought into wonderful productiveness by the conservation of the hitherto untamed Rio Grande. On the Pecos River, too, the United States Reclamation en- gineers have expended their intellect and energy in con- trolling the flood waters and diverting them to lands of great promise, and the cities of Roswell and Carlsbad and their thriving environs loudly assert that New Mexico 6 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers is still a land for the making of delight by means of agri- culture. And the reclaiming processes go on sometimes without the discovery of new, or the control of the wild, sources of water for irrigation. The people of New Mexico in some regions, especially the Estancia Valley, are watch- ing their bank accounts become actually plethoric because of their discovery that beans grow prolifically in their hitherto slowly developing regions. " Bean festivals " are becoming growingly more popular in the State, and I can vouch that the delight manifested on the faces and in the demeanour of residents and visitors alike has never been surpassed by the world- famed bean-eaters of the far-away East, though their beans are accompanied by noted brands of brown bread and culture. Finally, as one reads the chapter on the influence of New Mexico upon literature and art, it will be seen how great has been the delight produced in artist and author by this land of wonder and fascination. Taos, for half a century, has attracted its artists and to-day boasts a large and growing colony whose pictures are recognized as belonging to the noted art productions of America. Santa Fe has become a noted Literary Colony. Here Bandelier produced some of his greatest work; in its an- cient Palacio General Lew Wallace wrote part of his Ben Hur. Here Davis gained much of the material for his El Gringo and Spanish Conquest, and Lummis stored his mind with history and romance which he afterwards put into his Land of Poco Tiempo, Spanish Pioneers, and two volumes of fascinating short stories. It is also the home of the first real field-school of American Archae- ology in America. Indeed it can confidently be affirmed that without New Mexico there would be no accepted Science of American Archaeology to the outside world. "The Land of the Delight Makers " 7 Hence, for these and many other reasons that will occur to those familiar with the land, it will be seen that we owe much to Bandelier for the use of his happy phrase, " the Land of the Delight-Makers." CHAPTER II THE EXPLORATIONS AND SUBJUGATIONS OF NEW MEXICO The transcontinental journey of Cabeza de Vaca, after the destruction of the ill-fated expedition of Pam- philo de Narvaez, is well known. And so, also, is the memorable journey of Coronado, when Zuni, Acoma, the Hopi pueblos, those of the Rio Grande and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River were discovered and de- scribed for the first time; also his expedition which reached out as far as Wichita, Kansas. The failure of Coronado's expedition withheld further exploration for four decades, though the frontier of Mex- ican settlement was being constantly thrust forward and nearer by explorers, missionaries, miners, cattlemen and the military. Reports of the large settlements of the Pueblos were coming in all the time and they did not minify the cotton fields and the wealth of the food sup- ply of the Indians. In 1581, on June 5, an expedition left Santa Barbara, Mexico, comprising three friars, nine soldiers and about sixteen Indian servants. The organ- izer of the party was Fray Augustin Rodriguez, and the commander of the soldiers was Francisco Sanchez, com- monly called Chamuscado. These people reached Acoma and two of the missionaries remained in the country. The other one, Fray Santa Maria, who had decided to go back alone, was murdered in a few days by Indians. The reports of this expedition excited the people of New Spain, and led to the final subjugation of New Mexico by Juan de Ofiate. 8 The Explorations of New Mexico 9 But in the meantime the Franciscans were active on behalf of their brethren who were out among the savages of this little-known land. In their anxiety they organized an expedition, that had their interests first of all at heart, led by Fray Bernaldino Beltran. This was financed by a wealthy citizen of Mexico, Antonio de Espejo, and late in 1582, with an equipment of a hundred and fifteen horses and mules, it started north. When the party reached the Tiguas they learned of the death of all the missionaries. Thus the avowed purpose of the expedi- tion was gained, yet both Father Beltran and Espejo deemed the opportunity to explore further too good to be lost, so they wandered about, visiting various pueblos, hunting for a reported lake of gold — which, of course, they did not find, — receiving a present of four thousand cotton blankets from the Hopi, and doing considerable prospecting for mines in western Arizona. Father Beltran then returned to New Spain but Espejo turned east until the hostility of the Tanos Pueblos, who would neither admit him nor give him food, led him to with- draw. The various reports of this expedition added fuel to the fires long raging in the minds of the Spanish-Mexican gold hunters, and as Espejo certainly did find some rich ores, it was not long before determined efforts were being made by several aspirants to secure from the viceroy the necessary license for starting out on a glorious career of conquest and the accumulation of wealth. It must here be recalled that no citizen of Spain was allowed to start out unauthorised even in the exploration of a new coun- try. The creatures we call kings were very jealous of their prerogatives, one of which was that they, by the favour of Almighty God, owned all the undiscovered and unexplored countries, and that they alone had the right 10 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers and power to confer upon whomsoever they condescended to honour by their favour the high privilege of spending their own money and risking their own lives in making the needful explorations and conquests. Hence the viceroy was besieged by requests for licenses. In the meantime two rascally pirates — according to kingly standards — started out on an unauthorized expedition, and spent about a year visiting the Pueblos and going well into the Buffalo Country. One of them, Humano, murdered the other, Levya, and was himself murdered in turn by the Indians. Then, in 1595, the final decision was made, and out of all the aspirants for the honour Juan de Ofiate was chosen. Here " influence " doubtless had its " pull," for Ofiate was not only wealthy, but his wife was the grand- daughter of Cortes, and the great-granddaughter of Mon- tezuma. Possibly superstition had its share in the " pull," for what powers could resist one who was so close to the great Cortes? There was not quite as much fanfare of trumpets and pomp of circumstance on the starting out of Ofiate as there was when Coronado set forth, but the expedition was one to command respectful attention. There were four hundred men, of whom one hundred and thirty had their families along. Eighty-three wagons and carts car- ried the baggage, and a herd of more than 7,000 head of stock was driven on foot. Father Martinez, of the Fran- ciscans, with a band of his fellow friars, was in charge of the spiritual interests. It must have been an impressive procession that passed through the streets of the last Mexican city, and what high hopes were centered around it! After getting well advanced on their journey Ofiate, with sixty men, went ahead, and on July 7, 1598, received the submission of The Explorations of New Mexico 11 the Indian chiefs of seven " provinces " at Santo Do- mingo and four days later, July n, reached the pueblos of Caypa, where he determined to establish his head- quarters. He christened the place San Juan de los Cabal- leros. This was the first town started in New Mexico by the Spaniards. Its location to-day is known as Cha- mita. A month later fifteen hundred Indians were work- ing with the Spaniards on an irrigating ditch which Onate was putting in for " the city of San Francisco." On Au- gust 23 a church was begun and its completion was cele- brated on September 8. Then, on September 9, after a great celebration the day before, a general assembly was held, rods of office were given to the chiefs of the various pueblos, the missionaries allotted to their respective sta- tions and the conquest of New Mexico declared to be complete. Onate now began to reach out. He sent one of his captains, Vicente de Zaldivar, eastward, to explore the Buffalo Country, while he himself visited Zuni, discov- ered the great salt deposits, and thence went to the Hopi country, intending to continue traveling until he came to the South Sea where he hoped to find great wealth in pearls. In November, Juan de Zaldivar, Vicente's brother, started west to join Onate, but, as is recorded in the chap- ter on Acoma, he was slain at that pueblo, and Vicente went to punish the murderers, which he did most effec- tively. After this he went westward with twenty-five companions, and for three months tried to reach the South Sea, reporting that he came as near as three days from it. Hostile Indians and impassable mountains, however, stood in the way. In the meantime Onate was having troubles of his own, but he was resolute, brave and daring, and, in 1604, was 12 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers rejoiced by the accomplishment of his great desire, for, reaching the Colorado River at Bill Williams fork, he descended its left branch until he arrived at the Gulf of California. In the chapter on Inscription Rock will be found a copy of the record left there of this memorable journey. There is also an inscription of Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto, who was one of the governors of New Mexico after Onate (1629). Another inscription, with the date 1636, is claimed to be that of Diego Martin Barba, who was secretary to Don Francisco Martinez Baeza, governor at that time. The records in New Mexico or Washington of the pe- riod between Onate and the rebellion of 1680 are scant, doubtless owing to their destruction by the Indians during that uprising. Further investigation among the archives in Spain and Mexico may reveal much that we do not now know. Special research students of the University of California have already made interesting discoveries about this patriotic attempt of the Indians to drive out their hated subjugators and to regain control of their own lives. The governor in charge at the time of the rebellion was Otermin, and he was succeeded by Cruzate, who en- deavoured, with more or less success, to force the In- dians back to their allegiance. But it was to Don Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon that the task of reconquering the country was allotted. It appears, however, that had the king known of the success of Cru- zate's efforts it is very possible that to Cruzate the " hon- our " of the reconquest would have fallen, for, on hear- ing what he had accomplished, he wrote the Viceroy of New Spain instructing him that if de Vargas had not yet taken his position, or was not governing successfully, he, The Explorations of New Mexico 13 de Vargas, was to be given another office and the gover- norship be retained by Cruzate. De Vargas, on receiving his appointment, at once marched north, though with a small army. He proceeded with great rapidity, determining to take the enemy by surprise, but found most of the lower pueblos in ruins, and those of Santo Domingo and Cochiti abandoned. On the 13th of September, 1692, he reached Santa Fe, surrounded the city, shut off the water-supply and de- manded the surrender of the Indians. These were de- fiant and threatening, but, before night, yielded. Then, with the help of Tupatu, one of the chiefs who had been most active in the rebellion, but now offered his submis- sive allegiance, de Vargas visited the various pueblos, and, in turn, succeeded in persuading them all to return to the fold. At Acoma, Zuni, and the Hopi pueblos it appeared that there would be trouble, but the persuasions of de Vargas, the friars who accompanied him, or of Tupatu, answered the purpose, and all the pueblos asked for pardon and yielded without conflict. The only trou- bles that were serious were caused by attacks of bands of Apaches. Thus by the end of 1692 the reconquest sup- posedly was accomplished. But de Vargas knew there was considerable unrest among the Indians, and he visited the viceroy to urge the need of sending more soldiers and as many colonists as could be gathered together, in accordance with a request previously preferred. The viceroy agreed to supply them, but de Vargas, with characteristic impatience, hur- ried back with 800 colonists and about a hundred sol- diers. Seventeen friars, under Fray Salvador de San Antonio, also went along as missionaries. Before they reached Santa Fe the emigrants were suffering for want of food, and their woes were added to by rumours that 14 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers the Indians were opposed to their coming, had made a treaty with the Apaches to join them in fighting the Span- iards and would do everything in their power to keep them out of the country. De Vargas also was warned that some of the Indians of the pueblo of Zia were decidedly in favour of war against the Spaniards. In addition to this, he was informed that his former interpreter, Pedro de Tapia, had been spreading disturbing rumours abroad to the effect that de Vargas, upon his return, intended to execute all the leaders of the rebellion of 1680. On his arrival at San Felipe, however, de Vargas sent messages of peace to the people of the various pueblos, and, in spite of warlike rumours, went on his way to Santa Fe. Tupatu joined him on the way and showed by his deep dejection that the evil rumours had reached his ears, but when de Vargas assured him of his good faith the Indian cheered up, and went on with the good news to Santa Fe. The result was that when de Vargas arrived he reentered the city, on the 16th of December, under the banner used for the same purpose by Onate, and thus was able to report the complete pacification of New Mexico to the viceroy. The document announcing his entry is still in existence and gives a very graphic picture of the event. From now on, however, de Vargas was to be in the midst of trouble. It came to him on every hand. His forbearance and kindly treatment of the rebellious In- dians was accounted as weakness, or cowardice, and the native medicine-men, always hostile to the Spaniards, in- cited them to new rebellion. The Tanos, for instance, had been allowed to leave their own village at Galisteo and come and live in the old palace and adjacent royal houses at Santa Fe. De Vargas now wanted the build- ings and urged the Tanos to vacate them. This they re- The Explorations of New Mexico 15 fused to do, and on December 28, 1693, dosed the en- trance to the plaza and made defiant preparations for defense. Warfare now began in earnest and was waged furi- ously all day, the Spaniards, however, having the best of it. When night came the Tanos governor hanged him- self, and the rest surrendered. If de Vargas, in the past, had shown himself too lenient, there certainly could be no such charge repeated at this juncture, for he took sev- enty of the leaders and immediately executed them, and then sold four hundred of the women and children into slavery. This unexpected severity so angered the Indians that the Tanos and six of the pueblos of the Tehuas sprang to arms and fled to the summit of Tu-yo, the Black Mesa, near San Ildefonso, which they put into a state of de- fense. From here they raided the bands of cattle and horses of the Spaniards, and slaughtered every one they could capture who left the defenses of the city. The In- dians of Pecos, Zia, Santa Ana, and San Felipe remained faithful to de Vargas, and thus incurred the bitter enmity and hostility of their neighbours. When de Vargas marched to the Black Mesa, January 9, 1694, the hostiles bamboozled him by leading him to believe they wished to make peace. In March, however, things came to a head. With one hundred and ten soldiers, many of the settlers and friendly Indians, the governor began an at- tack. His two field pieces burst at the first discharge, yet for fifteen days the conflict was waged, intermittently, with thirty Indians slain, when de Vargas returned to Santa Fe with considerable maize and a hundred horses and mules he had recovered from the enemy. The rebels of Cochiti also took refuge on the Mesa of Cienequilla and showed fight, but they were compelled 16 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers to flee by a surprise attack guided by friendly Indians, leaving twenty-one dead on the field of battle. In June the Taos Indians demanded attention, and on the way to them de Vargas had to fight the Tehuas at Cuyamungue, about eleven miles north of Santa Fe, and one Indian was killed for each mile traveled. Taos was deserted. The Indians had fled to the nearby mountains, and the governor sacked their pueblo and carried away a large amount of corn. He now had to march upon the Jemez, who, after harassing the Indian allies of the Spaniards at Zia and Santa Ana, had fled to the mesa above the San Diego Canyon. In the fight that ensued de Vargas slew about seventy of the foe, five others perished by fire, and seven threw themselves over the cliff and were dashed to pieces rather than surrender. He also captured three hundred and sixty-one prisoners. Later the Jemez Indians gave up one of their chiefs, who, they claimed, had incited them to war, and de Vargas sent him for ten years' slavery to the mines of New Spain. Another attack was now made upon the Tanos and Tehuas on the Black Mesa, at San Udefonso. Twice when de Vargas attempted to scale the summit he was driven back. He was more successful in cutting off sup- plies, and the desperate Indians, to save themselves from starving to death, came down and gave battle several times in the valley. Each attempt, however, was in vain, and after repeated defeats they became discouraged and sued for peace. This seemed to end the troubles. The Indians had had enough. They had tested the power of the Spaniards and found them too hard to fight. They acknowledged their defeat and promised to be good if de Vargas would re- turn to them their women and children, for whenever the governor had been successful in one of his attacks on the The Old Franciscan Mission at the Pueblo of Zia. n a Painting made especially for this work by Carlos Vierra. r*ifc The Explorations of New Mexico 17 pueblos, he captured not only the men (who were sold into slavery to the mines of New Spain), but the women and children also. These were given as servants to the Spanish and Mexican colonists. This action on the part of de Vargas was now to rebound upon his own head. To keep faith with the Indians he ordered the return of their women and children, when the colonists severely abused him for depriving them of their excellent servants. The friars resumed their missionary labours among the Indians, and all again seemed well. This content, however, proved to be only on the sur- face. The Indians were filled with bitter hatred of the Spaniards, and the presence of the padres added fuel to the fire as they sought to break up the " ways of the old " and thus destroy the power of the native medicine men, who were more dogmatic as to their being in the right than were the friars themselves. Then in 1696 famine broke out and its gaunt specter stalked to and fro among the colonists, adding more woe to the trouble-cup that for so long had been brewing for the unhappy governor. The friars, who were better able than any to judge the temper of the Indians, petitioned him, — nay, insisted, that he place guards of soldiers at each mission. Preferring to believe that the Indians were thoroughly pacified he replied that those friars who were afraid might leave their charges and return to Santa Fe. A few of them took advantage of this permission, and it was well they did so, for, on June 4, the Indians of Taos, Picuries, the Tehuas, the Oueres of Santo Domingo and Cochiti, as well as the Jemez arose, killed five mission- aries and twenty-one Spaniards and then fled to the mountains. There they persuaded the Navahos and the pueblos of Acoma and Zuni to join with them in an at- tack upon the pueblos of Zia, Santa Ana and San Felipe, 18 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers who still remained " loyal " to the Spaniards. At Zia there were a few soldiers, and the alcade-mayor of Berna- lillo joining them, a fierce battle took place, raging in the San Diego canyon and over the ruins of San Juan. Al- though the Indians had the much larger force they were defeated, with the loss of thirty men. This broke up the confederation. The Jemez fled and remained with the Navahos for several years, and thus escaped punishment, but de Vargas was resolved to make an example of the Acomese and Zunis. On the 8th of August he marched to Acoma, and on the 15 th made an attack. Though he failed to scale the penyol height, he captured five prison- ers, one of them being the chief. The latter he released, but, being denied the ascent to the village, he shot the other four and retired. The following month found him fighting the Taos In- dians in several battles, after which they submitted and returned to their pueblo. The Tehuas of San Juan and Picuries next received attention, and on the 26th of Oc- tober, after a severe defeat, eighty-four Indian women and children were captured and given to the Spanish sol- diers on their return to Santa Fe, as servants. This year saw the end of the governorship of de Vargas and though he expected a reappointment, and the king actually made it, communications with Spain were so slow that Don Pedro Rodriguez Cubero was appointed as his successor, took his place, heard charges preferred against him (de Vargas), fined him four thousand pesos, and sent him to prison for three years before the will of the king became known. Not only was he reappointed, but the Crown gave him public recognition and offered him a choice of the titles of marques or conde. In the attack upon de Vargas by the colonists he was accused of several things. He was charged with the embezzle- The Explorations of New Mexico 19 ment of money given to him by the viceroy for the sup- port of the colonists; his execution of the Tanos captives was said to have caused the uprising of 1694-6; the famine was the result of his mismanagement; and he had driven out of the country "those families that were likely to have testified against him. As de Vargas had resisted the authority of Cubero in displacing him and appealed to the viceroy (who did not sustain him) the other, as we have seen, fined and imprisoned him, at the very time the king had publicly acclaimed him as the pacifier of New Mexico and had offered him the patent of nobility. Such is Fate ! and thus are treated the puppets of kings ! It is not my purpose, however, to retail the quarrels of the rulers of New Mexico. Let it suffice to say that from now on the Pueblos practically were subjugated. The Navahos and Apaches continued to give considerable trouble, carrying on their depredations and terrorizing even up to within the past thirty or forty years when the United States succeeded in drawing their savage teeth. CHAPTER III THE HOMERIC EPIC OF NEW MEXICO Much of what we know of the early Grecian wars and their heroes comes to us through Homer. For centuries the work of the blind bard of Greece has been the mental training ground of the youth of all civilized countries. They have learned not only language, history, mythology and warfare from him but standards of heroism, bravery and manhood. I have no objection to Homer. I would have every boy and girl master him thoroughly. But, where oppor- tunity affords, where local annals, traditions, or history can be found to supplement Homer and thus give local colour to the deeds of bravery, acts of heroism, lives of glorious manhood, I would introduce and use these " local Homers " in the education of the youth of the land and thus fire them to the highest stimulation. Is it not self-evident that boys and girls will take more interest in events that have occurred on their own native soil, — the place of their present everyday habitation — and in the men who shaped these events, than they will in those of the far-away Homeric lands and days? The sooner we can put into the hearts of our youth the thought that they are as capable of great deeds as any people of history the nobler their lives, and the higher their aspira- tions will become. To New Mexico especially do I commend this argu- ment. Her history is full of fascination and interest. 20 The Homeric Epic of New Mexico 21 She is a prolific source of original-document study, full of the lively spirit of adventure and of stirring incidents in flood and field, — fights with fierce and bloody Indians, smothering sandstorms, freezing blizzards, trackless des- erts, pathless forests, treacherous quicksands, and awe- some canyons. One of these original sources is Villagra's Htstoria dc la Nueva Mexico, published in 1610, — over three hun- dred years ago, — and to make it more Homeric, it is written in verse — thirty- four cantos — each of which, in spite of its rather high-flown efforts, is packed full of useful historical information. This book belongs legitimately to the chapter on New Mexico Literature, but so important is its subject-matter from a historical stand- point that it deserves especial treatment. The original work is rare, yet copies enough were known to exist to have prevented the historians from giv- ing — as they all did — incorrect dates of the Onate con- quest. Its value, however, seems to have been over- looked. Every one ignored it until, in 1877, Hubert Howe Bancroft found it to be a real compendium of facts, indeed a reasonably true history of the Onate expe- dition. About the same time a Spanish investigator, Fernandez Duro, and our own Bandelier also called at- tention to it. Its importance now, however, is fully rec- ognized : so much so that, in 1899, Don Francisco del Paso y Troncoso, Director of the National Museum of Mexico, was so anxious to secure a copy that he made the trip to Madrid, expressly for that purpose. He succeeded in obtaining one and brought it back to Mexico, where he reprinted it, in 1900, in two volumes. Even these are as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth. From it all New Mexican historians, since the time of Bancroft, quote, as Villagra was an important member 22 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers of Onate's expedition, and his great poem was published only eleven years after the conquest took place. Bancroft thus refers to it : When I had occasion to consult its pages in 1877, I did so with an idea that it might furnish material for a brief note as a literary curiosity; but I found it a most complete narrative, very little if at all the less useful for being in verse. The subject is well enough adapted to epic narration, and in the generally smooth-flowing endecasyllabic lines of Villagra loses nothing of its intrinsic fascina- tion. Occasionally the author quits the realm of poesy to give us a document in plain prose; and while enthusiastic in praise of his leader and his companions, our New Mexican Homer is modest in recounting his own exploits. Of all the territories of America — or of the world, so far as my knowledge goes — New Mexico alone may point to a poem as the original authority for its early annals. Not less remarkable is the historic accuracy of the muse in this production, or the long concealment of the book from the eye of students. He thus translates the opening stanzas : Of arms I sing and of the man heroic: The being, valour, prudence, and high effort Of him whose endless, never-tiring patience, Over an ocean of annoyance stretching, Despite the fangs of foul, envenomed envy, Brave deeds of prowess ever is achieving ; Of those brave men of Spain, conquistadores, Who, in the Western India nobly striving, And searching out all of the world yet hidden, Still onward press their glorious achievements, By their strong arms and deeds of daring valour, In strife of arms and hardships as enduring As, with rude pen, worthy of being honoured. And thee I supplicate, most Christian Philip, Since of New Mexico thou art the Phoenix Of late sprung forth and in thy grandeur risen From out the mass of living flame and ashes Of faith most ardent, in whose glowing embers Thy own most holy father and our master We saw inwrapped, devoured by sacred fervour — To move some little time from off thy shoulders The Homeric Epic of New Mexico 23 The great and heavy weight, that thee oppresses, Of that terrestrial globe which in all justice Is by thine own strong arm alone supported ; And giving, gracious king, attentive hearing. Thou here wilt see the weight of weary labours, And grievous calumnies with which is planted The holy gospel and the faith of Jesus By that Achilles who by royal order Devotes himself to such heroic service. And if I may by rare access of fortune Have thee, most noble Philip, for a hearer, Who doubts that with a universal impulse The whole wide world will hold its breath to listen To that which holds so great a king's attention? Then, being thus by thee so highly favoured, Since it is nothing less to write the story Of deeds that worthy are of the pen's record, Than to achieve deeds that no less are worthy Of being put by the same pen in writing, Nothing remains but that those men heroic, For whose sake I this task have undertaken, Should still encourage by their acts of valour The flight ambitious of a pen so humble, For in this case I think we shall see equaled Deeds by the words in which they are recorded. Listen to me, great king, for I was witness Of all that here, my lord, I have to tell thee. Lummis, in his Spanish Pioneers, has a fine chapter on Villagra to which I heartily commend my readers. CHAPTER IV THZ GREAT PUEBLO REBELLION BE l68o What is patriotism? What is a rebellion? Who judges the eternal right of these matters? Were George Washington and his compeers in the right to rebel against England? They and we say. Yes! but had you asked king, queer:, princes, lords, s:i:esmen. bishops and all the godly men of England a ~:irce one of them would have said other than that the leaders of the Ameri- can rebellion were traitors and scoundrels, fit for igno- minious death, which assuredly would have been meted out to them had they been caught. Traitors to whom? to what ' There lies the whole question. Constituted authority > :".:: always righteous authority, and if it is allowed to letermine its own righteo-.: - - - . ithout appeal, who shall dare question i: ? Kings have ruled ever by the right of might, hence he who opposed that might was :: them, traitor, rebel, renegade, disloyal, dishonourable, and worthy of death. Many a man has gone down to death branded with one or more of these opprobrious terms, whc yet was a brave and upright gentleman, hating : - r.nical power and placing his life in the gamble to Le: it forever be proclaimed that he who rebels agair.-: power. wdaarfvR' vised, against tyranny. injus:::e wror.r. is a hero, a world-patriot, one of the great and noble throng that has made all world progress possible :- The Great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 25 It is in such a category, therefore, that I place the leaders of the Indian rebellion in New Mexico of 1680. The Spaniards had come; they had "subjugated" the Pueblos, they were the " duly constituted authorities," so declared by statesmen and priests as well as the military. I do not propose, here, to argue the abstract right of a progressive people to take possession of the country of a non-progressive people, for this is the staggering question that for weary weeks occupied the attention of the great Peace Congress in Paris at the close of the World War. But it does seem reasonable and right, — granting, temporarily, for the sake of the argument, the right of the stronger nation to possess itself of the lands of the weaker nation — that the more powerful should treat those they have subjugated with kindliness and due con- sideration. Did the Spaniards do this? Let them be their own witnesses. The Pueblo rebellion of 1680 was so striking an up- rising and had such a wonderful effect upon the history of New Mexico and Arizona, and there were so many dramatic features connected with it that it is worth while to devote a few pages to a thorough understanding of it and its leaders. Unquestionably the dominating spirit was Pope (Po-pay), a man of tireless energy and won- derful strength of character. As early as 1675, Pope began to attract the attention of the Spaniards. There had been a lot of trouble at the pueblo of San Ildefonso. The friar in charge, who was also Superior of the con- vent, had suffered in several peculiar ways so that he thought he was bewitched. He accused the Indians of putting this magical and devilish spell upon him. A num- ber of them were arrested and placed on trial. As a re- sult of the trial forty-three Indians were sold into slavery 26 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers and four more of them were hung. It was at this junc- ture that Pope began to act. Without starting an upris- ing, but in the most discreet and diplomatic manner, he aroused enough feeling and sentiment among his people so that seventy of the principal warriors early one morn- ing entered the house of the Governor of the territory at Santa Fe with eggs, chickens, tobacco, beans, buckskin, dressed-skins, etc., which were offered as a ransom for the release of their brethren, the prisoners. The Gover- nor was so impressed by the demeanour, and also per- haps by the number of the petitioners, that he agreed to yield to their request. During the preceding eighty years the Indians had leagued together five times in order to free themselves from the domination of the Spaniards, but each time they had been beaten and their incipient insurrections crushed. Now a leader and a patriot was to arise whose personality was such that he was able to dominate his people and ulti- mately win for them the independence they so much de- sired. Pope was a native of San Juan, but for several years had resided at Taos. He was a medicine-man who had achieved a great reputation by his success in a variety of ways. Personally he was brave, daring and physically strong. His mentality was so powerful and his personal influence and magnetism so great that he was able to quell all jealousies among the Indians, and soon wielded a power not only over the mass of the people but over his brother medicine-men that made them as plastic as clay in his hands. For an Indian he was a great traveler. With all the arts of diplomacy and religious fervour of an enthusiast, he had so prevailed upon the medicine- men of the Navahos, Apaches and other tribes that he had been admitted into their secret organizations, and had learned all their most wonderful rites, ceremonies and The Great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 27 potent " medicine.'' Withal, he was eloquent with a pas- sion and fervour that carried everything before him. He claimed to have had communications from Those Above empowering him to lead his people in an uprising which should mean the complete freedom of their country from the hated Spanish oppressor. As a proof of the au- thority of his mission, he invited the principales of each pueblo to send one or more representatives at a given time that they might hear for themselves the confirmation of his authority to accomplish this great result that hith- erto had seemed impossible. He took care that the ap- pointed night was one of perfect darkness. No moon gave the slightest light to interfere with his plans. In the farthest recess of the darkest kiva at Taos he received the delegates. At the proper moment, to which he had skillfully led up by his graphic eloquence, two of his most trusted associates suddenly appeared before the throng, already thrilled and nerved to the highest tension, in such guise as would have startled more knowing men than these simple-hearted Indians. Pope had learned that if he smeared the bodies of his associates with certain phos- phorous substances they could be made to glow in the darkness, especially if the conspirators held an extra sup- ply of the sulphur with which now and again they would rub over their faces and bodies and thus appear to be illuminated with new fire. These two men had been so thoroughly rehearsed by Pope that they performed their allotted task to perfection. They danced as only a trained and enthusiastic religionist could dance, and then they gave messages from Those Above confirming Pope's claims. Their dances, songs, and messages were all so strange, so awe-inspiring, that the delegates returned to their homes thoroughly impressed, so that Pope's instruc- tions were carried out to the very letter. The remarkable 28 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers thing of the whole conspiracy is that though there were a number of the Indians who had accepted the faith of the Spaniards and had become Christians and many of them were devotedly attached to the priests and their masters and mistresses, not one of them was found — so far — who dared to betray the secret of the uprising. At this time there were fifteen hundred Spaniards in New Mexico, about five hundred of whom lived in Santa Fe. This five hundred had about an equal number of Mexican Indian servants. Bandelier thus describes the town as it appeared at that time : " On the south side of the little river there was no town. A few houses oc- cupied by Spanish families had been built among the little huts of the Indian servants. The name ' Analco,' given to the quarters about San Miguel, dated from the past century. The chapel of San Miguel, built after 1636, loomed up over scattered fields and dispersed buildings of small proportions. The town proper stood all on the north side. The town was somewhat larger than it is to-day. It extended further east. Its north side was occupied by the ' Royal Houses,' as the palace was mostly called. San Francisco street was the ' Calle Real,' the principal street of the place. A street intersected it at right angles, passing through the buildings now owned by Gov. Prince, and continued northward along the east side of the Palace. It terminated in a broad trail lead- ing to Tesuque. The Palace, therefore, had a wider fachada than the edifice that bears its name to-day, and which occupies only part of the original site. Another street ran from north to south along the western side of the royal houses, and a fourth one continued west of the main front of that building, so that the town lay really west of the present square, and was divided into three bodies of buildings, one between San Francisco street The Great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 29 and the river, another north of that street and south of the military headquarters, and the third (composed only of a few dwellings), on the site of headquarters and north of it. The houses were not contiguous. Gardens, nay, small fields, surrounded each residence. Santa Fe formed a long triangle tapering gradually to the west, the eastern side of which was marked by the parochial church and its convent. The site of that church, the foundations of which were laid in 1622, is the same now occupied by the cathedral." The other Spaniards were scattered on farms and settlements from Algodones on the south as far north as Taos, and from the east as far as Santo Domingo to Zuni and Hopi on the west. There were only a few soldiers and two small cannons with a small quantity of ammunition at Santa Fe, and this was the only place that made the slightest pretense of being fortified. At least twenty thousand Pueblo Indians were pledged to the uprising. One fact alone shows the generalship and dominating power of Pope. The uprising had been fixed for the night of the new moon, August 28th, but two Christian Indians at Tesuque had twice warned the padre that great danger hovered over him and all the "Gray Gowns" and "Long Beards" (as the Indians called the Franciscan priests and warriors) in New Mex- ico. The padre hurried to Santa Fe to alarm the Gover- nor. Pope's faithful spies informed him of this fact. He was wise enough to know the result of a premature discovery of his plans in that it would allow time for preparations for defense. Indeed, Governor Otermin at once took measures for the fortification of the capital and sent messengers to gather in all the scattered Span- iards. But this time the Spaniards were dealing with a master mind. Pope's messengers were sent scurrying 30 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers over the country almost as soon as the Governor's, and at the same moment that the warning was given the up- rising took place, eighteen days ahead of the allotted time. Now ensued scenes of cruelty and slaughter that only an Indian country can witness. Aroused to despera- tion by over a century of stern subjugation, the Indians tortured, slew, and mutilated every Spaniard in the coun- try that they could lay hands upon. A few maidens only were spared, and these were to be given as wives, as re- wards to Pope's chief henchmen. Priests, women, and children fell under the murderous blades of the Indian warriors whose work of extermination went on with unrelenting ferocity. Eighteen of the twenty-five priests in the various missions were slain and three hundred and eighty Spaniards immediately fell. The Governor gath- ered together the inhabitants of Santa Fe and fortified the buildings and enclosure on the present site of the old palace. On the two towers at the corners small guns were stationed, but the ground was badly chosen. The Governor, however, made a brave defense, and when the Indians completely surrounded him and sent two crosses, a white one which signified peace and the immediate withdrawal of the Spaniards from the country, and a red one indicating war and extermination, Otermin chose the red one, and on the 20th of August, after the water-supply had been shut off and the horses and animals began to suffer and die, made a bold sortie in which a number of Indians were killed and forty-seven captured. The next day these forty-seven prisoners were executed in the plaza in full sight of the Indian forces on the top of what is now Marcy Hill. There was now but one hope for the Spaniards and that was to march over the weary three hundred miles to El Paso through a country filled with hostile Indians, where all food supplies had been II : "tip The Great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 31 either carried away or destroyed. With their sick and wounded the march began. It was an official evacuation of the country; an open confession, for the time being, at least, of defeat. With scanty provisions the fugitives suffered greatly from hunger. At Isleta they were com- pelled to halt and send forward to El Paso for food, from which point four wagon-loads of corn were sent to their relief. They finally decided to encamp at San Lorenzo, about three miles from El Paso, where wood and water could be obtained. From here they sent a report to the viceroy of their expulsion. While they received a little help from the settlers at El Paso in the way of beef and corn, their condition soon became pitiable. Their fight- ing men reduced to a mere handful, they were harassed by the hostile Indians and upon the women and children devolved much of the work of making habitable the few huts that were hastily built. On the other hand, the Indians were elated beyond measure at the speedy success of their revolt. Their rejoicings became frantic revelings. We know how, even in a civilized country, people become almost frantic over a victory of their troops, so we can form some concep- tion as to the great excitement that was felt by the In- dians when they realized that their country, which, for over a century and a quarter, had been subjugated by these haughty white men, was at last free from their hated presence, and they left to themselves again. They danced their wildest dances and gave themselves up to the de- struction, as far as was possible, of everything that sug- gested Spain or the hated worship of the Gray Gowns. Practically nothing was spared. They plundered every- thing that they could use and burned everything that re- mained. They set fire to the church and convent, mak- ing burning heaps of the furniture, relics and other equip- 32 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers ment. Everything was destroyed except the adobe walls, which still remain, in the restored San Miguel chapel. Then they danced their ancient dances and made offerings of flour, seeds, grain, and thousands of pahos, or prayer sticks, to their native gods, to appease them for the loss of their supremacy during the period of Spanish domi- nation, and at the same time to assure them that hence- forth they and they alone should be worshiped. They then went to a near-by stream and with large bowls of suds made from the amole, the native soap-weed, washed and scrubbed themselves from top to toe to remove every trace and effect of Christian baptism. Instigated by their medicine-men, they were particu- larly vindictive in their treatment of the padres. Father Juan Jesus, the old priest at Jemez, was awakened in the dead of night, was dragged from his bed, and made to carry the Indians on his back, as he crawled on his hands and knees, until he fell dead. His body was cast out and devoured by the wolves. At Acoma the padre was stripped naked, dragged about the streets with a rope around his neck, then beaten to death with clubs and stones. At Zuni, the priest was dragged from his cell, stripped, stoned and shot on the plaza and his body burned in the church. The official reports show that four hundred and one Spaniards perished during the massacre, including twen- ty-one priests and seventy-three able-bodied men. The number of fugitives who escaped, including several hun- dred friendly Indians of the Piros and Tewas, was 1,946. For a time after the rebellion, Pope's power was su- preme, then dissensions arose among the northern and southern Pueblos and in the native wars that ensued the Apaches and Navahos made a number of attacks upon them for the purpose of plunder. The Great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 33 In the meantime Governor Otermin, in 1681, attempted to reconquer New Mexico, but neither his efforts nor those of his successors were carried on with the vigour that was essential to success until in 1691 Don Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan was appointed Governor. He practically reestablished Spanish rule in New Mexico and the story of his reconquest is one of great bravery, though naturally it destroyed the independence and freedom of the pueblo people. CHAPTER V THE WORLD'S GREATEST AUTOGRAPH ALBUM, INSCRIPTION ROCK One of the world's harmless — nay, indeed, useful, educative, as well as emotional — fads, which had its pe- riod of exaltation and then of recession, yet has never entirely died out, is that of obtaining the autographs of the great, near-great, would-be-great, those who deem themselves great, or simply our friends and acquaintances, either in guest-books, birthday-books, or books especially contrived for the purpose. In New Mexico, however, is an autograph album larger than any in existence in any other part of the world, and unique, in that it has but three or four pages, and these were formed by Nature centuries and centuries ago. To the Mexicans of the country it is known as El Morro. Attention was first of all called to it by Lieut. J. H. Simp- son, who, in 1849, under Lieut.-Col. J. M. Washington, made a military reconnaissance from Santa Fe, into the Navaho country. The following is his story of his visit : A couple of miles further, meeting in the road Mr. Lewis, who was waiting for me to offer his services as guide to a rock upon the face of which were, according to his repeated assertions, half an acre of inscriptions, many of them very beautiful, and upon its summit some ruins of a very extraordinary character, I at once fell in with the project, and obtained from the colonel commanding the necessary permission. Taking with me one of my assistants, Mr. R. H. Kern, ever zealous in an enterprise of this kind; the faithful Bird, an employee who had been with me ever since I left Fort Smith — Mr. Lewis being the guide — and a single pack-animal, loaded with 34 Photograph bx U . S. Forest Service. EL MORRO — INSCRIPTION ROCK. The World's Greatest Autograph Album 35 a few articles of bedding, a few cooking utensils, and some provi- sions — we diverged from the command, with the expectation of not again meeting it until we should reach the Pueblo of Laguna, from seventy to eighty miles distant. There were many in the command who were inclined to the belief that Lewis's representa- tions were all gammon. In regard to the extent of the inscriptions, I could not but believe so too ; but. as respects the fact of there being some tolerable basis for so grandiloquent a description, I could not, reasoning upon general principles of human nature, reject it. 'Mr. Lewis had been a trader among the Navahos, and, according to his statement, had seen these inscriptions in his journeyings to and from their country. And now he was ready to conduct me to the spot. How could I doubt his sincerity? I could not; and my faith was rewarded by the result. Bearing off slightly to the right from the route of the troops, we traversed for eight miles a country varied, in places, by low mesas, blackened along their crests by outcrops of basalt, and on our left by fantastic white and red sandstone rocks, some of them looking like steamboats, and others presenting very much the ap- pearance of fagades of heavy Egyptian architecture. This distance traversed, we came to a quadrangular mass of sandstone rock, of pearly whitish aspect, from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet in height, and strikingly peculiar on account of its massive character and the Egyptian style of its natural buttresses and domes. Skirting this stupendous mass of rock, on its left or north side, for about a mile the guide, just as we had reached its eastern terminus, was noticed to leave us and ascend a low mound or ramp at its base, the better, as it appeared, to scan the face of the rock, which he had scarcely reached before he cried out to us to come up. We immediately went up, and, sure enough, here were in- scriptions, and some of them very beautiful ; and although, with those which we afterwards examined on the south face of the rock, there could not be said to be half an acre of them, yet the hyperbole was not near so extravagant as I expected to find it. The fact then being certain that here were indeed inscriptions of interest, if not of value, one of them dating as far back as 1606, all of them very ancient, and several of them very deeply as well as beautifully en- graven, I gave directions for a halt — Bird at once proceeding to get up a meal, and Mr. Kern and myself to the work of making fac-similes of the inscriptions. These inscriptions are, a part of them, on the north face of the rock, and a part on the south face. It will be noticed that the greater portion of these inscriptions are in Spanish, with some little sprinkling of what appeared to be 36 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers an attempt at Latin, and the remainder in hieroglyphics, doubtless of Indian origin. The face of the rock, wherever these inscriptions are found, is of a fair plain surface, and vertical in position. The inscriptions, in most instances, have been engraved by persons standing at the base of the rock, and are, therefore, generally not higher than a man's head. After making copies of all the inscriptions Mr. Kern engraved the following on the cliff : Lt.J-ESi'«fsonySA. < uRH.K«ri\ Art'ut. visited anicap.ei tWi^yptions, " Lt. J. H. Simpson, U. S. A., and R. H. Kern, artist, vis- ited and copied these inscriptions, September 17, 18th, 1849." The perfection of the inscriptions is remarkable. They are as distinctive in their character as the hand- writings of men on paper, and all of them are remarkably well done. The surprising thing is that after all these years they are still so perfect; but this is accounted for by the peculiar character of the rock and the fact that it does not crumble when exposed to the weather. It is of very fine grain and comparatively easy to scratch into, and the two walls upon which the inscriptions occur being practically protected from storms, these rock autographs remain almost as clear and as perfect as the day they were written. The inscriptions themselves are of decided historic value. The major part of them are on the front of El Morro, but one finds, on rounding the eastern escarp- ment, that he can reach a deep recess which gives a well defined south wall. Here Simpson found " a cool and The W orld's Greatest Autograph Album 37 capacious spring," and doubtless the conquistadorcs also found it and made it the site of their camps. For, on the walls above and near by are several of the more important inscriptions. The earliest of these is that of Juan de Onate. It has been there nearly three hundred years and is clearly readable. It is the oldest inscription as far as we know. Here is its original and translation : Paso por aqui el adelantando de don Jan Passed by here the officer Don Juan de Ohate el descubrimento de la mar de Onate to the discovery of the sea del sur a 16 de Abril ao 1606. of the south on the 16th of April, year 1606. In our historical chapters the interesting story of this brave explorer is given. It was on his return from his memorable trip from San Gabriel de los Caballeros in New Mexico, in 1604, with thirty men, to the Gulf of California, that he stopped at El Morro and the inscrip- tion was written. The two names at the lower left corner of the Onate inscription — Casados, 1727, and Juparelo — were un- doubtedly placed there much later, and as yet no historian has told us anything about them. 38 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers Near to Onate's inscription is one which has caused considerable discussion. The date looks as if it might be 1526, but as no white man had ever entered New Voraqvip/KZo tliAljenes CD* Jtsepn.de Vayba Mscon?eks 6l#rioqueUiuo£\Cau"io del XejriQasuchstFK a iLdeJela de J>26_ Ano$- Mexico as early as that it must be that the figure that looks somewhat like a five was intended for a seven. Thus read the translation of the autograph is as follows : By here passed the Ensign Joseph de Payba Basconzelos, the year that he brought the Council of the Kingdom at his own ex- pense, on the 18th of Feb., 1726. Close by are several historic autographs. One is of Juan Gonzales, 1629. This soldier was one of thirty who accompanied the New Father Custodian Perea, who had just been appointed to take charge of the missionary work of the Franciscans in New Mexico. With Perea was the Father Solicitor (Manso), and four other priests and two lay religious who were assigned to the western pueblos of Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi. They had ten wagons, four hundred cavalry horses and the soldiers were well armed, hence, possibly, the reason for their kind reception at Acoma and Zuni. At the former place they were " spontaneously proffered admission," writes Perea in his Verdadera Relation, published in 1632, and at Zuni " its natives, having tendered their good will and their arms received them with festive applause — a thing never before heard of in those regions, that so intractable The World's Greatest Autograph Album 39 and various nations with equal spirit and semblance should receive the Frailes of St. Francis as if a great while ago they had communicated with them." Governor Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto un- doubtedly was with this party, for Perea tells of his issuing an edict at Zuni, which shows the strictness with which the Spaniards sought to regulate the conduct of their soldiers toward the Indians. This edict read that " no soldier should enter a house of the pueblo, nor trans- gress in aggrieving the Indians, under the penalty of his life." Furthermore, it said that " to give that people to understand the veneration due to the priests, all the times that they arrived where they were, the Governor and sol- diers kissed their feet, falling upon their knees, caution- ing the Indians that they should do the same as they did ; for as much as this the example of the superiors can do." That this noisy welcome of the Spaniards and the priest did not change the real feeling of the Zunis is proven by the inscription later referred to, where a party was sent two years later to avenge the murder of Father Letrado. It was on his return journey from this trip that Gov- ernor Nieto's inscription was placed on El Morro. ^U*sJe8uii t Mos2J)£fi«>v oW^ Sitoa tfto QiAtYoyppuobk irtne CJ a *^ t0 Su Etaco ^yniubhabk jQ$n Bfflor Contos Carros del ReJ Westro Se*o» Cosq ^guesofo el R,so CiurfEfecto DeQ"ba?sto C Seisoierno^BeimejyNutu? Quesb)/ ffljkuni Paseyia Ft lleue veals the trouble the Governor was meeting with at Zuni. Perea tells that the devil urged the Indians " with men- aces, that they should eject this strange priest, Fr. Figue- redo, from their country. They put it into operation, all manifesting themselves in such manner that already they did not assist as they were wont, to bring water and wood, nor did one of them appear. By night was heard a great din of dances, drums, and caracoles, which among them is signal of war." But in this imminent danger God came to Fray Roque's succour, and to make a long story short, the missionary saw that the Indians were " well catechized and sufficiently fit," whereupon " he ordered to be built in the plaza a high platform, where he said mass with all solemnity, and baptized them on the day of St. Augustine (seemingly the day of St. Augustine of Hippo, August 28, not St. Augustine of England, May 26) of The World's Greatest Autograph Album 41 the year 1629, singing the Te Deum Laudamus, etc.; and through having so good a voice, the Father Fray Roque — accompanied by the chant — caused devotion in all." Thus were the Zuni Christianized for the time being, al- though, needless to say, they did not understand a word the good fraile said, nor know the meaning of any part of the rites he celebrated for their benefit. Following is a translation of Governor Silva Nieto's second inscription : Here passed the Governor Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto, whose indubitable prowess and valour have already conquered the impossible, with the wagons of Our Lord the King, a thing which he only accomplished, August 9 (One Thousand) Six Hundred, Twenty and Nine. That ( ? it be seen) that I passed to Zuni and carried the Faith. From this autograph we can assume that the Governor had scarcely had time to return to Santa Fe — thirty-six leagues from Acoma and fifty-six leagues from Zuni, be- fore he was called back to " conquer the impossible " with his " indubitable prowess and valour." Other autographs show that other pueblos, besides Zuni, were giving the Spaniards trouble. For instance, the one by Governor Martinez. The translation is as follows : In the year 1716 on the 26th of August, passed by here Don Felix Martinez, Governor and Captain General of this Kingdom, to the reduction and conquest of the Moquis (the Hopis), and in his Company the Reverend Father Fray Antonio Camargo, Custodian and Judge-Ecclesiastic. 42 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers This was the attempt made by Governor Martinez to bring the recalcitrant Hopis back to their allegiance after the rebellion in which they had slain their Franciscan Missionaries. But it failed, and Martinez was recalled from his high position in disgrace. D/228E>SfhBI7J// fljU> Je6o arju/ El JH/£© £ D r D a Jvim uni The first visit of a bishop to New Mexico is recorded in a fine inscription. The translation reads : On the 28th day of September of 1737, reached here the most illustrious Senor Doctor Don Martin De Elizaecochea, Bishop of Durango, and on the 29th day passed on to Zuni. This refers to one of the official visits made by the Bishop of Durango, in whose district the whole of New Mexico belonged, and to which it remained attached until 1852. Just above that of the Bishop and slightly to the left are two other autographs, doubtless of members of his party. Between them is a fairly well engraved repre- sentation of an ornamented cross. The larger inscrip- tion reads as follows : " On the 28th day of September, 1737, reached here ' B ' (supposed to represent Bachiller The World's Greatest Autograph Album 43 — Bachelor — of Arts) Don Juan Ygnacio De Arra- sain; " and the other merely says, " There passed by here Dyego Belagus." One of the finest of the autographs is that of General Don Diego de Vargas, who, in 1692, reconquered New Mexico after the Pueblo rebellion of 1680. Here is the original : jtowfof fern, fiXfl^ S wm>.q,(Jonqtnsto meocicoASV corta, The translation is as follows : Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy Faith and for the Royal Crown (of Spain) all the New Mexico, at his own expense (in the), year of 1692. Slightly north of the autograph of Governor de Vargas is one of the expedition sent by Governor Francisco Mar- tinez de Baeza. Long before the great rebellion of 1680 the missionaries were having trouble with the Indians. The head missionary at Zuni was Fray Cristobal de Quiros and he had appealed for help. The original in- scription is clear and readable. It was evidently written by a skilful hand. 44 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers %sarr\gsyor(i(\w Or tl cap\hr\(fui?Mc/iu fttyefQiUdavtidvqo nam The translation is as follows : We pass by here, the Lieutenant-Colonel and the Captain Juan de Archuleta, and the Lieutenant Diego Martin Barba and the Ensign Augustin de Ynojos, in the year 1636. In a slight depression near by is the inscription of an- other soldier of the expedition. JUAN GARSYA 1636 Of one inscription Lummis writes : Two quaint lines, in tiny but well-preserved letters, recall a pathetic story. It is that of a poor common soldier, who did not write his year. B'«t history supplies that. He was one of the Spanish " garrison " of three men left to guard far-off Zuni, and slain by the Indians in the year 1700. Not far away is the autograph of the leader of the "force" of six men who went in 1701 from Santa Fe to Zuni (itself a desert march of three hundred miles) to avenge that massacre, the Captain Juan de Urribarri. He left merely his name. The hardest inscription of all to read is this : The World's Greatest Autograph Album 45 At first sight it seemed impossible that one should de- cipher it. Lummis says of it : It was never deciphered until I put it into the hands of a great student of ancient writings — though after he solved the riddle it is clear enough to any one who knows Spanish. Its violent ab- breviations, the curious capitals with the small final letters piled " overhead,' and its reference to a matter of history of which few Americans ever heard, combined to keep it long a mystery. Reduced to long-hand Spanish, it reads : Se pasaron a 23 de Marzo de 1623 anos a la benganza de muerte del Padre Letrado. Lujan. They passed on the 23rd of March of the year 1623 to the aveng- ing of the death of the Father Letrado. Lujan. One unfamiliar with the history of the country could scarce dream of the tragedy and romance connected with these two lines. Father Francisco de Letrado was born in Spain, became fired with missionary zeal, was sent out to Mexico and thence to the Jumanos, a tribe that lived east of the Rio Grande. It is generaly supposed now that he was sent in 1623 to Zuni, to the pueblo of Hawikuh, there being another priest stationed at Halona — these being the two principal of the seven towns of Zuni. On Sunday, February 22, 1632, says Hodge, 46 New Mexico, Land of Delight Makers (a hundred years to a day before Washington was born), the Indians appeared to delay in attending mass. Fray Francisco, im- patient, and probably of a fiery and zealous nature, went out to urge them. He met some idolaters, and began to chide them. He saw at once that they were bent on killing him, so he knelt down, holding in his hands a small crucifix, and continued the remonstrance while in this attitude. The Indians shot him dead with arrows, carried off the corpse and scalped it, parading the scalp afterward at the usual dances. Almost immediately steps were taken to avenge his death. Francisco de la Mora Ceballos, Governor at the time, despatched a handful of soldiers under his Maestro de Campo, Tomas de Albizu, together with a few priests. As they stopped at Inscription Rock over night, doubt- less, one of the soldiers, Lujan, carved the two lines. The mission was successful, for, although the Zunis had fled to the summit of Taiyoallane, they were prevailed upon to come down peaceably and reaffirm their alle- giance. While the major part of these inscriptions but confirm the documentary evidences we possess of New Mexican history, there are a few incomplete inscriptions, the sig- nificance of which we should not understand were it not for the documents. For instance, an almost obliterated inscription reads : " Paso por aqui Fran° de an . . . alina . . ." This was undoubtedly Francisco de Anaia Alinazan, an officer of no great moment, yet who served under Governors Otermin, Cruzate, and De Vargas, and knew all the struggles of the great rebellion. He was at Santa Clara pueblo when the massacre of 1680 occurred, with three companions, all of whom were slain. He escaped by swimming across the Rio Grande. A striking autograph, framed in a square reads : The World's Greatest Autograph Album 47 On the 5th of June, 1709 there passed by here, bound for Zuni, Ramon Paez Hurtado. On the other wall another Hurtado wrote : jUom E3)N DOS \1%K SOPOTAflUi I rt^rvjuNE^ZHniADOVJS^ADOT ^fnsucowamil (aba fatflnuxfa \ ^ +1 ■r-^ii.. ^»-7- J On the 14th of July, 1736 there passed by here General Juan Paez Hurtado, inspector, and in his company the Corporal Joseph Truillo. Here are three other inscriptions, of which, at some future time, some historian may give us interesting par- ticulars. Baftob^nannnsm ■H- ^ fO^