Historical sketches of New Mexico : from the earliest records to the American occupation

Front matter

HISTORICAL SKETCHES

OF

N[EW MEXICO

Dedication

TO THE

PEOPLE OF NEW MEXICO,

Three-fold in origin and language, but now one in nationality, in purpose, and in destiny ;

CHAPTER I-Intkoductory 11 II — The Pueblo Aborigines 20

III — The Journey of Cabeza de Baca 40

IV— The Expedition of Marcos de Niza 90

V — The Expedition of Coronado IIH

VI— The Mission of Friar Ruiz 149

VII — The Expedition of Espejo 153

VIII — The Colonization by Onate 161

X— The Expedition of Saldivar 176

XI— The Quivira Expedition of Penalosa 179

XII— The Revolution of 1680 190

XIII— The Pueblo Government 1680-1695 197

XIV— The Reconqeust by Vargas 206

XV — The 18th Century 221

XVII — Pike's Expedition 246

XVIII— The Santa Fe Trail 266

XIX — The Insurrection of 1837 285

XX— The American Occupation 290

XXI— The Revolt of 1847 313

PR EFACE.

The present volume has been prepared in order to meet, to some extent, the felt want of some book containing, as far as practicable, in a connected form, the historical items rcilative to New Mexico, heretofore scattered, and often unobtainable, or only preserved in the memory of persons fast growing old.

I have called it " Historical Sketches," instead of "A History of New Mexico," because it is not possible at this time to write a satisfactorj'^ continuous account -of the history of the Territory. The most of the records prior to 1680 were burned in the Pueblo Rebellion; . many of those of more recent date were Bold for waste -paper, and so lost or destroyed, in the days of Governor Pile; and the remainder are unpublished, and generally unavailable, at present, for the purposes of the historian. It is to be hoped that before many more years pass, a sufficient appropriation will be made by the Government for the classification and arrangement of all the existing archives, and the publication of such documents as may have historic value

It had been hoped that records of interest relating to New Mexico might be preserved in the archives at Guadalajara, as all the territory north of Zacatecas was subject to the audiencia of that city; but the official investigations made by Hon. John W. Foster, the

8 PREFACE

American Minister, in the year 1873, destroyed any expectations from that quarter; as it appeared that, even if documents of that character had previously been in existence, they were destroyed b}'^ the great conflagration of 1859.

In the preparation of this volume the following books (among others) have been consulted: Relation of Cabeza de Vaca, Buckingham Smith; Relation of Friar Marcos de Niza, Hakluyt; Letters of Coronado, Hakluyt; Castaneda's Relation of Coronado's Expedition, Ternaux-Compans; Relation of Juan Jaramillo; Histories of the Conquest of Mexico, by Bernal Diaz, Antonio de Solis, and Prescott ; Histories of Mexico, by Clavigero, Mayer, and Frost; W. W. H. Davis' "Spanish Conquest of New Mexico" and "El Gringo;" Gemeli Careri's Travels in New Spain ; Humboldt's New Spain ; Peflalosa's Quivira Expedition, Shea ; Bonnycastle's Spanish America; Pike's Expedition; Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies; Marcy's Prairie Traveller ; Kendall's Santa Fe Expedition ; Ruxton's Mexico and the Rocky Mountains ; Meline's Two Thousand Miles on Horseback; Explorations in Texas, New Mexico, etc., Bartlett; Mexico, New Mexico, and California, Branz Mayer ; Reports of Operations in 1846-7, Emory, Abert, Cooke, and Johnston ; Abert's Examination of New Mexico; Hughes' Doniphan Expedition; Campaign with Doniphan, Edwards; Conquest of New Mexico, Cooke; Reconnaissances in New Mexico, Johnston, Smith, etc.; Simpson's Navajo Expedition; Sitgreaves' Zuiii Expedition; Heap's Central Route to the Pacific; Hayes' Santa Fe Trail; Inman's

PREFACE. 9

Trail Sketches ; Anderson's Silver Country ; Peters' Life of Kit Carson; Cozzens' Marvelous Country; Reports of Wheeler, Powell, Jackson, Stevenson, etc. ; New Mexican Blue Book, Ritch ; Bancroft's Native Races ; North Americans of Antiquity, Short ; Morgan's Homes of American Aborigines ; Putnam's Archaeology of Pueblos, etc.

I beg to tender my acknowledgments to Sergeant Francisco de la Peiia, who was in the Mexican Military Service as early as 1832 ; Hon. Levi J. Keithley, member of the First Territorial Legislature (1847) ; Hon. Gabriel Lucero, Hon. Samuel Ellison, Capt. J. M. Sena y Baca, Henry O'Neill, Esq., Hon. Amadc Chavez, and others, for information of value relative to the more recent history of the Territory.

L. B. P.

Santa Fe, June, 1883.

HISTORICAL SKETCHES.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY.

THE history of New Mexico may be divided into three epochs — the Aboriginal or Pueblo, the Spanish, and the American.

The aborigines had no written records, and consequently what is known of their history is from tradition or the relation of such Europeans as came in contact with them. Several times before the final conquest and occupation of the country by the Spaniards, travellers or explorers traversed the country ; sometimes by accident, as in the case of Cabeza de Vaca; sometimes bent on conquest, as with Coronado ; sometimes as missionaries, as with Friar Ruiz ; sometimes to spy out the land for others, as with Marcos de Niza. Each of these, in the narrative of what he saw and did, has given us a brief glimpse of the. country as it existed just at that time ; and this is all we have from which to ^ain a knowledge of the history, condition, and customs of the people during long periods. These narratives are of great interest, as they afford us life-like views of a unique form of civilization, existing almost isolated, in the midst of encircling deserts and nomadic tribes. But the absence of chronicles from native sources makes it impossible to give a connected and continuous history of that time. We have isolated glimpses, and nothing more. As the Wandering Jew is said in the legend to visit the same locality at intervals of 500 years, and to find on each occasion a new people and altered customs, without having any knowledge of intervening events or the causes of such changes, — so the brief views into the interior of New Mexico presented by the early narratives (separated sometimes by nearly half a century) reveal changes for which, with no knowledge of the occurrences between, we cannot account. Thus, when Coronado marched through New Mexico, Tiguex and Cicuye were the two most important cities in the valley of the Rio Grande; but forty years later, when Espejo travelled over the same ground, it is impossible to distinguish them either by description or by name. In the days of Coronado, of Ohate, and of Penalosa, much was heard of Quivira as the great city of transcendent riches and glory across the eastern plains ; but during the 200 years which have since passed its name is not mentioned.

All, then, that can be done in the way of a history of the earlier epoch is to bring together what we know from various sources of the origin and life of the Pueblo aborigines, and then to present, one by one, the brief glimpses that we have of the country from the observations of those who from time to time penetrated to its interior. The earliest of these is Cabeza de Vaca, the first European who ever stood on New Mexican soil. While his visit was unpremeditated and involuntary, yet tl^e story of his long journey across the continent, of its strange adventures, its dangers and privations, can never lose its interest; and in New Mexican history his name will always have the leading place. Fortunately, he has left us a full narration, made to the king on his return to Spain. Then comes the expedition of Marcos de Niza, the record of which, written by himself, is so extravagant and exaggerated that it might thereby lose in interest if his had not been the first journey made for purposes of exploration, the first coming across the western desert, and the first which brought any European in sight of one of the great cities of the

Pueblos. This was immediately followed by the celebrated march of Coronado, who with an army not only traversed the whole of New Mexico, but even crossed the Great Plains to the valley of the Mississippi. Of all the expeditions this was the most important, as it occupied a sufficient time for a full examination of the country; and it is matter for congratulation that we have so perfect a narrative of it as that of Castaiieda, supplemented by the letters of Coronado himself, and the relation of Captain Jaramillo.

Forty years pass, and then we have the brief account of a journey of another kind, not undertaken for glory or conquest, save the glory of God and the conquest of souls — the missionary effort of Friar Ruiz and his companions, in 1581. That led to the expedition of Espejo, for the rescue of the monks; and the wide extent of country which he traversed — from El Paso to Zuni — gives us a brief vision of many places rendered familiar in Coronado's day. Passing less-important travellers, we next come to the colonization of ihe Rio Grande valley by Oiiate, and the establishment of a regular Spanish government in the Province; with the building of churches and the rapid spread of Christianity.

Then ensues a long period of which the records were probably nearly all destroyed at the time of the Pueblo Revolution, though some may yet be recovered in Mexico or Spain ; and in 1662 we have the romantic and brilliant expedition of Peiialosa across the Great Plains again to the city of Quivira, which might have brought great results had he been permitted to carry out his programme of conquest and colonization. Throughout this period we find the natives being gradually reduced to more and more severe bondage, until in 1680 they at last rose in successful revolt, and drove the Spaniards from the country. From the history of this contest and their subsequent action, we learn that their long servitude had made them cruel and revengeful, and had unfitted them for self-government; as the years of their supremacy mark a period of jealousy and conflict, and that in which they suffered greater diminution in numbers than ever before. Then comes the protracted contest for new supremacy by the Spaniards, ending at last in 1696 by the final subjugation of the natives and pacification of the Province. After this follows a period during which no events of great interest occurred— generation following generation in an existence almost entirely isolated from the world, and the monotony of life varied by little save almost continual warfare with one or another Indian tribe which desolated the borders. Whatever there is of interest in the succeeding century is hidden among the remaining archives at Santa F6, or lost with those which were so needlessly destroyed. But nothing occurred sufficiently important to cause a ripple on the surface of the general history of the world, or even of Mexico. The people lived happy, peaceful, tranquil lives, except when aroused by Indian troubles; they improved their surroundings and amassed property and wealth, and were less troubled by the fierce conflicts which shook the world during that period than any other civilized people. The revolution in Mexico made a change in government, and aroused the sentiment of independence among the people; but New Mexico was too remote to be a scene of conflict, and quietly passed from being the dependency of a kingdom to its position as part of a republic. Meanwhile the overland trade with the United States had commenced, and the Santa Fe Trail was the route which made the capital of the Territory the great distributing point for merchandise in northern Mexico. The revolutionary spirit which for so long a time prevented stability in government in the Mexican Republic affected New Mexico as well as other sections; and the year 1837 saw an insurrection which resulted in the killing of the Governor and other high officials, and the proclamation of a Pueblo Indian as Provisional Governor, soon followed by a countermovement which executed Gonzales and brought Armijo into power.

Less than ten years after, the American ''Army of the West," under General Kearney, entered Santa Fe, New Mexico was proclaimed American territory, and a provisional government established. The "Taos insurrection," in which Gov. Bent and a number of others were killed, followed; but this was speedily suppressed, and the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo finally ceded the Territory to the United States. Of late years, with more perfect protection from Indians, the introduction of railroads, telegraphs, and other modern inventions, a rapid increase in population, and a general development of her unequalled natural resources, New Mexico is making rapid strides in progress and swiftly fitting herself to be a rich and influential State in the American Republic.

This is an epitome of the history of New Mexico. Under the peculiar circumstances it is not possible to arrange a continuous narrative, and all that is attempted in the chapters to follow is to present the various scenes in the historic drama as truthfully as may be. In presenting the substance of the narrations of the early expeditions, the spirit of the old chronicles has been retained as far as possible, although it might be strongly tinged by exaggeration, as in the case of Marcos de Niza; for the reason that only by that means can we properly appreciate the influence which those reports had on the actions of others. One thing has to be specially borne in mind in judging either of the grade of civilization which the Pueblo Indians had attained, or the dangers and difficulties encountered by the early adventurers, and the courage and endurance necessary in surmounting them — and that is, that many of the events narrated occurred nearly three and a half centuries ago ; that the whole world has made vast strides in progress since that time, and that systems of various kinds which to-du}' may seem crude were then fully equal to the average civilization of the world; while a journey, which, with our geographical knowledge and rapid conveyance, appears but a holiday trip, was then a plunge into an unknown wilderness, requiring enterprise and fearlessness of the highest tyi^e. It is difficult for persons in our generation to realize the circumstances under which the various expeditions and explorations connected with New Mexico were made during the sixteenth, and indeed the seventeenth century.

We have been so accustomed to the general geographical contour of the American continent from our earliest youth, we know so well the distance from ocean to ocean, and from the gulf to the Arctic region, that it seems difficult to remember that the intrepid explorers who penetrated to the north, after the fall of the Mohtezumas, had no idea at all of the extent of the main-land, and were never sure, as they ascended a mountain, but that its summit would bring to view the South Sea to the west, the North Sea or Atlantic to the east, or the great Arctic Ocean toward the Pole. Yet we know that Columbus thought he had reached the East Indies when he first discovered land in the western hemisphere, and that after all his voyages he died with no idea of the true distance to that goal ; that Hudson ascended the river which bears his name, supposing it to be a strait leading to the China Sea, and that the Chesapeake was explored in a similar belief; that California was for long years represented on all maps as an island apart from the American continent, and that the parrowness of the land between the oceans at Darien, and even in Mexico, naturally gave rise to the idea that the terra Jirma was of no great width at any point, and the great seas of the earth nowhere very far apart. The universality of this opinion among all nations is illustrated by the fact that the early charters of the

English colonies extend their limits westward to the South Sea, with no knowledge as to whether it might be a 100 or a 1,000 miles distant, but in a belief that would have been shocked if any one had suggested that it was giving them an area 2,500 miles in length.

The explorer of those days was travelling entirely in the dark. Nothing in more modern times has been similar to, or can again resemble, the uncertainty and romance of those early expeditions. For the recent explorers of Africa, for example, had a perfect knowledge of the shape of the exterior of the continent, and knew exactly what tribes lived on each shore, and what rivers emptied into each ocean. All that was left as a terra incognita was a certain area in the center, and that of known length and breadth. But the early explorers of America literally knew nothing of the land they entered. It was absolutely virgin soil. They might find impassable mountains or enormous lakes; they might have to traverse almost interminable deserts, or discover rivers whose width would forbid their crossing; they might chance upon gigantic volcanoes, or find themselves on the shore of the ultimate ocean. And as to inhabitants and products the}' were equally ignorant.

We are sometimes induced to smile at the marvelous stories related by some of the older explorers, at their still more extravagant expectations, and the credulity with which everything (however exaggerated or unnatural) relating to the new continent was believed. But we must remember that it was a day of real marvels, and that nothing could well be imagined more extraordinary and unexpected than those things which had already been discovered as realities. An entire new world had been opened to the enterprise, the curiosit}^, the cupidity, and the benevolence of mankind. It is as if to-day a ready mode of access to the moon were discovered, and the first adventurers to the lunar regions had returned laden with diamonds, and bearing

INTRODUCTORY.

tidings of riches and wonders far beyond the wildest imagination of former generations. Just so the early explorers had returned to the Eastward, telling of the marvels of the new Indies; of the luxuriant vegetation, the vast extent, the untold riches, the silver and the gold, of the western continent. As one adventurous explorer followed another, new discoveries were constantly made; each apparently exceeding its predecessor in importance, in riches, and in glory. Americus Vespucius landed on the main-land of the south, and the Cabots and Verrazani skirted the shores of the northern parts of the continent. Then Cortez discovered and conquered the great empire of the IMontezumas, and Pizarro subdued the rich dominion of the Incas. The wealth of these two fallen kingdoms was a marvel, as the accumulated treasures of generations fell into the hands of the conquerors as it were in a moment.

After such discoveries, what might not be expected ? When the realities already known so far surpassed all former extravagance of imagination, why might not the future bring forth things even more surj)rising ? Why might not kingdoms be found as far transcending Mexico and Peru as those kingdoms exceeded the barbarism and poverty of the savage inhabitants of some of the first-discovered islands ? There was nothing impossible in this, nor illogical in the anticipation; and this should be borne in mind in reading of the later expeditions into the interior of the continent, of the readiness with which stories of marvelous riches and stores of gold and precious stones were credited, and of the eagerness with which men braved danger and hardship in the venturesome expeditions of that day.

And another element is not to be overlooked, and that is the religious one. In many hearts this was a strong, impelling principle. Here were unknown heathen nations to be brought to the knowledge of the faith ; here were untold thousands of souls to be saved. In this view it was the old spirit of the Crusaders that was aroused. As men left thoii homes, abandoned their property, desejted their families and friends, and encountered every form of difficult}'- and danger to rescue tlie tomb of the Lord from the dominion of the unbelievers; so, a little later, others imbued with the same martyr spirit were ready to venture all and suffer even death to carry a knowledge of Christianity to heathen tribes.

With these facts in our minds, we can better understand how it was that, within twenty years after the fall of Montezuma, Castilian enterprise and proAvess ^^

had penetrated more than 1,500 miles to the north, over mountain and desert, to the Land of the Seven Cities, and how, later on, they travelled hundreds of miles further into the interior, in search of new lands to conquer, new riches to acquire, and new tribes to christianize.

Chapter II. The Pueblo Aborigines

THE origin of the aboriginal inhabitants of New Mexico as found by Cabeza de Vaca, Coronado, and the other early travellers and explorers, and as existing to-day in the persons of the Pueblo Indians, is involved in such obscurity that nothing certain can be positively asserted of it. We have, in the description given by the first Europeans who penetrated the country, the pictures of populous communities, occupying the valley of the Rio Grande and its branches, and extending westward as far as Zuni and Moqui, entirely different in character from the nomadic tribes of the plains, but so analogous to each other as to show a common origin and early history. Their villages were alike in all important respects, in the material, the hoight and peculiar terrace form of the houses, in the smallness of the rooms and the presence of estufas, in the methods of ingress and of defense. Their dress was similar, their customs identical, their agricultural products the same, their pottery uniform in general design and ornamentation. In all these respects they were unlike the tribes which surrounded them, and more similar to the civilized people of Mexico than to any who dwelt nearer. This is not the place to trace out all the features of resemblance, although the subject is one so interesting and inviting that it is difficult to forego its discussion ; but suffice it to say that everything in analogy, as well as in tradition, points to the truth of the words of Baron von Humboldt, where he says : "Everything in these countries appears to announce traces of the cultivation of the ancient Mexicans. We

THE PUKBI.O ABORIGINES. 21

are informed, even by Indian traditions, that twentyleagues north from the Moqui, near the mouth of the Rio Zaguaname, the banks of the Nabajoa were the first abode of the Aztecs after their departure from Aztlan. On considering the civilization which exists on several points of the north-west coast of America, in the Moqui, and on the banks of the Gila, we are tempted to believe (and I venture to repeat it here) that at the period of the migration of the Toultecs, the Acolhui^s, and the Aztecs, several tribes separated from the great mass of the people to establish themselves in these northern regions "

Without going into any details of early Mexican history, which would be out of place here, it is well to remember a few leading facts. The Toltecs started on their southern pilgrimage from the old home at Huehuetlapallan in the far north-west, in the year 1 Tecpatl, which Clavigero considers equivalent to 596 of our era. " In every place to which they came," says that author, '' they remained no longer than they liked it, or were easily accommodated with provisions. When they determined to make a longer stay they erected houses, and sowed the land with corn, cotton, and other plants, the seeds of which they had carried along with them to supply their necessities. In this wandering manner did they travel, always southward, for the space of 104 years, till they arrived at a place to which they gave the name of Tollantziaco, about fifty miles to the east of that spot where some centuries after was founded the famous cit}' of Mexico." Twenty years later they moved forty miles westward and founded the city of Tollan,or Tula, named after their native country, and which continued as their capital. Gondra makes the date of their arrival in Anahuac 648, and the foundation of Tula 670; but for some reason he states the year of their departure from the north as 544, or just a Mexican century (fifty-two years) earlier than the chronology of

22 THE PUEBLO ABORIGIKES.

Clavigero. After them came the Chichimecas, likewise from the north, where their country was called Amaquemecan (Mr. Short says " Amaquetepic," probably meaning the "Mountain of the Moquis'"), marching under Xolotl, the brother of their king, who had heard of the rich country to the south and was determined to found an independent empire. They were a less civilized and more violent people than the Toltecs, and Torquemada says that before the migration they lived in caves in the mountains, which may have some connection with our cave and clift dwellings. They were soon succeeded by the three princes of the Acolhuan nation, with a great host of followers, coming from Tenoacolhuacan, which we are told was near Amaquemecan, and who by marriage with the daughters of King Xolotl became dominant in the valley of Mexico. And last came the Aztecs, who left their home in Aztlan, which Clavigero says was *' a country situated to the north of the Gulf of California, according to what appears from the route they pursued in their migration." They crossed the Colorado River and proceeded as far as the Gila, where they remained for some time ; the Casa Grande, of Arizona, now so well known through the descriptions of Emory, Bartlett, and others, and the sketches of Ross Browne, and at which both Marcos de Niza and Coronado stopped, being part of the remains of their city. From thenoe they journeyed to the place called the Casas Grandes, in Chihuahua, " where," says Clavigero, "the immense edifice still existing is constructed on the plan of those of New Mexico; that is, consisting of three floors with a terrace above them, and without any entrance to the under floor. The door for entrance to the building is on the second floor, so that a scaling-ladder is necessary; and the inhabitants of New Mexico build in this manner, in order to be less exposed to the attacks of their enemies — putting out the scaling-ladder only for those to whom they give

THE PUEBLO ABOJIIGINES. 23

admission to their house." The famous picture which was afterwards shown by Don Carlos de Siguenza to Dr. Gemeli Careri, in 1608, and cojjied in the history of the travels of the latter, and more recently reproduced in the interesting work on Mexican antiquities by the learned Ysidro R. Gondra, in Mexico, gives a graphic representation of the wanderings of the Aztecs from the time of their leaving Aztlan until their final settlement in Mexico. Tlij date of the commencement of this migration is given by Clavigero at 1170, and Boturnini, Veitia, etc., make it 1168 ; but there seems to be an error respecting this, for Gama puts it at 1064, and Humboldt, who had the benefit of all the earlier researches, at 1038 ; the principal discrepancy arising from the omission by the former writers of two Mexican centuries amounting to 104 years.

The historical picture referred to was found on a sheet of maguey paper, thirty-three inches long by twenty-one in width, and hieroglyphically represents each of the places at which the Aztecs remained for any length of time during their journey. After a representation of an ancient flood, in which only one man and one woman were saved, and in the history of which a dove plays an important part, the picture presents the march of the Aztecs from " a place of magpies," (called by Gondra " flamingoes "), through " a place of grottoes," "a place of the death's head," " the woody place of the eagle," " chalco, the place of the precious stone," '* the place of passes," "a whirlpool where the river is swallowed," etc., to the final arrival at Chapultepec, " the hill of grasshoppers," to which they came in 1245.

The legend of their seeing the eagle perched on the cactus, and in obedience to that omen determining to found their capital on that spot, gave rise to the emblem on the Mexican coat-of-arms, and is well known ; but can be no more than thus briefly alluded to in this place.

Whether the aborigines of New Mexico are of Toltec or Aztec origin, there can be little doubt that they are a portion of one or the other of these nations that for some reason was left behind in the great migrations. It will be observed that all of the successive Awaves of population that succeeded each other in Mexico came from the north-west. They all appear to have taken about the same route through Arizona. Tlieir journeys were not continuous, nor with any predetermined plan as to the locality of ultimate settlement. On the contrary, they sometimes occupied centuries, and the moving nation stopped for many years at places which suited its convenience or its fancy. There is nothing unnatural in the supposition that an offshoot from tlie Toltecs or the Aztecs settled along the rivers of New Mexico, while the njain body of their people was in that vicinity, and when the general migration continued still farther to the southward, remained contentedl}^ in the homes they had established. In no other way can we account for the existence of an intelligent people, living in great houses of excellent workmanship and most admirabl}' adapted for defense against all the weapons of that day; with successful agriculture, skillful manufacturers, and an excellent system of government; — existing in the midst of the savage and wandering tribes without home or property, who surrounded them. And their own traditions, though vague and unsatisfactory, all point to the same origin. The name of Montezuma runs through all of these (not generally referring to the king whom we are accustomed to identify with that name, but to the great chief of the golden or heroic age — the demi-god of their earliest traditions, watching over them from heaven and waiting to come again to bring to them victory and a period of millenial glory and happiness). They call themselves the People of INIontezuma, or the Children of the Sun; for the sun was the real object of their adoration. The use of the estufa for religious and other important purposes is universal, and its origin is attributed to Montezuma. The little idol representing God seen at one of the pueblos, and described by W. W. H. Davis, was called Montezuma. Their ancient dramatic dances generally represent Montezuma and Malinche.